What a Schedule B number is
A Schedule B number is the 10-digit code that classifies a product exported from the United States. The Census Bureau administers Schedule B, and exporters report the number in the Electronic Export Information (EEI) they file through the Automated Export System (AES), as 15 CFR 30.6 requires.
The first six digits are the Harmonized System code, the international product code. trade.gov notes that those six digits are the same in the Schedule B number and the HTS import code for the same product, while the last four can differ.
When you need a Schedule B number
- EEI filing applies when the value under one Schedule B number is over $2,500, for goods shipped from one exporter to one buyer on one carrier. At $2,500 or less, that line is exempt under 15 CFR 30.37.
- Goods that need an export license, or that fall under the ITAR, need an EEI filing whatever their value, under 15 CFR 30.2.
- Most exports to Canada are exempt from EEI filing under 15 CFR 30.36. The exemption does not cover goods stored in Canada for another country or goods moving through Canada to another country.
Schedule B or HTS code?
In AES you can report the 10-digit HTS import code instead of the Schedule B number, except where the HTS headnotes say otherwise. The rule is in 15 CFR 30.6. The Census Bureau keeps a list of HTS codes that AES rejects: 306 codes as of July 1, 2026, plus every code in Chapters 98 and 99.
If you import and export the same part, the HTS code is often enough for both. The HTS code lookup finds the import code.
How to find your Schedule B number
- Describe the product: what it is, what it is made of, what it does and how it is used.
- Find the four-digit heading, then the six-digit subheading that fits. They follow the same rules as the import schedule.
- Pick the 10-digit Schedule B line under that subheading.
- Check the result in the Census Bureau's own Schedule B search engine or the chapter PDF that the lookup links to.
Who is responsible for the code
The exporter, called the US principal party in interest (USPPI), or the agent it authorizes files the EEI. 15 CFR 30.6 adds that the correct number does not relieve either one of giving a complete and accurate description of the goods.
How this lookup works
Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, reads your description against all 1,228 four-digit headings and picks up to five. It then reads every Schedule B line under those headings, with the HTS text that frames them, and picks up to three codes.
Every code is checked against the Census Bureau's Schedule B file for AES filers, downloaded on October 22, 2026, and a code that is not in the file is dropped. The descriptions and units on screen come from that file, not from the AI. Your description goes to Anthropic's API to get the answer, and ThriveAI stores none of it.