Cbp Gov AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API
★ Only Publicly Available OpenAPI DocumentE CommerceShipping Logisticsbasic2 EndpointsREST
For Agents
File and inquire on U.S. export filings through the AESDirect WebLink integration. Create export filings programmatically and check their AES processing status.
Use for: I need to file an Electronic Export Information record with AES, Check the status of an existing AES export filing, Submit a WebLink export filing on behalf of a shipper, Retrieve the AES filing acknowledgment for a shipment
Not supported: Does not handle import filings, ACE manifest, customs duty calculation, or carrier shipping labels — use for AESDirect WebLink export filing creation and inquiry only.
Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for the AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. This U.S. Customs and Border Protection service is the WebLink integration point for the Automated Export System (AES), used by exporters and freight forwarders to file Electronic Export Information and check filing status. The spec covers two operations: creating a new WebLink filing and inquiring on the status of an existing filing. Production and test endpoints are exposed separately so integrators can validate workflows before submitting real export filings.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API.
Create WebLink filings that submit Electronic Export Information to AES
Inquire on the disposition and status of an existing AES filing
Switch between AES production and training environments using the matching base URL
Submit filings on behalf of an exporter under their CBP-issued WebLink credentials
Use Cases
Patterns agents use AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Automated Export Filing Submission
Freight forwarders and exporters use agents to translate shipment booking data into an AES filing and submit it via the WebLink createWeblinkFiling endpoint. The agent handles required fields such as USPPI, Schedule B numbers, and value, then receives a filing identifier for tracking. This removes manual data entry across the exporter's TMS and AESDirect.
POST a WebLink filing to /ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/createWeblinkFiling with USPPI, Schedule B code, and shipment value, and return the filing identifier
Export Filing Status Tracking
Once a filing is submitted, compliance teams need to know if AES accepted it, returned a fatal error, or issued compliance alerts. The inquiry endpoint returns disposition codes and acknowledgement details for a filing identifier, so an agent can poll status and surface issues to the exporter automatically.
GET /ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/weblinkFilingInquiry for filing id 12345 and report whether AES accepted or rejected the filing
Test Environment Validation
Before pushing live export filings, integrators run the same payload against the trade-test.cbp.dhs.gov endpoint to confirm that fields validate cleanly. An agent points the same WebLink call at the test base URL, captures the response, and only flips to production once the test response is clean.
Submit the WebLink filing payload first to https://trade-test.cbp.dhs.gov, confirm a clean response, then resubmit to https://trade.cbp.dhs.gov
AI Agent Integration via Jentic
An export operations assistant uses Jentic to discover and call the WebLink filing and inquiry endpoints with credentials held in the encrypted vault. The agent never sees the raw WebLink username and password, and the same Jentic session can chain AES calls with carrier or warehouse APIs.
Use Jentic to search 'submit an AES export filing', load the schema for createWeblinkFiling, and execute against the production base URL
Key Endpoints
2 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for the aesdirect weblink inquiry api, keeping it validated and agent-ready.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
POST
/ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/createWeblinkFiling
Create a WebLink AES filing
GET
/ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/weblinkFilingInquiry
Inquire on AES filing status
POST
/ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/createWeblinkFiling
Create a WebLink AES filing
GET
/ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/weblinkFilingInquiry
Inquire on AES filing status
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
WebLink HTTP Basic credentials are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. The agent never receives the username and password — Jentic injects them at call time and returns only the API response.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic by intent (e.g., 'submit an AES export filing') and Jentic returns the WebLink createWeblinkFiling and inquiry operations with their input schemas, so the agent calls the correct endpoint without reading the WebLink XML guide.
Time to first call
Direct WebLink integration: 5-10 days to interpret the XML schema, set up Basic auth handling, and validate against the test endpoint. Through Jentic: under 1 hour — search, load schema, execute against the test base URL first.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API through Jentic.
Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for the AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection publishes the AESDirect WebLink interface as an XML-based service with PDF specifications rather than an OpenAPI document. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.
What authentication does the AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API use?
WebLink uses HTTP Basic authentication with credentials issued by CBP after WebLink enrolment. Through Jentic, those credentials sit in the encrypted vault and the agent triggers the call without ever holding the username and password directly.
Can I file Electronic Export Information through this API?
Yes. POST /ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/createWeblinkFiling submits a WebLink filing that AES processes as Electronic Export Information for an outbound shipment, returning a filing identifier you can later inquire on.
What are the rate limits for the AESDirect WebLink Inquiry API?
CBP does not publish a fixed rate limit for WebLink. Throttling is applied at the WebLink credential level and during AES maintenance windows. Plan retries with backoff and avoid hammering the inquiry endpoint when polling filing status.
How do I check filing status through Jentic?
Search Jentic for 'inquire on an AES filing status', load the schema for GET /ace/aes/aesdirect-ui/secured/weblinkFilingInquiry, and execute with the filing identifier returned by createWeblinkFiling.
Is the AESDirect WebLink API free?
Yes. The API itself is free to use for filers enrolled with CBP. Costs only arise from the WebLink enrolment process and any third-party AES connectivity vendor that the exporter chooses to use.
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