QUICK ANSWER A pre-shipment inspection (PSI) is a quality check at the factory once production is finished and at least 80% of the order is packed in export cartons. An inspector counts the goods, draws a random sample using the ISO 2859-1 / ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 AQL tables and checks it against your specification, approved sample, labels and packaging. For a lot of 5,000 units at General Inspection Level II, the sample is 200 pieces, and at AQL 2.5 the lot passes with 10 or fewer major defects. Most inspections take one man-day on site, and published rates in Asia start at $240 (Tetra Inspection) and $268 (V-Trust) per man-day. Schedule the visit at least two working days before loading, and pay the balance only after you have read the report.
A pre-shipment inspection tells you whether a China order matches your specification while the balance is still in your account. Platton has your freight ready to move the day that report comes back. We are a freight forwarder specialized in imports into the US, with offices in Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Savannah. Our AI-driven platform keeps your booking, documents and container in front of you. When the goods pass, they go out on the sailing you planned. Get a live quote as soon as you know the inspection date.
What happens on inspection day at the factory
This is the last point where you can still change how the order turns out: the goods are finished, the balance is unpaid and the container is not loaded. Inspection companies also call the visit a final random inspection (FRI). If you are importing from China, it shows you what is actually in the cartons before your money and your cargo move.
Most inspection companies run the day in the same order:
- Production status. The inspector confirms that production is finished and that at least 80% of the order is packed.
- Count. Finished and packed quantities are counted carton by carton against your purchase order. That count also sets the lot size for sampling.
- Random sample. The inspector pulls pieces from different cartons and places in the stack, and the AQL table sets how many.
- Checks. Every sampled piece is checked against the checklist below.
- Defect count. Each defect is classed as critical, major or minor, then counted against the accept and reject numbers for that class.
- Report. You get the quantities, the sample size and AQL, defect counts by class with photos, measurements, test results, carton weights and dimensions, and a conclusion: pass, fail or pending.
Pre-shipment inspection checklist
The table lists what the inspector checks and, in the right-hand column, what the inspection company needs from you with the booking.
What the inspector checks and what you send in advance
| Area | What the inspector checks | What you send in advance |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity and assortment | Total and packed quantity, number of cartons, units per carton, SKU, size and color assortment | Purchase order with quantities by SKU, size and color |
| Workmanship and appearance | Scratches, stains, cracks, stitching, assembly, finish | Approved sample and your defect classification list |
| Specification | Model, material, color, construction, accessories, compared with the approved sample | Specification sheet, technical drawings, color references, approved sample |
| Dimensions and weight | Measurements and unit weight against your tolerances | Measurement charts with tolerances |
| Function and on-site tests | Assembly, power-on, fit, carton drop test, barcode scanning | The list of on-site tests you require |
| Labels, origin marking, barcodes | Product labels, warnings, country-of-origin marking, barcode content and placement | Label artwork, barcode numbers, marking requirements |
| Packaging and shipping marks | Retail and inner packaging, export carton condition and sealing, carton marks with PO and destination | Packaging specification and shipping mark artwork |
Give the country-of-origin marking its own line on the checklist. Under 19 CFR 134.11, every article of foreign origin imported into the US, or its container, must show the English name of its country of origin in a conspicuous place, unless the law exempts it. At the factory, a wrong or missing marking can still be fixed.
Lab tests and certificates the inspection does not replace
QIMA notes that a pre-shipment inspection can test only certain aspects of safety, and that many safety tests have to be done in a laboratory, so the report does not stand in for lab results or for the certificates your product needs.
When an imported product needs a certificate under CPSC rules, the importer issues it (16 CFR 1110.7), and for children's products it must rest on tests at a third-party lab (16 CFR 1107.20). Our guide to importing toys covers the Children's Product Certificate.
TAKEAWAY Send the specification, the approved sample, your defect list and the AQL for each defect class with the booking. Without the AQL and the defect list, the inspection company applies its own defaults, which may not match what you would accept.
How AQL sampling decides pass or fail
AQL stands for Acceptance Quality Limit: ISO defines it as the maximum average percentage of defective items considered acceptable during random sampling. ISO 2859-1 uses it, together with the lot size and the inspection level, to set the sampling plan for each lot. The standard was built for a series of lots from one process or supplier.
You choose the AQL and the inspection level. The lot size gives a code letter, and the code letter gives the sample size and the plan (NIST/SEMATECH). The AQL table below covers the setup most orders use.
AQL table: General Inspection Level II, single sampling, normal inspection (ISO 2859-1 / ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, as inspection companies apply it)
| Lot size | Code letter | Sample size | AQL 1.5 Ac / Re | AQL 2.5 Ac / Re | AQL 4.0 Ac / Re |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 281 to 500 | H | 50 | 2 / 3 | 3 / 4 | 5 / 6 |
| 501 to 1,200 | J | 80 | 3 / 4 | 5 / 6 | 7 / 8 |
| 1,201 to 3,200 | K | 125 | 5 / 6 | 7 / 8 | 10 / 11 |
| 3,201 to 10,000 | L | 200 | 7 / 8 | 10 / 11 | 14 / 15 |
| 10,001 to 35,000 | M | 315 | 10 / 11 | 14 / 15 | 21 / 22 |
Ac is the highest number of defective units the sample can contain and still pass. Re is the number at which the lot fails.
Take an order of 5,000 units: code letter L, a sample of 200 pieces. With major defects at AQL 2.5, the lot passes with 10 or fewer major defects and fails at 11. Minor defects at AQL 4.0 are counted separately and pass up to 14. Read the column for the AQL in your contract: applying the AQL 4.0 limit of 14 to majors you set at 2.5 lets through four more defective pieces than you agreed to.
Critical, major and minor defects
Every defect goes into one of three classes, and each class gets its own AQL.
Defect classes and their usual AQL
| Class | What it means | Usual AQL |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | A hazard to the user, a breach of an applicable requirement or a serious risk in use | 0: one critical defect fails the lot |
| Major | Affects function, usability or appearance enough to hurt the sale | 2.5 |
| Minor | Outside your quality standard without reducing use or function | 4.0 |
The lot has to pass all three classes at once. For higher-value products, V-Trust suggests 1.0 or 1.5 for major defects and 2.5 or 4.0 for minor. Put your own examples for each class into the defect list, such as a dangerous sharp point as critical or a dimension out of tolerance as major, so the inspector classifies defects the way you would.
Inspection levels and when to move off Level II
The inspection level sets how large the sample is for a given lot. General Level II is the default for routine consumer products. Level I takes a smaller sample: it costs less, and a defect is more likely to be missed. Level III takes a larger sample and suits a factory with a poor quality record, a product with safety implications or a first production run with a new supplier.
TAKEAWAY The lot size and the inspection level set the sample size, and AQL 2.5 sets the accept number. Reading AQL 2.5 as permission for 2.5% of your order to be defective misreads a standard built around a series of lots.
When to book the inspector and how long the visit takes
Plan the inspection backward from the loading date.
Inspection timeline, from goods ready to report
| Step | When | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Goods ready for inspection | Production finished and at least 80% of the goods packed in cartons | V-Trust, ECQA, Tetra Inspection; QIMA inspects when 80% of the order is complete |
| Booking the inspector | At least three days ahead | V-Trust; QIMA can have an inspector on site within 48 hours of booking, and Tetra schedules within 48 hours in most regions |
| Inspection date | At least two working days before the planned loading date | V-Trust |
| Time on site | One man-day, about 8 hours | Tetra Inspection; QIMA: one full day |
| Report | Same day, or within 24 hours | QIMA same day; Tetra and V-Trust within 24 hours |
Use the two working days before loading to read the report and agree any fix with the supplier. Give your forwarder the inspection date when you book the freight, so the cargo-ready date on the booking matches the day the goods can actually leave.
DUPRO, container loading checks and other checkpoints
The pre-shipment inspection is one of several checkpoints, and the others sit before and after it.
Quality checks before and after the pre-shipment inspection
| Check | When | What it checks |
|---|---|---|
| Factory audit | Before ordering | Whether the supplier can make the product: the site, the machinery and the quality systems |
| Initial production check (IPC) | Before mass production | Materials and the first pieces off the line |
| During-production inspection (DUPRO, DPI) | 20 to 60% of production | Defects while most of the run can still be corrected |
| Pre-shipment inspection (PSI, FRI) | Production finished, at least 80% packed | The finished product, the quantity, labels and packing |
| Container loading check | During loading | Carton condition, the quantities loaded, the container and its seal details |
Pre-shipment inspection cost per man-day
Inspection companies charge by the man-day: one inspector on site for one full day, which Tetra Inspection says is typically enough for one product. Several inspection companies publish their price lists. Three of them are below.
Published man-day rates
| Region | Rate per man-day | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Asia (China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and others) and Africa outside South Africa | $240 | Tetra Inspection price list |
| Major manufacturing clusters in Asia | $268 | V-Trust |
| China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand | $319 | QIMA price list |
Tetra's rates for other regions run from $340 to $740 per man-day, and $999 in the United States. All three describe their rates as all-inclusive, and V-Trust adds no charge for travel or weekend inspections.
The number of man-days is what moves the bill. V-Trust works it out from the total quantity, the inspection level, the AQL, the unit price, the number of SKUs and the factory location.
On a $40,000 order, one man-day at $240 is 0.6% of the order value, and two man-days at $268 come to $536, about 1.3%. The same Asian rate covers factories in Vietnam and India, so the math holds when you are shipping from Vietnam or shipping from India.
Who should inspect: a third-party company, your agent or the factory
Three parties can run a pre-shipment inspection: an independent inspection company, your own staff or a sourcing agent, or the supplier. Pro QC warns that when the supplier arranges the inspector, the result may be biased. That is why importers usually book third-party inspection in China.
When you compare inspection companies, ask for four things:
- The standard in writing. The booking should name the sampling standard, the inspection level and the AQL for each defect class.
- A sample report. It shows the photos, measurements and carton data you will receive before you pay for a visit.
- Accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020. This standard sets requirements for the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of inspection bodies, and accreditation is based on it (ISO).
- Independence from your factory. The company should have no commercial tie to your supplier, and its invoice should come to you.
What to do when the lot fails
A fail alone does not decide whether the goods ship: you decide that from the report. Until it is settled, the goods stay at the factory and the balance stays in your account.
Inspection results and the next step
| Result | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | The sample stayed within the accept number for every defect class | Release the balance on the terms in your purchase order and confirm the loading date with your forwarder |
| Fail on critical defects | At least one critical defect was found, with critical set at zero | Hold the goods and the balance, have the factory find the cause and sort, rework or replace the affected goods, then book a re-inspection |
| Fail on major or minor defects | The count in that class went above the accept number | Go through the photos and findings with the supplier, then choose between rework, sorting, replacement, acceptance at a discount or refusal; book a re-inspection after any fix |
| Pending | The report leaves the result open | Hold the balance and the loading date until the inspection company confirms pass or fail |
A re-inspection after rework confirms that the original defects are fixed and that the rework did not create new ones. Who pays for the rework and the second visit depends on your contract with the supplier, so agree on both before production starts.
How the inspection fits the balance payment and the booking
The inspection protects you because it comes after production and before the balance. The US International Trade Administration puts the importer's position plainly: "any payment is a donation until the goods are received" (trade.gov).
On a China order paid as a deposit plus a balance, the money and the cargo move in this order:
Deposit, inspection, balance and sailing, step by step
| Step | What happens | What you check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Deposit | You pay the deposit and production starts | The payment terms and the inspection clause in the purchase order |
| 2. Production | The factory makes the goods, with a DUPRO at 20 to 60% if you booked one | Progress against the agreed finish date |
| 3. Pre-shipment inspection | The inspector samples the finished, packed goods | That the inspection company has your specification, approved sample and defect list |
| 4. Report and decision | Pass, fail or pending | The defect counts and photos, before any money moves |
| 5. Balance | You release the balance against a passed report. Under a letter of credit, your bank pays once the goods ship and the supplier presents the documents the credit requires | That the report or certificate your terms call for is in hand |
| 6. Commercial invoice and packing list | The supplier issues the commercial invoice and the packing list | That the quantities match what the inspector counted |
| 7. Booking and loading | The cargo is booked with the carrier and loaded, with a container loading check if you booked one | That the booking matches the counted cartons, weights and dimensions |
| 8. Sailing | The container leaves the port of loading | Tracking from departure to delivery |
Our guide to payment terms that protect the deposit compares wire transfer, escrow and a letter of credit, and covers checking the supplier before you pay anything. Banks working under a letter of credit deal with documents, not with goods, so a credit protects you only when it requires an inspection certificate from a company you appoint.
Write the inspection into your purchase order: name the inspection company, the standard and the AQL, and state that the balance follows a passed report. The first-time importer guide covers what else goes into a purchase order. On FOB terms the freight is yours to book through your own forwarder, so the booking can follow the report.
The packing list and the commercial invoice should match the inspector's count. Checking that the documents are present and consistent is covered in our guide to supplier document validation.
How Platton helps with shipping inspected orders from China
Once your inspection company passes the goods, Platton, a member of WCA, JCtrans and NCBFAA, books your freight. From then on, the quote, the booking, the documents and the container sit on one platform you can open at any time.
Freight booked to your inspection date
Tell us the inspection date and the loading date. We book your ocean freight on a sailing that fits both, with confirmed space, peak season included. On the China to USA lane, weekly sailings leave Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Qingdao and Shenzhen with Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, Evergreen, MSC and CMA CGM, as FCL or LCL. Your live quote comes back instantly, and the rate is locked at booking. Once the container is loaded, real-time container tracking shows you where it is, and we send you updates without waiting to be asked, all the way to delivery.
Several suppliers received, checked and loaded in one container
When your order comes from more than one factory, each supplier delivers to our consolidation warehouse in China. We log every PO on receipt with photos, carton count, weight and dimensions, then run a basic check of packaging integrity, label accuracy and the count against the packing list. Buyers consolidation then puts every supplier's cartons into one container.
Supplier documents checked for completeness before sailing
We request each supplier's shipment documents ahead of the sailing and check that the set is complete. Any gap comes to light while the goods are still at origin. With automated documentation, those files sit on the same platform as your booking and tracking. Both steps, the collection and the completeness check, are part of our supplier document validation service.
Air freight when a re-inspection costs you the sailing
If rework and a second inspection push the goods past the vessel cut-off, the booked sailing leaves without them. When the stock has to be in the US by a set date, air freight can carry the cartons you need first. The rest follows by ocean on a later sailing.
Common questions about pre-shipment inspections
What does AQL 2.5 mean in an inspection?
AQL 2.5 is the usual acceptance quality limit for major defects, and inspection companies use it as their default when the booking names no other level. The standard turns the lot size into a sample size and the AQL into an accept number. The AQL table above gives both for lots from 281 to 35,000 units at General Inspection Level II.
Is ISO 2859-1 the same as ANSI/ASQ Z1.4?
They share a source and the same basic tables. According to NIST, both grew out of the US military standard MIL-STD-105D. ISO 2859-1 has had a third edition since January 2026, while inspection companies such as V-Trust and QIMA cite ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2008, so expect to see either name on a report.
Does passing the inspection mean every unit is good?
No. The inspector checks a sample, so a lot can pass with defective pieces in cartons nobody opened. The AQL system is designed to hold the factory to an average quality and to limit the risk of accepting a bad lot, not to remove it. Clear specifications, a DUPRO on difficult products and a tighter AQL or Level III on high-risk orders cut that risk further.
Who pays for a pre-shipment inspection?
The importer usually pays the inspection company directly, at a rate per man-day. That keeps the inspector working for you and independent of the factory whose goods are being checked. After a failed inspection, the supplier carries the cost of rework, replacement or repairs in most cases.
Should the factory know about the inspection in advance?
Yes. The inspection company confirms the date with the factory before each visit, and that goes faster when the supplier already expects it. V-Trust suggests a purchase order clause stating that the named inspection company will inspect the completed order.
Do you need an inspection on every order?
For a first order, a new supplier or a new product, yes. Once a supplier has a steady record with the same product, ISO 2859-1 provides for reduced inspection, and its 2026 edition adds skip-lot procedures. Inspection companies still advise periodic inspections on repeat orders, because quality can drift over time.
Can a pre-shipment inspection be done by video call?
Yes, as a guided inspection. An inspector directs the factory staff step by step over a video call and collects the evidence remotely. QIMA offers this when access to the factory is limited. The factory's own staff handle the goods, though, and QIMA says a guided inspection cannot match the accuracy and checking depth of an onsite one.
What is a pre-shipment inspection certificate?
It is either the document a government pre-shipment inspection program requires, or one your letter of credit calls for. Under the WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection, a "user Member" is a country whose government contracts for or mandates inspections of goods exported to its territory. Those inspections verify quality, quantity, price or customs classification, and the appointed company issues a Clean Report of Findings for that program. An inspection you book as the buyer ends in a report, and the inspection company can also issue an inspection certificate when your letter of credit asks for one.
Related import guides
- How to import from China to the USA: the full import process, from choosing a supplier to final delivery.
- Fake supplier red flags: how to check a supplier before the deposit, and payment terms that keep it safe.
- Supplier document validation: what a document check covers before the container sails.
- First-time importer guide: what goes in a first purchase order, from the Incoterm to the documents list.
- Packing list: the fields a packing list carries and who relies on them.
