56 Wadding, felt and nonwovens, special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof
The broadest level of the Harmonized System. Pick the heading below that fits your goods, then the six-digit code under it — that last one is what you declare.
Section XI, Textiles & Apparel — silk, wool, cotton, man-made fibres, fabrics, carpets and clothing.
- 56 Chapter Wadding, felt and nonwovens, special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof
- —— Heading Pick one of the 9 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 56 covers wadding, felt and nonwovens, special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof: industrial and technical textiles rather than apparel fabric. Classification tip: Rope and cordage subheadings split by material (natural fibre, synthetic, steel-reinforced) and by diameter/breaking strength, which matters for marine and industrial cordage shipments in particular.
9 headings in chapter 56
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 56.01 Wadding of textile materials and articles thereof; textile fibres, not exceeding 5 mm in length (flock), textile dust and mill neps 4 codes
- 56.02 Felt; whether or not impregnated, coated, covered or laminated 4 codes
- 56.03 Nonwovens; whether or not impregnated, coated, covered or laminated 8 codes
- 56.04 Rubber thread and cord, textile covered; textile yarn and strip and the like of heading no. 5404, 5405; impregnated, coated, covered or sheathed with rubber or plastics 2 codes
- 56.05 Yarn; metallised, whether or not gimped, of textile yarn, or strip or the like of heading no. 5404 or 5405, combined with metal in the form of thread, strip or powder or covered with metal 1 code
- 56.06 Yarn and strip and the like of heading no. 5404 or 5405, gimped (other than those of heading no. 5606 and gimped horsehair yarn); chenille yarn (including flock chenille yarn); loop wale-yarn 1 code
- 56.07 Twine, cordage, ropes and cables, whether or not plaited or braided; whether or not impregnated, coated, covered or sheathed with rubber or plastics 6 codes
- 56.08 Twine, cordage or rope; knotted netting, made up fishing nets and other made up nets, of textile materials 3 codes
- 56.09 Articles of yarn, strip or the like of heading no. 5404 or 5405; twine, cordage, rope or cables n.e.c. or included 1 code
Other chapters in Section XI
The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.
Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.
Shipping goods from chapter 56? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipmentChapter 56 FAQ
Chapter 56 covers wadding, felt and nonwovens, special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof: industrial and technical textiles rather than apparel fabric. Classification tip: Rope and cordage subheadings split by material (natural fibre, synthetic, steel-reinforced) and by diameter/breaking strength, which matters for marine and industrial cordage shipments in particular.
Pick the heading below that describes the goods, then the six-digit subheading under it. Six digits is the level the Harmonized System defines and the level customs everywhere recognises; anything beyond that is added by the importing country.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section XI and to chapter 56. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.
A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.