Ship a box to Nicaragua.

Not with us. Customs duties are bundled into your per-pound rate, so the number we quote is the number you pay. If the declared value is wrong on your sender's invoice, we'll flag it before it leaves Miami, not after it's stuck at customs.

Nicaragua applies a value-added tax (15% IVA) plus duty rates that vary by category — usually 0–15% on everyday household goods. Electronics, alcohol, and luxury items run higher. Used personal effects on a one-time "menaje de casa" (household goods) import are duty-free if you have residency paperwork in motion.

We'll tell you which category your shipment falls into before you commit.

If you're moving to Nicaragua under a residency program (pensionado, rentista, inversionista), you get a one-time duty-free import of household goods — furniture, kitchenware, clothes, books, even a vehicle in some cases. The catch: it has to clear within a specific window after your residency is approved, and the inventory list has to be filed correctly in Spanish.

Our White Glove tier handles the menaje filing as part of the move. Pair it with our residency service if you haven't started that paperwork yet.

DHL Express serves 190+ countries. The common ones from here — US, Canada, all of the EU, UK, Mexico, most of South America, Japan, Australia — are all routine. A few destinations have known issues (Iran, North Korea, Russia, parts of West Africa) where DHL won't ship at all or won't accept certain item categories. We'll tell you the second you mention the destination.

Pricing depends on the destination zone. Zone 2 (most of North America & EU) is the cheapest. Zone 7 (parts of Africa, Oceania) is the most expensive.

Standard DHL restrictions apply (no firearms, no flammables, no fresh food, etc. — see the restricted-items grid below). Nicaragua-specific rules add a few: no pre-Columbian artifacts (illegal to export), no live plants or seeds without an agricultural permit we don't file.

Cigars, coffee, rum, and artisan crafts in personal quantities are all routinely fine. We've shipped each of these hundreds of times.

For regular shipments: an itemized invoice from the sender (Amazon receipts are fine), your passport, and your Fast Pack member number. We handle the rest. For menaje de casa: passport, residency approval letter, a notarized inventory list in Spanish, and a clean record with DGI (the tax authority).

Most things clear within 48 hours of landing in Managua. Occasionally a box gets pulled for inspection — usually because of vague invoicing or a flagged HS code. When that happens, our broker is on-site at the airport or port within hours and we keep you updated on WhatsApp until it's resolved. We don't charge storage fees during a customs hold.

Inbound: standard coverage is $100 per box at no charge. Higher declared values can add full-replacement insurance for about 2% of declared value. We use a Nicaraguan-licensed insurer (the same one we recommend for expat health and home cover), so claims actually get paid here.

Outbound via DHL: their standard liability covers up to $100 per shipment. For valuable items (electronics, art, cigars over $500) we strongly recommend adding DHL's Shipment Value Protection at checkout — typically 1–2% of declared value.

Yes — under the menaje de casa exemption, one vehicle per residency holder is duty-free if it's under 10 years old. Without that exemption, vehicle import duties in Nicaragua are steep (40%+ depending on engine size). We've handled this dozens of times. Message us before you buy a car in the US thinking you'll ship it later — sometimes buying locally is cheaper than the duty.