← Customs description checker

Check a customs description in Python

Check customs goods descriptions before you ship. Flags the vague wording EU customs (ICS2) rejects, category-only descriptions, product codes and missing materials. Here is the whole call in Python, with the output it produced when we ran it.

Before you start

• An API key. Create a free account; it comes with free tokens every month. Put the key in an environment variable so it stays out of your code: export BLOODWEB_KEY=your_key
• Python 3 with the requests library: pip install requests

The code

Save it as customs-description-check.py and run python3 customs-description-check.py.

import os

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://bloodweb.net/api/v1/customs-description-check",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['BLOODWEB_KEY']}"},
    params={"descriptions": "Gifts"},
    timeout=120,
)
if not resp.ok:
    raise SystemExit(f"{resp.status_code}: {resp.json()['error']['message']}")
print(resp.json())

What you get

Tested 19 October 2026: this exact code ran against our test copy of the API, which runs the same service code as bloodweb.net, and produced this.

The API answers with JSON, which Python prints as a dictionary:

{
    "results": [
        {
            "description": "Gifts",
            "level": "bad",
            "issues": [
                "Too vague. \"gifts\" does not say what is in the parcel, and EU customs (ICS2) rejects descriptions like this."
            ],
            "tips": [
                "\"Gift\" is a reason for sending, not a description, and goods a customer paid for are not gifts."
            ],
            "cut": null,
            "length": 5
        }
    ],
    "summary": {
        "good": 0,
        "warn": 0,
        "bad": 1
    }
}

Change the call

Every option the Customs description checker takes. Add or change them the same way as the ones in the code.

• descriptions required: One description per line, or a JSON array. Up to 50.
• max_length: Flag descriptions longer than this many characters and show where they would be cut.

If it fails

A failed call is not charged. The answer is JSON with an error object; the code above prints its message. The usual ones:

• 401 missing_key or invalid_key: BLOODWEB_KEY is not set in the shell that runs the code, or the key was revoked.
• 400 bad_param: a value is wrong or missing. The message names the parameter.
• 402 insufficient_tokens: the balance does not cover the call. Top up in the dashboard.
• 429 rate_limited: too many calls at once. Wait the seconds in the Retry-After header and send it again.

Every code and its fix is in the docs.

Next

• The Customs description checker page: every option, the limits, and Try it now in your browser.
• Getting started: keys, errors and rate limits for all the services.