HS Code for Posters

Posters are provided for in chapter 49 of the HTSUS under heading 4911, the provision for other printed matter, including printed pictures and photographs. A poster points toward subheading 4911.91, which covers printed pictures, designs and photographs, and this subheading contains dedicated statistical lines specifically for posters. The main branches within it are the printing process (whether the sheet is printed by a lithographic process or by another process), and the thickness of the stock, which separates ordinary poster paper from heavier board. Across these lines the estimated general rate is Free, so the reason to identify the right line is better classification and statistical reporting rather than duty. Confirming that the article is a printed picture of heading 4911, then noting the printing process and thickness, is the first step in exploring the most appropriate line.

Posters sit in chapter 49 of the HTSUS, the chapter for printed books, newspapers, pictures and other printed matter. A printed poster points toward heading 4911, which gathers other printed matter, and within it toward subheading 4911.91, the provision for printed pictures, designs and photographs; this subheading even carries dedicated statistical lines named for posters, so it is the natural place to start.

Within 4911.91 the branches are about how the poster is printed and how thick it is, rather than its subject. Posters printed by a lithographic process and not over 0.51 mm in thickness point toward one dedicated posters line, while posters printed by another process and not over 0.51 mm in thickness point toward a second dedicated posters line. Heavier printed pictures over 0.51 mm in thickness point toward their own line, and there are additional lines for pictures printed more than 20 years before importation and for pictures suitable for use in producing books of heading 4901. So the printing method and the stock thickness are the practical questions that steer the specific line.

When a printed item is not a picture, design or photograph, it falls out of 4911.91 and into the residual 4911.99 group for other printed matter, which includes a narrow line for international customs forms, a line for other matter printed on paper by a lithographic process, and a final residual 'other' line. An ordinary decorative or promotional poster, however, is a printed picture and generally stays within the 4911.91 posters lines.

A practical approach is to confirm the article is a printed picture of heading 4911, then note whether it is lithographically printed and whether it exceeds 0.51 mm in thickness, to choose among the 4911.91 lines. The main articles to keep separate are printed books and booklets, which point toward heading 4901, and original hand-executed paintings, drawings and artwork, which point toward chapter 97 rather than the printed-poster provisions. A framed poster may also take its character from the frame, so how the poster is presented is worth reviewing.

The estimated general rate across the poster and printed-picture lines of heading 4911 is Free, whether the poster is lithographically printed or printed by another process, on ordinary poster stock or heavier board, and whether it falls in the 4911.91 pictures group or the residual 4911.99 group. Because the duty picture is uniformly Free, the reason to identify the right line is better classification and statistical reporting rather than any change in estimated duty. Preferential programs do not meaningfully alter an already duty-free estimate. These figures are estimates for general planning purposes only.