HS Code for Leggings: Classification Guide for Importers

If you import knitted leggings, the hs code for leggings is the line your customs entry and duty calculation depend on, and leggings sit on a genuine borderline between trousers and tights. The Harmonized System is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their customs tariffs and trade statistics.¹ This guide explains the two indicative headings, what moves a garment from one to the other, and how to confirm the full national code.

Quick answer: indicative headings 6104 and 6115

Leggings point to one of two indicative headings, and the garment itself decides which. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ruling on women's leggings quotes the two heading texts at issue: heading 6104 covers "Women's or girls' suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear), knitted or crocheted," and heading 6115 covers "Panty hose, tights, stockings, socks and other hosiery, including graduated compression hosiery (for example, stockings for varicose veins) and footwear without applied soles, knitted or crocheted."²

Treat heading 6104 as the starting point for leggings built and worn as trousers: opaque knit garments worn on their own as outerwear. Treat heading 6115 as the starting point for leggings that are hosiery in character: fine tights designed to be worn with the lower torso covered. In the CBP ruling, an opaque nylon and spandex pair was classified in heading 6104 as trousers, not in heading 6115 as tights.²

Both headings sit in Chapter 61, which applies only to made up knitted or crocheted articles, so a woven legging-style garment belongs in Chapter 62.³ Confirm the full 8- to 10-digit national code before you file.

How HS codes are structured

The HS is a comprehensive classification system of approximately 5,000 six-digit product categories organised in a hierarchical structure by sections, chapters at two digits, headings at four digits and sub-headings at six digits.⁴

The diagram below summarises the four levels.

If you are new to the system, read the HS code explainer first, then how to classify your product.

Factors that decide the code for leggings

Classification follows the wording of the headings and notes, not the word a retailer prints on the label.

Knitted or crocheted construction. Chapter 61 applies only to made up knitted or crocheted articles.³ Trousers sit under heading codes 6103, 6104, 6203 or 6204 as appropriate, the 61 headings for knitted or crocheted garments and the 62 headings for woven ones.⁵

The trousers test. The explanatory note applied to heading 6104 defines trousers as garments which envelop each leg separately, covering the knees and usually reaching down to or below the ankles; these garments usually stop at the waist.² A garment ending above the knee is shorts, not trousers.⁵ The ruled leggings extended to just below the knee and still met the trousers description.²

The hosiery test. Heading 6115 is limited to hosiery articles, and CBP concluded that tights are a form of hosiery.² Its explanatory note describes panty hose and tights as designed to cover the feet and legs (hose) and the lower part of the body up to the waist (panty), including those without feet.² CBP also applies a Customs Court test: tights are partially underwear and partially outerwear, intended to be partially concealed and partially exposed, so if worn in public the lower torso portion must be covered.² Fabric weight runs with this test: the ruled garment was a relatively heavy weight opaque knit with the appearance of snug-fitting trousers, treated by CBP as heavier than hosiery.² A sheer legging made to be worn under a dress or tunic fits the tights description; an opaque legging worn as the outer garment does not.

Fibre content. Under heading 6104, the trousers lines split by fibre: .61 for wool or fine animal hair, .62 for cotton, .63 for synthetic fibres and .69 for other textile materials.^{3 6} Under heading 6115, the panty hose and tights lines split by fibre and, for synthetic fibres, by yarn fineness: 6115.21 below 67 decitex per single yarn, 6115.22 at 67 decitex or more, and 6115.29 for other textile materials.^{6 7} Elastomeric content matters further down the US code: the statistical suffixes under the cotton and synthetic trousers lines split at 5 percent or more by weight of elastomeric yarn or rubber thread.⁶ The CBP ruling garment, at 92 percent nylon and 8 percent spandex, was placed on the synthetic fibres line at subheading 6104.63.20.²

Wearer group. Heading 6104 is the women's or girls' heading, and men's or boys' trousers sit in heading 6103.⁵ Chapter 61 note 9 adds a default: garments which cannot be identified as either men's or boys' garments or women's or girls' garments are to be classified in the headings covering women's or girls' garments.³ A unisex knitted legging is therefore tested against 6104 first.

National codes: US HTS, EU CN and TARIC, UK commodity code

United States: HTS, ten digits. Under the cotton line, 6104.62.10 covers bib and brace overalls and 6104.62.20 covers other garments, with women's trousers and breeches split at the statistical suffix between .06, containing 5 percent or more by weight of elastomeric yarn or rubber thread, and .11, other.⁶ The synthetic fibres line follows the same pattern at 6104.63.20.⁶ On the hosiery side, the tights lines run to 6115.21.00 and 6115.22.00 for synthetic fibres, split by the 67 decitex threshold, and 6115.29 for other textile materials.⁶

European Union: CN at eight digits, TARIC for measures. The Combined Nomenclature (CN) integrates the HS and adds eight-digit subdivisions.⁴ On the tariff page for heading 6104, the trousers lines run to 6104620000 for cotton and 6104630000 for synthetic fibres.³ On the page for heading 6115, the tights lines run to 6115210000 and 6115220000 for synthetic fibres, and 6115290000 for other textile materials.⁷ Check the measures on that line in TARIC for the entry date and origin Bangladesh, because preferential treatment depends on origin rules and proof of origin.

United Kingdom: commodity code. The UK requires the full commodity code in the UK Trade Tariff. The Northern Ireland Online Tariff pages for these headings show the same stems as the EU pages above, extended to ten digits: the cotton trousers line is 6104620000 and the fine synthetic tights line is 6115210000.^{3 7} Confirm the full code and measures on the import date, rather than reusing a US code. Other destinations, including the UAE, share the first six digits and set their own lines after them, because countries subdivide the six-digit categories into regional or national subheadings.⁴

How to confirm the code officially

Use this sequence for each style, and keep the evidence with the shipment file.

1. Write a precise description: construction, fibre percentages by weight, elastomeric content, waistband, leg length, wearer group, and how the garment is designed to be worn.

2. Start from the official tariff for the destination: the USITC HTS, TARIC or the UK Trade Tariff. Read the heading text, chapter notes and explanatory notes, not only the search result line.

3. Check published rulings for similar garments. For the United States, the USITC advises traders to research classification in the Customs Rulings Online Search Service (CROSS), where the correct classification of many items can be found.⁸

4. For a borderline garment, apply for a binding decision before you ship. In the EU, a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decision needs a separate application for each type of product and a detailed description.⁹ In the United Kingdom, a legally binding decision is generally valid for 3 years, through an Advance Tariff Ruling.¹⁰ In the United States, request a binding ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection when no CROSS ruling covers the merchandise.⁸

5. Give your broker the description and confirmed code, and use the same code on the invoice, packing list and declaration.

Common classification mistakes

Filing every legging under 6115 because the listing calls it tights. A retail name does not decide the heading. CBP classified opaque legging-styled trousers in heading 6104 because they met the trousers description and were not hosiery.²

Filing fine tights under 6104 because they are worn on the legs. Heading 6115 covers panty hose and tights as hosiery, including tights without feet.² A sheer garment designed to be worn with its lower torso portion covered belongs on the hosiery side.

Using the pre-2022 tights subheadings. The current version of the HS is HS 2022.⁴ Current US and UK tariff pages list the panty hose and tights lines as 6115.21, 6115.22 and 6115.29.^{6 7}

Ignoring elastomeric content. Two leggings can share a six-digit subheading and still split in the US statistical suffixes, which divide at 5 percent or more by weight of elastomeric yarn or rubber thread.⁶

Treating gaiters and legwarmers as hosiery. The explanatory note to heading 6115 excludes leggings and gaiters to heading 6406.² Heavy protective leg coverings are not tights, whatever the range calls them.

Copying a code from another product or country. A six-digit match does not mean the national code or duty measure also matches. US suffixes split by elastomeric content and wearer group, while EU and UK lines split by fibre and yarn fineness.^{6 7}

Related duties and documents

The code decides which duty line and measures customs applies, but this guide states no duty rate. Rates and preferences depend on destination, origin, tariff edition and entry date, and they change. Read the rate beside the confirmed code in the official tariff for your entry date, and check whether preferential treatment for Bangladesh is available and what proof of origin it requires. Keep the same code on the commercial invoice, packing list and any origin declaration.

FAQs

What is the HS code for leggings?

There is no single full code for every legging. Knitted leggings worn as trousers point to heading 6104, with the subheading set by fibre: 6104.62 for cotton, 6104.63 for synthetic fibres and 6104.69 for other textile materials.^{3 6} Fine leggings that are tights point to heading 6115, at 6115.21, 6115.22 or 6115.29.^{6 7} Verify the full national code for your exact garment before use.

Is the HS code the same in every country?

Only the first six digits are harmonized. Beyond six digits, each country sets its own lines: eight digits in the EU Combined Nomenclature, and ten digits in the US HTS and UK commodity code.⁴

How do I confirm the correct code?

Describe the garment precisely, look the code up in the destination tariff, and read the heading text and notes. Check published rulings, such as CROSS for the United States.^{2 8} For a borderline garment, apply for a binding decision before shipping: a BTI in the EU,⁹ an Advance Tariff Ruling in the United Kingdom,¹⁰ or a binding ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.⁸

What happens if I use the wrong code?

Duty, licensing and quota treatment are worked out from the code on the declaration, so a wrong code means those treatments come from the wrong line. GOV.UK notes that a binding decision helps calculate customs duties, licensing requirements, quotas and other restrictions in advance.¹⁰

Next steps on Exportain

Browse Bangladeshi suppliers whose range matches your specification, and read how to import leggings from Bangladesh for the steps around ordering and shipping. Use the find suppliers in Bangladesh guide to shortlist suppliers, and confirm the full national code before the first order ships.