Customs Brokers

Certification or Licensing

Customs brokers must be licensed to conduct customs business. If they work for a customs brokerage business, there must be at least one licensed customs officer, partner, or associate to qualify the customs business. The failure to have a licensing customs officer or partner in excess of 120 days results in revocation of the broker license. To qualify for the customs broker license, applicants must first have their application approved by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Applicants submit the CBP-approved license application with the correct application fees. The final step is to pass the four-and-a-half hour customs broker license examination.

Other Requirements

Applicants must be at least 21 years old, not be current employees of the federal government, and be of good moral character. They undergo a background investigation that reviews character references, credit reports, arrest records, and fingerprint analysis.