How to become a customs broker
Three things stand between you and the licence: the exam, the application, and CBP's background investigation. No degree is required and no sponsor — but you may sit the exam at 18 and CBP will not licence you until 21.
The path, in order
Check you qualify
To sit the exam: a U.S. citizen, at least 18, not an officer or employee of the U.S. Government on exam day. To hold the licence: a U.S. citizen of at least 21 with good moral character, and still not a federal employee. The age difference catches people out — you may pass the exam a full three years before CBP will licence you.
Pass the Customs Broker License Examination
80 multiple-choice questions in 4.5 hours, open book, 75% to pass. CBP holds it twice a year, generally the fourth Wednesday of April and October; the next is Wednesday, October 28, 2026. The fee is $390, paid at registration. Published pass rates run 12% to 30%, so plan for the possibility of a second sitting.
Apply for the licence and pay the fees
An individual licence application costs $300; an organisation's costs $500. Every applicant also pays a $10 fingerprint processing fee. The application is made on CBP's broker licence application form through its portal.
Clear the background investigation
CBP checks fingerprints against law-enforcement and national-security databases and reviews character references, credit history and criminal history, together with the accuracy of what you put in the application and the business integrity of the applicant. Approval is CBP's decision, not a formality.
Keep the licence current
A triennial status report is due by March 1 of the reporting year; miss it and the licence is suspended automatically, with 60 days to remedy before revocation. Since credits could first be earned on November 1, 2024, brokers also complete 36 continuing-education credits per triennial period — reduced to 20 for the shortened 2024–2027 period.
What CBP charges
| Examination | $390 per attempt, at registration |
|---|---|
| Individual licence application | $300 |
| Organisation licence application | $500 |
| Fingerprint processing | $10 |
| One attempt, all in | About $700 in CBP fees, before study material |
Checked against CBP on October 6, 2026: becoming a customs broker, broker fees and the continuing-education requirement. CBP's pages govern.
The part that actually stops people
Not the fees and not the paperwork — the exam. Published pass rates run 12% to 30%, and the reason is the clock rather than the syllabus: it is open book, so every answer is in front of you, in thousands of pages you have about three minutes a question to search.