Customs Broker License Examination - Notification

NOTICE OF EXAMINATION FOR October 24, 2018

Administrative Information

This notice announces that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will conduct an electronic version of the Customs Broker License Examination on Wednesday, October 24, 2018.  CBP allows individual to register for the exam through an online automated CBP broker examination registration system (replacing Form 3124E, “Application for Customs Broker License Exam”), and mandates the registrant pay a $390 required examination fee at that time.

Registration has two components:

1. Basic registration.
2. Site selection.

1. Basic Exam Registration

Examination registration opens on Monday August 20, 2018 and closes at 8:30am Eastern Standard Time on Monday September 24, 2018.  All applications must be submitted online at 

https://www.pay.gov/paygov/forms/formInstance.html?agencyFormId=38464098.  Payment of the required $390 license examination fee must be made online via the examination application, and may be made by credit card, by debit card that can be used as a credit card, PayPal or Amazon payment.

Applications and fees that are submitted directly to the service port or CBP Headquarters will not be accepted and will be returned to the applicant.  Applicants who need assistance completing the online form, or have questions concerning payment, may send an email to cbp.cbppaygov@dhs.gov or may contact the CBP Pay.gov Help Desk at (317) 614-4964.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the examination application process well before the September 24, 2018 @ 8:30 am local time deadline.

Expiring Examination Credits

Any residual credit from the October 2017 examination expires with the delivery of the October 24, 2018 examination.  If you have a credit, do not register.  You are already registered by CBP.  CBP provided you with email notification of your credited registration notice on July 25, 2018.  Refunds are not provided for credit exams, your credit will not roll forward.  Refunds will not be provided to credit examinees who withdraw.  If any of your contact information requires updating, please contact CBP at brokermanagement@cbp.dhs.gov with “Free October 2018 Exam” in the subject line by September 24, 2018 at 8:30am local time. 

2. Site Selection Scheduling

All* registrants are required to self-select their examination site.  All* registrants will receive an email on October 1, 2018 from USAHire_support@panpowered.com.  That email will provide instruction for enrolling in the site self-select program.  Any registrant who does not receive that email on October 1, 2018 by 2pm is to contact USAHire_support@panpowered.com. 

Exam site scheduling begins on Tuesday October 2, 2018 at 1:00pm EST and closes on Friday October 5, 2018 at 5:00pm EST.  Site self-selection is on a first come, first served basis.  Sites fill up quickly.  Individuals who fail to self-select, or are locked out of filled local sites will be placed at the closest available location.  This may mean traveling several hundred miles to the next closest available examination site.

The site self-selection help desk is open Monday – Friday from 8am to 5pm.  

Admissions Notice

Applicants will be notified of exam location placement via an Admission Notice provided via e-mail to the address they provided during registration.  The Admission Notice is sent immediately after you completed the site selection process.  Examinees must bring their admission notice, government issued photo identification, and proof of citizenship for admission to the test site.

Any applicant who wishes to withdraw from the exam must submit a written notice of withdrawal to the CBP Broker Management Branch via email to brokermanagement@cbp.dhs.gov no later than 8:30am local time on October 22, 2018.  For purposes of this announcement, “local time” means the time zone in which the service port noted on the application is located.  Refunds for timely examination withdrawals of registrants paying for the October 2018 exam will generally be processed within 60 days after the scheduled exam is scored. Applicants withdrawing from the exam should include in their withdrawal request, the payment tracking number and tracking ID, both of which can be found in the registration confirmation email sent to all applicants upon registering for the exam.

 American Disabilities Act (ADA)

Applicants requesting ADA accommodations must check box 5 on the registration form and submit CBP Form 3124E and supporting documentation by Monday, September 24, 2018 @ 8:30 am. Eastern Time via email to neila.m.venne@cbp.dhs.gov, copying brokermanagement@cbp.dhs.gov, SUBJECT: ADA Request, Broker Exam. 

Using CBP Form 3124E, the applicant must indicate in block 5 that he or she is seeking an accommodation under the American Disabilities Act.  The accommodation requested must be specified in block 12.  Supporting documentation must be signed and on the physician’s letterhead; electronic signatures will not be accepted.  The documentation must outline the applicant’s condition, how the applicant is affected by the condition on a daily basis, provide a description of the assessment requested by the qualified professional, and must not be more than 5 years old.

Supporting documentation submitted by email must be date and time stamped, by the deadline specified above.  Requests that are not submitted by that deadline will not be considered. Simply indicating that you seek an accommodation on the online exam registration form is not sufficient to request an accommodation.

As noted in Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 111.13(b) (19 CFR 111.13(b)), in order to be eligible to take the broker examination, an individual must (on the date of the examination) be a U.S. citizen, must be 18 years of age, and must not be an officer or employee of the U.S. Government. 

Day of Exam

Registrants who do not provide an approved form of identification: (U.S. Drivers License, U.S. State Issued ID Card, U.S. Passport, U.S. Military ID, U.S. Government Issued Visa, U.S. Territory ID (Puerto Rico, Guam, Etc.)) and citizenship (U.S. Passport, Birth Certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, or Certificate of U.S. Citizenship, Official Military Service Award, or State, Federal or Local Government Id Card) will not be allowed to sit for the exam.

Once the test administrators have closed the doors to the examination room, registrants will not be permitted into the examination room and will not be allowed to sit for the examination.  There will be no exceptions.  Please bring the required documentation and allocate sufficient time for travel to the examination site, as NO exceptions will be made for traffic delays, late trains, or similar incidences.

About the Exam

The purpose of the broker license examination is to “determine the individual’s knowledge of Customs and related laws, regulations and procedures, bookkeeping, accounting, and all other appropriate matters, necessary to render valuable service to importers and exporters.” (19 CFR 111.13(a)).

• CBP has provided a link - https://usahire.opm.gov/assess/sampletest/landing to a sample electronic Customs Broker Exam that may be accessed to acquaint the prospective examinee with the navigation and layout of the modernized format.  It may be accessed an unlimited number of time and may be useful in familiarizing exam applicant with the electronic exam process.  This sample electronic exam will not evaluate answers. 

• The Customs Broker License Examination consists of 80 multiple-choice questions. A score of 75 percent is required to pass. The examination lasts 4.5 hours. (Exam topics typically include: Entry; Classification; Trade Agreements; Valuation; Broker Compliance; Power of Attorney; Marking; Drawback; Bonds; Foreign Trade Zones/Bonded Warehouse; Warehouse Entries; Intellectual Property Rights; Fines, Penalties and Forfeiters:  and other subjects pertinent to a broker's duties.
   
• Applicants should bring the reference materials noted below and any other pertinent reference materials to the examination.  The use of any other versions of the listed references other than those recommended is at the applicant’s own risk.  Applicants will not be provided with a test booklet.  The exam is an electronic delivery.  The exam will be posted on cbp.gov/trade/broker the day following the exam. 

Applicants must provide their own reference materials.

• Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2018 Basic Edition)
• Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (2017, Revised as of April 1, 2017, Parts 1 to 199)
• Instructions for Preparation of CBP Form 7501 (July 24, 2012)
• Right to Make Entry Directive 3530-002A
• Business Rules & Process Document (Trade-External) Ace Entry Summary (Version 9.25 Sections 1 - 12) July 2018)

Examinees may use any written reference material; however, use of any electronic device during the exam (e.g., laptop, iPad / Nook / Kindle, smart phone, personal digital assistant, smart watch, etc.) is strictly prohibited.

Examinees are required to bring their own writing instrument, and scrap paper if needed as they will not be supplied.

Cell phones, laptops, pagers, smart watches and other communication devices may not be used inside the examination room.

Any applicant caught cheating will be removed from the exam.

CBP invites the public to submit questions for possible use in future customs broker examinations.  See Guidelines for writing questions for the customs broker examination.

Please submit your questions to brokermanagement@cbp.dhs.gov.  The SUBJECT line must read: Future Exam Questions.