Customs Brokers Definition - what is a customs broker

What is a Customs broker?

Customs brokers are private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assist importers and exporters in meeting Federal requirements governing imports and exports. Brokers submit necessary information and appropriate payments to CBP on behalf of their clients and charge them a fee for this service.

Brokers must have expertise in the entry procedures, admissibility requirements, classification, valuation, and the rates of duty and applicable taxes and fees for imported merchandise.

There are approximately 11,000 active licensed Customs brokers in the United States.

Additional information on this profession may be obtained from local brokers or the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), which has its own Web site.

What about Customs brokerages?
Corporations, partnerships and associations must have a broker license to transact Customs business. Each of these businesses must have at least one individually licensed officer, partner or associate to qualify the company's license. Failure to have a qualifying officer or member (of a partnership) for more than 120 days will result in the revocation of the broker license.

Who is eligible to become qualified as a Customs broker?
To be eligible, you must:

be a United States citizen at least 21 years old.
not be a current Federal Government employee.

For more information about Customs, you can visit http://www.customs.gov/