How to become a Customs Broker 2024

Customs Broker Prepare customs documentation and ensure that shipments meet all applicable laws to facilitate the import and export of goods. Determine and track duties and taxes payable and process payments on behalf of client. Sign documents under a power of attorney. Represent clients in meetings with customs officials and apply for duty refunds and tariff reclassifications. Coordinate transportation and storage of imported goods.

Customs Broker is Also Know as

In different settings, Customs Broker is titled as

Corporate Licensed Broker
Customs Broker

Education and Training of Customs Broker

Customs Broker is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Customs Broker

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education Required for Customs Broker

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Degrees Related to Customs Broker

Training Required for Customs Broker

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Customs Broker in different industries are

What Do Customs Broker do?

Sign documents on behalf of clients, using powers of attorney.
Provide advice on transportation options, types of carriers, or shipping routes.
Post bonds for the products being imported or assist clients in obtaining bonds.
Insure cargo against loss, damage, or pilferage.
Obtain line releases for frequent shippers of low-risk commodities, high-volume entries, or multiple-container loads.
Contract with freight forwarders for destination services.
Arrange for transportation, warehousing, or product distribution of imported or exported products.
Suggest best methods of packaging or labeling products.
Request or compile necessary import documentation, such as customs invoices, certificates of origin, and cargo-control documents.
Stay abreast of changes in import or export laws or regulations by reading current literature, attending meetings or conferences, or conferring with colleagues.
Quote duty and tax rates on goods to be imported, based on federal tariffs and excise taxes.
Prepare papers for shippers to appeal duty charges.
Pay, or arrange for payment of, taxes and duties on shipments.
Monitor or trace the location of goods.
Maintain relationships with customs brokers in other ports to expedite clearing of cargo.
Inform importers and exporters of steps to reduce duties and taxes.
Confer with officials in various agencies to facilitate clearance of goods through customs and quarantine.
Classify goods according to tariff coding system.
Calculate duty and tariff payments owed on shipments.
Apply for tariff concessions or for duty drawbacks and other refunds.
Advise customers on import and export restrictions, tariff systems, insurance requirements, quotas, or other customs-related matters.
Prepare and process import and export documentation according to customs regulations, laws, or procedures.
Clear goods through customs and to their destinations for clients.

Qualities of Good Customs Broker

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Tools Used by Customs Broker

Computer data input scanners
Desktop computers
Laser facsimile machines
Multiline telephone systems
Personal computers
Tablet computers

Technology Skills required for Customs Broker

Automated commercial environment software ACE
Automated system for customs data ASYCUDA
Customs records databases
Electronic data interchange EDI software
Materials requirement planning MRP software
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Operating system software
Optical character reader OCR software
Parts classification databases
SAP Customs Management
SAP software
Tariff databases
Web browser software

US Universities

How to become Customs Broker in 2024