The following explanation of the requirements
to be a customs broker is provided by U.S. Customs & Border
Protection.
A person must obtain the license provided for
in 19 CFR Part 111 in order to transact customs business as a
broker, unless one of the exceptions listed below applies. A
license is not required in the following circumstances:
•An importer or exporter transacting customs
business solely on his own account and in no sense on behalf of
another is not required to be licensed, nor are his authorized
regular employees or officers who act only for him in the
transaction of such business.
•An employee of a broker, acting solely for
his employer, is not required to be licensed where:
•The broker has authorized the employee to
sign documents pertaining to customs business on his behalf, and
has executed a power of attorney for that purpose. The broker is
not required to file the power of attorney with the port
director, but must provide proof of its existence to CBP upon
request.
•The broker has filed with the port director
a statement identifying the employee as authorized to transact
customs business on his behalf. However, no statement will be
necessary when the broker is transacting customs business under
an exception to the district permit rule. Nevertheless, the
broker must exercise sufficient supervision of the employee
acting solely for his employer to ensure proper conduct on the
part of the employee in the transaction of customs business, and
the broker will be held strictly responsible for the acts or
omissions of the employee within the scope of his employment and
for any other acts or omissions of the employee which, through
the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, the broker should
have foreseen. The broker must promptly
notify the port director if authority granted to an employee is
withdrawn. The withdrawal of authority will be effective upon
receipt by the port director.
•A person transacting business in connection
with entry or clearance of vessels or other regulation of
vessels under the navigation laws is not required to be licensed
as a broker.
•Any carrier bringing merchandise to the port
of arrival or any bonded carrier transporting merchandise for
another may make entry for that merchandise for transportation
in bond without being a broker.
•An individual entering noncommercial
merchandise for another party is not required to be a broker,
provided that the requirements of 19 CFR §141.33 are met.
•A foreign trade zone operator or user need
not be licensed as a broker in order to engage in activities
within a zone that do not involve the transfer of merchandise to
the customs territory of the United States.
•A person transacting business in connection
with entry or clearance of vessels or other regulation of
vessels under the navigation laws is not required to be licensed
as a broker.
•Any carrier bringing merchandise to the port
of arrival or any bonded carrier transporting merchandise for
another may make entry for that merchandise for transportation
in bond without being a broker.
•An individual entering noncommercial
merchandise for another party is not required to be a broker,
provided that the requirements of 19 CFR §141.33 are met.
•A foreign trade zone operator or user need
not be licensed as a broker in order to engage in activities
within a zone that do not involve the transfer of merchandise to
the customs territory of the United States.
Permit
A separate permit is generally required for
each district in which a broker conducts customs business,
except where the broker is operating under the authority of a
national permit. However, a broker granted a permit for one
district may file drawback claims manually or electronically at
the drawback office that has been designated by CBP for the
purpose of filing those claims, and may represent his client
before that office in matters concerning those claims, even
though the broker does not have a permit for the district in
which that drawback office is located.
A national permit issued to a broker will
constitute sufficient permit authority for the broker to act in
any of the following circumstances:
•Employee working in client’s facility
(employee implant). When a broker places an employee in the
facility of a client for whom the broker is conducting customs
business at one or more other locations covered by a district
permit issued to the broker, and provided that the employee’s
activities are limited to customs business in support of that
broker and on behalf of that client but do not involve the
filing of entries or other documents with CBP, the broker need
not obtain a permit for the district within which the client’s
facility is located.
•Electronic drawback claims. A broker may
file electronic drawback claims in accordance with the
electronic filing procedures set forth in 19 CFR Part 143 even
though the broker does not have a permit for the district in
which the filing is made;
•NCAP participation. A broker who is a
participant in the National Customs Automation Program may
electronically file entries for merchandise from a remote
location and may electronically transact other customs business
that is provided for and operational under the NCAP even though
the entry is filed, or the other customs business is transacted,
within a district for which the broker does not have a district
permit.
•A person transacting business in connection
with entry or clearance of vessels or other regulation of
vessels under the navigation laws is not required to be licensed
as a broker.
•Any carrier bringing merchandise to the port
of arrival or any bonded carrier transporting merchandise for
another may make entry for that merchandise for transportation
in bond without being a broker.
•An individual entering noncommercial
merchandise for another party is not required to be a broker,
provided that the requirements of 19 CFR §141.33 are met.
•A foreign trade zone operator or user need
not be licensed as a broker in order to engage in activities
within a zone that do not involve the transfer of merchandise to
the customs territory of the United States.
