How hard is the US Custom Brokers Exam?

The US Customs Broker License Exam (CBLE) is a test that a lot of people in the shipping and logistics industry have heard of. Many people wonder though, how hard is the test?

Let’s go over how hard it is, what the test covers, and what you would need to do to study for it.

How hard is the US Customers Broker Exam?

The CBLE is a very hard test. The pass rate is low usually only about 15%.

This means that about 15 out of every 100 people who take the test will actually pass. This will vary by the testing cohort though.

From the Customers & Border Protection (CBP) website these were stats from the last 3 CBLE testing sessions.

The October 22, 2025 CBLE resulted in a 12% pass rate prior to appeal decisions.

The April 23, 2025 CBLE resulted in a 30% pass rate prior to appeal decisions.

The October 23, 2024 CBLE resulted in a 24% pass rate prior to appeal decisions.

People often have to take the CBLE 4-5 times before passing.

Why is the US Customs Brokers test so hard?

The US Customs Broker License Examination (CBLE)

Before we talk about the difficulty of the CBLE, let’s talk about what it is and who is eligible to take it.

Who can take the CBLE?

There are only 3 requirements to sit for the CBLE;

Be 18 years old.

Be a United States Citizens.

Not be an employee or work for the US Government.

These are the only requirements to take the CBLE.

You don’t need a specific educational background or anything like that.

You will need a lot of knowledge about imports and customs though.

CBLE Exam

CBLE testing is only offered 2 times a year. It’s given on the 4th Wednesday in April and October.

If you miss the test date or do not pass, you will have to wait another 6-months to take it again.

It’s not like other certifications or licensing tests.

For instance, I have a Life & Health Insurance License. For insurance licensing if you fail, you only need to wait a few days before scheduling a retake exam.

Since the CBLE is only offered 2 times a year, most people put a lot of effort into trying to pass. They don’t want to wait 6-months to take it again.

The CBLE currently costs $390 to take. You need to schedule at least 30 days in advance.

There are usually 2,000 – 3,000 people per year that sit for the CBLE exam.

CBLE Test Structure

The customs broker exam is a 4-hour test.

There are 80 multiple-choice questions that cover everything about US Imports. This includes IP, Warehouse Entries, Tariffs, Customs, Lots of Laws, Penalties & Fess and more.

The questions are situational and require deep knowledge of the customs and import laws and regulations.

While I’ve never personally taken the CBLE I have been told by those that have it will test your mental stamina.

You need a 75% to pass the CBLE. So get 60 or more questions out of the 80 right and you are good to go.

The exam is open book, which is a bit of trick.

Many think this will make the CBLE easier, but that is not the case at all.

The open-book format makes some think you can just look everything up. You need to know where to find the information. As well as have a deep understanding of what is being asked.

What makes the CBLE so hard?

While the CBLE is open book… the book is huge.

It includes the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (which is about 4,000 pages), Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (another few thousand pages), and various directives and informed compliance publications.

That’s roughly 6,000+ pages of material you need to be familiar with.

You can’t have any electronics in the test, so you will be sitting there bona fide paper hard copies of these books.

There is no way to memorize it all. It’s impossible. You do need to know where to find the information as fast as you can.

I’ve seen smart people, including veteran logistics pros, get absolutely fail the CBLE.

The questions are hard, and they told me they wasted time searching through the reference materials to try to get the right answers.

Customs regulations are complex. They’re written in a language that is hard to understand since its legalese.

You’ll encounter scenarios where multiple regulations overlap, contradict, or have exceptions to exceptions. One question might require you to cross-reference three different sections of the CFR, check the HTSUS for proper classification, and then apply a ruling from a decade ago.

There are also math problems that can be challenging. Duty calculations, value determinations, penalty assessments.

You need to figure this out all while juggling different valuation methods and special trade programs.

The difficult part is figuring out the “correct” answer vs the “most correct” answer when both seem like good options.

The questions are designed to trick you.

Each question you have roughly 3-minutes to figure out. While this seems like a long time, remember the huge volume of the material you need to go through.

The time is what gets a lot of people.

Flipping through pages frantically trying to make sure you have the right answer.

Other professional credentials

Again the CBLE has a low pass rate and is extremely hard.

Let’s compare the pass rate for other notorious professional exams:

The Bar Exam – Average pass rate around 60%.

CPA Exam – About 50% for each section.

Medical Board Exams – Roughly 95% for first-time takers.

Series 7 Securities Exam – Around 65%.

Why would the Bar and Medical Boards be so much higher?

Law and Medical students spend years preparing for those professions at accredited universities.

There are training programs for passing the CBLE but there is no standardized educational path.

I’ve heard of many people from the Shipping & Logisitircs industry studying for the CBLE.

How should I study for the CBLE?

If you want to study and pass the CBLE you should purchase a program to go over the material.

I’d also recommend finding a Study Buddy that is preparing for the test. Since the questions are all based on situations that are complex, talking through them with another person helps a lot.

Teaching something is often the best way to learn it.

Take multiple practice exams so you get an understanding of how the CBLE asks questions. This can train your mind to understand what they are looking for ans asking.

Know when to move on from a question. If you spend too much time on a question you don’t know, you are wasting time that can be focused on more important questions.

The CBP wants to test if you can think like a customs broker with odd situations. Every question tests multiple concepts simultaneously.

Why get a US Customs Broker license?

While most of this article talked about how hard the CBLE test is and how low the pass rate is, you might be wondering why someone would go get a Customs Broker License?

There are estimated to be about 14,000 – 15,000 licensed US Customer Brokers according to the CBP.

That is low when you consider how many licensed insurance agents and brokers there are for instance. Roughly about 1 million in the US.

Most people handle Imports for years without passing the CBLE. However, to do Imports you do need a US Customs Broker to oversee those that are not licensed.

That means if you have a Customs Broker License it can be a real career booster and mean a lot more potential money for yourself. This is why so many people take it multiple times.

Have you taken the CBLE or thought about it? Please share any thoughts, comments or opinions below.

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