Licensed Customs Broker Services

A licensed customs broker is a private individual or firm licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to transact customs business on your behalf. In practice that means we prepare and file your entry, determine the correct value and classification, calculate the duties, taxes, and fees owed, arrange for CBP to release your cargo, and pay CBP on your behalf through your bond and statement. We also file the data required by partner government agencies such as the FDA and USDA when your goods are regulated. You remain the importer of record and legally responsible for the entry, but the broker builds it correctly and keeps the records CBP can request for five years after release.

The Importer Security Filing, often called ISF or 10+2, is a data set CBP requires for ocean shipments to the United States. It must be transmitted no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel at the foreign port, which in practice means we need your supplier and booking details several days before sailing. The filing includes ten importer data elements, such as manufacturer, seller, buyer, and ship-to party, plus two the carrier provides. A late, inaccurate, or missing ISF can trigger liquidated damages of 5,000 dollars per violation and put your container on hold. We transmit ISF as soon as your booking is confirmed so the vessel deadline is never the constraint.

It depends on how often you import. A single transaction bond covers one entry and usually makes sense if you import only a few times a year. A continuous bond covers all your entries for twelve months at every port and is sized at ten percent of the duties, taxes, and fees you pay CBP annually, with a fifty thousand dollar minimum. Most regular importers save money and clear faster with a continuous bond because there is no per-shipment bond to arrange. We calculate your projected duty volume, recommend the right bond type, place it with a surety, and monitor sufficiency so CBP never renders the bond insufficient and stacks your entries.

Switching brokers is straightforward and does not interrupt your clearances. You sign a CBP power of attorney authorizing CargoTrans to transact customs business for your company, and we set up your importer of record profile, bond, and payment method in ACE. If you already hold a continuous bond we can keep it or place a new one. There is no exit process required with your prior broker; a power of attorney is not exclusive, so you can run both during a transition. We coordinate the cutover around your sailing schedule so no in-transit shipment falls between two brokers, and the first entry we file confirms everything is live before your next vessel arrives.

A Post Summary Correction, or PSC, is the mechanism to fix an entry summary after it has been filed but before CBP liquidates it, typically within 300 days of entry. It is used when you discover an error in classification, value, quantity, or duty after release, for example a supplier issued a corrected invoice or a code was entered wrong. Filing a PSC promptly is part of exercising reasonable care and often prevents a penalty. If the correction window has closed or the issue is larger, we move to a protest or, with trade counsel, a prior disclosure. We review your entries for correctable errors rather than waiting for CBP to find them during liquidation or an audit.

At minimum we need the commercial invoice, the packing list, and the bill of lading or air waybill. The commercial invoice must show the seller, buyer, a clear description of the goods, quantities, unit values, country of origin, and terms of sale. For regulated commodities we also need the relevant partner government agency data, such as an FDA product code or a USDA permit. If a free trade agreement or a special program applies, we need the supporting certificate. Having complete, accurate documents in hand is the single biggest driver of a same-day release; missing or vague descriptions are what force us back to your supplier and delay the entry.

When documents are complete and the goods are not held for a partner government agency review, we can file the entry and request release the same day the cargo arrives, and often prefile before it lands. For ocean freight we transmit the entry while the vessel is still inbound so release is staged the moment it discharges. For air freight the turnaround is measured in hours. The variables that slow things down are incomplete paperwork, an insufficient bond, a value or classification question, or an agency exam. Because we prefile and monitor bond sufficiency in advance, urgent shipments usually clear on the arrival day rather than sitting in a container yard accruing demurrage.

CBP can select any entry for examination, ranging from a document review to an X-ray or a full intensive exam where the container is moved to a Centralized Examination Station and unloaded. We receive the hold notice through ACE, tell you immediately, and provide any documents CBP requests to resolve it. We also coordinate the drayage and CES scheduling so the exam happens as fast as the port allows. Exam costs, including the CES handling and any demurrage while the box waits, fall to the importer, so we push to close the hold quickly. A clean, well-documented entry lowers your exam rate over time, which is why the record behind each filing matters.

Our brokers hold a national permit, which authorizes CargoTrans to file customs entries at every port of entry in the United States rather than only the district where a local license sits. That means one broker, one bond, and one point of contact whether your container discharges in Los Angeles, Newark, Savannah, or Houston, your air freight arrives at JFK or Chicago, or your cargo crosses a U.S./Canada or U.S./Mexico land border. You avoid the fragmentation of hiring a separate agent in each port and the reconciliation headaches that come with it. We also file through our own tools and can integrate with your ERP, so entry data and status flow back to you the same way regardless of where the goods land.

Brokerage pricing has a few predictable parts rather than one number. There is an entry fee charged per customs entry, which varies with the complexity of the shipment and the number of classification lines. On ocean freight you also pay an ISF filing fee. If we advance your duties, taxes, and fees to CBP on your behalf, there is a small disbursement fee on that amount. Your customs bond carries an annual premium sized to your entry volume. Partner government agency filings, such as FDA or USDA data, may add a line item because they require extra data and review. We quote all of these up front against your expected volume and port mix, so you can budget per entry instead of being surprised at invoice time.

For a straightforward importer, onboarding usually takes one to three business days once we have your paperwork. The gating items are a signed CBP power of attorney, your importer of record number, and a customs bond. If you already hold a continuous bond, we can file almost immediately after the power of attorney is executed. If you need a new bond, the surety typically issues a continuous bond within a couple of business days, and CBP takes about ten days to make it fully active in its system, though we can file against it before that completes. We set up your account, payment method, and any partner government agency profiles in parallel, so the first entry is ready the moment your documents and cargo details arrive rather than waiting on sequential steps.

Liquidated damages are a claim CBP makes against your bond when an obligation is breached, for example a late ISF, a missed redelivery notice, or a failure to follow entry conditions. You receive a notice stating the amount, which is often far larger than the actual harm because it is set by the bond conditions. You generally have sixty days to file a petition for relief arguing mitigating circumstances, and CBP can cancel or reduce the claim based on your compliance history and the facts. We prepare that petition, gather the supporting record, and respond within the window, because ignoring the notice lets the claim become a bill your surety pays and then recovers from you. A clean filing history and a prompt, documented response are what get these claims mitigated down.

Yes, and the two are complementary rather than redundant. A broker is the licensed party that actually transmits your entries to CBP, secures cargo release, and manages your bond and duty payments on each shipment. A trade compliance management program is the internal set of procedures, screening, and records that governs whether the information you hand the broker is correct and defensible. One executes the entry; the other governs the decisions behind it. Even the most disciplined importer still needs a licensed broker to file, because only a licensed broker can transact customs business on your behalf at the port. At CargoTrans both live under one roof, so the entries we file match the controls your program defines and there is no gap between policy and what gets declared.

We file through the Automated Commercial Environment, CBP's system of record for entries, which we reach over an Automated Broker Interface connection. ISF, the entry, the entry summary, and any partner government agency data all move through ACE. Duties, taxes, and fees are paid to CBP by ACH debit on the Periodic Monthly Statement, so a full month of entries settles on one scheduled date rather than shipment by shipment. On your side, we can push entry status, duty amounts, and document images back to you through our own portal or an integration with your ERP or transportation system, so your team sees the same milestones we do. That connection removes the re-keying that causes value and quantity errors between your records and what is declared.