Posting of Trade and/or Fictitious Names

(updated November 25, 2008)

As a courtesy to members of the brokerage community, the Office of
International Trade, Broker Compliance Branch will periodically update
this webpage to reflect a list of approved trade or fictitious names
that are currently being used by licensed U.S. Customs brokers. This
list may be referenced for purposes of filing a trade or fictitious name
request. This website reflects currently approved trade names, and may
not reflect trade name requests under consideration or requests that
were subsequently approved after the last update but have not yet been
posted on the webpage.

Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2004) § 111.30(c) states
the following:

> A broker who changes his name, or who proposes to operate under a
> trade or fictitious name in one or more States within the district in
> which he has been granted a permit and is authorized by State law to
> do so, must submit to the Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs
> Service, Washington, DC 20229, evidence of his authority to use that
> name. The name must not be used until the approval of Headquarters has
> been received. In the case of a trade or fictitious name, the broker
> must affix his own name in conjunction with each signature of the
> trade or fictitious name when signing customs documents.

Although not an exhaustive list, Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
will not approve the trade name where an individually licensed Customs
broker requests a trade name which contains wording such as, "Inc." or
"Corp." Secondly, CBP will not approve the use of a trade or fictitious
name by one broker when another broker already has approval to use the
same or similar name as a corporate or trade name. [See]{.underline},
[e.g.]{.underline}, Headquarters Ruling (HRL) 114267, dated December 15,
1998. The second approval could lead to confusion as to the true
identity of the broker when such similar names are used by more than one
broker.

The Office of International Trade's complete and full address for
purposes of filing a trade name is:

> U.S. Department of Homeland Security
>
> Bureau of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
>
> Office of International Trade
>
> Broker Compliance Branch
>
> 1400 L Street
>
> 4^th^ Floor
>
> Washington, D.C. 20229

If you do obtain approval for the use of a trade name, please be
reminded that each time you make a signature on a Customs document that
is presented to CBP or may be potentially submitted to CBP, your name as
it appears on your Customs broker license must appear in conjunction
with the approved trade name. [See]{.underline} HRLs 115013 and 225071,
dated September 6, 2000 and March 31, 1994, respectively.

Please note that this site is provided as a courtesy, and its review
does not guarantee use or approval of a trade name. Approval for use of
a trade name may not be used until the requesting party has received
written approval from CBP. Failure to use a trade name without written
approval subjects the broker to possible violations for not
demonstrating "responsible supervision and control" over his Customs
business.

If there are additional questions per this announcement, please contact
a staff member of the Broker Compliance Branch at (202) 863 - 6543.