50794 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

19 CFR Part 111 

[Docket No. USCBP–2021–0030] 

RIN 1651–AB03 

Continuing Education for Licensed 

Customs Brokers 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Department of Homeland 

Security. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This document proposes to 

amend the U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) regulations to require 

continuing education for individual 

customs broker license holders 

(individual brokers) and to create a 

framework for administering this 

requirement. By requiring individual 

brokers to remain knowledgeable about 

recent developments in customs and 

related laws as well as international 

trade and supply chains, CBP’s 

proposed framework would enhance 

professionalism and competency within 

the customs broker community. CBP has 

determined that the proposed 

framework would contribute to 

increased trade compliance and better 

protection of the revenue of the United 

States. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number, by one of 

the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

via Docket No. USCBP 2021–0030. 

• Mail: Due to COVID–19-related 

restrictions, CBP has temporarily 

suspended its ability to receive public 

comments by mail. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number for this rulemaking. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. For 

detailed instructions on submitting 

comments and additional information 

on the rulemaking process, see the 

Public Participation heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov. Due to the 

relevant COVID–19-related restrictions, 

CBP has temporarily suspended its onsite public inspections of the public 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elena D. Ryan, Special Advisor, 

Programs and Policy Analysis, 

Regulations and Rulings, Office of 

Trade, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, at (202) 325–0001 or 

Broker.Continuing.Education@

cbp.dhs.gov; and, Melba Hubbard, Chief, 

Broker Management Branch, Trade 

Policy and Programs, Office of Trade, 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at 

(202) 325–6986, melba.hubbard@

cbp.dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written data, views, or 

arguments on all aspects of the 

proposed rule. CBP also invites 

comments that relate to the economic, 

environmental, or federalism effects that 

might result from this proposed 

rulemaking. Comments that will provide 

the most assistance to CBP will 

reference a specific portion of the 

proposed rulemaking, explain the 

reason for any recommended change, 

and include data, information, or 

authority that support such 

recommended change. See ADDRESSES

above for information on how to submit 

comments. 

II. Executive Summary 

This notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM) proposes to amend the U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

regulations to require individual 

customs broker license holders 

(individual brokers) to participate in 

continuing education activities 

(hereinafter, referred to as the 

‘‘continuing broker education 

requirement’’) and to create a framework 

for administering this requirement. This 

section provides a brief summary of the 

proposed framework. A more detailed 

description of the proposed framework 

is contained in section IV of this NPRM. 

This NPRM proposes to require 

individual brokers to complete at least 

36 continuing education credits per 

triennial period, with limited 

exceptions. Individual brokers 

reentering the profession following a 

period of voluntary suspension would 

be subject to a prorated requirement of 

one continuing education credit for each 

complete remaining month until the end 

of the triennial period. The proposed 

framework also exempts two groups of 

individual brokers from the continuing 

broker education requirement—namely, 

individual brokers who have voluntarily 

suspended their license in accordance 

with § 111.52 of title 19 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (19 CFR 111.52), 

and individual brokers who have not 

held their license for an entire triennial 

period at the time of the submission of 

the status report as required under 19 

CFR 111.30(d). 

Under the proposed framework, 

individual brokers could earn 

continuing education credits for a 

variety of training or educational 

activities, whether in-person or online, 

including the completion of 

coursework, seminars, workshops, 

symposia, or conventions, and, subject 

to certain limitations and requirements, 

the preparation and presentation of 

subject matter as an instructor, 

discussion leader, or speaker. Individual 

brokers would report and certify their 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement upon the 

submission of the status report required 

under 19 CFR 111.30(d), which is due 

on a triennial basis. 

In order to ensure compliance with 

the continuing broker education 

requirement, this NPRM also proposes 

regulatory provisions authorizing CBP 

to take disciplinary actions, if an 

individual broker submits a triennial 

report but fails to report and certify his 

or her compliance with the continuing 

broker education requirement on the 

triennial report. The proposed 

framework also includes provisions 

addressing other aspects of the 

administration of the continuing broker 

education requirement, such as 

accreditation and the selection of 

accreditors. 

III. Background 

A. Authority for Continuing Broker 

Education Requirement 

Section 641 of the Tariff Act of 1930, 

as amended (19 U.S.C. 1641), provides 

that individuals and business entities 

must hold a valid customs broker’s 

license and permit to transact customs 

business on behalf of others. The statute 

also sets forth standards for the issuance 

of broker licenses and permits, provides 

for disciplinary action against customs 

brokers in the form of suspension or 

revocation of such licenses and permits 

or assessment of monetary penalties, 

and provides for the assessment of 

monetary penalties against other 

persons for conducting customs 

business without the required broker’s 

license. 

Section 641 authorizes the Secretary 

of the U.S. Department of the Treasury 

(Treasury) to prescribe rules and 

regulations relating to the customs 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 50795 

1CBP enforces over 400 laws on behalf of over 40 

other U.S. Government agencies, which are 

commonly referred to as Partner Government 

Agencies (PGAs). 

business of brokers as may be necessary 

to protect importers and the revenue of 

the United States and to carry out the 

other provisions of section 641. See 19 

U.S.C. 1641(f). That authority was 

transferred to the Secretary of the U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) as a result of the enactment of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 

107–296, 116 Stat. 2142). The Homeland 

Security Act of 2002 generally 

transferred the functions of the former 

U.S. Customs Service from the Secretary 

of the Treasury to the Secretary of DHS, 

and provided that the Secretary of the 

Treasury retains authority over customs 

revenue functions, unless specifically 

delegated to the Secretary of DHS. See 

6 U.S.C. 212(a)(1). Paragraph 1(a)(i) of 

Treasury Department Order No. 100–16 

contains a list of subject matters over 

which the Secretary of the Treasury 

retained authority. See appendix to 19 

CFR part 0. The other functions of the 

former U.S. Customs Service not 

expressly listed in paragraph 1(a)(i) of 

Treasury Department Order No. 100–16 

were transferred from the Secretary of 

the Treasury to the Secretary of DHS. As 

paragraph 1(a)(i) of Treasury 

Department Order No. 100–16 does not 

list the regulation of customs brokers, 

the Secretary of the Treasury did not 

retain authority over this subject matter. 

Accordingly, the Secretary of DHS is 

authorized to prescribe rules and 

regulations relating to the customs 

business of brokers as may be necessary 

to protect importers and the revenue of 

the United States and to carry out the 

other provisions of section 641. See 19 

U.S.C. 1641(f). 

19 U.S.C. 1641(b)(4) imposes upon 

customs brokers the duty to exercise 

responsible supervision and control 

over the broker’s employees and control 

over the customs business that is 

conducted. The statute also permits the 

Secretary of DHS to test persons for 

their knowledge of customs and related 

laws prior to issuing a license. 

Furthermore, based upon 19 U.S.C. 

1641, CBP has promulgated regulations 

setting forth additional obligations of 

customs brokers pertinent to the 

conduct of their customs business. CBP 

believes that maintaining current 

knowledge of customs laws and 

procedures is essential for customs 

brokers to meet their legal duties. CBP 

proposes that requiring a customs 

broker to fulfill a continuing education 

requirement is the most effective means 

to ensure that the customs broker keeps 

up with an ever-changing customs 

practice after passing the broker exam 

and subsequent receipt of the license. 

CBP believes that 19 U.S.C. 1641 

provides authority to require, by 

regulation, continuing education for 

individual brokers. 

To enhance professionalism and 

competency within the customs broker 

community, CBP proposes to 

promulgate regulations to require 

continuing education for individual 

brokers and to create a framework for 

administering this requirement. CBP 

believes that requiring individual 

brokers to participate in continuing 

education activities would enhance the 

credibility and value of a customs 

broker’s license and improve a broker’s 

skills, performance, and productivity. 

This in turn would increase client 

service and compliance with customs 

laws, which would better protect the 

revenue of the United States. 

B. Overview of Licensing Requirements 

for Individual Customs Brokers 

CBP is responsible for administering 

the licensing requirements for customs 

brokers. See 19 CFR part 111, subpart B. 

A prospective customs broker must pass 

a broker exam administered by CBP, 

which is designed to determine the 

individual’s knowledge of customs and 

related laws, regulations and 

procedures, bookkeeping, accounting, 

and all other appropriate matters 

necessary to render valuable service to 

the broker’s clientele. 

After an applicant passes the customs 

broker exam, CBP will investigate 

whether the applicant is qualified for a 

broker’s license, taking into account 

information provided by the applicant 

and other aspects pertaining to the 

applicant, such as his or her business 

integrity. If CBP finds that the applicant 

is qualified and has paid all applicable 

fees, then CBP will issue a broker’s 

license. Following the issuance of a 

license, a customs broker 

administratively maintains a license 

primarily through the payment of fees 

required in 19 CFR 111.96, and the 

filing of reports and notifications to CBP 

as set forth in 19 CFR 111.30. Pursuant 

to 19 U.S.C. 1641(b)(4), a customs 

broker has the statutory duty to exercise 

responsible supervision and control 

over the customs business that he or she 

conducts. See also 19 CFR 111.1 and 

111.28(a). A customs broker also has 

other legal obligations, to CBP and to 

the broker’s clientele, including, but not 

limited to, the exercising of due 

diligence in making financial 

settlements, answering correspondence, 

and preparing paperwork or filings 

related to customs business. See 19 CFR 

111.29(a). 

While the broker exam provides a 

good initial indication of an individual’s 

knowledge of customs and related laws, 

regulations and procedures, 

bookkeeping, accounting, and all other 

appropriate matters (hereinafter, 

referred to as ‘‘customs matters’’), the 

broker exam is, by necessity, limited in 

scope. The broker exam only assesses a 

person’s knowledge of the state of the 

customs and related laws at a certain 

point in time. The broker exam does not 

test for knowledge of any of the 

requirements of the more than 40 

Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) 1

involved in regulating imports. The 

complex nature of trade and the everchanging and expanding requirements 

to comply with U.S. and international 

law requires that a customs broker 

maintain a high level of functional and 

accessible knowledge to ensure that a 

broker’s clients remain compliant with 

the applicable laws over time. CBP 

proposes that requiring a customs 

broker to fulfill a continuing education 

requirement is the most effective way to 

ensure that individual customs brokers 

keep abreast of changes in customs and 

related laws, which is especially 

important because of the constant 

evolution of international trade and 

supply chains. CBP is proposing that, 

once individuals become licensed 

customs brokers, they must maintain 

sufficient knowledge of customs and 

related laws necessary to render 

valuable service to importers and 

drawback claimants through the 

completion of continuing education. 

CBP believes this will result in more 

competent licensed customs brokers 

who are well educated in customs law, 

regulations, and critical subject matter. 

A more competent customs broker 

community will prevent costly errors for 

their clients, potentially saving 

importers and drawback claimants from 

unwanted problems and relieving CBP 

from expending valuable examination 

and collection resources. The proposed 

regulations will create a framework for 

continuing broker education that would 

contribute to increased trade 

compliance and better protection of the 

revenue of the United States. 

C. Assessment of Compliance Risks 

Managed by Customs Brokers in the 

Complex and Evolving Realm of 

International Trade 

Recent developments have 

demonstrated the need for key parties 

involved in importing and claiming 

drawback to keep up-to-date on training 

and continuously build and maintain 

their knowledge of current 


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50796 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

2 Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of 

the Treasury, Return Preparer Review, IRS 

Publication No. 4832 (January 4, 2010), available at 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/fs-10-01.pdf. 

3The Automated Broker Interface (ABI) is an 

electronic data interchange that allows brokers and 

entry filers (self-filers) to transmit immediate 

delivery, entry, and entry summary data 

electronically to, and receive electronic messaging 

from, CBP in the Automated Commercial 

Environment (ACE). See 19 CFR 143.1 and 

143.32(a). 

requirements. For example, the Trade 

Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act 

of 2015 (TFTEA) (Pub. L. 114–125, 130 

Stat. 122, February 24, 2016) required 

the issuance of new rules to protect 

domestic industry from dumping by 

foreign competitors (19 CFR part 165) 

and to modernize the processes 

surrounding duty refunds through the 

drawback program (19 CFR part 190). 

Both of these rules are complicated and 

detailed, requiring entities involved in 

international trade—particularly, 

customs brokers serving as the fiduciary 

agents of the affected importers and 

drawback claimants—to learn entirely 

new legal and technical processes. In 

addition to understanding the 

implementation of new regulations, a 

customs broker also needs to know how 

to research answers to complex 

questions. For example, determining the 

country of origin of imported 

merchandise is much less 

straightforward than it was in the past, 

as traders source inputs from various 

countries and may assemble those 

inputs in yet another country before a 

final product is fully manufactured or 

produced. 

The past several years, in particular, 

have posed challenges for both CBP and 

entities involved in international trade, 

requiring quick adaption to new 

requirements that compelled changes to 

operational processes. Low-value 

shipments (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)), the 

volume of which has exploded with the 

increase in the de minimis limit from 

$200 to $800 as a result of section 901(c) 

of TFTEA and the online shopping 

revolution, have created multiple levels 

of issues for international trade that 

implicate security, health, safety, 

information collection, timely clearance, 

and duty evasion. The 2020 statutory 

implementation of the Agreement 

between the United States of America, 

the United Mexican States and Canada 

(the USMCA), which replaced the North 

American Free Trade Agreement 

(NAFTA), requires a new body of 

knowledge to successfully implement 

and maintain compliance. See United 

States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 

Implementation Act, Public Law 116– 

113, 134 Stat. 11 (19 U.S.C. Chapter 29). 

The ongoing COVID–19 pandemic 

created an unprecedented impact on 

supply chains and international trade 

processes. 

The customs broker is at the heart of 

the aforementioned challenges, as the 

agent of the importer/drawback 

claimant who works with CBP to resolve 

problems and facilitate the safe and 

secure movement of legitimate cargo. 

CBP believes that the complex and 

evolving nature of international trade 

requires a mandatory continuing 

education framework for individual 

brokers involved in these trade 

processes. Simply relying on selfinitiated efforts to maintain current 

knowledge is insufficient to ensure 

compliance with the wide array of 

applicable and evolving laws that is 

necessary to protect the revenue of the 

United States. Brokers who were 

assessed penalties by CBP between 2017 

and 2020 have held their individual 

broker license for, on average, 37 years. 

In contrast, the average individual 

customs broker license has been held for 

just 24 years. This suggests that as more 

time passes since the passing of the 

customs broker exam, more errors are 

made. Additionally, as addressed in 

greater detail in section V.A. of this 

NPRM, which pertains to the 

requirements of Executive Orders 13563 

and 12866, CBP has seen a recent 

increase in penalties while data 

indicates that companies employing 

individual brokers who voluntarily 

pursue continuing education in the form 

of industry certifications generally 

commit fewer errors. 

Regular continuing education is a 

professional requirement for many 

dynamic professions, such as in the 

accounting, legal, and medical 

industries. The Internal Revenue 

Service (IRS), for example, has 

regulations covering tax professionals 

that include both an examination and a 

continuing education requirement. See 

31 CFR part 10. These regulations were 

based, in part, on the Return Preparer 

Review report (January 4, 2010), which 

recommended continuing education for 

tax preparers to ‘‘better leverage the tax 

return preparer community with the 

twin goals of increasing taxpayer 

compliance and ensuring uniform and 

high ethical standards of conduct for tax 

preparers.’’ 2 The IRS serves as the 

primary revenue collector of the U.S. 

Government and has a responsibility for 

protecting the revenue of the United 

States. Similarly, CBP is the second 

largest collector of revenue in the 

federal government, in the form of 

duties, taxes, and fees for imported 

merchandise, and likewise has a 

responsibility for protecting the revenue 

of the United States. 

As CBP licenses customs brokers to 

conduct customs business, it is in the 

best interests of CBP and the PGAs to 

have a well-educated customs broker 

community. A customs broker’s 

involvement in import and/or drawback 

transactions eases the burden of the 

government; the customs broker takes 

on a large part of the role of educating 

importers and drawback claimants on 

the technical requirements of filing in 

the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) 3

and informing them of regulatory 

requirements for the customs 

transactions in which they are involved. 

While there are some self-filers, the vast 

majority of entries of imported 

merchandise are filed by customs 

brokers on behalf of the importers of 

record. This dynamic generally allows 

CBP to target a smaller group of 

individuals when managing trade 

compliance for revised or new filing 

requirements. Thus, a customs broker 

community that continues to stay 

abreast of changes in the customs 

practice helps support CBP’s crucial 

work. As the quality of such brokerage 

services suffers, this would cause CBP 

to expend additional resources to assist 

entities involved in international trade 

with navigating complex import and 

drawback requirements, which diverts 

limited resources away from other 

critical aspects of CBP’s trade mission. 

To ameliorate that consequence, CBP 

proposes to require customs brokers to 

maintain their knowledge and skills 

through the completion of continuing 

customs broker education. 

Importers and drawback claimants 

also benefit from well-educated customs 

brokers who are aware of current 

requirements in the complex and 

evolving realm of international trade. 

When an importer or drawback claimant 

enlists the services of a customs broker, 

that customs broker is perceived to be 

knowledgeable of customs laws, 

regulations, and operational processes; 

however, an importer or drawback 

claimant does not know with certainty 

that the customs broker is in fact 

knowledgeable of all newly emerging 

requirements. The continuing broker 

education requirement would provide 

importers and drawback claimants with 

greater assurance that their agents are 

knowledgeable of customs laws and 

regulations, familiar with operational 

processes, and can properly exercise a 

broker’s fiduciary duties. 

In recent years, the need for 

continuing broker education has also 

attracted the attention of international 

intergovernmental organizations, such 

as the World Customs Organization 


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4World Customs Organization, WCO Customs 

Brokers Guidelines, at 28 (June 2018), available at 

http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/facilitation/ 

instrument-and-tools/tools/wco-customs-brokersguidelines.aspx. 5 Id. 

6 Id. 

7COAC is jointly appointed by the Secretary of 

the Treasury and the Secretary of DHS and advises 

the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of 

Homeland Security on all matters involving the 

commercial operations of CBP. Meetings of COAC 

are presided over jointly by the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy of the 

Department of Treasury and Commissioner of CBP. 

See section 109 of TFTEA. 

8For a list of COAC recommendations that were 

considered open as of April 27, 2016, see 

Commercial Customs Operations Advisory 

Committee, Term to Date Recommendations: Trade 

Modernization Subcommittee, Recommendation 

Nos. 10046–10047 (April 27, 2016), available at 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/ 

documents/2019-Dec/_COAC%20

Recommendations%20To%20Date%20010001%20-

%20010412.pdf. 9See id. 

10The public comments can be viewed in their 

entirety on the public docket for the ANPRM, 

Docket No. USCBP 2020–0042, which can be 

accessed through https://www.regulations.gov. 

(WCO). In 2018, the WCO published the 

WCO Customs Brokers Guidelines, 

which is a guidance document wherein 

the WCO recognizes the need for 

mandatory continuing education for 

customs brokers.4 In the guidance 

document, the WCO notes that the 

passing of an initial broker exam does 

not ensure that customs brokers stay 

abreast of changes in customs and 

related laws and recommends that, on 

their own or in partnership with other 

governmental, private, or non-profit 

organizations, customs administrations 

should take on an active role in 

educating the customs broker 

community about changes in customs 

and related laws and reinforcing 

existing knowledge.5 Additionally, in 

the guidance document, the WCO notes 

that some countries already require 

customs brokers to complete continuing 

education.6 Accordingly, in proposing 

to require individual brokers to 

complete continuing education, this 

NPRM is generally in line with the 

WCO’s recommendations on best 

practices for customs administrations. 

D. Development of the Proposed 

Continuing Broker Education 

Requirement 

In recent years, the importance of 

continuing broker education has 

received attention on a domestic level. 

In 2013, the predecessor to the 

Commercial Customs Operations 

Advisory Committee (COAC) 7

recommended that DHS issue 

regulations requiring customs brokers to 

complete a minimum of 40 hours of 

continuing education during a triennial 

reporting cycle, pursuant to CBP’s 

authority under 19 U.S.C. 1641(f), on 

the condition that there be no 

accreditation requirements for such 

continuing education.8

In September 2019, CBP formed the 

Requirements for Customs Broker 

Continuing Education Task Force (Task 

Force), which was placed within COAC 

under the Rapid Response 

Subcommittee. The objective was to 

develop a proposed framework for 

continuing education for individual 

brokers. This Task Force was comprised 

of representatives throughout CBP and 

licensed customs brokers from around 

the country with decades of experience 

with international trade. Through this 

Task Force, members provided valuable 

input, advice, and operational 

perspectives. 

In conjunction with the work of the 

Task Force and a previous COAC 

recommendation,9 CBP published an 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

(ANPRM) in the Federal Register (85 FR 

68260) on October 28, 2020. The 

ANPRM announced that CBP was 

considering the adoption of a 

continuing education requirement for 

licensed customs brokers. The ANPRM 

solicited comments on the tentative 

framework developed by the Task Force 

for purposes of gathering further 

information and data from the broader 

customs broker community. This 

request for information and data 

assisted CBP in considering whether, 

and if so what type of, requirements 

would contribute to increased trade 

compliance. The ANPRM solicited 

comments on the following issues: 

• The number of hours of continuing 

education that customs brokers should 

be required to complete; 

• The customs broker license holders 

who should be required to complete 

continuing education (including license 

holders who should be exempt from the 

requirement or required to complete 

fewer hours of continuing education); 

• The types of training, coursework, 

or other educational activities that 

should qualify for continuing education 

credit; 

• The manner in which qualifying 

continuing broker education should be 

provided (online or in-person); 

• Whether subject-matter-specific 

education requirements should be 

imposed; 

• How compliance with the 

continuing broker education 

requirement should be reported to CBP; 

• What recordkeeping obligations 

should exist for the purpose of the 

continuing broker education 

requirement; 

• What disciplinary actions should be 

taken if customs brokers fail to report 

their compliance with the continuing 

broker education requirement to CBP, 

or, in the alternative, fail to satisfy the 

continuing broker education 

requirement; 

• What disciplinary actions should 

result from the submission of false or 

misleading information in association 

with the continuing broker education 

requirement; 

• Whether disciplinary actions 

should be taken immediately upon a 

customs broker’s failure to report 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement, or whether 

customs brokers should be provided 

with an opportunity to take corrective 

actions, including the length of such 

period; 

• Whether there should be an 

accreditation process to control the 

quality of the content of the various 

educational activities (including how 

such an accreditation process should be 

administered, how accreditors should 

be selected, and whether educational 

activities offered through certain 

content providers should automatically 

qualify for continuing education credit); 

• The types of training, coursework, 

or educational activities that customs 

brokers already complete on a regular 

basis; 

• How often customs brokers 

currently participate in continuing 

education; 

• The costs customs brokers would 

anticipate to incur as a result of the 

implementation of a continuing broker 

education requirement; and 

• The benefits customs brokers would 

anticipate as a result of the 

implementation of a continuing broker 

education requirement. 

The ANPRM provided for a 60-day 

public comment period, which closed 

on December 28, 2020. During the 60- 

day public comment period, CBP 

received 29 comments.10 Of the 29 

submissions, 23 submissions were 

generally supportive of the 

implementation of a continuing 

education requirement and 5 

submissions were not supportive of the 

adoption of a continuing education 

requirement. One submission consisted 

of a question, and, thus, neither 

expressed the commenter’s support of or 

opposition to a continuing education 

requirement. 

In developing this NPRM, CBP 

carefully considered all public 

comments submitted in response to the 

ANPRM. Below are summaries of 

comments on topics that received the 

most attention and short descriptions of 


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11See, e.g., Ala. R. Mand. Cont. Legal Ed. Rule 3, 

available at https://www.alabar.org/assets/2019/02/ 

MCLE-RULE-BOOK-2017-updated-01-17-2017.pdf 

(accessed on July 16, 2021); Ark. R. Minimum Con’t 

Legal Educ. Rule 4, available at https://

rules.arcourts.gov/w/ark/rules-for-minimumcontinuing-legal-education#!fragment/zoupio-_

Toc44590166/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWsz

IQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zg

BYOBWATgAYAjADZhASgA0ybKUIQAiok

K4AntADk6iRDi5sAG30BhJGmgBCZNs

JhcCRcrWbrthAGU8pAEJqASgFEAGX8ANQBBAD

kjfwlSMAAjaFJ2MTEgA (accessed on July 16, 2021); 

Conn. Practice Book § 2–27A, available at https:// 

www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf 

(accessed on July 16, 2021); Cal Bus & Prof Code 

§ 1275, available at https://leginfo.legislature.

ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?

sectionNum=1275&lawCode=BPC (accessed on July 

16, 2021). 

how they affected the formulation of the 

framework proposed in this NPRM. CBP 

will provide more detailed descriptions 

of the comments and responses to the 

issues raised therein when responding 

to the comments received for this 

NPRM. 

1. Required Number of Hours of 

Continuing Education 

Seven commenters recommended that 

CBP require customs brokers to 

complete, at a maximum, 36 hours of 

continuing broker education every three 

years, rather than the 40 hours of 

continuing broker education per 

triennial period that was considered in 

the ANPRM. CBP believes that requiring 

individual brokers to complete on 

average one hour of continuing 

education per month will make it easier 

for individual brokers to plan their 

continuing education. Continuing 

education requirements of one hour of 

continuing education per month have 

been adopted for many other 

professions.11 CBP also believes that 

requiring more than 36 hours of 

continuing broker education per 

triennial period could be burdensome 

for the customs broker community 

(especially individual brokers operating 

as or working for small businesses) and 

a lower requirement would be 

insufficient to ensure that individual 

brokers keep abreast of changes in 

customs and related laws. Accordingly, 

CBP has adopted the commenters’ 

suggestion in this NPRM and is 

proposing to require that individual 

brokers complete 36 hours of continuing 

broker education per triennial period. 

2. Qualifying Continuing Education 

Seven commenters suggested that 

corporate, in-house training should be 

eligible for continuing education credit. 

CBP agrees that corporate, in-house 

training can serve as an appropriate 

continuing education activity, as it is 

routinely given to employees to provide 

them with knowledge specifically 

tailored to their job functions and 

experience levels. As such, CBP’s 

proposal would allow customs brokers 

to satisfy the continuing education 

requirement through corporate, in-house 

training if the training receives the 

approval of an accreditor. CBP believes 

that requiring corporate, in-house 

training to be approved by an accreditor 

will ensure that it meets the objectives 

of the continuing education framework 

proposed in this NPRM. 

Three commenters also suggested that 

any training or educational activity 

provided by CBP, or offered by any 

other U.S. Government agency that 

routinely offers training relevant to 

customs business, should automatically 

qualify for continuing education credit, 

without the need for accreditation. CBP 

agrees and believes that these types of 

activities should automatically qualify 

for continuing education credit, thus 

limiting the administrative burden and 

overall costs associated with the 

implementation of the proposed rule. 

Additionally, CBP’s trainings are 

designed to educate the public about 

important and timely issues facing 

entities involved in international trade, 

and, thus, by virtue of their design, meet 

the objectives of continuing broker 

education—that is, to assist individual 

brokers in maintaining a sufficient 

knowledge of customs matters. 

Accordingly, CBP adopted the 

commenters’ suggestion in this NPRM. 

3. Specific Subject Matter Content 

Requirements 

Five commenters raised concerns 

pertaining to CBP’s proposal to require 

customs brokers to complete a specific 

number of hours of continuing 

education on specific subject matter 

areas (content requirements). In the 

ANPRM, CBP solicited public 

comments on the adoption of a 

continuing broker education framework 

that would have required the majority 

(75 percent) of the required continuing 

education credits to pertain to laws 

authorizing CBP operations and 

processes, as well as CBP regulations 

and programs. Under the proposal 

considered in the ANPRM, only the 

remainder (25 percent) would have been 

available for education focusing on 

other areas related to international trade 

(such as other U.S. Government agency 

requirements). 

All commenters that addressed 

specific subject matter areas raised 

concerns about the adoption of the 

ANPRM’s stringent content 

requirement. These commenters noted 

that such a content requirement would 

discourage individual brokers from 

participating in continuing education 

specifically tailored to their job 

functions and their experience levels, 

and, therefore, would inhibit 

professionalism and competency within 

the customs broker community. In light 

of the commenters’ concerns, CBP is not 

proposing to require individual brokers 

to complete a specific number of hours 

of continuing education on laws 

authorizing CBP operations and 

processes, and CBP regulations and 

programs. CBP recognizes that the 

educational needs of individual brokers 

differ greatly based on each individual 

broker’s position, experience level, and 

type of employment, and, thus, render 

content requirements impractical. 

Additionally, CBP believes that, as CBP 

and the PGAs offer a sufficient number 

of free, online-based trainings for an 

individual broker to meet the required 

number of continued education credits, 

there is little risk that an individual 

broker would opt to complete the same 

training or educational activity multiple 

times solely for the purpose of earning 

the required minimum number of 

continuing education credits. 

4. Recordkeeping Requirements 

Four commenters agreed with CBP’s 

suggestion that although individual 

brokers should maintain records 

documenting their compliance with the 

continuing broker education 

requirement (including specific 

information), they should not be 

required to maintain records in any 

specific format (i.e., electronically or in 

paper). Although the commenters 

agreed with this suggestion, several of 

the commenters requested that a form be 

developed in the Automated 

Commercial Environment (ACE) where 

customs brokers could record their 

credits as they are earned and accrued. 

In accordance with the commenters’ 

suggestions, this NPRM does not 

propose requiring customs brokers to 

maintain records documenting their 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement in any specific 

form, although the proposed regulations 

require such records to include certain 

information and documentation, which 

are discussed in further detail in section 

IV.C.4. of this NPRM. CBP appreciates 

the commenters’ suggestion and will 

consider developing such a tool in ACE. 

If developed, customs brokers would 

not be required to use the ACE tool, but 

it would serve as an option for 

individuals to track their credits earned. 

However, this ACE tool would not be a 

substitute for maintaining records 

documenting compliance with the 

continuing broker education 

requirement. 


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5. Economic Impact 

Four commenters raised concerns 

about the costs of requiring continuing 

education and the potential impact of a 

continuing broker education 

requirement on small businesses. CBP 

appreciates these comments and has 

developed the proposed framework for 

continuing broker education with this 

concern in mind. In addition to 

lowering the originally proposed 

number of required hours of continuing 

education, CBP is also committed to 

providing free, online content that will 

satisfy the continuing broker education 

requirement. CBP already provides at 

least 36 hours of training or 

informational webinars on an annual 

basis, which would allow individual 

brokers to fully satisfy the continuing 

broker education requirement through 

free, CBP-provided content. As 

described in more detail below, CBP is 

also proposing that, once accreditation 

has been obtained for training or 

educational activities, the vast majority 

of continuing education currently 

obtained at a broker’s expense for 

various certificate programs offered by 

the private sector would qualify for 

continuing education credit. 

6. Effectiveness of Continuing Education 

Five commenters were opposed to the 

introduction of a continuing education 

requirement for customs brokers, 

arguing that this would not affect 

compliance and that customs brokers 

demonstrate their knowledge of customs 

business on a transactional basis with 

their clients. A number of the 

commenters also requested that customs 

brokers who do not actively file entries 

should be exempt from the requirement. 

CBP disagrees and is proposing that all 

individual brokers, regardless of filing 

status, earn continuing education credit, 

with the exception of those individual 

brokers who have voluntarily 

suspended their licenses in accordance 

with 19 CFR 111.52. Furthermore, CBP 

continues to believe that the complex 

and evolving realm of international 

trade warrants a continuing education 

framework for individual brokers. 

IV. Discussion of Proposed Framework 

for Continuing Education for Licensed 

Customs Brokers 

CBP is proposing amendments to 19 

CFR part 111 to require continuing 

education for individual customs broker 

license holders. CBP’s proposal includes 

the addition of a new subpart F to 19 

CFR part 111, consisting of §§ 111.101 

through 111.104, which will set forth 

the continuing broker education 

requirement and the framework for 

administering this requirement. 

Proposed § 111.101 sets forth the scope 

of proposed subpart F, proposed 

§ 111.102 sets forth the obligations that 

individual customs brokers would have 

in conjunction with the continuing 

broker education requirement, proposed 

§ 111.103 contains the requirements that 

educational activities would be required 

to meet in order to satisfy the 

continuing broker education 

requirement and sets forth an 

accreditation process for certain training 

or educational activities, and proposed 

§ 111.104 sets forth the disciplinary 

proceedings for the failure to comply 

with the continuing broker education 

requirement. 

CBP is also proposing to amend 

several existing provisions in 19 CFR 

part 111. CBP is proposing to require 

individual brokers to certify and report 

their compliance with the continuing 

broker education requirement as part of 

the submission of the status report, 

which is due on a triennial basis 

(hereinafter, referred to as ‘‘status 

report’’ or ‘‘triennial report’’) by 

amending § 111.30(d). Additionally, 

CBP is proposing to amend § 111.0, 

which sets forth the scope of part 111, 

in order to reflect the addition of 

proposed subpart F, and amend § 111.1, 

which is a definitional provision, in 

order to define certain terms as they are 

used in the context of the continuing 

broker education requirement. Finally, 

CBP is proposing to reserve §§ 111.97 

through 111.100 for future use. The 

proposed changes are described in 

detail below. 

A. Modifications to the Scope of 19 CFR 

Part 111 

Section 111.0 sets forth the scope of 

the provisions contained in 19 CFR part 

111, which currently include the 

licensing of, and granting of permits to, 

persons desiring to transact customs 

business as customs brokers, the duties 

and responsibilities of customs brokers, 

and the grounds for disciplining 

customs brokers. CBP is proposing to 

revise the second sentence of § 111.0 to 

reflect the proposed addition of 

regulatory provisions requiring 

individual brokers to satisfy a 

continuing education requirement. 

B. Definitions for the Proposed 

Continuing Broker Education 

Framework 

Section 111.1 provides definitions for 

terms as they appear in 19 CFR part 111. 

For purposes of the creation of a 

continuing education requirement for 

individual brokers, CBP is proposing the 

addition of definitions of four terms— 

‘‘continuing broker education 

requirement’’, ‘‘continuing education 

credit’’, ‘‘qualifying continuing broker 

education’’, and ‘‘triennial period’’. 

Although amended § 111.1 would 

continue to list definitions in 

alphabetical order, this section 

discusses the proposed definitions in 

logical order, for explanatory purposes. 

The term ‘‘qualifying continuing 

broker education’’ defines any training 

or educational activity that is eligible or, 

if required, has been approved for 

continuing education credit, in 

accordance with proposed § 111.103. 

This definition indicates that a wide 

range of training or educational 

activities will meet an individual 

broker’s obligation to complete 

continuing education, which must 

satisfy the requirements set forth in 

proposed § 111.103. 

The term ‘‘continuing education 

credit’’ defines the unit of measurement 

used for meeting the continuing broker 

education requirement. The smallest 

recognized unit is one continuing 

education credit, which requires 60 

minutes of continuous participation in a 

qualifying continuing broker education 

program, as defined in proposed 

§ 111.103(a). For qualifying continuing 

broker education lasting more than 60 

minutes, one continuing education 

credit may be claimed for the first 60 

minutes of continuous participation, 

and half of one continuing education 

credit may be claimed for every full 30 

minutes of continuous participation 

thereafter. For example, for a qualifying 

continuing broker education program 

lasting more than 60 minutes but less 

than 90 minutes, only one continuing 

education credit may be claimed. In 

contrast, for a qualifying continuing 

broker education program lasting 90 

minutes, 1.5 continuing education 

credits may be claimed. 

The term ‘‘continuing broker 

education requirement’’ defines an 

individual customs broker license 

holder’s obligation to complete a certain 

number of continuing education credits 

of qualifying continuing broker 

education, as set forth in proposed 

subpart F of part 111, in order to 

maintain sufficient knowledge of 

customs and related laws, regulations, 

and procedures, bookkeeping, 

accounting, and all other appropriate 

matters necessary to render valuable 

service to importers and drawback 

claimants. 

The term ‘‘triennial period’’ defines a 

period of three years commencing on 

February 1, 1985, or on February 1 in 


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12February 1, 1985, was the first due date for the 

triennial reporting requirement, and, thus, February 

1 in any third year thereafter is the date on which 

the triennial report becomes due. See 19 CFR 

111.30(d)(1). 

13Section 111.1 defines the phrase ‘‘responsible 

supervision and control’’ and provides, in relevant 

part, that one of the factors that CBP will consider 

in determining whether the customs broker 

exercises responsible supervision and control is the 

training required of the employees of the broker. 

However, the determination of what is necessary to 

perform and maintain responsible supervision and 

control will vary depending upon the 

circumstances in each instance. See 19 CFR 111.1. 

any third year thereafter.12 As explained 

in further detail below, CBP is 

proposing to require individual brokers 

to report and certify compliance with 

the continuing broker education 

requirement on the triennial report. 

Thus, for purposes of clarification, CBP 

is proposing a definition for the 3-year 

period between the due dates of two 

consecutive status reports. 

C. Continuing Education Requirements 

for Customs Brokers 

In addition to requiring individual 

brokers to participate in continuing 

education activities, the proposed 

framework includes provisions 

imposing additional related duties upon 

individual brokers, such as reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, that 

promote compliance and allow for the 

enforcement of the continuing 

education requirement. For these 

reasons, the proposed framework also 

contains provisions authorizing 

disciplinary actions upon a broker’s 

failure to comply with these 

requirements. These requirements are 

contained in proposed §§ 111.102 and 

111.104, which are discussed in detail 

below. 

1. Customs Broker License Holders 

Subject to Continuing Broker Education 

Requirement 

Proposed § 111.102(a) sets forth the 

customs broker license holders who will 

be subject to the continuing broker 

education requirement. Specifically, 

proposed § 111.102(a) provides that 

only individual customs broker license 

holders (individual brokers) will be 

required to complete qualifying 

continuing broker education. Proposed 

§ 111.102(a) also exempts two groups of 

individual brokers from this 

requirement—namely, individual 

brokers who have voluntarily 

suspended their license in accordance 

with § 111.52, and individual customs 

broker license holders who have not 

held their license for an entire triennial 

period at the time of the submission of 

the status report as required under 

§ 111.30(d). CBP does not believe that it 

is necessary to require continuing 

education for individual brokers who 

have not held their license for an entire 

triennial period at the time that their 

first triennial report is due, because 

these individual brokers have recently 

demonstrated a sufficient baseline 

knowledge of customs matters by 

passing the customs broker 

examination. 

CBP is proposing to exempt 

individual brokers who have voluntarily 

suspended their license from the 

continuing broker education 

requirement because customs brokers 

may choose to voluntarily suspend their 

licenses for many reasons, including 

changes in a broker’s personal life or the 

entry into federal service (which 

prohibits the customs broker from 

concurrently serving as a customs 

broker to transact customs business on 

behalf of clients in dealings with the 

federal government). As some of these 

reasons may prevent a broker from 

participating in or attending qualifying 

continuing broker education programs, 

CBP believes that requiring individual 

brokers to comply with the continuing 

broker education requirement during a 

period of voluntary suspension would 

be overly burdensome. 

At this time, CBP is not proposing to 

impose a similar obligation onto 

corporation, partnership, or association 

brokers (hereinafter, collectively 

referred to as ‘‘corporate brokers’’), 

because knowledge is held at the 

individual level. The reason is because 

corporate brokers are comprised of one 

or more individual brokers and the 

individual brokers will be subject to the 

continuing education requirement. 

Furthermore, the training required of 

the employees of a customs broker is 

already taken into consideration when 

determining whether the license holder 

exercises responsible supervision and 

control. Pursuant to 19 CFR 111.28(a), 

every licensed member or officer of a 

corporate broker that is an individual 

broker, as well as every individual 

broker operating as a sole proprietor, is 

obligated to exercise responsible 

supervision and control over the 

transaction of the customs business of 

the sole proprietorship, partnership, 

association, or corporation.13 Therefore, 

individual brokers who serve as 

members or officials of a corporate 

broker, as well as individual brokers 

who operate as sole proprietorships 

with employees, are already 

incentivized to ensure that the 

employees of the sole proprietorship, 

partnership, association, or corporation 

complete continuing education. 

Accordingly, CBP does not believe that 

it is necessary to impose a similar 

obligation on corporate brokers at the 

organizational level. 

2. Required Minimum Number of 

Continuing Education Credits 

Proposed § 111.102(b) sets forth the 

number of continuing education credits 

that individual brokers, who, pursuant 

to proposed § 111.102(a), are subject to 

the continuing broker education 

requirement, must complete. 

Specifically, proposed § 111.102(b) 

provides that these individual brokers 

are required to complete at least 36 

continuing education credits per 

triennial period, except upon the 

reinstatement of a license following a 

period of voluntary suspension as 

described in § 111.52. Upon 

consideration of the public comments 

received on the ANPRM, CBP is no 

longer proposing to require 40 

continuing education credits per 

triennial period, as this will simplify the 

proration of continuing education 

credits for the purposes discussed 

below. 

When a broker chooses to reactivate 

his or her license following a period of 

voluntary suspension, the broker 

generally contacts CBP to begin the 

reinstatement process. This process 

determines the precise date on which 

the license will be reinstated, which 

may occur at any time during the 

triennial period. Thus, after a period of 

voluntary suspension, the completion of 

the full 36 continuing education credits 

within the remainder of the current 

triennial period could impose an undue 

burden upon the individual broker, 

depending on when during the triennial 

period the reinstatement occurs. To 

address this, proposed § 111.102(b) 

provides that, following the 

reinstatement of a license after a period 

of voluntary suspension, the number of 

continuing education credits required 

for the triennial period (that is, the 

triennial period during which the 

reinstatement of the license occurs) is 

calculated on a prorated basis, of one 

continuing education credit for each 

complete remaining month until the end 

of the triennial period. 

For example, if, following a period of 

voluntary suspension, an individual 

broker’s license were to be reinstated on 

March 21, 2028, the individual broker 

would only be required to complete 22 

continuing education credits during the 

triennial period (February 1, 2027, to 

February 1, 2030) in which the license 

was reinstated. Effectively, the amount 

of continuing education credits required 

is prorated for the number of full 

months remaining in the triennial 

period (April 1, 2028, to February 1, 


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2030). As another example, if the 

individual broker’s license were to be 

reinstated on February 1, 2027, the 

individual broker would be required to 

complete all 36 continuing education 

credits during the triennial period. 

When, following a period of voluntary 

suspension, the individual broker 

contacts CBP to request the 

reinstatement of the license, CBP will 

assist the broker in determining the 

prorated number of continuing 

education credits that he or she will be 

required to complete during the current 

triennial period. 

3. Reporting of Compliance With the 

Continuing Broker Education 

Requirement 

Proposed § 111.102(c) provides that 

individual brokers, who are required to 

comply with the continuing broker 

education requirement, will be subject 

to an additional reporting obligation. 

Specifically, CBP is proposing to require 

individual brokers to report and certify 

their compliance with the continuing 

broker education requirement upon the 

submission of the status report required 

under existing § 111.30(d). 

Current § 111.30(d)(1) requires both 

individual and corporate brokers to file 

a status report with CBP. The status 

report is due on February 1 of each third 

year after 1985, and will be considered 

timely filed as long as the report is 

received during the month of February. 

As part of the submission of the 

triennial report, customs brokers are 

required to pay a fee, which is 

prescribed in paragraph (d) of § 111.96. 

Status reports must be addressed to the 

director of the port through which the 

license was delivered to the licensee 

(see § 111.15), or, since the February 

2021 triennial period, can be filed in the 

eCBP portal (available at https://e.cbp.

dhs.gov/ecbp/#/main). The information 

that must be included in a status report 

submitted by an individual broker is set 

forth in current § 111.30(d)(2). 

As proposed § 111.102(c) would 

impose upon individual brokers the 

obligation to report and certify their 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement upon the 

submission of the status report, CBP is 

also proposing to amend current 

§ 111.30(d)(2) to reflect this obligation 

by adding a new paragraph (d)(2)(iv) to 

reflect that individual customs brokers 

must report and certify their compliance 

with the continuing broker education 

requirement. CBP is also proposing 

minor grammatical changes to existing 

paragraphs (d)(2)(ii) and (iii) of § 111.30 

in order to allow for the addition of 

proposed paragraph (d)(2)(iv); however, 

these changes are not substantive. 

Individual brokers who file paper-based 

triennial reports with CBP would report 

and certify compliance by including a 

written statement in the triennial report 

that reports and certifies their 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement. 

CBP is proposing to require 

individual brokers to report and certify 

compliance on the triennial report for 

two reasons. First, as the status report 

has been an integral part of maintaining 

a customs broker license since 1985, 

this mechanism is familiar to customs 

brokers and will minimize any 

additional burden that the new 

reporting obligation would place upon 

individual brokers. As individual 

brokers are already accustomed to the 

submission of status reports, individual 

brokers would not need to familiarize 

themselves with a new type of 

information collection. Second, aligning 

the timeframe for continuing education 

with the three-year filing timeframe for 

the status report will give individual 

brokers a number of years to earn the 

required number of continuing 

education credits. This will provide 

them with flexibility and the 

opportunity to select qualifying 

continuing broker education programs 

that best meet their individual 

educational needs. 

4. Recordkeeping Requirements for 

Individual Customs Brokers 

In conjunction with the continuing 

education requirement, CBP is 

proposing to require individual brokers 

to maintain records documenting their 

completion of the required number of 

continuing education credits. This 

requirement is set forth in proposed 

§ 111.102(d), and is intended to enable 

CBP to verify an individual broker’s 

compliance with the requirements set 

forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of 

proposed § 111.102. 

Proposed § 111.102(d)(1) provides 

that, for a period of three years 

following the submission of the status 

report required under § 111.30(d), an 

individual broker must retain certain 

information and documentation 

pertaining to the qualifying continuing 

broker education completed during the 

triennial period. Proposed 

§ 111.102(d)(1) contains a list of the type 

of information and documentation that 

must be retained, consisting of: (1) The 

title of the qualifying continuing broker 

education attended; (2) the name of the 

provider or host of the qualifying 

continuing broker education; (3) the 

date(s) attended; (4) the number of 

continuing education credits accrued; 

(5) the location of the training or 

educational activity, if the training or 

educational activity is offered in person; 

and (6) any documentation received 

from the provider or host of the 

qualifying continuing broker education 

that evidences the individual broker’s 

registration for, attendance at, 

completion of, or other activity bearing 

upon the individual broker’s 

participation in and completion of the 

qualifying continuing broker education. 

The last item would include receipts or 

confirmations documenting the 

individual broker’s intention to attend 

the qualifying continuing broker 

education program, written or electronic 

materials provided as part of the 

attendance of the training or educational 

activity, or certificates of completion or 

attendance. An individual broker would 

only be required to retain such 

documentation, if such documentation 

is made available by the provider or 

host of the qualifying continuing broker 

education to attendees of the training or 

educational activity. Unlike the general 

broker record retention requirement in 

current 19 CFR 111.23(b), the 

recordkeeping requirement in proposed 

§ 111.102(d)(1) only requires the records 

to be retained for a period of three years 

following the submission of the 

triennial report (rather than for a fiveyear period). 

Upon consideration of the comments 

received in response to the ANPRM, 

CBP is not proposing to require 

individual brokers to maintain the 

records in a specific format (i.e., 

electronically or in paper). For example, 

if the individual broker received paper 

documents in the mail or in person from 

an education provider, the individual 

broker could retain the information in 

that form, or could scan and retain it in 

electronic form. Based on several public 

comments to the ANPRM, CBP will 

explore building a tool in ACE that 

would serve as a place to record and 

track continuing education credits, but 

this would not be a substitute for 

document retention by the individual 

broker. Individual brokers would not be 

required to access or use this tool; 

rather, it would provide a means to 

record continuing education credits 

earned over time if convenient for the 

individual broker. 

Proposed § 111.102(d)(2) provides 

CBP with authority to request the 

information and documentation for a 

period of three years following the 

submission of the status report required 

under § 111.30(d)(2). CBP can request 

the information and documentation be 

made available for in-person inspection, 

or be delivered to CBP by either hardcopy or electronic means, or any 

combination thereof. Proposed 

§ 111.102(d) is intended to enable CBP 


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to verify an individual broker’s 

compliance with the requirements set 

forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this 

proposed section—that is, the 

completion of the required number of 

continuing education credits during the 

triennial period. 

5. Disciplinary Actions 

Proposed § 111.104 authorizes CBP to 

take disciplinary actions, if an 

individual broker, who is required to 

complete qualifying continuing broker 

education, submits a triennial report but 

fails to report and certify his or her 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement on the triennial 

report. These actions take a path of 

‘‘progressive discipline’’ by imposing 

increasingly serious measures following 

a reasonable time and opportunity to 

take corrective actions. This approach is 

rooted in CBP’s goal to ensure that all 

individual brokers participate in 

continuing education activities, but not 

to take disciplinary actions against 

brokers for mere clerical errors, such as 

the failure to report compliance with the 

continuing broker education 

requirement due to a mere oversight. 

Proposed § 111.104(a) provides that, if 

an individual broker, who is required to 

complete qualifying continuing broker 

education, submits a triennial report but 

fails to report and certify his or her 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement on the triennial 

report, CBP will notify the individual 

broker of his or her noncompliance. 

Pursuant to proposed § 111.104(a), CBP 

would send the notification to the 

address reflected in CBP’s records or 

transmit it electronically pursuant to 

any electronic means authorized by CBP 

for that purpose. This language would 

authorize CBP to send such notification 

to the mailing address that the 

individual broker listed on the status 

report or via email (if the individual 

broker’s email address is on file with 

CBP). 

Proposed § 111.104(b) requires the 

noncompliant individual broker to take 

appropriate corrective actions within 30 

calendar days upon the issuance of such 

notification. During this period, the 

individual broker would be provided 

with an opportunity to take corrective 

actions without being subjected to any 

disciplinary consequences for his or her 

noncompliance. As reflected in 

paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of proposed 

§ 111.104, the nature of the required 

corrective actions is determined by the 

reason for the individual broker’s failure 

to report and certify compliance on the 

triennial report. If the individual broker 

completed the required number of 

continuing education credits, but failed 

to report and certify his or her 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement on the triennial 

report, the broker would merely be 

required to submit a corrected triennial 

report that reflects the broker’s 

compliance. If the individual broker did 

not report and certify compliance on the 

triennial report because the broker did 

not complete the required number of 

continuing education credits, the broker 

would be required to complete the 

required number of continuing 

education credits and then submit a 

corrected triennial report. 

Proposed § 111.104(c) provides that, if 

the noncompliant individual broker 

fails to take the required corrective 

actions within 30 calendar days upon 

the issuance of the aforementioned 

notification, CBP will take actions to 

suspend the broker’s individual license. 

Upon the suspension of the individual 

broker’s license and the issuance of the 

order of suspension, the individual 

broker would be provided with an 

additional opportunity to take the 

required corrective actions before CBP 

would take more serious disciplinary 

measures. Specifically, in paragraph (d), 

proposed § 111.104 provides that, if 

following the suspension of the license 

the noncompliant individual fails to 

take the required corrective actions 

within 120 calendar days upon the 

issuance of the order of suspension, CBP 

will take actions to revoke the 

individual broker’s license without 

prejudice to the filing of an application 

for a new license. As proposed 

§ 111.104(d) provides that the 

individual broker’s license would be 

revoked without prejudice to the filing 

of an application for a new license, the 

individual broker would not be 

prevented from seeking a new 

individual customs broker license at a 

later point in time. 

Existing § 111.53(c) provides the 

relevant basis for the suspension and/or 

revocation of a customs broker’s license 

when an individual broker fails to 

submit a status report reporting and 

certifying his or her compliance with 

the continuing broker education 

requirement. Section 111.53(c), which 

authorizes CBP to initiate proceedings 

for the suspension, for a specific period 

of time, or revocation of the license or 

permit of any broker for any violation of 

a statutory provision enforced by CBP or 

any rule or regulation issued by CBP, 

implements 19 U.S.C. 1641(d)(1)(C). 

Consequently, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 

1641(d)(2)(B), as implemented by 

subpart D of part 111 (19 CFR part 111, 

subpart D), CBP would be required to 

comply with certain formal procedural 

requirements in suspending or revoking 

the individual broker’s license, which 

would conclude with the issuance of an 

order of suspension or revocation. This 

is reflected in paragraphs (c) and (d) of 

proposed § 111.104 through the crossreferences to subpart D of part 111. As 

such, CBP is not adopting either of the 

proposals considered in the ANPRM— 

that is, to suspend or revoke an 

individual broker’s license by operation 

of law. 

The provisions of proposed § 111.104 

would only apply to cases in which an 

individual broker, who is required to 

complete qualifying continuing broker 

education, submits a triennial report but 

fails to report and certify his or her 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement on the triennial 

report. CBP believes that any other type 

of misconduct could be sufficiently 

addressed through existing regulatory 

provisions. For example, if an 

individual broker were to fail to timely 

submit a triennial report, or to submit 

no triennial report at all, CBP would 

continue to seek the suspension and/or 

revocation of the individual broker’s 

license in accordance with the 

provisions of current § 111.30(d)(4). 

Additionally, current § 111.53(a), which 

implements 19 U.S.C. 1641(d)(1)(A), 

authorizes CBP to initiate proceedings 

for the suspension, for a specific period 

of time, or revocation of the license or 

permit of a customs broker, if the broker 

has, among others, made in any report 

filed with CBP any statement which 

was, at the time and in light of the 

circumstances under which it was 

made, false or misleading with respect 

to any material fact, or has omitted to 

state in any report any material fact 

which was required. 

In the context of the proposed 

framework, CBP foresees that violations 

of § 111.53(a) could arise from the 

following misconduct. First, a violation 

of § 111.53(a) would occur, if an 

individual broker were to falsely report 

and certify compliance with the 

continuing broker education 

requirement on the triennial report 

when, at the time of the submission of 

the triennial report, the individual 

broker had not completed the required 

number of continuing education credits. 

This would include cases in which an 

individual broker, who has not yet 

completed the required number of 

continuing education credits, submits a 

triennial report on which the broker 

reports and certifies compliance, but 

later completes the required number of 

continuing education credits. Second, a 

violation of § 111.53(a) would occur, if, 

in accordance with proposed 

§ 111.102(d)(2), CBP were to request 

additional documentation from an 


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individual broker to verify the broker’s 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement, and the 

documentation submitted by the broker 

were to contain any statement which, at 

the time and in light of the 

circumstances under which it was 

made, is false or misleading with 

respect to any material fact, or omitted 

a material fact. This would include the 

submission of falsified documentation, 

documentation containing false or 

misleading statements of material fact, 

or documentation omitting any material 

fact (such as the title or provider of a 

continuing education program, if the 

training or educational activity did not 

meet the requirements for qualifying 

continuing broker education). Third, a 

violation of § 111.53(a) would occur, if, 

in accordance with proposed 

§ 111.102(d)(2), CBP were to request 

additional documentation from an 

individual broker to verify the broker’s 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement, and the 

individual broker were to be unable to 

submit any documentation in response 

to CBP’s request. 

D. Training and Educational Activities 

That Qualify as Continuing Broker 

Education 

Although amended § 111.1 contains a 

proposed definition of the term 

‘‘qualifying continuing broker 

education’’, this definition also provides 

that, in order to constitute qualifying 

continuing broker education, a training 

or educational activity must meet 

certain additional requirements. These 

requirements are set forth in paragraphs 

(a) and (b) of proposed § 111.103. 

Specifically, paragraph (a)(1) sets forth 

requirements for categories of 

educational providers (including both 

government and non-government 

providers), while paragraph (a)(2) lists 

the types of training or educational 

activities that are recognized for 

purposes of the continuing broker 

education requirement. Paragraph (b) of 

proposed § 111.103 contains provisions 

pertaining to continuing education 

credits that are earned as an instructor, 

discussion leader, and speaker. 

1. Categories of Educational Providers 

Proposed § 111.103(a)(1) divides 

training or educational activities into 

two categories based on the identity of 

the content provider offering the 

training or educational activity. 

Pursuant to proposed paragraph (a)(1)(i), 

the first category consists of training or 

educational activities offered by U.S. 

Government agencies. Specifically, 

paragraph (a)(1)(i) provides that 

qualifying continuing broker education 

constitutes any training or educational 

activity offered by CBP, whether online 

or in-person, and any training or 

educational activity offered by another 

U.S. Government agency, whether 

online or in-person, if the content is 

relevant to customs business. These 

types of trainings or educational 

activities would not require the 

approval of a CBP-selected accreditor 

and would qualify for continuing 

education credit automatically. 

CBP is proposing that training or 

educational activities offered by U.S. 

Government agencies should 

automatically qualify for continuing 

education credit, without the approval 

by a CBP-selected accreditor, because 

quality control of the content is less of 

a concern with regard to this type of 

content provider. Training or 

educational activities offered by CBP are 

designed to educate the public about 

important and timely issues faced by 

entities involved in international trade. 

Thus, CBP believes that, by virtue of 

their design, these training or 

educational activities meet the 

objectives of the continuing broker 

education framework—that is, to assist 

individual brokers in maintaining a 

sufficient knowledge of customs 

matters. Additionally, CBP believes that 

other U.S. Government agencies 

carefully select educational content 

based on timeliness and importance, 

and accurately present the content to 

members of the public. 

CBP believes that allowing training or 

educational activities offered by CBP, or 

other U.S. Government agencies, if they 

provide educational content that is 

relevant to customs business, to 

automatically qualify for continuing 

education credit will limit the 

administrative burden and costs 

associated with the implementation of 

the proposal. CBP’s proposal 

deliberately provides individual brokers 

with wide latitude when determining 

whether a training or educational 

activity offered by an U.S. Government 

agency other than CBP is relevant to 

customs business. This discretion 

empowers individual brokers with the 

ability to select training or educational 

activities based on their individual 

educational needs. CBP also anticipates 

making a list of recommended U.S. 

Government agency provided training or 

educational activities publicly available 

on the CBP website to allow individual 

brokers to easily identify activities that 

are free of cost and automatically 

qualify for continuing education credit. 

Pursuant to proposed paragraph 

(a)(1)(ii), the second category of 

educational providers consists of 

training or educational activities offered 

by a content provider other than a U.S. 

Government agency. Any training or 

educational activity not offered by a 

U.S. Government agency (such as 

private-sector entities, non-profit 

organizations, and foreign government 

agencies), whether online or in-person, 

will not be considered qualifying 

continuing broker education, unless the 

training or educational activity has been 

approved for continuing education 

credit by a CBP-selected accreditor 

before the training or educational 

activity is provided. CBP is proposing to 

require accreditation for such training or 

educational activities to ensure that they 

offer educational content that is highquality, current, relevant, and accurate, 

and that it is directly tied to customs 

business. 

As noted previously, CBP is not 

proposing the adoption of subjectmatter-specific content requirements at 

this time in order to enable individual 

brokers to participate in educational 

opportunities that provide them with 

knowledge directly relevant to their 

specific position and experience level. 

Additionally, to encourage the creation 

of low-cost educational opportunities 

that satisfy the continuing broker 

education requirement, CBP’s proposal 

does not differentiate between 

educational opportunities that are 

offered online or in-person. CBP intends 

for this to minimize the costs to small 

businesses and customs brokers in 

remote locations so that individual 

brokers will not be required to travel to 

attend qualifying continuing broker 

education programs. CBP believes that 

the opportunity for individual brokers 

to earn the required number of 

continued education credits through 

free, online-based trainings would 

further incentivize individual brokers to 

select training or educational activities 

based on their educational needs and, 

thereby, limit the risk that individual 

brokers complete the same training or 

educational activities multiple times 

solely for the purpose of earning the 

required minimum number of 

continuing education credits. 

Regardless of who provides the 

training or educational activities, CBP 

anticipates that providers will issue 

certificates to customs brokers upon 

completion. CBP will make certificates 

of attendance available for all of its 

training or educational activities to 

those participants who want them. For 

online-based training or educational 

activities, CBP will make certificates of 

attendance available for download or 

printing at the conclusion of the 

presentation. For in-person activities, 

such as the Trade Symposium, CBP will 

make paper certificates available to 


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14As part of the RFP process, applicants will be 

required to provide CBP with information how they 

plan to handle the post-course certification process 

for those course providers who apply for 

accreditation. 

licensed customs brokers to pick up 

prior to the end of the conference. 

Additionally, because one of the factors 

to become a CBP-selected accreditor 

will be to design and develop 

certificates for approved education 

providers to use as needed, certificates 

of attendance will also be available for 

any qualifying continuing broker 

education offered by private, non-profit, 

or foreign government entities.14

CBP will work with its PGAs to make 

them aware of the new continuing 

education requirements, if finalized, so 

that the PGAs can consider making 

available certificates of attendance or 

completion, whether in electronic or 

paper form. However, CBP is unable to 

require its PGAs to provide certificates 

of attendance or completion. Proposed 

§ 111.102(d)(1)(iv) thus only requires an 

individual broker to retain any 

documentation that the individual 

broker received from the provider or 

host of the qualifying continuing broker 

education that evidences the individual 

broker’s registration for, attendance at, 

completion of, or other activity bearing 

upon the individual broker’s 

participation in and completion of the 

qualifying continuing broker education. 

Therefore, the language in proposed 

§ 111.102(d)(1)(iv) accounts for the 

possibility that certificates of attendance 

or completion may not be issued for all 

qualifying training or educational 

activities provided by its PGAs. 

2. Recognized Training or Educational 

Activities 

CBP is proposing that only certain 

categories of training or educational 

activities may be considered qualifying 

continuing broker education. The list of 

recognized categories of training or 

educational activities is contained in 

paragraphs (a)(2)(i) through (iv) of 

proposed § 111.103. Paragraph (a)(2)(i) 

provides that the first category consists 

of coursework, seminars, or workshops, 

whether online or in-person, that are 

conducted by an instructor, discussion 

leader, or speaker. This category would 

include most webinars, in-house 

training, university or college courses, 

or similar educational programs. 

Paragraph (a)(2)(ii) provides that the 

second category includes symposia and 

conventions, whether online or inperson. This category would include the 

annual CBP Trade Symposium and 

similar educational programs. However, 

meetings that are conducted in 

accordance with the provisions of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (FACA), are 

expressly excluded from this category. 

As such, individual brokers would not 

be permitted to claim continuing 

education credit for their participation 

in committees, subcommittees, 

workgroups, and any other group 

organized under the auspices of the 

Commercial Customs Operations 

Advisory Committee (COAC), as well as 

public COAC meetings. CBP is 

proposing to exclude FACA meetings 

because these meetings do not serve an 

educational purpose. FACA meetings 

are intended, instead, to solicit advice 

from advisory committee members and 

to receive input from the public that 

may later form the basis for government 

decisions. 

The last two categories of recognized 

training or educational activities are set 

forth in paragraphs (a)(2)(iii) and (iv) 

which will permit individual brokers 

serving as instructors, discussion 

leaders, or speakers to receive 

continuing education credit for the time 

spent preparing a subject matter for 

presentation and presenting a subject 

matter (hereinafter, referred to as 

‘‘special allowance’’). Paragraphs 

(a)(2)(iii) and (iv) provide that the 

subject matter must be presented as part 

of a training or educational activity that 

falls within one of the first two 

recognized categories of training or 

educational activities (that is, the 

categories described in paragraphs 

(a)(2)(i) and (ii) of proposed § 111.103), 

and the special allowance for 

instructors, discussion leaders, or 

speakers is subject to the conditions and 

limitations set forth in proposed 

§ 111.103(b). 

While CBP is proposing to carve out 

a special allowance for certain 

instructors, discussion leaders, or 

speakers, CBP is not proposing to permit 

individual brokers to claim continuing 

education credit for authoring articles, 

books, or other publications. CBP 

believes that the learning involved in 

the authoring of a publication does not 

necessarily equate to the knowledge 

derived from a continuing education 

program that is current and developed 

by an individual or organization 

qualified in the relevant subject matter, 

as the learning does not necessarily 

include an interactive component. For 

this reason, CBP is also not including 

credit hours for independently reading 

articles, books, or other publications or 

for paid subscriptions to these types of 

materials. If these materials are part of 

an accredited course, then the course 

hours may be eligible for continuing 

education credit. 

3. Special Allowance for Instructors, 

Discussion Leaders, and Speakers 

Proposed § 111.103(b) sets forth 

additional requirements and limitations 

pertaining to the special allowance for 

instructors, discussion leaders, and 

speakers. In proposed paragraph (b)(1), 

CBP sets forth that, contingent upon the 

approval by a CBP-selected accreditor, 

an individual broker may claim one 

continuing education credit for each full 

60 minutes spent presenting subject 

matter, or preparing subject matter for 

presentation, as a discussion leader, or 

speaker at a training or educational 

activity described in paragraphs (a)(2)(i) 

and (ii) of this section. 

However, the special allowance for 

instructors, discussion leaders, and 

speakers is subject to limitations, which 

are set forth in proposed § 111.103(b)(2) 

and (3). Specifically, proposed 

§ 111.103(b)(2)(i) provides that, for any 

session of presentation given at one 

time, regardless of the duration of that 

session, an individual broker may claim, 

at a maximum, one continuing 

education credit for the time spent 

preparing subject matter for that 

presentation pursuant to paragraph 

(b)(1)(ii). Further, proposed 

§ 111.103(b)(2)(ii) also imposes a limit 

on the total number of continuing 

education credits that an individual 

broker can earn based on his or her 

activities as an instructor, discussion 

leader, or speaker. This limit is 12 

continuing education credits per 

triennial period. CBP is proposing these 

limitations to ensure that individual 

brokers receive education in a broad 

variety of subject matters, not just 

provide instructions, possibly 

exclusively on the same subject matter. 

As specified in proposed 

§ 111.103(b)(3), any instructor, 

discussion leader, or speaker seeking to 

claim continuing education credit for 

the preparation of a subject matter for 

presentation, or the presentation of a 

subject matter, at one of a training or 

educational activity described in 

paragraph (a)(2)(i) or (ii) of proposed 

§ 111.103, must obtain approval by a 

CBP-selected accreditor, regardless of 

whether the training or educational 

activity is offered by a U.S. Government 

agency or another provider. CBP is 

proposing this requirement in order to 

ensure that the effort and quality of the 

educational experience derived from the 

activities as an instructor, discussion 

leader, or speaker is commensurate with 

the award of continuing education 

credit. 

Like content providers, the means by 

which an individual broker claiming 

continuing education credits under the 


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15SAM is a U.S. Government website operated by 

the General Services Administration (GSA), and 

there is no cost for any entity to use the system. 

Through SAM, any entity can register to do 

business with the U.S. Government, update or 

renew an entity’s registration, check the status of an 

entity registration, and search for any entity 

registration and exclusion records. 

special allowance would be notified of 

an accreditor’s approval would vary 

based on the terms of the accreditor’s 

contractual relationship with CBP, 

which is discussed in further detail in 

section IV.E. of this NPRM. Depending 

on the terms of the accreditor’s 

contractual relationship with CBP, the 

individual broker would be notified of 

the accreditor’s approval either in 

writing or electronically, or both. CBP 

anticipates that, as part of the selection 

process for the accreditors, it will 

require each accreditor to (1) provide 

CBP with a running list of activities that 

the accreditor approved, and/or (2) 

publish this list on its website. A failure 

to observe the requirements and 

limitations set forth in proposed 

§ 111.103(b) would result in a failure to 

comply with the continuing broker 

education requirement for the triennial 

period. Thus, if an individual broker 

were to fail to observe the requirements 

and limitations set forth in proposed 

§ 111.103(b) and to report and certify 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement on the triennial 

report, the individual broker would 

falsely report and certify compliance on 

the triennial report. As a result, CBP 

could impose disciplinary actions 

pursuant to proposed § 111.104 and 

existing § 111.53(a). 

E. Accreditation of Providers of 

Continuing Broker Education 

CBP believes that it is necessary to 

implement an accreditation process for 

training or educational activities not 

offered by a U.S. Government agency, 

including the special allowance for 

instructors, discussion leaders, or 

speakers, to ensure that such activities 

meet the objectives of the continuing 

broker education requirement. Due to 

resource constraints, CBP is not well 

positioned to administer the 

accreditation of training and 

educational activities. Thus, CBP, 

through the Office of Trade, is 

proposing to select accreditors who will 

review and approve or deny such 

training or educational activities for 

continuing education credit. Below is a 

description of the selection process, 

which is outlined in proposed 

§ 111.103(c), and the accreditation 

process, which is outlined in paragraphs 

(d) and (e) of proposed § 111.103. 

1. Selection of Accreditors 

As reflected in proposed § 111.103(c), 

CBP is proposing to select third-party 

accreditors using common government 

contracting procedures, which would 

include the issuance of a Request for 

Information (RFI) and a Request for 

Proposal (RFP). CBP would administer 

this process through the Office of Trade 

in accordance with the requirements of 

the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 

CFR chapter 1) (the FAR). While 

selected accreditors would administer 

the accreditation of the training or 

educational activities as part of their 

contractual relationship with CBP, 

selected accreditors would not receive a 

monetary award from CBP as a result of 

this contractual relationship. However, 

selected accreditors would be permitted 

to charge content providers for their 

services to recoup their expenses in 

reviewing and approving or denying 

training or educational activities for 

continuing education credit, as long as 

the fees are clearly displayed on the 

accreditors’ website and materials. The 

remainder of this section lays out the 

basic framework that CBP is proposing 

for the review and approval of potential 

accreditors. The specific obligations that 

accreditors under contract with CBP 

would be required to meet would be 

provided in more detail in the RFI, and 

then in even more granular detail, in the 

RFP. 

Because this is a new program for 

both CBP and the customs broker 

community, CBP plans to initiate the 

selection process through the issuance 

of an RFI. The RFI would be posted in 

the System for Award Management 

(available at https://sam.gov/SAM/) 

(SAM).15 The RFI would lay out the 

basic criteria that CBP believes a future 

accreditor must meet in order to 

successfully review activities for 

continuing education credit. Currently, 

CBP expects to propose the following 

criteria: 

• At least one key official in the 

entity must have a customs broker’s 

license; 

• A demonstrated knowledge of 

international trade laws, customs laws 

and regulations, and general customs 

practices for imported goods and goods 

subject to drawback; 

• A demonstrated knowledge of other 

U.S. Government agencies that are 

involved in transactions of international 

trade; 

• A list of professional references; 

• Resumes for the key personnel who 

would be involved in accrediting course 

work; 

• A description of the process for 

how someone would submit a training 

or educational activity proposed for 

credit to the accreditor, including 

electronic and online methods for 

submitting materials for consideration; 

• A description of the criteria the 

accreditor would use to approve or deny 

trainings or educational activities for 

continuing education credit; 

• A description of how the accreditor 

would avoid conflicts of interest; 

• A description of how the accreditor 

would track accreditation activity for 

CBP review; 

• A description of how customers can 

provide feedback to the accreditor and 

CBP on the approval process; 

• An estimate of the ‘‘turn around’’ 

time for approving/denying activities 

under consideration for accreditation; 

and 

• An estimate of the charge, if any, for 

approving/denying an activity under 

consideration for accreditation. 

Based on these criteria, along with 

other details that would be provided in 

the RFI, CBP would then hold an 

‘‘industry day’’ with interested parties. 

As CBP-selected accreditors would not 

receive a monetary award from CBP, 

CBP anticipates that trade associations 

and law firms specializing in customs 

matters will make up the majority of 

parties interested in becoming CBPselected accreditors. However, CBP 

encourages all interested parties to 

participate in the RFI process as it will 

provide interested parties with an 

opportunity to provide input that will 

shape the accreditation process. As part 

of this industry day, CBP would present 

its needs and expectations for the 

accreditation process and receive input 

on its initial proposal from parties that 

are potentially interested in providing 

accreditation services. This information 

would then be used to refine the abovelisted criteria and prepare an RFP. CBP 

would then post the RFP in SAM. 

Following the publication of the RFP, 

interested parties would then respond 

with their proposals of how they would 

administer the accreditation process 

based on the criteria set forth in the 

RFP. A party that participated in the RFI 

process would be under no obligation to 

put forth a response to the RFP. 

Conversely, if a party interested in 

applying to become an accreditor did 

not respond to the RFI or participate in 

the industry day process, that party 

would not be precluded from 

responding to the RFP. CBP is not 

proposing an ‘‘application fee’’ for 

interested parties to submit a response 

to the RFP (fees to submit responses to 

RFPs are not permitted under the FAR). 


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In addition to the publication of the 

RFI and RFP in SAM, CBP is proposing 

to announce the availability of the RFI 

and RFP through the publication of 

notices in the Federal Register by the 

Executive Assistant Commissioner, 

Office of Trade. This would ensure that 

the requests reach as wide an audience 

as possible, including parties that do not 

traditionally contract with the U.S. 

Government. In accordance with the 

provisions of proposed § 111.103(c), 

these Federal Register notices would 

contain information pertaining to the 

criteria that the Office of Trade will use 

to select an accreditor and the period 

during which CBP will accept 

applications by potential accreditors. 

Following the issuance and 

publication of the RFP, CBP would 

review the proposals received and rate 

them based on the factors provided in 

the relevant section of the RFP. Based 

on these ratings, CBP would then select 

the accreditors approved for that cycle. 

Parties not selected for the cycle would 

have the opportunity to protest CBP’s 

decision in accordance with the 

procedures set forth in the FAR. 

Following the selection of the approved 

accreditors, the Office of Trade will 

notify the approved accreditors of their 

award, and the Executive Assistant 

Commissioner, Office of Trade, will 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

to inform the public and the customs 

broker community of the parties 

approved to provide accreditation 

services. In accordance with the 

provisions of proposed § 111.103(c), this 

Federal Register notice would contain 

information pertaining to the selected 

accreditors’ period of award. 

CBP is not proposing to set a target or 

a limit on the number of accreditors. 

Rather, the number will be determined 

by the strength of the proposals received 

and CBP’s needs at the time of the RFP. 

CBP is proposing to introduce a period 

of award of three years, subject to 

renewal. This will provide CBP-selected 

accreditors with sufficient time to 

establish their accreditation programs 

and to begin with the accreditation of 

educational content while not creating a 

long period of time during which new 

interested parties would have to wait for 

the next selection cycle. In accordance 

with the provisions of the FAR, either 

party to the contract—whether the 

accreditor or CBP—would be permitted 

to terminate the contract with 30-days’ 

notice. If an accreditor were to leave the 

program, the Executive Assistant 

Commissioner, Office of Trade, would 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

announcing the departure. 

Once awards have been made for the 

first cycle of accreditors, CBP envisions 

working closely with them—as a group 

and as individual parties—to provide 

directions and instructions, set 

expectations, develop due dates and 

milestones, and create a public outreach 

campaign to inform the affected customs 

broker community of the new program 

and opportunities. Once the program 

has been fully implemented, the Broker 

Management Branch within the Office 

of Trade will meet with the accreditors 

periodically to identify and exchange 

best practices, address areas of concern, 

and develop program metrics that can 

be shared with COAC and other 

members of the public as needed. 

Following the first 3-year cycle, CBP 

will announce the opening of a new 

application cycle through posts in SAM, 

and the Executive Assistant 

Commissioner, Office of Trade, will 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

to the same effect. 

CBP believes the approach outlined 

above will meet the following 

objectives, which CBP believes to be key 

to the program’s success: 

1. Multiple approved accreditors, 

which will allow for competition and 

keep costs at market level without 

creating a monopoly; 

2. An open and transparent 

application process; and, 

3. An opportunity for small 

businesses, such as law firms that 

specialize in customs law, and nonprofit organizations, such as trade 

associations, to become approved 

accreditors. 

2. Accreditation Process 

Proposed § 111.103(d) and (e) pertain 

to the administration of the 

accreditation process, including the 

responsibilities of CBP-selected 

accreditors. Proposed § 111.103(d) 

reflects that CBP-selected accreditors 

will administer the accreditation of 

training or educational activities offered 

by an entity other than a U.S. 

Government agency, including the 

special allowance for instructors, 

discussion leaders, and speakers, by 

reviewing and approving or denying 

training or educational activities for 

continuing education credit. The 

accreditation process may vary slightly 

among CBP-selected accreditors (e.g., 

fees, timeframe for the review and 

issuance of an accreditation decision, 

address to which paper-based 

accreditation requests must be 

submitted, and the documents that must 

be submitted as part of the accreditation 

request); however, each accreditor will 

be required to administer the 

accreditation process within the bounds 

of a defined set of parameters. These 

parameters will be defined as part of the 

RFP. For example, CBP is expecting 

that, as a result of this process, CBPselected accreditors will be required to: 

(1) Provide an electronic means for a 

content provider to submit the details of 

an activity under consideration; (2) state 

the average or typical processing time 

for an accreditation request; and (3) 

clearly state any charges for the review 

and approval or denial of an 

accreditation request. 

Although the accreditation process 

will be defined in more detail as part of 

the selection process, paragraphs (d) 

and (e) of proposed § 111.103 contain 

two requirements. First, in order to 

ensure that qualifying continuing broker 

education programs present educational 

content that is current and relevant, 

proposed § 111.103(d) provides that an 

accreditor’s approval of a training or 

educational activity for continuing 

education credit is only valid for one 

year, but can be renewed through any 

CBP-selected accreditor. As CBP’s 

proposal does not require individual 

brokers to complete a specific number of 

hours of continuing education on 

specific subject matter areas, CBP has 

chosen to propose to limit the validity 

of accreditations to one year. CBP 

believes that this limitation would 

ensure that content providers regularly 

update educational content, and, 

thereby, ensure that qualifying 

continuing broker education offers 

educational content that is current and 

relevant. Second, while a CBP-selected 

accreditor could approve a training or 

educational activity offered by one of its 

officials or members for continuing 

education credit, proposed § 111.103(e) 

provides a CBP-selected accreditor may 

not approve its own trainings or 

educational activities for continuing 

education credit. This will require CBPselected accreditors who are also 

content providers to seek another CBPselected accreditor’s approval in order 

for educational content to be eligible for 

continuing education credit. CBP is 

proposing this limitation to curb the risk 

of conflicts of interest and self-dealings. 

In order to promote transparency and 

the accreditors’ compliance with their 

contractual obligations, CBP also 

intends to provide content providers 

and instructors, discussion leaders, and 

speakers seeking to claim continuing 

education credits under the special 

allowance with an opportunity to 

submit complaints and comments to the 

Office of Trade at the Headquarters of 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

Attn: Broker Management Branch, 

electronically. CBP intends to publish 

additional information on how to 

submit complaints and comments 

concerning specific CBP-selected 


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16The term ‘‘active’’ refers to a license that has 

not been suspended. 

17For more details on responsible supervision 

and control, see 19 U.S.C. 1641(b)(4), as well as 19 

CFR 111.1 and 111.28. 

18Customs business is defined as: those activities 

involving transactions with U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection concerning the entry and 

admissibility of merchandise, its classification and 

valuation, the payment of duties, taxes, or other 

charges assessed or collected by U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection upon merchandise by reason of 

its importation, or the refund, rebate, or drawback 

thereof. It also includes the preparation of 

documents or forms in any format and the 

electronic transmission of documents, invoices, 

bills, or parts thereof, intended to be filed with U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection in furtherance of 

such activities, whether or not signed or filed by the 

preparer, or activities relating to such preparation, 

Continued 

accreditors, including the email address 

to which such electronic 

correspondences should be submitted, 

on its website. CBP plans to request that 

content providers (and instructors, 

discussion leaders, and speakers seeking 

to claim continuing education credits 

under the special allowance) who 

submit a complaint pertaining to the 

denial of a specific accreditation adhere 

to the following procedures. First, the 

content provider (and instructors, 

discussion leaders, and speakers seeking 

to claim continuing education credits 

under the special allowance) should 

contact the CBP-selected accreditor to 

request a detailed explanation as to the 

denial of the accreditation request. 

Second, if following the receipt of the 

detailed explanation, the content 

provider (and instructors, discussion 

leaders, and speakers seeking to claim 

continuing education credits under the 

special allowance) continues to believe 

that the denial was in error, the content 

provider should submit a complaint to 

CBP, including (1) a copy of all 

materials that were submitted to the 

accreditor for consideration, (2) any 

materials received from the accreditor 

that explain why the activity was 

rejected, and (3) a detailed explanation 

as to why the content provider believes 

the denial decision to be erroneous. 

In order to ensure the successful 

implementation of the proposed 

continuing education requirement, CBP 

will also welcome any other type of 

feedback, such as feedback on accreditor 

performance and customer experience, 

positive interactions, and areas for 

improvement. CBP plans to compile and 

share such feedback during the sessions 

that CBP intends to hold with the 

accreditors on a periodic basis. 

F. Timeframe for the Implementation of 

the Proposed Changes 

This NPRM provides for a public 

comment period of 60 days. Upon the 

review of the comments and further 

consideration, CBP will prepare a final 

rule. The final rule will adopt the 

current proposal as final, with or 

without changes based on consideration 

of the public comments, and will 

provide the date on which the changes 

will become effective. In addition to the 

30-day delayed effective date required 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

(5 U.S.C. 553(c)), CBP anticipates that 

there will be an additional delay 

between the publication of the final rule 

and the effective date to allow for 

proper implementation of the 

continuing education framework. 

As CBP’s proposal requires some 

training and educational activities to be 

approved for continuing education 

credit by a CBP-selected accreditor, a 

delayed effective date will be needed in 

order to permit for sufficient time for 

the selection of qualified accreditors, for 

CBP-selected accreditors to set up their 

processes for reviewing accreditation 

requests, and for content providers to 

obtain accreditation for their training or 

educational activities. CBP will ensure 

that there will be adequate time for 

compliance by individual brokers if the 

proposed rule is adopted. For example, 

in addition to a delayed effective date, 

CBP may also select an effective date for 

the final rule that coincides with the 

beginning of a new triennial period or 

prorate the number of continuing 

education credits individual brokers 

must complete by the end of the 

triennial period during which the final 

rule becomes effective. 

V. Statutory and Regulatory 

Requirements 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

direct agencies to assess the costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This 

proposed rule is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action,’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has not reviewed this regulation. 

CBP has prepared the following analysis 

to help inform stakeholders of the 

impacts of this proposed rule. 

1. Purpose of Rule 

The proposed rule, if implemented, 

would require active 16 individual 

customs broker license holders (brokers) 

to complete 36 hours of continuing 

education every three years. A 

continuing education requirement 

would increase the knowledge base 

from which brokers work, educate them 

on changing customs requirements, 

regulations, and laws, and reduce the 

number of errors in filings and resultant 

penalties. CBP believes that requiring 

continuing education would enhance 

the credibility and value of an 

individual customs broker license and 

improve a broker’s skills, performance, 

and productivity. Furthermore, CBP 

believes that mandating continuing 

education would increase the quality of 

service for brokers’ clients and 

importers’ compliance with customs 

laws, which would protect the revenue 

of the United States and aid in 

maintaining a high standard of 

professionalism in the customs broker 

community. 

2. Background 

On October 28, 2020, CBP published 

an ANPRM, entitled ‘‘Continuing 

Education for Licensed Customs 

Brokers’’, in the Federal Register (85 FR 

68260). The ANPRM presented a basic 

outline for a continuing education 

requirement for licensed customs 

brokers and posed questions pertaining 

to the potential costs and benefits of 

such a requirement. Some of the public 

comments that CBP received in 

response to the ANPRM addressed the 

questions pertaining to the potential 

costs and benefits of such a 

requirement, although very few 

contained specific information or data. 

Any information that was provided on 

these issues was taken into account in 

formulating this analysis. In this NPRM, 

CBP is proposing a continuing 

education requirement for individual 

brokers. 

i. Customs Brokers 

A customs broker assists clients with 

the importation of goods into the United 

States, and also with the filing of 

drawback claims. Customs brokers can 

be individuals, partnerships, 

associations, or corporations and must 

be licensed by CBP. Brokers are 

responsible for helping clients to meet 

all relevant requirements for importing 

and submitting drawback claims, 

submitting information and payments to 

CBP on their client’s behalf, and 

exercising responsible supervision and 

control over their employees and 

customs business.17 Only licensed 

customs brokers may perform customs 

business.18 Brokers may have expertise 


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but does not include the mere electronic 

transmission of data received for transmission to 

CBP. See 19 U.S.C. 1641(a)(2). 

19A customs broker may voluntarily suspend his 

or her license for a number of reasons and may reactivate the license at a later time. A broker’s 

license may also be suspended as part of a penalty. 

For more information, see 19 CFR 111.52. 

20To be eligible, an individual must be a United 

States citizen at least 21 years of age, in possession 

of good moral character, and not be an employee 

of the U.S. Government. For more information, see 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Becoming a 

Customs Broker (Dec. 12, 2018), available at https:// 

www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/ 

customs-brokers/becoming-customs-broker. 

21To be approved, a broker who has passed the 

broker exam must also pass an investigation of his 

or her relevant background. See section III.B. of this 

NPRM. 

22 19 CFR 111.30(d). For more information on the 

triennial report, see U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, 2021 Customs Broker Triennial Status 

Report FAQs (Feb. 26, 2021), available at https:// 

help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1711?language=en_

US. 

23See, e.g., 19 U.S.C. 1641(d)(1) and (g)(2). 

24 In the case of non-egregious violations, CBP 

will first attempt to work with the broker through 

the informed compliance process of communication 

and education. See U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Electronic Invoice Program (EIP) and 

Remote Location Filing (RLF) Handbook (May 

2013), p. 22, available at https://www.cbp.gov/sites/ 

default/files/assets/documents/2016-Dec/Revised_

eip_rlf_handbook_12-15_16.pdf. This is an attempt 

to improve the broker’s performance, and precedes 

the issuance of a pre-penalty notice, which is a 

written notice that advises the broker of the 

allegations or complaints against the broker. See id.; 

19 CFR 111.92(a). If this process fails to remedy the 

deficiencies, or in case of egregious violations, CBP 

will issue a pre-penalty notice to the broker, which, 

inter alia, explains that the broker has the right to 

respond to the allegations or complaints. See 19 

CFR 111.92(a). If the broker files a timely response 

to the pre-penalty notice, CBP will either cancel the 

case, issue a penalty notice in an amount lower 

than that provided in the pre-penalty notice, or 

issue a penalty notice in the same amount as the 

pre-penalty notice. See 19 CFR 111.92(b). Upon the 

issuance of the penalty notice, the broker is 

afforded the opportunity to file a petition for relief 

in accordance with the provisions of 19 CFR part 

171, which may result in the cancellation or 

mitigation of the penalty, and subsequently a 

supplemental petition for relief. See 19 CFR 111.93 

and 111.95. 

25 19 U.S.C. 1641(d)(2)(B). Penalty information 

comes from CBP’s Seized Currency and Asset 

Tracking System (SEACATS). Although the average 

value of assessed penalty is $22,697, CBP allows 

brokers to mitigate penalties, such that the amount 

collected is often significantly less, averaging 

$2,664 from 2017–2020. 

26SEACATS. 

27Trade remedies implemented by CBP include 

Section 201 trade remedies on solar cells and 

panels, and washing machines and parts; Section 

232 trade remedies on aluminum and steel; Section 

232 trade remedies on derivatives; Section 301 

trade remedies to be assessed on certain goods from 

China; and Section 301 trade remedies to enforce 

U.S. rights in the large civil aircraft dispute before 

the World Trade Organization. See U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection, Trade Remedies, available at 

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programsadministration/trade-remedies (last visited on May 

11, 2021). 

28 Information was provided by the National 

Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of 

America (NCBFAA). Nine companies employ at 

least 48 brokers certified by programs provided by 

the NCBFAA’s Education Institute (NEI), and often 

employ more. An additional 292 companies 

employing at least one broker with an NEI 

certification were identified via a survey of NEI’s 

students. 

29Significant at the 99 percent confidence level. 

30Entry data was pulled from ACE, and penalty 

data from SEACATS. 

in any number of trade-related areas, 

including entry, admissibility, 

classification, valuation, and duty rates 

for imported goods. Some brokers 

specialize in a specific area of customs 

business, like drawback or valuation, 

while others are more general 

practitioners. As of 2021, there are 

13,822 active individual brokers in the 

United States.19

To become a licensed customs broker, 

an eligible individual 20 must pass the 

Customs Broker License Examination, 

submit a broker license application and 

appropriate fees to CBP, and be 

approved by CBP.21 Once applicants 

have passed the broker exam, they may 

apply for an individual, corporate, 

partnership, or association license. To 

maintain the license, the individual 

broker or the licensed entity (for 

corporations, partnership, or 

associations) must submit a triennial 

report and requisite fees. The triennial 

report and fees are due on February 28, 

every three years, since 1985.22 Once an 

individual has been approved as a 

licensed customs broker, the primary 

ongoing requirement for maintaining the 

license under current regulations is the 

submission of the triennial report and 

appropriate fee in 3-year cycles. Given 

the established 3-year cycle of triennial 

reporting, CBP employs a 6-year period 

of analysis to calculate costs and 

benefits that result from this proposed 

rule, accounting for two triennial cycles. 

A broker license may be suspended or 

revoked, or a monetary penalty 

assessed, for several violations ranging 

from falsifying information on the 

license application to willfully and 

intentionally deceiving, misleading, or 

threating a client.23 CBP generally 

assesses monetary penalties for less 

serious infractions, such as the incorrect 

filing of entry forms or the 

misclassification of goods. However, the 

majority of civil monetary penalties 

assessed against brokers for violations of 

19 U.S.C. 1641 involve egregious 

violations or the failure to take 

satisfactory corrective actions following 

written notice and a reasonable 

opportunity to remedy the deficiency as 

the penalties process provides 

noncompliant brokers with several 

opportunities to avoid or mitigate 

penalty liability.24 Monetary penalties 

may not exceed $30,000 per violation 

and averaged $22,697 from 2017– 

2020.25

In the fiscal years from 2017 to 2020, 

CBP assessed an average of 66 penalties 

to brokers per year.26 However, in FY 

2017 and FY 2018, CBP assessed 20 and 

21 penalties, respectively, while in FY 

2019 and FY 2020, CBP assessed over 

100 penalties each year (see Table 1). 

The significant increase in penalties 

from 2018 to 2019 and into 2020 is 

likely due to rapid changes in the 

international trade environment in those 

years. During that time, CBP began 

enforcing several significant changes in 

the realm of international trade, 

including new antidumping and 

countervailing duties (AD/CVD) and the 

tariffs imposed by the Trump 

Administration under section 201 of the 

Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251), as 

amended, section 232 of the Trade 

Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862), 

as amended, and sections 301 through 

310 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 

2411 et seq.), as amended.27 These 

changes affected a significant number of 

imported goods. CBP provided many 

opportunities for individual brokers to 

learn about the changes, including 

webinars, Question and Answer 

sessions, public forums, and Federal 

Register notices. External organizations, 

like regional broker associations, also 

provided information regarding these 

changes to the customs laws, which 

would have led to greater understanding 

for individual brokers. 

Although CBP sought information in 

the ANPRM on the number of 

companies employing brokers who 

already complete continuing education, 

CBP did not receive enough specific 

information to estimate the proportion 

of companies already providing ongoing 

training. However, based on information 

gathered via self-reporting by individual 

brokers, CBP is aware of about 300 

companies that employ at least one 

broker who holds an industry 

certification that requires annual 

continuing education.28 In the fiscal 

years from 2017 to 2019, those 

companies were responsible for 54 

percent of the entries but only 10 

percent of the penalties.29 Overall, these 

300 companies filed 73,906,967 of 

136,466,361 filed entries between 2017 

and 2020, but only account for 26 of 267 

total penalties assessed in that period.30

For companies outside of this group, 

CBP does not know how much 

continuing education is currently taken. 


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31The number of hours of continuing education 

required for many professions varies by state as the 

state is the licensing authority. 

32 In October 2000, the United States 

implemented the Caribbean Basin Trade 

Partnership Act, which will expire in 2030 (https:// 

www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/tradeagreements/special-trade-legislation/caribbeanbasin-initiative/cbtpa). The African Growth and 

Opportunity Act was also enacted in 2000 (https:// 

ustr.gov/issue-areas/trade-development/preferenceprograms/african-growth-and-opportunity-actagoa). See https://www.state.gov/trade-agreements/ 

outcomes-of-current-u-s-trade-agreements/ for a list 

of free trade agreements currently in force. 

33See section III.C. of this NPRM. 

34 ‘‘Evaluation of Current Customs Broker 

Continuing Education Practices and Literature 

Review of Continuing Education in Other 

Professions.’’ Report for CBP prepared by 

International Economics, Inc. (IEc) on June 30, 

2014. This document is included in the docket for 

this NPRM, which is posted on Regulations.gov. 35See Bradley, S., Drapeau, M. and DeStefano, J. 

(2012), The relationship between continuing 

education and perceived competence, professional 

support, and professional value among clinical 

psychologists. J. Contin. Educ. Health Prof., 32: 31– 

38; O’Leary, P. F., Quinlan, T. J., & Richards, R. L. 

(2011). Insurance Professionals’ Perceptions of 

Continuing Education Requirements. Journal of 

Insurance Regulation, 30, 101–117; and Wessels, S. 

(2007). Accountants’ Perceptions of the 

Effectiveness of Mandatory Continuing Professional 

Education. Accounting Education, 16(4), 365–378. 

36 Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M.E., and 

Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional 

Development. Learning Policy Institute; Cervero, R. 

M., & Gaines, J.K. (2014). Effectiveness of 

continuing medical education: updated synthesis of 

systematic reviews. Accreditation Council for 

Continuing Medical Education. 

37Chen, Y.-S., Chang, B.-G., & Lee, C.-C. (2008). 

The association between continuing professional 

education and financial performance of public 

accounting firms. International Journal of Human 

Resource Management, 19(9), 1720–1737. 

38 Diehl, K. A. (2015). Does Requiring 

Registration, Testing, and Continuing Professional 

Education for Paid Tax Preparers Improve the 

Compliance and Accuracy of Tax Returns?—US 

Results. Journal of Business & Accounting, 8(1), 

138–147. 

39See proposed 19 CFR 111.103(a). 

40See American Medical Association, About the 

AMA’s CME Accreditation, available at https://

edhub.ama-assn.org/pages/ama-cme (last accessed 

on May 11, 2021). 

TABLE 1—ANNUAL PENALTIES

ASSESSED BY CBP 

FY Number of 

penalties 

2017 ...................................... 20 

2018 ...................................... 21 

2019 ...................................... 119 

2020 ...................................... 106 

ii. Continuing Education 

Continuing education refers to the 

training and learning pursued by 

professionals outside of the formal 

education system, usually as part of 

career development. Many licensed 

professions have some sort of 

continuing education requirement for 

license-holders, including accountants, 

medical professionals, and teachers.31

Continuing education is particularly 

important for professions characterized 

by continuously changing rules, 

standards, and norms. Customs and 

international trade is one such 

profession. Since 2000, the United 

States has added two new preferential 

trade programs and several new free 

trade agreements, the most recent being 

the USMCA, which replaced the 

NAFTA.32 Additionally, the logistical 

aspects of customs have changed 

significantly over time. For example, 

CBP introduced the single window, 

enabling most CBP forms to be 

submitted electronically through the 

Automated Commercial Environment 

(ACE), which was fully implemented in 

2016, with added functionalities being 

deployed on an ongoing basis. 

There have been several other 

significant changes to the customs 

environment, including the 

implementation of TFTEA, changes in 

duty rates and tariffs, and the 

modernization of the drawback 

requirements.33 Customs brokers must 

maintain awareness of and adapt to 

these changes to provide quality service 

to clients. However, aside from the 

broker exam at the beginning of their 

careers, brokers do not currently have 

any requirements ensuring they 

maintain up-to-date knowledge of 

customs rules, regulations, and 

practices. As stated above, CBP believes 

that the vigorous pace and expanding 

scope of international trade require a 

more stringent continuing education 

framework for individual brokers who 

provide guidance to importers and 

drawback claimants. 

The effects of continuing education 

programs are not easily measured and 

not often the subject of research.34 Some 

studies show that various licensed 

professions do see a mild increase in 

positive perception of their industry, 

performance, and professionalism after 

the implementation of continuing 

education requirements.35 Studies have 

also demonstrated a positive link 

between continuing education for 

teachers and student outcomes as well 

as between continuing medical 

education and patient outcomes.36

Additionally, one study found that 

continuing professional education was 

correlated to an improvement in 

financial outcomes for accounting firms, 

particularly large firms.37 Finally, a 

study of IRS-certified tax preparers 

found that mandatory continuing 

education was potentially linked to 

reduced civil penalties, a decrease in 

non-compliance, and increased 

accuracy of tax returns.38

Under the terms of the proposed rule, 

individual brokers would be required to 

complete 36 hours of accredited 

continuing education over each 3-year 

reporting period. Qualifying activities 

would include attending or presenting 

at events, such as courses, seminars, 

symposia, and conventions.39 Brokers 

would be required to self-attest to the 

completion of the required continuing 

education on each triennial report and 

maintain records consisting of certain 

documentation received from the 

provider or host of the qualifying 

continuing broker education, if such 

documentation was made available to 

the broker, and containing information 

pertaining to the dates, titles, providers, 

credit hours earned, and location (if 

applicable) for each training. The 

records can be in any format (i.e., 

electronically or on paper), and the 

proposed regulations provide CBP with 

authority to conduct a compliance audit 

and to request such records for a period 

of three years following the submission 

of the status report. 

iii. Accreditation 

To ensure the quality and relevance of 

continuing education offerings, they are 

often accredited by a leading body 

within the field in question. For 

example, the American Medical 

Association (AMA) is accredited to 

provide training by the Accreditation 

Council for Continuing Medical 

Education.40 An accreditor is 

responsible for reviewing course content 

and determining the number of credits 

or hours to be granted for each course. 

Under the proposed rule, after an 

application process (using the RFP, as 

described above), CBP would designate 

entities outside of CBP to act as 

accreditors for customs broker 

continuing education. Every three years, 

CBP would release an RFP soliciting 

applications to become an accreditor for 

the customs broker continuing 

education program. Every three years 

following the first cycle, existing 

accreditors would also apply for 

renewal. To apply, potential and 

existing accreditors would submit an 

application to CBP detailing their 

standards for accreditation, quality 

control practices, application process, 

and other information. A panel of CBP 

experts would convene to review and 

approve or deny applications. Once 

approved, accreditors could begin 

accepting submissions from courses or 

companies seeking accreditation. Note 

that training or educational activities 

offered by U.S. Government agencies, 

including CBP, automatically qualify for 


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41Per proposed § 111.103(a)(1)(i), a training or 

educational activity offered by a U.S. Government 

agency other than CBP must be relevant to customs 

business. 

42See 19 U.S.C. 1641(b)(4). 

43See 19 CFR 111.29(a), and 19 CFR part 111 

generally for additional obligations. 

44Entities holding corporate, association, or 

partnership licenses must employ at least one 

individual broker, who would be required to 

comply with the rule. See 19 CFR 111.11(a) and (b). 

45 2021 is triennial reporting year. The CBP 

Broker Management Branch anticipates that the 

number of active, individual customs brokers could 

decrease by approximately 600–1,000 in May–July 

of 2021 as brokers choose not to renew or to 

voluntarily suspend their licenses. This number 

would be partially offset by new, individual 

customs brokers applying for licenses after passing 

the broker exam, which is held bi-annually. 

46Triennial reports are due in February. 

Therefore, all those brokers who receive licenses in 

2021, 2022, and 2023 will submit their first 

triennial reports in February of 2024 and would 

then need to complete 36 hours of training before 

the triennial report is due in February of 2027. 

continuing education credit, without the 

approval by a CBP-selected accreditor.41

iv. Performance Improvement 

Once brokers have passed the broker 

exam, thereby proving their basic 

knowledge and competency to perform 

the duties of a licensed customs broker 

at the time of the exam, they are free to 

practice in perpetuity unless the license 

is suspended or revoked. Statute 

dictates that while practicing under the 

auspices of his or her broker license, a 

customs broker must maintain 

responsible supervision and control.42

CBP’s regulations likewise place 

additional legal obligations upon 

customs brokers, including, but not 

limited to, the requirement for 

exercising due diligence in making 

financial settlements, answering 

correspondence, and preparing or 

assisting in the preparation and filing of 

information relating to customs 

business.43 Staying current on 

developments in customs law is needed 

for customs brokers to comply with 

their legal obligations, but presently 

there are no standards for how much 

continuing education is needed. 

Under baseline conditions, meaning 

the world as it is now, CBP does not 

require brokers to complete any 

additional training or prove their 

ongoing knowledge. The broker exam 

only attests knowledge of customs and 

related laws that are in place at the time 

of the exam. While the exam ensures 

that brokers have a solid base level of 

knowledge when they begin practicing, 

there is no requirement that they keep 

up the knowledge, and evidence 

suggests that as more time passes since 

brokers took their exam, the more errors 

they make. Brokers who were assessed 

penalties by CBP between 2017 and 

2020 have held their individual broker 

license for, on average, 37 years. In 

contrast, the average individual broker 

license is 24 years old. This suggests 

that as more time passes since the 

passing of the customs broker exam, 

more errors are made. Furthermore, the 

exam does not test for any of the 

requirements of the more than 40 PGAs 

involved in regulating imports. 

Depending on the brokers’ needs, CBP 

believes that continuing education 

should also include courses relating to 

the PGAs’ international trade 

requirements, although there is no 

minimum requirement for certain 

subject matters in this proposed rule. 

Given the often fast-paced and 

evolving nature of the international 

trade environment, CBP believes that a 

continuing education requirement 

would help to ensure that brokers 

remain current with their understanding 

of international trade laws and continue 

to expand their knowledge of customs 

regulations and practices. A more 

competent and educated customs broker 

community would also prevent costly 

errors, potentially saving brokers’ 

clients time and money, as well as 

relieving CBP from expending valuable 

audit and penalty assessment and 

collection resources. 

3. Overview of Assessment 

The proposed rule would result in 

costs and benefits for customs brokers, 

accreditors, providers of continuing 

education, and CBP. Many of the costs 

for brokers come in the form of time 

spent researching, registering for, 

attending, and reporting trainings. 

Brokers would also experience some 

opportunity cost as they forgo time 

spent on other tasks in favor of fulfilling 

a continuing education requirement. 

Accreditors must apply to CBP. Though 

CBP would not charge a fee, the 

accreditors would need to spend time in 

creating their applications. Similarly, 

providers of continuing education must 

apply to accreditors to have their 

coursework certified. Finally, CBP must 

designate accreditors, and, following the 

full implementation of the proposed 

framework, CBP may audit individual 

brokers for compliance. 

The benefits from the proposed rule 

would be largely qualitative. A 

continuing education requirement 

would help to professionalize and 

improve the reputation of the customs 

broker community, as well as to 

improve customer service and 

outcomes. Quantitatively, continuing 

education would likely lead to a 

reduction in errors in documentation 

and associated penalties assessed by 

CBP for some infractions and violations. 

Not only would individual brokers not 

need to pay the associated penalties, but 

CBP would save the time of identifying, 

assessing, and collecting such penalties. 

Similarly, CBP would likely see a 

reduction in regulatory audits of 

individual brokers. 

4. Historical and Projected Populations 

Affected by the Rule 

The proposed rule applies to any 

individual holding an active customs 

broker license.44 Brokers who have 

voluntarily suspended their licenses are 

not required to complete continuing 

education until they elect to reactivate 

their license, at which point the 

requirements are pro-rated depending 

upon the timing within the triennial 

reporting cycle. Brokers who have not 

held their license for an entire triennial 

period at the time their first triennial 

report is due are also exempted from 

completing training and reporting in 

their first triennial report, though are 

bound by the terms of the proposed rule 

in the following years. As of 2021, there 

are 13,822 active, individual broker 

licenses.45 Because 2021 is a reporting 

year and triennial reports are due in 

February, those brokers who receive 

their licenses in 2021, 2022, and 2023 

will only be required to complete 

continuing education beginning on 

February 1, 2024, the next reporting 

year.46 Similarly, brokers who receive 

licenses in 2024, 2025, and 2026 would 

not need to pursue continuing 

education until after their first report is 

due in 2027. 

CBP approves approximately 600 new 

licenses per year, although the number 

of licenses added annually has been 

decreasing since 2015. See Table 2 for 

a summary of licensing history for the 

previous six years. 


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47CBP sometimes issues licenses that are later 

suspended or terminated (either voluntarily or as a 

penalty). This table includes all licenses issued in 

these years that remain active as of 2021, as only 

holders of an active license would need to abide by 

the terms of the rule. 

48The number of licenses applied for and issued 

in 2020 was significantly lower than in previous 

years due to the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic 

and related closures and delays. CBP excluded this 

year from calculations of growth rates due to its 

anomalous nature. 2021 may also be affected 

similarly, but CBP cannot predict to what extent. 

49The exact timing of the requirement will vary 

depending on when the final rule goes into effect, 

and the requirement will be prorated based on the 

time left until the triennial report is due. For the 

purposes of this analysis, we estimate the costs for 

the hypothetical period from 2021–2027. 50Feedback was provided in the form of public 

comments on the ANPRM. Additional feedback was 

provided in various meetings and discussions 

between CBP personnel and customs brokers, as 

well as at trade conferences and meetings of the 

Task Force for Continuing Education for Licensed 

Customs Brokers, a part of the COAC. See II.E. 

Development of the Proposed Continuing Broker 

Education Requirement, above. 

51We included both brokers qualifying as CCS 

and CES in our analysis as the coursework for both 

has significant overlap and is relevant to customs 

business. 

52CBP requested information about the 

proportion of individual brokers already complying 

with the rule in the ANPRM. Although CBP did not 

receive specific information in the public 

comments, several commenters said they would be 

compliant and believed that significant numbers of 

other brokers would be as well. Many also noted 

that their companies require their broker employees 

to complete continuing education. 

TABLE 2—LICENSING HISTORY FROM 2015–2020 

Year Total 

licenses 47

Corporate 

licenses 

Individual 

licenses 

2015 ............................................................................................................................................. 770 16 754 

2016 ............................................................................................................................................. 653 21 632 

2017 ............................................................................................................................................. 580 16 564 

2018 ............................................................................................................................................. 558 27 531 

2019 ............................................................................................................................................. 464 15 449 

2020 48 ......................................................................................................................................... 187 7 180 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 3,212 102 3,110 

Based on an average rate of decline of 

12 percent in the number of individual 

licenses issued, CBP would likely issue 

1,754 new individual licenses over a 6- 

year period of analysis from 2021–2026 

(see Table 3), though not all of those 

license holders would be required to 

complete continuing education during 

the 6-year period of analysis. Each of 

these new individual license holders 

would need to comply with the terms of 

the proposed rule once it is in effect and 

they have completed their first triennial 

report. All 13,822 individual brokers 

active at the time the rule is 

implemented would be required to 

complete continuing education from 

February 1, 2021–February 1, 2024.49 In 

2024, the 1,045 individual brokers who 

CBP projects would receive licenses 

from 2021–2023 would need to begin 

complying with the terms of the 

proposed rule. Brokers who receive 

licenses in 2024–2026 would not need 

to comply with the proposed rule until 

after their first triennial reporting cycle, 

which would fall outside of the period 

of analysis. In total, therefore, CBP 

estimates that 14,867 brokers would be 

required to abide by the rule in the six 

years from 2021 to 2026. 

TABLE 3—PROJECTED LICENSES ISSUED FROM 2021–2026 

Year Total licenses 

issued 

Corporate 

licenses 

Individual 

licenses 

New licenses 

affected by the 

rule 

2021 ................................................................................................................. 408 13 394 0 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 358 12 346 0 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 315 10 304 0 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 276 9 267 1,045 

2025 ................................................................................................................. 243 8 235 0 

2026 ................................................................................................................. 213 7 206 0 

Total .......................................................................................................... 1,812 59 1,754 1,045 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

Although the majority of active 

individual brokers would be required to 

complete continuing education under 

the proposed rule, feedback from the 

broker community indicates that many 

brokers already complete the amount of 

continuing education that would satisfy 

this requirement.50 Many companies 

that employ brokers provide and require 

in-house training and continuing 

education. Both independent brokers 

and brokers employed by brokerages 

often attend government-sponsored 

webinars, as well as trade conferences 

and symposia, which would qualify as 

continuing education under the terms of 

the proposed rule. Many brokers also 

pursue professional certifications like 

the National Customs Brokers and 

Freight Forwarders Association of 

America’s (NCBFAA) Certified Customs 

Specialist (CCS) and Certified Export 

Specialist (CES).51 Under the baseline, 

or the world as it is now, these brokers 

likely would be in compliance with the 

proposed rule and, assuming similar 

activities if a continuing education 

requirement is imposed, would not 

incur new costs under the new 

requirements, except for new reporting 

costs. 

Overall, CBP estimates that 

approximately 60 percent of individual 

brokers already pursue continuing 

education and would be in compliance 

with the rule.52 CBP bases this 

estimation on several factors. First, the 

NCBFAA estimates that approximately 

4,456 brokers hold a CCS or CES in 

2020, representing 29 percent of total 


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53 Discussion with officials at the NCBFAA on 

April 5, 2021. This includes brokers renewing their 

certification in 2020, as well as those becoming 

certified for the first time. The CCS certification 

program requires enough hours of continuing 

education to comply with the terms of the proposed 

rule and the NCBFAA has expressed interest in 

becoming an accredited provider. 

54See National Customs Brokers & Forwarders 

Association of America, Inc., CES FAQs, available 

at https://www.ncbfaa.org/Scripts/4Disapi.dll/ 

4DCGI/cms/review.html?Action=CMS_Document&

DocID=13806&MenuKey=education (last accessed 

on July 2, 2021); National Customs Brokers & 

Forwarders Association of America, Inc., CCS 

FAQs, available at https://www.ncbfaa.org/Scripts/ 

4Disapi.dll/4DCGI/cms/review.html?Action=CMS_

Document&DocID=13803&MenuKey=education 

(last accessed on July 2, 2021). 

55Small business size standards are defined in 13 

CFR 121. 

56United States Census Bureau, ‘‘2017 County 

Business Patterns and 2017 Economic Census,’’ 

Released March 6, 2020, https://www.census.gov/ 

data/tables/2017/econ/susb/2017-susbannual.html. Accessed March 15, 2021. 

57Note that some of the categories are sums of 

other categories. For example, Category 8, <500, is 

a sum of Categories 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Thus, 

Categories 7 and 9 are not consecutive, but 

represent all firms employing 100 or more people. 

58The Survey of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) from 

which this data is taken is conducted in years 

ending in 2 and 7. Note that finalized results from 

the 2017 survey are scheduled for release in May 

of 2021. 

individual brokers.53 In order to 

maintain these professional 

certifications, these brokers are required 

to earn 20 continuing education credits 

per year.54 Additionally, public 

comments in response to the ANPRM, 

as well as discussions between CBP and 

various broker organizations, indicate 

that most large businesses employing 

brokers already provide, and often 

mandate, internal training and 

continuing education. Based on data 

from the U.S. Census Bureau, 

approximately 61 percent of those 

employed within the Freight 

Transportation Arrangement Industry 

(North American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) code 448510) are not 

employed by small businesses. A small 

business within the Freight 

Transportation Arrangement Industry is 

defined as one whose annual receipts 

are less than $16.5 million, regardless of 

the number of employees.55 Table 4 

shows the receipts per firm, in millions 

of dollars, for firms employing each 

number of employees.56 The average 

firm within Categories 7 and 9 has 

annual receipts of greater than $16.5 

million and is considered a large 

business. These firms employ 161,463 

people, or approximately 61 percent of 

the total employees in the industry. 

TABLE 4—SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENT INDUSTRY

Employment size 57 Number of 

employees 

Preliminary 

receipts 

(all firms, 

$1,000s) 58

Receipts per 

firm 

($) 

Small 

business? 

01: Total ................................................................................................................. 265,192 67,276,572 4,454,222 

02: <5 ..................................................................................................................... 15,939 6,315,166 708,614 Yes. 

03: 5–9 ................................................................................................................... 18,025 5,392,992 1,974,732 Yes. 

04: 10–19 ............................................................................................................... 20,288 5,870,163 3,851,813 Yes. 

05: <20 ................................................................................................................... 54,252 17,578,321 1,335,029 Yes. 

06: 20–99 ............................................................................................................... 49,477 13,973,780 10,397,158 Yes. 

07: 100–499 ........................................................................................................... 44,715 10,886,028 30,493,076 No. 

08: <500 ................................................................................................................. 148,444 42,438,129 2,854,327 Yes. 

09: 500+ ................................................................................................................. 116,748 24,838,443 105,247,640 No. 

Given the proportion of brokers 

working for larger businesses, the 

feedback on the ANPRM indicating high 

rates of compliance, the proportion of 

brokers pursing certifications, and input 

from CBP subject matter experts who 

frequently interact with the broker 

community, CBP estimates that 

approximately 60 percent of individual 

brokers are already in compliance with 

the requirements of the proposed rule 

and would not face new costs, assuming 

a continuing level of similar activity, 

aside from recordkeeping and reporting, 

as a result of the rule’s implementation. 

Based on the likely proportion of 

brokers already in compliance, CBP 

estimates that 5,947 affected brokers, or 

approximately 40 percent, would need 

to come into compliance with the 

proposed rule over a 6-year period of 

analysis (see Table 5). We request 

comment on our assumption that 60 

percent of brokers already spend at least 

36 hours per 3-year period on 

continuing education and that the 

remaining 40 percent of brokers would 

need to increase their training by the 

full 36 hours triennially to meet the 

proposed requirement. 

TABLE 5—PROJECTION OF BROKERS AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED RULE

Year Total licenses 

Proportion in 

compliance 

(%) 

Total licensed 

brokers 

affected 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 13,822 60 5,529 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 13,822 60 5,529 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 13,822 60 5,529 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 14,867 60 5,947 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 14,867 60 5,947 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 14,867 60 5,947 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 14,867 ........................ 5,947 

Although individual brokers are the 

primary party affected by the terms of 

the proposed rule, the rule would also 

have an impact on CBP, providers of 

continuing education, and the bodies 

who accredit continuing education. 

Each party would see both costs and 

benefits under the proposed rule. 


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59For example, the Florida Customs Broker and 

Forwarders Association offers both paid and free 

events. Information on CBP-hosted webinars can be 

found at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/stakeholderengagement/webinars. Many other government 

agencies also provide webinars on trade-related 

topics. For example, in 2020, the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) hosted a series of webinars 

on the importation of medical devices in light of the 

COVID–19 pandemic. See https://www.fda.gov/ 

medical-devices/workshops-conferences-medicaldevices/webinar-series-respirators-and-otherpersonal-protective-equipment-ppe-health-carepersonnel-use. 

60CBP does not have information on the cost for 

an employer to provide training internally, although 

such information was requested in the ANPRM. 

CBP believes the cost for internal training would be 

closer to that of attending external trainings as a 

member, since member fees are likely much closer 

to base cost of provision than non-member fees. 

61Wage rate source: U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics. Occupational Employment Statistics, 

‘‘May 2019 National Occupational Employment and 

Wage Estimates, United States.’’ Updated March 31, 

2020. Available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/ 

may/oes_nat.htm. Accessed June 12, 2020; U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employer Costs for 

Employee Compensation. Employer Costs for 

Employee Compensation Historical Listing March 

2004–December 2019, ‘‘Table 3. Civilian workers, 

by occupational group: employer costs per hours 

worked for employee compensation and costs as a 

percentage of total compensation, 2004–2019.’’ 

March 2020. Available at https://www.bls.gov/web/ 

ecec/ececqrtn.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2020. The 

wages are in 2019 dollars and CBP assumes an 

annual growth rate of 0 percent. 

62Some individual brokers would pay for their 

travel out of pocket, while other would have their 

travel expenses covered by their employers. 

63CBP bases these costs off the average price of 

a domestic flight in 2019 (flight prices in 2020 were 

not used due to the disruptions caused by COVID– 

19 cancellations), and the General Services 

Administration’s per diem cost for lodging and 

meals and incidentals. Source for flight costs: The 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics, ‘‘Average 

Domestic Airline Itinerary Fares,’’ https://

www.transtats.bts.gov/AverageFare/. Accessed 

April 13, 2021. Source for per diem costs: U.S. 

General Services Administration, ‘‘Per Diem Rates,’’ 

https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diemrates. Accessed April 13, 2021. 

5. Costs of the Rule 

i. To Brokers 

The primary cost to individual 

brokers upon implementation of the rule 

would be those costs associated with 

finding and attending 36 hours of 

continuing education over a 3-year 

period. These costs include time spent 

researching reputable and relevant 

trainings, travel and incidental expenses 

to attend in-person events like 

conferences, and the tuition or fees for 

the courses themselves. Many brokers 

might satisfy the continuing education 

requirement with training supplied by 

their employers. Other brokers, 

particularly those self-employed or 

employed by small businesses, would 

need to seek external training. For 

external training, brokers may attend 

free webinars, seminars, and trade 

events sponsored by CBP, other 

government agencies, and various 

related organizations like local freight 

forwarder and broker associations.59

Alternatively, brokers might choose 

paid trainings, conferences, or 

symposia, or seek certifications offered 

by trade organizations or educational 

institutions. 

CBP does not know exactly which 

option each individual broker is likely 

to choose. Many brokers already hold 

certifications, attend webinars, and 

fulfill internal training requirements, 

though they may need to increase the 

number of hours completed to comply 

with the proposed rule. Therefore, CBP 

has estimated a range of costs. Some 

brokers would fulfill their proposed 

continuing education requirements with 

only free trainings. Others would follow 

a medium-cost path by opting for a mix 

of free, lower-cost, and internal 

trainings. CBP further assumes that 

brokers electing the medium-cost path 

would travel to attend one major 

conference or symposium in-person per 

year. Finally, some would meet 

requirements by completing only paid 

courses representing the highest-cost 

offerings. CBP assumes that brokers 

choosing the higher-cost option would 

travel to attend an average of two 

conferences per year. 

There are several organizations that 

provide continuing education for 

customs brokers, ranging from regional 

broker associations to national entities, 

such as the American Association of 

Exporters and Importers (AAEI). 

Continuing education that qualifies 

under the terms of the proposed rule 

includes webinars, seminars, and trade 

conferences. The hourly cost of such 

trainings (excluding free events 

provided by government agencies and 

other organizations) usually ranges from 

around $25 to $70. Fees are often tiered 

based on membership of the hosting 

organization. Members of an 

organization may pay $25 while nonmembers pay $45. CBP cannot predict 

which organizations would seek 

accreditation for their events, although 

all free webinars and trainings hosted by 

Federal government agencies would be 

automatically accredited. Therefore, we 

assume that the average hourly 

monetary cost would range from $0.00 

(low) to $30 (medium) to $50 (high). 

This assumption is based on current 

fees charged for various continuing 

education certifications, webinars, and 

trade conferences.60

In addition to fees, individual brokers 

would need to spend some time in 

researching relevant and accredited 

trainings. CBP assumes that a broker 

would spend approximately three hours 

finding and registering for continuing 

education during every triennial period. 

Many individual brokers are members of 

both local and national organizations 

that provide continuing education 

opportunities and would likely be 

notified of opportunities via newsletters 

or listservs. Other individual brokers 

would need to spend some time finding 

and verifying accreditation for 

qualifying events. All individual brokers 

would spend some time registering for 

events. Based on an average fully-loaded 

wage rate of $31.27, the process of 

researching and registering for trainings 

would cost brokers approximately $2.61 

per credit hour.61

Many individual brokers also travel to 

attend trade conferences each year. CBP 

assumes that those brokers electing the 

lower-cost options would forgo travel 

and either attend virtually (paying only 

the fee) or not attend at all. CBP 

assumes that brokers in the mediumcost tier would travel to attend one 

conference each year, while brokers in 

the high-cost tier would travel to attend 

two conferences.62 Tuition and fees for 

conferences, broken down into an 

hourly rate, are already accounted for in 

the average costs of $30–$50 per hour. 

Traveling to attend a single 3-day 

conference costs approximately $245 in 

airfare, $288 for lodging, and $165 for 

meals and incidentals, for a total of $698 

for one conference or $1,396 for two 

conferences (see Table 6).63 Spread 

across 36 hours of training, travel costs 

account for an additional $19.39 per 

hour (medium) or $38.78 per hour 

(high). 


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64 Individual brokers may complete whatever 

number of hours they prefer during each year, so 

long as it totals 36 hours in 3 years. CBP designates 

12 hours per year both for ease of presentation and 

to account for pro-rating for individual brokers who 

re-activate their licenses within the triennial period. 

65Costs include tuition/fees, travel costs, and 

research time costs for each level. 

TABLE 6—TRAVEL AND INCIDENTAL COSTS TO ATTEND IN-PERSON EVENTS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Cost General cost Low Medium High 

Transportation .................................................................................................. $245 0 $245 $490 

Hotel ................................................................................................................. 288 0 288 576 

Meals & Incidentals ......................................................................................... 165 0 165 330 

Total .......................................................................................................... 698 0 698 1,396 

Overall, as a result of the rule, a single 

broker would likely incur monetary 

costs ranging from $31.27 (low) to $624 

(medium) to $1,097 (high) per year to 

complete 36 hours of continuing 

education in a 3-year period. Over a 6- 

year period of analysis, these costs sum 

to $188 (low), $3,744 (medium), or 

$6,580 (high). See Table 7 for a 

summary of these costs. 

TABLE 7—ANNUAL COSTS FOR ONE BROKER

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Hours 64

Low Medium High 

Costs 65 Total Costs Total Costs Total 

2021 ......................................................... 12 $2.61 $31.27 $52 $624 $91 $1,097 

2022 ......................................................... 12 2.61 31.27 52 624 91 1,097 

2023 ......................................................... 12 2.61 31.27 52 624 91 1,097 

2024 ......................................................... 12 2.61 31.27 52 624 91 1,097 

2025 ......................................................... 12 2.61 31.27 52 624 91 1,097 

2026 ......................................................... 12 2.61 31.27 52 624 91 1,097 

Total .................................................. 72 15.64 188 312 3,744 548 6,580 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

There were 13,822 active individual 

brokers in 2021. CBP estimates that a 

total of 5,947 would be required to begin 

to complete continuing education under 

the terms of the rule in the 6-year period 

of analysis, based on a current estimated 

compliance rate of 60 percent (see 

Historical and Projected Populations 

Affected by the Rule, above). Therefore, 

CBP estimates that brokers would incur 

costs related to searching for training, 

fees, travel, and incidentals, ranging 

from $1,076,537 (low) to $21,480,353 

(medium) to $37,752,913 (high) over the 

6-year period of analysis. See Table 8. 

TABLE 8—ANNUAL TRAINING COSTS FOR INDIVIDUAL BROKER LICENSE HOLDERS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Brokers 66

Low Medium High 

Cost Total Cost Total Cost Total 

2021 ............................. 5,529 $31.27 $172,886 $624 $3,449,621 $1,097 $6,062,901 

2022 ............................. 5,529 31.27 172,886 624 3,449,621 1,097 6,062,901 

2023 ............................. 5,529 31.27 172,886 624 3,449,621 1,097 6,062,901 

2024 ............................. 5,947 31.27 185,960 624 3,710,497 1,097 6,521,404 

2025 ............................. 5,947 31.27 185,960 624 3,710,497 1,097 6,521,404 

2026 ............................. 5,947 31.27 185,960 624 3,710,497 1,097 6,521,404 

Total ...................... 5,947 188 1,076,537 3,744 21,480,353 6,580 37,752,913 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 


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66Only the 40 percent of brokers who do not 

already complete continuing education would face 

these costs. The total number of brokers affected in 

the final year of analysis (2026) is the same as the 

number of brokers overall because each year 

represents the same population with a small 

amount of growth. 

67Some brokers would likely face additional 

time-costs should they fail to complete and/or 

report their required continuing education and need 

to take corrective action or reapply for their licenses 

following revocation (see proposed § 111.104(d) for 

details). However, CBP only reports the costs 

affected populations would face to maintain 

compliance with the proposed rule. 

68Note that many other records must be 

maintained for five years. The 3-year standard 

applies only to records of continuing education. 

69CBP would randomly select 10 percent of 

individual brokers to audit for compliance each 

year. 

70Note that only 10 percent of individual brokers 

would spend 45 minutes per year, while the 

remaining 90 percent would spend 30 minutes per 

year. Furthermore, CBP would only begin audits 

after the first triennial period during which the rule 

is in effect. 

To create a primary estimate, CBP 

assumes that approximately one third of 

individual brokers would elect the 

lowest cost path, one third would elect 

the medium-cost path, and one third 

would elect the highest cost path once 

the rule is in place. Under these 

conditions, brokers who begin pursuing 

continuing education as a result of the 

rule would face $20,103,267 in costs 

related to searching for training, fees, 

travel, and incidentals over the 6-year 

period of analysis. See Table 9. 

TABLE 9—PRIMARY ESTIMATE OF COSTS FOR BROKERS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Total brokers 

Brokers 

choosing each 

path 

Total cost 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 5,529 1,843 $3,228,469 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 5,529 1,843 3,228,469 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 5,529 1,843 3,228,469 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 5,947 1,982 3,472,620 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 5,947 1,982 3,472,620 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 5,947 1,982 3,472,620 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 5,947 1,982 20,103,267 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

All individual brokers, including 

those who already complete continuing 

education and would not face new costs 

for research, tuition, and travel, would 

also be required to store records of their 

completed continuing education and 

report their compliance to CBP.67

Record storage would require 

maintaining either paper or digital 

copies of any documentation received 

from the provider or host of the 

qualifying continuing broker education 

and a document of some kind listing the 

date, title, provider, number of credit 

hours, and location (if applicable) for 

each training. To report and certify 

compliance, individual brokers who file 

paper-based triennial reports with CBP 

would include a written statement in 

the triennial report, and individual 

brokers who file their triennial reports 

electronically through the eCBP portal 

would check a box in the eCBP portal 

while filing their triennial report 

electronically. Brokers would further be 

required to produce their records of 

compliance if requested by CBP, though 

CBP would only require brokers to 

maintain their records for the three 

years following the submission of the 

triennial report.68 CBP estimates that 

recordkeeping and reporting would take 

each broker 30 minutes (0.5 hours) per 

year. After the first triennial reporting 

period in which brokers self-attest to 

completing their training, 10 percent of 

brokers each year would incur the cost 

of producing records to submit to CBP 

for a compliance audit, which CBP 

estimates will take 15 minutes (0.25 

hours).69 Therefore, brokers would see 

$1,380,538 in new reporting and 

recordkeeping costs over the 6-year 

period of analysis. See Table 10. 

TABLE 10—REPORTING COSTS FOR ALL BROKERS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Brokers Time 

(hours) 70 Wage Total 

2021 ................................................................................................................. 13,822 0.5 $31.27 $216,107 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 13,822 0.5 31.27 216,107 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 13,822 0.5 31.27 216,107 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 14,867 0.5–0.75 31.27 244,072 

2025 ................................................................................................................. 14,867 0.5–0.75 31.27 244,072 

2026 ................................................................................................................. 14,867 0.5–0.75 31.27 244,072 

Total .......................................................................................................... 14,867 3.0–3.75 ........................ 1,380,538 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

To comply with the proposed rule, 

individual brokers who do not already 

do so would be required to spend 36 

hours over three years completing 

continuing education in whatever form 

they choose. Additionally, CBP 

estimates they would spend three hours 

per 3-year cycle researching and 

registering for trainings. Finally, brokers 

would need to spend about 30–45 

minutes (0.5–0.75 hours) on 

recordkeeping during each cycle. 

Overall, brokers would need to spend 

about 40.5 hours over a 3-year period, 


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71U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational 

Employment Statistics, ‘‘May 2019 National 

Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, 

United States.’’ Updated March 31, 2020. Available 

at https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes_nat.htm. 

Accessed June 12, 2020; U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics. Employer Costs for Employee 

Compensation. Employer Costs for Employee 

Compensation Historical Listing March 2004– 

December 2019, ‘‘Table 3. Civilian workers, by 

occupational group: Employer costs per hours 

worked for employee compensation and costs as a 

percentage of total compensation, 2004–2019.’’ 

March 2020. Available at https://www.bls.gov/web/ 

ecec/ececqrtn.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2020. The 

wages are in 2019 dollars and CBP assumes an 

annual growth rate of 0 percent. 

72See proposed 19 CFR 111.103(c). 

73See section IV.E.1. of this NPRM. 

or 81 hours over a 6-year period of 

analysis, to comply with the rule. 

Some brokers would choose to 

complete their trainings outside of work 

hours, while others would complete 

training as part of their assigned duties. 

Brokers would also spend time in 

researching, registering for, and 

maintaining records of their continuing 

education, for a total of 12 hours per 

year of training plus 1.5 to 1.75 hours 

per year in research and recordkeeping. 

Based on the average wage rate for 

brokers of $31.27, the opportunity cost 

of researching, registering for, attending, 

and reporting continuing education is 

approximately $14,547,191 over the 6- 

year period of analysis.71 See Table 11. 

TABLE 11—SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITY COST FOR BROKERS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Brokers Hours Wage rate Cost 

2021 ................................................................................................................. 5,529 13.5 $31.27 $2,333,955 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 5,529 13.5 31.27 2,333,955 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 5,529 13.5 31.27 2,333,955 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 5,947 13.5 31.27 2,515,108 

2025 ................................................................................................................. 5,947 13.5 31.27 2,515,108 

2026 ................................................................................................................. 5,947 13.5 31.27 2,515,108 

Total .......................................................................................................... 5,947 81 187.62 14,547,191 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

Total costs for all individual brokers, 

including tuition and travel expenses 

for those who must begin continuing 

education regimens because of the rule 

as well as opportunity and reporting 

costs for all brokers, range from 

$16,452,050 to $53,128,426. The 

primary estimate, which accounts for 

one third of brokers choosing each cost 

tier, comes to $35,478,781 over the 6- 

year period of analysis. See Table 12. 

TABLE 12—TOTAL COSTS FOR ALL BROKERS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Total cost: 

low estimate 

Total cost: 

medium 

estimate 

Total cost: 

high estimate 

Total cost: 

primary 

estimate 

2021 ................................................................................................................. $2,636,505 $5,913,241 $8,526,520 $5,692,089 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 2,636,505 5,913,241 8,526,520 5,692,089 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 2,636,505 5,913,241 8,526,520 5,692,089 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 2,847,512 6,372,048 9,182,956 6,134,172 

2025 ................................................................................................................. 2,847,512 6,372,048 9,182,956 6,134,172 

2026 ................................................................................................................. 2,847,512 6,372,048 9,182,956 6,134,172 

Total .......................................................................................................... 16,452,050 36,855,867 53,128,426 35,478,781 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

ii. To CBP 

To implement the requirements of the 

proposed rule, CBP would need to 

designate entities or companies as 

approved accreditors of customs broker 

continuing education. To do so, CBP 

would solicit applications from parties 

interested in becoming accreditors, or 

(following the first application cycle) 

accreditors seeking renewal of their 

status, by publishing a Request for 

Proposal (RFP).72 A panel of CBP 

experts would evaluate the applications 

and select the entities approved or 

renewed as accreditors. CBP estimates 

that the process of developing and 

submitting the RFP would take two 

personnel 10 hours. Application 

evaluation would take a further 40 

hours and would require four CBP 

personnel. The process of designating 

accreditors would occur before the 

continuing education requirements 

went into effect, to allow accreditors to 

be ready for the rule’s implementation 

and ensure equal footing for all 

providers.73 However, because of 

uncertainty over timing of the rule’s 

implementation, we assumed that 

designation of accreditors would occur 

in the first year of the period of analysis. 

Regardless of when the rule goes into 

effect and the designation process 

occurs, accreditors and CBP would need 

to complete the process two times in a 

6-year period. Overall, designation of 

accreditors would require six CBP 

personnel 180 hours total, twice in a 6- 

year period of analysis, for a cost to CBP 

of $26,640 (see Table 13). 


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74Those individual brokers who have not yet 

completed a triennial report since taking their 

broker exam would be exempt from completing 

continuing education until after their first triennial 

report and, therefore, would also be exempt from 

continuing education audits during that time. 75When the proposed rule is first implemented, 

CBP would allow accreditor-applicants time to 

apply before the requirement is officially in place 

so that they are able to accredit courses as soon as 

the rule is in effect, allowing providers equal 

footing and giving brokers the largest pool of 

potential training. 

TABLE 13—COSTS TO CBP TO DESIGNATE ACCREDITORS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Personnel for 

RFP 

Personnel for 

evaluation Wage rate Hours Total 

2021 ..................................................................................... 2 4 $74.00 50 $13,320 

2022 ..................................................................................... 0 0 74.00 0 0 

2023 ..................................................................................... 0 0 74.00 0 0 

2024 ..................................................................................... 2 4 74.00 50 13,320 

2025 ..................................................................................... 0 0 74.00 0 0 

2026 ..................................................................................... 0 0 74.00 0 0 

Total .............................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 26,640 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

CBP’s Broker Management Branch 

(BMB) would also face the costs of 

auditing for compliance with the 

continuing education requirement. 

Although individual brokers would selfattest to their completion of the 

continuing education requirement with 

each triennial report, CBP would 

occasionally conduct compliance audits 

by randomly selecting a certain subset 

of brokers for auditing. To start, CBP 

would select 10 percent of brokers per 

year, although the audits would only 

cover the continuing education reported 

for the most recently completed 

triennial cycle. A continuing education 

compliance audit would involve CBP 

personnel reviewing the reported 

coursework of the selected broker and 

potentially working with brokers to 

identify gaps or higher quality training 

opportunities. Such an activity would 

take approximately one hour, on 

average; therefore, CBP estimates that 

each compliance audit would cost CBP 

approximately $74.00. For the first three 

years of the period of analysis, no 

compliance audit would take place 

because brokers would not yet have 

reported their training at the end of the 

first triennial cycle. Over the next three 

years, CBP would select 10 percent of 

active individual brokers to audit.74

With about 1,500 compliance audits 

performed per year, costs to CBP would 

amount to $330,054 over the 6-year 

period of analysis. See Table 14. 

TABLE 14—COMPLIANCE AUDITING COSTS FOR CBP 

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Audits Cost per audit Total 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 0 $74 $0 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 0 74 0 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 0 74 0 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 1,487 74 110,018 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 1,487 74 110,018 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 1,487 74 110,018 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 4,460 444 330,054 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

iii. To Accreditors 

Accrediting bodies interested in 

becoming designated accreditors for 

customs brokers continuing education 

under the terms of proposed rule would 

need to apply to CBP during an open 

RFP period and then re-apply to confirm 

their status every three years. Costs to 

respond to the RFP include only the 

preparation of the application. Overall, 

CBP estimates that the preparation of an 

application to CBP to become an 

accreditor would take two employees 40 

hours, to be completed two times in a 

6-year period. Although the application 

for accreditor status would likely be 

completed before the proposed rule is 

officially in effect, because of 

uncertainty in the timing, we have used 

the same period of analysis.75

Regardless of when the rule goes into 

effect, accreditor-applicants would need 

to apply twice in a 6-year period. 

Therefore, CBP estimates that CBPdesignated accreditors would incur 

approximately $11,339 in costs over a 6- 

year period of analysis. See Table 15. 

TABLE 15—COSTS TO ACCREDITORS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Personnel Wage rate Hours Total 

2021 ................................................................................................................. 2 $70.87 40 $5,670 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 0 70.87 0 0 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 0 70.87 0 0 


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76This fee is based on that charged by the 

NCBFAA. Although CBP sought information in the 

ANPRM on how much accreditors might charge, 

CBP did not receive specific information. 

TABLE 15—COSTS TO ACCREDITORS—Continued 

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Personnel Wage rate Hours Total 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 2 70.87 40 5,670 

2025 ................................................................................................................. 0 70.87 0 0 

2026 ................................................................................................................. 0 70.87 0 0 

Total .......................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 11,339 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

iv. To Providers 

Providers of continuing education 

would also face new costs under the 

terms of the proposed rule. Specifically, 

providers would need to submit 

applications to accreditors to have their 

coursework or events accredited. 

Officials at the NCBFAA Education 

Institute estimate that they currently 

approve approximately 1,000 courses 

per year. With the proposed rule in 

place, CBP believes the number of 

events submitted for accreditation 

would increase substantially because 

companies’ internal trainings and 

external offerings would need to be 

accredited. Therefore, CBP estimated 

that about 2,000 courses would require 

accreditation each year. Providers 

would likely pay a fee and would need 

to renew their accreditation annually to 

ensure their coursework remains up to 

date. The fee for accreditation is likely 

to vary based on accreditor, but would 

likely average $25.76 Overall, CBP 

estimates that providers of continuing 

education for customs brokers would 

face $300,000 of new costs over a 6-year 

period of analysis. See Table 16. 

TABLE 16—COSTS TO PROVIDERS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year Courses Fee Total 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 $25.00 $50,000 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 25.00 50,000 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 25.00 50,000 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 25.00 50,000 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 25.00 50,000 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 25.00 50,000 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ 300,000 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

Based on the primary estimate, costs 

total $36,146,814 over the 6-year period 

of analysis. Using a three percent 

discount rate, the annualized total costs 

are $6,012,425. See Table 17 for an 

annual breakdown and Table 18 for 

discounting. 

TABLE 17—TOTAL COSTS TO ALL PARTIES

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

Year 

Costs to 

brokers— 

primary 

estimate 

Costs to 

accreditors 

Costs to 

providers 

Costs to 

CBP— 

accrediting 

and 

auditing 

Total costs 

2021 ..................................................................................... $5,692,089 $5,670 $50,000 $13,320 $5,761,078 

2022 ..................................................................................... 5,692,089 0 50,000 0 5,742,089 

2023 ..................................................................................... 5,692,089 0 50,000 0 5,742,089 

2024 ..................................................................................... 6,134,172 5,670 50,000 123,338 6,313,179 

2025 ..................................................................................... 6,134,172 0 50,000 110,018 6,294,190 

2026 ..................................................................................... 6,134,172 0 50,000 110,018 6,294,190 

Total .............................................................................. 35,478,781 11,339 300,000 356,694 36,146,814

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 


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77See section IV.E.1. of this NPRM. 

78Source of data of companies with at least one 

individual broker with continuing education: Data 

received from NCBFAA on companies participating 

in its broker certification program on April 28, 

2021. Data on enforcement actions and the number 

of entries per company was obtained from ACE on 

April 11, 2021. 

TABLE 18—DISCOUNTED TOTAL COSTS

[2021 U.S. dollars] 

3% 7% 

PV AV PV AV 

Costs ................................................................................................................ $32,570,459 $6,012,425 $28,584,851 $5,996,982 

6. Costs Not Estimated in This Analysis 

The parties affected by the proposed 

rule would also face several, mostly 

minor costs that CBP is unable to 

quantify. To provide individual brokers 

who choose to file their triennial report 

electronically through the eCBP portal 

the ability to self-attest to their 

continuing education completion, CBP 

would need to include a field within the 

triennial report, which is submitted via 

the eCBP portal. The programming to 

include this field does not add 

significantly to the application 

development budget as CBP constantly 

makes small changes to many aspects of 

CBP’s authorized electronic data 

interchanges. 

Additionally, some potential 

accreditors may face costs related to 

protesting CBP’s initial decisions 

regarding their proposals to become 

accreditors.77 Accreditor-applicants 

would have the right to protest in 

accordance with procedures set out in 

the FAR. CBP expects these costs to be 

minor and protests to be rare. Brokers’ 

clients may see slight price increases for 

broker services. As broker costs 

increase, they may pass some of these 

costs onto their clients in the form of 

increased prices. However, CBP believes 

that the per transaction increase in 

prices would be so small as to be 

insignificant. 

7. Benefits of the Rule 

This proposed rule, if finalized, 

would have many benefits to brokers, 

CBP, and the general public. We are able 

to estimate some of the benefits of the 

proposed rule, but many others are 

qualitative in nature. Brokers would 

benefit from improved reputation and a 

professionalization of the customs 

broker community while their clients 

would benefit from better performance 

and improved compliance. The 

continuing broker education 

requirement would provide importers 

and drawback claimants with greater 

assurance that their agents are 

knowledgeable of customs laws and 

regulations, familiar with operational 

processes, and can properly exercise a 

broker’s fiduciary duties. The 

requirements would also help maintain 

a measure of consistency across all 

customs brokers. Providers would 

benefit from increased prestige due to 

CBP-approved accreditation. Other 

benefits of the proposed rule are 

quantitative. 

CBP would benefit from a reduction 

in regulatory audits of broker 

compliance. Both CBP and brokers 

would benefit from fewer errors 

committed by brokers and fewer 

penalties assessed by CBP. CBP 

examined data on broker penalties, 

regulatory audits, and validation 

activities between a group of companies 

who employ one or more individual 

brokers known to voluntarily hold an 

industry certification that requires 

meeting the proposed continuing 

education requirement and the broader 

population of brokers (which includes 

those who voluntarily complete 

continuing education and those who do 

not). This group of brokers with 

continuing education represents about 

300 companies, which make up 54 

percent of entries filed between 2017 

and 2020 and 51 percent of entries filed 

between 2015 and 2020. CBP found that 

at the 99 percent confidence level, there 

is a statistically significant difference 

between these groups. Those who 

voluntarily hold this certification and 

complete continuing education have 

significantly lower rates of penalties, 

audits, and validation activities. See 

Table 19.78 Brokers who are not known 

to have continuing education are 

assessed 11 times as many penalties per 

entry filing, are audited 8 times as often, 

and have 5 times as many validation 

activities performed by CBP to 

investigate discrepancies when 

compared to companies that are known 

to employ brokers who voluntarily take 

continuing education. 

TABLE 19—ENFORCEMENT ACTION RATE FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS

Enforcement action Total 

By all other 

companies 

(%) 

By 300 

companies 

with 

continuing 

education 

(%) 

Ratio 

Penalty ............................................................................................................. 267 0.00039 0.000035 11 to 1 

Regulatory Audit .............................................................................................. 87 0.000077 0.000011 8 to 1 

Validation Activity ............................................................................................. 311 0.00026 0.000052 5 to 1 

* Rates are defined as the number of enforcement actions divided by the number of entries filed. 


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79 Data provided by CBP’s Regulatory Audit and 

Agency Advisory Services Directorate on April 11, 

2021. 80CBP bases this estimate on an average of 60 

hours worked per penalty at an average wage of 

$74.00 per hour for a CBP Trade and Revenue 

employee. CBP bases this wage on the FY 2020 

salary and benefits of the national average of CBP 

Trade and Revenue positions, which is equal to a 

GS–13, Step 5. Source: Email correspondence with 

CBP’s Office of Finance on July 2, 2020. 81Approximately 20 percent of the penalties 

assessed between 2017 and 2020 were for 

infractions that CBP believes would have been 

avoided had the broker been required to complete 

continuing education. The majority of the 

remaining penalties were for late filing. Penalty 

data is taken from SEACATS. 

Aside from penalties, CBP 

enforcement often takes the form of a 

regulatory audit. Regulatory audits 

usually occur because a CBP Officer or 

Import Specialist flags unusual or 

suspicious activity. CBP then performs 

a regulatory audit of the broker’s 

activity, investigating the potential 

infraction, as well as the broker’s overall 

compliance with regulations, rules, and 

CBP guidance. These audits may lead to 

a settlement agreement in which a 

penalty is assessed, but they more often 

lead to discussion between the broker 

and CBP as to how the broker can 

improve compliance and performance. 

With continuing education in place, 

CBP believes that fewer regulatory 

audits would be necessary. From 2015 

to 2020, CBP performed 84 regulatory 

audits of broker compliance, for an 

average of 14 per year.79 The number of 

audits holds approximately steady 

across the 5-year period, so CBP does 

not believe it likely that the number of 

audits would grow in the period of 

analysis. Therefore, CBP projects 84 

audits would be performed during the 6- 

year period of analysis under baseline 

conditions, or 14 each year. See Table 

20. 

TABLE 20—PROJECTION OF AUDITS

AND BROKER SURVEYS UNDER THE

BASELINE

Year Audits 

2021 ...................................... 14 

2022 ...................................... 14 

2023 ...................................... 14 

2024 ...................................... 14 

2025 ...................................... 14 

2026 ...................................... 14 

Total ............................... 84 

CBP estimates that a regulatory audit 

of broker compliance takes CBP 

approximately 559 hours, on average. 

Based on the average wage rate for a 

CBP Trade and Revenue employee of 

$74.00 per hour, we estimate the 

average broker audit costs $41,351. 

Based on a review of outcomes from the 

audits completed from 2015–2020, 

approximately 40 percent would likely 

have been avoided had a continuing 

education requirement been in place. 

CBP believes that, had customs brokers 

been required to complete continuing 

education on an individual level, and, 

therefore, stayed current on the rules 

and regulations governing customs 

business, they would have made fewer 

errors and avoided the audits. Over a 6- 

year period of analysis under the terms 

of the rule, CBP would avoid 34 audits, 

for a cost savings of $1,389,400. See 

Table 21. 

TABLE 21—CBP COST SAVINGS FROM REDUCED REGULATORY AUDIT ACTIVITIES

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Audits 

avoided 

Cost savings 

per audit Total savings 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 6 $41,351 $231,567 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 6 41,351 231,567 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 6 41,351 231,567 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 6 41,351 231,567 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 6 41,351 231,567 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 6 41,351 231,567 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 34 248,107 1,389,400 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

The number of penalties assessed 

between 2017 and 2020 grew 

significantly. In 2017, CBP assessed 20 

penalties while in 2020, that number 

jumped to 119 (see Table 1, above). 

Between 2017 and 2020, the number of 

penalties issued increased with a 

compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 

of 52 percent. The jump in penalties 

between 2019 and 2020 is likely 

attributable to changes in the AD/CVD 

environment, and CBP does not believe 

that penalties per year would continue 

to grow at the same rate. Based on 

trends before and after the jump, we do 

not believe that the number of penalties 

assessed per year would consistently 

grow at any meaningful rate. Based on 

a 0 percent growth rate, CBP estimates 

that over the 6-year period of analysis 

from 2021 to 2026, CBP would assess 

675 penalties. See Table 22 for an 

annual count. 

TABLE 22—PROJECTION OF PENALTIES

ASSESSED FROM 2021–2026 

UNDER THE BASELINE

Year Penalties 

2021 ...................................... 113 

2022 ...................................... 113 

2023 ...................................... 113 

2024 ...................................... 113 

2025 ...................................... 113 

2026 ...................................... 113 

Total ............................... 675 

When CBP assesses a penalty against 

a broker for a customs violation, CBP 

incurs the cost of detecting and 

investigating the violation, as well as 

determining the appropriate monetary 

fine and handling any appeals from the 

broker. The broker must pay the 

penalty, which is capped at $30,000 by 

statute. CBP also works with brokers 

against whom a fine has been assessed 

to mitigate the penalty, resulting in the 

collection of amounts that are usually 

significantly lower. From 2017–2020, 

monetary penalties collected from 

individual brokers averaged $2,644. CBP 

estimates that the entire process of 

assessing a penalty against a broker, 

from detection to working through 

mitigation, costs CBP approximately 

$4,440 per penalty.80 With the proposed 

rule implemented, CBP believes that 

brokers would commit approximately 

20 percent fewer penalizable 

violations.81 As a result, brokers would 

save approximately $359,640 in fines 


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82Penalties are a transfer payment from the 

broker to CBP that do not affect total resources 

available to society. Accordingly, CBP does not 

include penalties or penalties avoided in the final 

accounting of costs and benefits this rule. In 

addition, penalties are an enforcement tool that are 

intended to bring a noncompliant party in line with 

existing requirements. Any costs and benefits that 

result from compliance with the underlying 

requirement are included in the analysis, but not 

the enforcement mechanism. In the same way, if a 

rule results in the seizure of illegal merchandise, 

CBP does not include the cost of the lost 

merchandise to the importers. 

83Note that we only include costs of remaining 

compliant with the proposed rule in the net costs. 

Similarly, we do not include penalties avoided in 

the final accounting of benefits. 

avoided, while CBP would save 

approximately $599,400 in processing 

costs.82 See Tables 23 and 24. 

approximately $599,400 in processing 

costs.82 See Tables 23 and 24. 

TABLE 23—PENALTIES AVOIDED BY BROKERS

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Penalties 

avoided 

Fines avoided 

per penalty Total 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 $2,664 $59,940 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 2,664 59,940 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 2,664 59,940 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 2,664 59,940 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 2,664 59,940 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 2,664 59,940 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 135 15,984 359,640 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

TABLE 24—COSTS AVOIDED BY CBP 

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Penalties 

avoided 

Cost savings 

per penalty Total 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 $4,440 $99,900 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 4,440 99,900 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 4,440 99,900 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 4,440 99,900 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 4,440 99,900 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 23 4,440 99,900 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 135 26,640 599,400 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

8. Net Impact of the Rule 

The proposed rule would lead to costs 

for brokers in the form of tuition, travel 

expenses, opportunity cost, and time 

spent researching, registering for, 

keeping records of, and reporting 

continuing education. CBP would face 

the costs of designating accreditors and 

auditing broker compliance. Accreditors 

would incur the costs of responding to 

a CBP-issued RFP, and education 

providers would incur the costs of 

drafting applications and fees charged 

by the accreditors for reviewing their 

accreditation requests. CBP would also 

see cost savings (benefits) from avoided 

penalty assessment and avoided 

regulatory audits. CBP has found that 

companies employing one or more 

brokers who complete continuing 

education are statistically less likely to 

face enforcement actions. Over a 6-year 

period of analysis, the primary estimate 

of the net costs totals $34,158,014 (see 

Table 25). Using a discount rate of three 

percent, annualized costs total 

$5,680,959 (see Table 26). 

TABLE 25—PRIMARY ESTIMATE OF NET COSTS

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Benefits Costs Net costs 83

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. $331,467 $5,761,078 $5,429,611 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 331,467 5,742,089 5,410,622 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 331,467 5,742,089 5,410,622 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 331,467 6,313,179 5,981,713 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 331,467 6,294,190 5,962,723 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 331,467 6,294,190 5,962,723 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 1,988,800 36,146,814 34,158,014 


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50822 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

84See Internal Revenue Service, Enrolled Agent 

Information (Apr. 6, 2021), available at https://

www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/enrolled-agents/ 

enrolled-agent-information. 

TABLE 26—PRIMARY ESTIMATE OF NET PRESENT AND ANNUALIZED COSTS

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

3% 7% 

PV AV PV AV 

Savings ............................................................................................................ $1,795,619 $331,467 $1,579,949 $331,467 

Costs ................................................................................................................ 32,570,459 6,012,425 28,584,851 5,996,982 

Net Costs .................................................................................................. 30,774,841 5,680,959 27,004,902 5,665,515 

CBP presents four estimates of the net 

costs depending on the cost of training 

pursued by each individual broker. The 

low-cost path assumes the broker would 

pursue only free trainings and forgo 

travel. In the medium-cost path, brokers 

would pursue a mix of free and paid 

trainings and travel to a single 

conference or in-person event per year. 

In the high-cost path, brokers would 

pursue all paid trainings and travel to 

two in-person events or conferences per 

year. The primary estimate assumes that 

one third of brokers would choose each 

path. Overall, the quantifiable effects of 

the proposed rule result in a net, 

annualized cost ranging from $2,514,956 

to $8,617,817, using a 3 percent 

discount rate over the 6-year period of 

analysis. A summary of net costs under 

all four estimates presented in the 

analysis can be found in Table 27. 

TABLE 27—SUMMARY OF NET COSTS

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Estimate Value 3% 7% 

Primary ......................................................................... Net PV .......................................................................... $30,774,841 $27,004,902 

Net AV .......................................................................... 5,680,959 5,665,515 

Low ............................................................................... Net PV .......................................................................... 13,624,000 11,945,324 

Net AV .......................................................................... 2,514,956 2,506,079 

Medium ......................................................................... Net PV .......................................................................... 32,016,156 28,094,859 

Net AV .......................................................................... 5,910,102 5,894,183 

High .............................................................................. Net PV .......................................................................... 46,684,367 40,974,522 

Net AV .......................................................................... 8,617,817 8,596,283 

As stated before, many benefits of the 

proposed rule are qualitative. Brokers 

would benefit from improved reputation 

and a professionalization of the customs 

broker community while their clients 

would benefit from better performance, 

less non-compliance, and improved 

outcomes. Providers would benefit from 

increased prestige due to CBP-approved 

accreditation. CBP believes that the 

combination of quantified benefits and 

unquantified benefits exceed the costs 

of this rule. We request comment on this 

conclusion. 

9. Analysis of Alternatives 

Alternative 1: 72 hours every three 

years. 

Alternative 1 is the same as the 

chosen alternative except that the 

continuing education requirement 

would be raised to 72 hours each 

triennial cycle instead of 36 hours. This 

alternative is modeled on the Internal 

Revenue Service’s (IRS) Enrolled Agent 

program, which requires 72 hours of 

continuing education every three 

years.84 An enrolled agent is an 

individual who may represent clients in 

matters before the IRS and, like a 

licensed customs broker, must pass a 

rigorous examination to prove his or her 

knowledge and competence, making it a 

reasonable analog to the proposed CBP 

program. Once the agent has passed the 

exam, he or she has unlimited practice 

rights, providing he or she completes 

the requisite continuing education. 

CBP has determined that 72 hours 

every three years would be 

inappropriate for individual brokers. 

Were CBP to mandate 72 hours of 

continuing education every three years, 

brokers who already voluntarily pursue 

continuing education would need to 

increase the amount of training they 

complete, often by 100 percent. Costs 

incurred by both brokers who do not 

already pursue continuing education 

and those who do would be much 

greater. Such a requirement would be 

too onerous, particularly for small 

businesses, which make up a significant 

proportion (approximately 39 percent) 

of the employers of licensed customs 

brokers. CBP estimates that such a 

requirement would cost brokers up to 

$113,258,739 over a 6-year period of 

analysis, or about $7,618 per broker. See 

Table 28. 

TABLE 28—BROKER COSTS UNDER A 72-HOUR CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Brokers 

Low Medium High 

Cost Total Cost Total Cost Total 

2021 ............................. 13,822 $62.54 $518,657 $1,248 $10,348,863 $2,193 $18,188,702 

2022 ............................. 13,822 62.54 518,657 1,248 10,348,863 2,193 18,188,702 


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85CBP assumes that large companies employing 

more than 100 people already have a continuing 

education program. Therefore, those companies that 

would need to add continuing education in order 

to be included on CBP’s list would likely be small 

to medium sized businesses, meaning there would 

be a significant number of them, employing a few 

brokers each. 

TABLE 28—BROKER COSTS UNDER A 72-HOUR CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENT—Continued 

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Brokers 

Low Medium High 

Cost Total Cost Total Cost Total 

2023 ............................. 13,822 62.54 518,657 1,248 10,348,863 2,193 18,188,702 

2024 ............................. 14,867 62.54 557,880 1,248 11,131,490 2,193 19,564,211 

2025 ............................. 14,867 62.54 557,880 1,248 11,131,490 2,193 19,564,211 

2026 ............................. 14,867 62.54 557,880 1,248 11,131,490 2,193 19,564,211 

Total ...................... 14,867 375 3,229,610 7,487 64,441,059 13,159 113,258,739 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

Alternative 2: 36 hours every three 

years. 

Alternative 2 is the chosen 

alternative. 

Alternative 3: CBP list of brokers 

voluntarily meeting continuing 

education standards. 

Under Alternative 3, instead of 

mandating any kind of continuing 

education program, CBP would release 

annually a list of brokerages or 

companies employing brokers who 

voluntarily provide continuing 

education to their broker employees. As 

with Alternative 1, qualifying events 

would include internal training, 

government-sponsored webinars, trade 

conferences and events, and other 

activities. CBP would draft this list each 

year by requesting that companies 

report whether they provide a 

continuing education program. CBP 

might request details from the company 

to ensure the training provided meets a 

certain threshold for quality and 

relevance. 

Under baseline conditions, CBP 

estimates that about 60 percent of 

brokers already complete continuing 

education on a voluntary basis. CBP 

does not believe that publishing a list of 

brokerages that provide continuing 

education would induce the remaining 

40 percent of brokers to pursue 

continuing education, though some 

brokers might do so. Under Alternative 

3, those individual brokers who already 

complete ongoing training would 

continue to do so, while many of those 

brokers who do not, would not, absent 

a mandate, be likely to change. CBP 

estimates that an additional five percent 

of brokers might begin a continuing 

education program in order to be 

included on CBP’s list, representing 

about 186 additional companies.85

While fewer brokers would face the 

costs of tuition, travel, and recordkeeping, approximately 743 would face 

these costs of continuing education over 

the 6-year period of analysis. 

Additionally, CBP would incur the costs 

of composing the list each year and 

companies employing brokers would 

face the costs of applying to be included 

on the list. Assuming two CBP 

personnel spend about 40 hours each, 

annually to compose the list, that one 

person from each company spends 

about 10 hours compiling and 

submitting information to CBP annually, 

and that one third of affected brokers 

choose each cost path, Alternative 3 

results in costs of $5,636,739 over the 6- 

year period of analysis. See Table 29. 

TABLE 29—TOTAL COSTS UNDER ALTERNATIVE 3 

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year CBP cost Brokerage 

costs Broker costs Total 

2021 ................................................................................................................. $11,840 $267,605 $293,545 $572,990 

2022 ................................................................................................................. 11,840 267,605 695,303 974,748 

2023 ................................................................................................................. 11,840 267,605 725,822 1,005,267 

2024 ................................................................................................................. 11,840 267,605 748,466 1,027,911 

2025 ................................................................................................................. 11,840 267,605 748,466 1,027,911 

2026 ................................................................................................................. 11,840 267,605 748,466 1,027,911 

Total .......................................................................................................... 71,040 1,605,631 3,960,068 5,636,739 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

If only 5 percent more brokers elect to 

begin continuing education under the 

terms of Alternative 3, fewer noncompliance actions would be avoided. 

CBP estimates that only an eighth as 

many penalties and audits would be 

avoided as compared to Alternative 2. 

Therefore, CBP and brokers would avoid 

three penalties and one audit annually, 

for a total cost savings of $44,955 per 

year. However, CBP does not typically 

include avoided penalties in the overall 

accounting of costs and benefits of a 

rule. Therefore, over a 6-year period of 

analysis, Alternative 3 leads to $248,600 

in cost savings. 


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50824 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

86Small business size standards are defined in 13 

CFR part 121. 

87United States Census Bureau, ‘‘2017 County 

Business Patterns and 2017 Economic Census,’’ 

Released March 6, 2020, https://www.census.gov/ 

data/tables/2017/econ/susb/2017-susbannual.html. Accessed March 15, 2021. 

88Note that some of the categories are sums of 

other categories. For example, Category 8, <500, is 

a sum of Categories 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Thus, 

Categories 7 and 9 are not consecutive, but 

represent all firms employing 100 or more people. 

89The Survey of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) from 

which this data is taken is conducted in years 

ending in 2 and 7. Note that finalized results from 

the 2017 survey are scheduled for release in May 

of 2021. 

TABLE 30—TOTAL SAVINGS UNDER ALTERNATIVE 3 

[2021 U.S. Dollars] 

Year Savings 

for brokers 

Savings 

for CBP 

Total 

savings 

2021 ............................................................................................................................................. $7,493 $41,433 $41,433 

2022 ............................................................................................................................................. 7,493 41,433 41,433 

2023 ............................................................................................................................................. 7,493 41,433 41,433 

2024 ............................................................................................................................................. 7,493 41,433 41,433 

2025 ............................................................................................................................................. 7,493 41,433 41,433 

2026 ............................................................................................................................................. 7,493 41,433 41,433 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 44,955 248,600 248,600 

* Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

One of the primary goals of the 

proposed rule is to reduce compliance 

issues, penalties, and regulatory audits, 

and CBP does not believe that a system 

based on voluntary reporting would do 

enough to reach that goal. With only an 

additional 5 percent of brokers pursuing 

continuing education, Alternative 3 

would not do enough to further 

professionalize the customs broker 

community, nor would their clients see 

an appreciable decline in compliance 

issues. Additionally, such a system 

would still result in a net cost of about 

$5.4 million over the 6-year period of 

analysis. Therefore, CBP believes that 

Alternative 3 is less preferable than the 

chosen alternative. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

and Fairness Act of 1996, requires 

agencies to assess the impact of 

regulations on small entities. A small 

entity may be a small business (defined 

as any independently owned and 

operated business not dominant in its 

field that qualifies as a small business 

concern per the Small Business Act); a 

small organization (defined as any notfor-profit enterprise which is 

independently owned and operated and 

is not dominant in its field); or a small 

governmental jurisdiction (defined as a 

locality with fewer than 50,000 people). 

A small business within the Freight 

Transportation Arrangement Industry, 

the industry that employs customs 

brokers, is defined as one whose annual 

receipts are less than $16.5 million, 

regardless of the number of 

employees.86 Data from the U.S. Census 

Bureau shows that approximately 96 

percent of businesses in the 

Transportation Arrangement Industry 

(NAICS Code 448510) are small 

businesses (see Table 31). All businesses 

employing brokers under this NAICS 

Code are affected by this rule. 

Additionally, some small businesses 

may elect to become accreditors or 

training providers. Therefore, CBP 

concludes that this rule will affect a 

substantial number of small entities. 

TABLE 31—SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENT INDUSTRY 87

Employment size 88 Number of 

employees 

Preliminary 

receipts 

(all firms, 

$1,000s) 89

Receipts 

per firm 

($) 

Small 

business? 

01: Total ............................................................................................................ 265,192 $67,276,572 $4,454,222 

02: <5 ................................................................................................................ 15,939 6,315,166 708,614 Yes. 

03: 5–9 .............................................................................................................. 18,025 5,392,992 1,974,732 Yes. 

04: 10–19 .......................................................................................................... 20,288 5,870,163 3,851,813 Yes. 

05: <20 .............................................................................................................. 54,252 17,578,321 1,335,029 Yes. 

06: 20–99 .......................................................................................................... 49,477 13,973,780 10,397,158 Yes. 

07: 100–499 ...................................................................................................... 44,715 10,886,028 30,493,076 No. 

08: <500 ............................................................................................................ 148,444 42,438,129 2,854,327 Yes. 

09: 500+ ............................................................................................................ 116,748 24,838,443 105,247,640 No. 

Some small businesses may choose to 

apply to CBP to become accreditors. 

Those businesses would face the costs 

of applying to CBP, the potential costs 

of any protests they choose to file 

should they disagree with CBP’s 

decision regarding their proposals, and 

the costs of being an accreditor. Small 

businesses may also choose to become 

training providers and to incur the costs 

of producing and providing trainings. 

However, CBP believes that those costs 

would be recouped by tuition and fees. 

CBP further expects any costs not 

directly covered by fees to be minor and 

included in general business expenses. 

Individual brokers employed by these 

companies would be required to attain 

36 hours of continuing education every 

three years under the terms of the 

proposed rule. They would also face the 

opportunity cost of attending trainings 

as well as the costs of recordkeeping, 

reporting, and participating in any 

continuing education compliance audit 

initiated by CBP. Accordingly, the 

impacts of the rule to individual brokers 


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90Many brokerages are sole proprietorships and 

many employ individual brokers who supervise 

other employees. The average number of employees 

per firm is seven. CBP assumes the average firm 

employs 4 individual brokers and 3 other 

employees, such as human resource managers. 

and affected businesses will depend on 

if the broker currently meets the 

proposed training requirements. Based 

on public comments in response to the 

ANPRM and discussions between CBP 

and various broker organizations, CBP 

estimates most large businesses 

employing brokers already provide, and 

often mandate, internal training and 

continuing education. CBP estimates 

that these 60 percent of individual 

brokers already in compliance would 

not face new costs aside from 

recordkeeping and reporting. CBP 

estimates the remaining 40 percent of 

brokers, mostly at smaller businesses, 

would need to come into compliance 

with the proposed rule. Using the 

primary estimate under which one third 

of brokers selects each cost tier, and 

assuming a discount rate of 3 percent, 

the annualized cost of the rule to all 

affected brokers is $5,903,336. The rule 

would affect 5,529 customs brokers in 

the first year, for an average annualized 

cost of $1,068 per broker. The average 

annual receipts for small businesses in 

the Freight Transportation Arrangement 

Industry, according to the Census data 

in Table 28, is $543,589. The number of 

brokers employed by each business 

would vary among the small businesses 

in question, but assuming an average of 

four brokers per company,90 the cost of 

continuing education for each firm 

would be approximately $4,272 

annually, or about 0.79 percent of 

annual receipts. CBP generally 

considers effects of less than 1 percent 

of annual receipts not to be a significant 

impact. Accordingly, CBP certifies that 

this proposed rule does not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 

44 U.S.C. 3507) an agency may not 

conduct, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a valid control number 

assigned by OMB. The collections of 

information contained in these 

regulations are provided for by OMB 

control number 1651–0034 (CBP 

Regulations Pertaining to Customs 

Brokers). 

The proposed rule would require 

individual brokers to maintain records 

of completed continuing education 

(including, among others, the date, title, 

provider, location, and credit hours) and 

certify the completion of the required 

number of continuing education credits 

on the triennial report. Based on these 

changes, CBP estimates a small increase 

in the burden hours for information 

collection related to customs brokers 

regulations. CBP would submit to OMB 

for review the following adjustments to 

the previously approved Information 

Collection under OMB control number 

1651–0034 to account for this proposed 

rule’s changes. The addition of the selfattestation and submission of records 

would add about 30–45 minutes (0.5– 

0.75 hours) per respondent. 

CBP Regulations Pertaining Customs 

Brokers 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

13,822. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Number of Total Annual 

Responses: 0.333. 

Estimated Time per Response: 31.5 

minutes (0.525 hours). 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 2,418.85 hours. 

D. Signing Authority 

This document is being issued in 

accordance with 19 CFR 0.1(b)(1), 

which provides that the Secretary of the 

Treasury delegated to the Secretary of 

DHS authority to prescribe and approve 

regulations relating to customs revenue 

functions on behalf of the Secretary of 

the Treasury for when the subject matter 

is not listed as provided by Treasury 

Department Order No. 100–16. 

Accordingly, this proposed rule may be 

signed by the Secretary of DHS (or his 

or her delegate). 

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 111 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Brokers, Penalties, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Amendments to the Regulations 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, CBP proposes to amend 19 

CFR part 111 as set forth below: 

PART 111—CUSTOMS BROKERS 

■ 1. The general authority citation for 

part 111 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 (General 

Note 3(i), Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States), 1624, 1641. 

* * * * * 

■ 2. Revise the second sentence of 

§ 111.0 to read as follows: 

§ 111.0 Scope. 

* * * This part also prescribes the 

duties and responsibilities of brokers, 

the grounds and procedures for 

disciplining brokers, including the 

assessment of monetary penalties, the 

revocation or suspension of licenses and 

permits, and the obligation for 

individual customs broker license 

holders to satisfy a continuing 

education requirement. 

■ 3. In § 111.1, add the definitions 

‘‘Continuing broker education 

requirement’’, ‘‘Continuing education 

credit’’, ‘‘Qualifying continuing broker 

education’’, and ‘‘Triennial period’’ in 

alphabetical order to read as follows: 

§ 111.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Continuing broker education 

requirement. ‘‘Continuing broker 

education requirement’’ means an 

individual customs broker license 

holder’s obligation to complete a certain 

number of continuing education credits 

of qualifying continuing broker 

education, as set forth in subpart F of 

this part, in order to maintain sufficient 

knowledge of customs and related laws, 

regulations, and procedures, 

bookkeeping, accounting, and all other 

appropriate matters necessary to render 

valuable service to importers and 

drawback claimants. 

Continuing education credit. 

‘‘Continuing education credit’’ means 

the unit of measurement used for 

meeting the continuing broker 

education requirement. The smallest 

recognized unit is one continuing 

education credit, which requires 60 

minutes of continuous participation in a 

qualifying continuing broker education 

program, as defined in § 111.103(a). For 

qualifying continuing broker education 

lasting more than 60 minutes, one 

continuing education credit may be 

claimed for the first 60 minutes of 

continuous participation, and half of 

one continuing education credit may be 

claimed for every full 30 minutes of 

continuous participation thereafter. For 

example, for qualifying continuing 

broker education lasting more than 60 

minutes but less than 90 minutes, only 

one continuing education credit may be 

claimed. In contrast, for qualifying 

continuing broker education lasting 90 

minutes, 1.5 continuing broker 

education credits may be claimed. 

* * * * * 

Qualifying continuing broker 

education. ‘‘Qualifying continuing 

broker education’’ means any training or 

educational activity that is eligible or, if 

required, has been approved for 

continuing education credit, in 

accordance with § 111.103. 

* * * * * 

Triennial period. ‘‘Triennial period’’ 

means a period of three years 


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commencing on February 1, 1985, or on 

February 1 in any third year thereafter. 

■ 4. In § 111.30, revise paragraphs 

(d)(2)(ii) and (iii) and add paragraph 

(d)(2)(iv) to read as follows: 

§ 111.30 Notification of change of 

business address, organization, name, or 

location of business records; status report; 

termination of brokerage business. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) State the name and address of his 

or her employer if he or she is employed 

by another broker, unless his or her 

employer is a partnership, association, 

or corporation broker for which he or 

she is a qualifying member or officer for 

purposes of § 111.11(b) or (c)(2); 

(iii) State whether or not he or she 

still meets the applicable requirements 

of §§ 111.11 and 111.19 and has not 

engaged in any conduct that could 

constitute grounds for suspension or 

revocation under § 111.53; and 

(iv) Report and certify the broker’s 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement as set forth in 

§ 111.102. 

* * * * * 

§§ 111.97 through 111.100 [Added and 

Reserved] 

■ 5. Add reserve §§ 111.97 through 

111.100. 

■ 6. Add subpart F, consisting of 

§§ 111.101 through 111.104, to read as 

follows: 

Subpart F—Continuing Education 

Requirements for Individual Customs 

Broker License Holders 

Sec. 

111.101 Scope. 

111.102 Obligations of individual customs 

brokers in conjunction with continuing 

broker education requirement. 

111.103 Accreditation of qualifying 

continuing broker education. 

111.104 Failure to report and certify 

compliance with continuing broker 

education requirement. 

§ 111.101 Scope. 

This subpart sets forth regulations 

providing for a continuing education 

requirement for individual customs 

broker license holders and the 

framework for administering the 

requirements of this subpart. The 

continuing broker education 

requirement is for individual brokers, in 

order to maintain sufficient knowledge 

of customs and related laws, 

regulations, and procedures, 

bookkeeping, accounting, and all other 

appropriate matters necessary to render 

valuable service to importers and 

drawback claimants. 

§ 111.102 Obligations of individual 

customs brokers in conjunction with 

continuing broker education requirement. 

(a) Continuing broker education 

requirement. All individual customs 

broker license holders must complete 

qualifying continuing broker education 

as defined in § 111.103(a), except: 

(1) During a period of voluntary 

suspension as described in § 111.52; or 

(2) When individual customs broker 

license holders have not held their 

license for an entire triennial period at 

the time of the submission of the status 

report as required under § 111.30(d). 

(b) Required minimum number of 

continuing education credits. All 

individual brokers who are subject to 

the continuing broker education 

requirement must complete at least 36 

continuing education credits of 

qualifying continuing broker education 

each triennial period, except upon the 

reinstatement of a license following a 

period of voluntary suspension as 

described in § 111.52. Upon the 

reinstatement of a license following a 

period of voluntary suspension as 

described in § 111.52, the number of 

continuing education credits that an 

individual broker must complete by the 

end of the triennial period during which 

the reinstatement of the license 

occurred will be calculated on a 

prorated basis of one continuing 

education credit for each complete 

remaining month until the end of the 

triennial period. 

(c) Reporting requirements. Individual 

brokers who are subject to the 

continuing broker education 

requirement must report and certify 

their compliance upon submission of 

the status report required under 

§ 111.30(d). 

(d) Recordkeeping requirements—(1) 

General. Individual brokers who are 

subject to the continuing broker 

education requirement must retain the 

following information and 

documentation pertaining to the 

qualifying education completed during 

a triennial period for a period of three 

years following the submission of the 

status report required under § 111.30(d): 

(i) The title of the qualifying 

continuing broker education attended; 

(ii) The name of the provider or host 

of the qualifying continuing broker 

education; 

(iii) The date(s) attended; 

(iv) The number of continuing 

education credits accrued; 

(v) The location of the training or 

educational activity, if the training or 

educational activity is offered in person; 

and 

(vi) Any documentation received from 

the provider or host of the qualifying 

continuing broker education that 

evidences the individual broker’s 

registration for, attendance at, 

completion of, or other activity bearing 

upon the individual broker’s 

participation in and completion of the 

qualifying continuing broker education. 

(2) Availability of records. In order to 

ensure that the individual broker has 

met the continuing broker education 

requirement, upon CBP’s request, the 

individual broker must make available 

to CBP the information and 

documentation described in paragraph 

(d)(1) of this section. CBP can request 

the information and documentation be 

made available for in-person inspection, 

or be delivered to CBP by either hardcopy or electronic means, or any 

combination thereof. 

§ 111.103 Accreditation of qualifying 

continuing broker education. 

(a) Qualifying continuing broker 

education. In order for a training or 

educational activity to be considered 

qualifying continuing broker education, 

it must meet the following two 

requirements: 

(1) Providers of qualifying continuing 

broker education. The training or 

educational activity must be offered by 

one of the following providers: 

(i) Government agencies. Qualifying 

continuing broker education constitutes 

any training or educational activity 

offered by CBP, whether online or inperson, and training or educational 

activity offered by another U.S. 

Government agency, whether online or 

in-person, but only if the content is 

relevant to customs business. 

Accreditation is not required for 

trainings or educational activities 

offered by U.S. Government agencies. 

(ii) Other providers requiring 

accreditation. Any other training or 

educational activity not offered by a 

U.S. Government agency, whether 

online or in-person, will not be 

considered a qualifying continuing 

broker education, unless the training or 

educational activity has been approved 

for continuing education credit by a 

CBP-selected accreditor before the 

training or educational activity is 

provided. 

(2) Recognized trainings or 

educational activities. The training or 

educational activity must constitute one 

of the following: 

(i) Coursework, a seminar, or a 

workshop, whether online or in-person, 

that is conducted by an instructor, 

discussion leader, or speaker; 

(ii) A symposium or convention, with 

the exception of the attendance at a 

meeting conducted in accordance with 

the provisions of the Federal Advisory 


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Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 

App.), whether online or in-person; 

(iii) The preparation of a subject 

matter for presentation as an instructor, 

discussion leader, or speaker at a 

training or educational activity 

described in paragraphs (a)(2)(i) and (ii) 

of this section, subject to the 

requirements set forth in paragraph (b) 

of this section; and 

(iv) The presentation of a subject 

matter as an instructor, discussion 

leader, or speaker at a training or 

educational activity described in 

paragraph (a)(2)(i) or (ii) of this section, 

subject to the requirements set forth in 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

(b) Special allowance for instructors, 

discussion leaders, and speakers. (1) 

Contingent upon the approval by a CBPselected accreditor, an individual broker 

may claim one continuing education 

credit for each full 60 minutes spent: 

(i) Presenting subject matter as an 

instructor, discussion leader, or speaker 

at a training or educational activity 

described in paragraph (a)(2)(i) or (ii) of 

this section; or 

(ii) Preparing subject matter for 

presentation as an instructor, discussion 

leader, or speaker at a training or 

educational activity described in 

paragraph (a)(2)(i) or (ii) of this section. 

(2) The special allowance for 

instructors, discussion leaders, and 

speakers is subject to the following 

limitations: 

(i) For any session of presentation 

given at one time, regardless of the 

duration of that session, an individual 

broker may claim, at a maximum, one 

continuing education credit for the time 

spent preparing subject matter for that 

presentation pursuant to paragraph 

(b)(1)(ii) of this section. 

(ii) Per triennial period, an individual 

broker may claim, at a maximum, a 

combined total of 12 continuing 

education credits earned in accordance 

with paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) of this 

section. 

(3) Regardless of whether the training 

or educational activity is offered by a 

U.S. Government agency or another 

provider, any instructor, discussion 

leader, or speaker seeking to claim 

continuing education credit in 

accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section must obtain the approval of a 

CBP-selected accreditor. 

(c) Selection of accreditors. The Office 

of Trade will select accreditors based on 

a Request for Information (RFI) and a 

Request for Proposal (RFP) announced 

through the System for Award 

Management (SAM) or any other 

electronic system for award 

management approved by the U.S. 

General Services Administration, in 

accordance with the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (48 CFR chapter 1), for a 

specific period of award, subject to 

renewal. The Executive Assistant 

Commissioner, Office of Trade, will 

periodically publish notices in the 

Federal Register announcing the criteria 

that CBP will use to select an accreditor, 

the period during which CBP will 

accept applications by potential 

accreditors, and the period of award for 

a CBP-selected accreditor. 

(d) Responsibilities of CBP-selected 

accreditors. CBP-selected accreditors 

administer the accreditation of trainings 

or educational activities other than 

those described in paragraph (a)(1) of 

this section for the purpose of the 

continuing broker education 

requirement by reviewing and 

approving or denying such educational 

content for continuing education credit. 

A CBP-selected accreditor’s approval of 

a training or educational activity for 

continuing education credit is valid for 

one year, and the accreditation may be 

renewed through any CBP-selected 

accreditor. 

(e) Prohibition of self-certification by 

an accreditor. CBP-selected accreditors 

may not approve their own trainings or 

educational activities for continuing 

education credit. 

§ 111.104 Failure to report and certify 

compliance with continuing broker 

education requirement. 

(a) Notification by CBP. If an 

individual broker is subject to the 

continuing broker education 

requirement pursuant to § 111.102 and 

submits a status report as required 

under § 111.30(d)(2), but fails to report 

and certify compliance with the 

continuing broker education 

requirement as part of the submission of 

the status report, then CBP will notify 

the individual broker of the broker’s 

failure to report and certify compliance 

in accordance with § 111.30(d). The 

notification will be sent to the address 

reflected in CBP’s records, or 

transmitted electronically pursuant to 

any electronic means authorized by CBP 

for that purpose. 

(b) Required response to notice. Upon 

the issuance of such notification, the 

individual broker must within 30 

calendar days: 

(1) Submit a corrected status report 

that, in accordance with § 111.30(d), 

reflects the individual broker’s 

compliance with the continuing broker 

education requirement, if the individual 

broker completed the required number 

of continuing education credits but 

failed to report and certify compliance 

with the requirement as part of the 

submission of the status report; or 

(2) Complete the required number of 

continuing education credits of 

qualifying continuing broker education 

and submit a corrected status report 

that, in accordance with § 111.30(d), 

reflects the broker’s compliance with 

the continuing broker education 

requirement, if the individual broker 

had not completed the required number 

of continuing education credits at the 

time the status report was due. 

(c) Suspension of license. Unless the 

individual broker takes the corrective 

actions described in paragraph (b)(1) or 

(2) of this section within 30 calendar 

days of the issuance of the notification 

described in paragraph (a) of this 

section, CBP will take actions to 

suspend the individual broker’s license 

in accordance with subpart D of this 

part. 

(d) Revocation of license. If the 

individual broker’s license has been 

suspended pursuant to paragraph (c) of 

this section and the individual broker 

fails to take the corrective actions 

described in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of 

this section within 120 calendar days 

upon the issuance of the order of 

suspension, CBP will take actions to 

revoke the individual broker’s license 

without prejudice to the filing of an 

application for a new license in 

accordance with subpart D of this part. 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas, 

Secretary, Department of Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19013 Filed 9–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 


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