How To Become A Customs Brokerage Agent: What It Is and Career Path

What is a customs brokerage agent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The primary duty of a customs brokerage agent is to manage general business operations. He/She receives, reviews, and processes import documentation from various sources. He/She also examines invoices, bills of lading, and shipping documents to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Furthermore, he/she liaises with origin and destination locations to know shipment status, special handling, and delivery processes. Also, he/she helps with verifying customs declaration information and their submission to the customs authority. The agent ensures adherence to all relevant regulations.

To become a customs brokerage agent, you need a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent. You must have at least two years of experience in a similar role and must possess interpersonal, organization, customer service, and communication skills. Also, you must be proficient in Microsoft Office. Additionally, you must be conversant with the customs brokerage process and customs legislation. This personnel earns about $42,353 per annum. The salary ranges from $32,000 to $55,000.

ScoreCustoms Brokerage AgentUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,655

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.43%

Asian 8.83%

Black or African American 6.36%

Hispanic or Latino 9.39%

Unknown 4.56%

White 70.43%

Gender

female 56.25%

male 43.75%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a customs brokerage agent

Explore customs brokerage agent education requirements

Most common customs brokerage agent degrees

Bachelor's

60.9 %

Associate

16.6 %

High School Diploma

13.6 %

Start to develop specific customs brokerage agent skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	43.16%
Data Entry	29.66%
Government Agencies	6.66%
Entry Processing	3.29%
US Customs	2.94%

Complete relevant customs brokerage agent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New customs brokerage agents learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a customs brokerage agent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real customs brokerage agent resumes.

Research customs brokerage agent duties and responsibilities

Manage all office relate matters to include accounting, international traffic and logistics.
Classify merchandise accordingly to U.S. Customs guidelines for importation (FDA, OGA, HTS, & ABI).
Process all entries via ABI so that all CBP and other government agency requirements are fulfilled.
Comply and provide all require information for FDA entries.

Prepare your customs brokerage agent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your customs brokerage agent resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a customs brokerage agent resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable customs brokerage agent resume templates

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