1.4 Statutory Fees, Application Vetting, and Appeals of Adverse Decisions

1.4 Statutory Fees, Application Vetting, and Appeals of Adverse Decisions

At a glance: Examination fee $390 | Individual license application $300 | Organization license application $500 | Triennial status report $100 | FY 2026 annual permit user fee $185.38 | Examination challenge and further review: 60 days each | Appeal of a license revocation or suspension: Court of International Trade, within 60 days (19 U.S.C. § 1641(e)).

The Statutory Fee Schedule (19 CFR 111.96)

Every stage of a broker's regulatory life has a fee attached, and the CBLE tests the amounts because they are printed in the designated edition of 19 CFR:

Two consequences flow from non-payment, and they are different in kind:

• Triennial report fee: the report is not considered received by CBP until the fee is paid. A report filed on time without the fee is not a timely filing, and the March 1 suspension under 19 CFR 111.30(d)(2) attaches.
• Annual permit user fee: non-payment revokes the permit by operation of law under 19 CFR 111.45(c).

Note the structural difference between a license and a permit. The license is the professional credential and does not expire by passage of time. The permit is the operating authority, carries the recurring annual user fee, and is the thing that the 180-day national-permit-qualifier rule and the user-fee rule revoke.

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What CBP Vets on an Application

The application triggers a background investigation whose scope is broader than a criminal record check. CBP evaluates:

1. Citizenship and age — U.S. citizenship on the date the application is submitted, and attainment of age 21 before submission (19 CFR 111.11(a)(1)–(2)).
2. Examination currency — a passing grade on an examination taken within the three-year period before submission (19 CFR 111.11(a)(4)).
3. Good moral character — 19 CFR 111.11(a)(3). CBP considers criminal history, false statements on the application, and a record of financial irresponsibility, because a broker holds client funds destined for the United States Treasury.
4. Government employment — an officer or employee of the United States Government may not hold a license.
5. For organizations — the articles must empower the entity to transact customs business as a broker, and at least one member or officer must be a licensed broker. Unlicensed officers, directors, and significant owners are vetted so the entity is not used as a front.

Denial of an Application (19 CFR 111.16–111.17)

If CBP proposes to deny the application, it issues a written notice stating the grounds and gives the applicant an opportunity to respond in writing. Grounds for denial under 19 CFR 111.16(b) include any conviction of a felony, any misdemeanor conviction involving import or export activity, theft, bribery, or a false statement, intentional misstatement or omission of a material fact in the application, and a record demonstrating a lack of good moral character. If the decision remains adverse, the applicant may pursue administrative review and then judicial review.

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Appeal Ladder 1: Challenging the Examination (19 CFR 111.13)

An examinee who does not attain a passing grade may challenge the examination. The structure is two rungs, each 60 days:

1. First appeal — a written challenge filed with CBP within 60 calendar days after the date of the notice of the examination results.
2. Further review — if the first appeal is denied, a written request for further review filed within 60 calendar days after the date of the notice of the appeal decision.

The appeals threshold added for April 2026. CBP now limits who may appeal at all. Examinees who score within three questions of the passing score — 57 or more correct out of 80 — may appeal up to four questions on the ground that their answer is the best answer. A candidate scoring 56 or below receives no appeal opportunity and must retake the examination.

The practical implication is a change in exam-day behavior. Under the old regime, a 57 was simply a fail. Now it is a score with four appealable questions attached, which makes it worth briefly noting on your own scratch material which questions you considered genuinely ambiguous and why — the reasoning is what supports an appeal.

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Appeal Ladder 2: Disciplinary Suspension or Revocation

A license or permit may be suspended or revoked only through the formal process in 19 CFR Part 111, Subpart D: preliminary proceedings, service of a notice to show cause stating the charges, a hearing before an administrative law judge with the right to counsel and cross-examination, a recommended decision, and a final decision by the Commissioner.

THE CITATION THAT DISTRACTORS GET WRONG: Under 19 U.S.C. § 1641(e), the broker may appeal that final decision by filing in the Court of International Trade within 60 days after the issuance of the decision. The first level of judicial review is the CIT, not the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit hears an appeal from the CIT's judgment, not from the agency.

Contrast this with the administrative revocations, which carry no hearing because there is no disputed fact to adjudicate:

Monetary Penalty in Lieu of Suspension or Revocation

Subpart D is titled Cancellation, Suspension, or Revocation of License or Permit, and Monetary Penalty in Lieu of Suspension or Revocation. CBP may, in an appropriate case, assess a monetary penalty instead of taking the license. The ceiling is the same as for any Section 641 violation: under 19 U.S.C. § 1641(d)(2)(A), a monetary penalty not to exceed $30,000 in total for the violation or violations. A separate provision, 19 U.S.C. § 1641(b)(6), reaches a person who transacts customs business without a license: not more than $10,000 for each transaction and not more than $30,000 in total.

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Putting the Numbers in Order

A useful memory device is that the broker-regulation numbers cluster into three families:

• Money: $390 exam, $300/$500 application, $100 triennial, $185.38 FY 2026 permit user fee, $30,000 aggregate penalty ceiling, $10,000 per unlicensed transaction.
• Days: 10 calendar days to report a change of address, name, officers, or partners (19 CFR 111.30(a)); 30 calendar days to report employee list changes (19 CFR 111.28(b)); 60 calendar days for each examination appeal rung, for a penalty petition, and for a CIT appeal; 120 and 180 continuous days for revocation by operation of law (19 CFR 111.45).
• Years: 3 years from the examination to the application; 3 years to retain continuing-education records after the report; 5 years to retain entry records and 5 years after revocation to retain a power of attorney.