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CBP Form 3124: Application for Customs Broker License

Published: October 1, 2026 · 10 min read

Key Points

CBP Form 3124, Application for Customs Broker License, is the application an individual, partnership, association or corporation files with CBP under 19 CFR part 111 to obtain a customs broker license; it is not the registration for the broker examination.
Individuals file CBP Form 3124 after passing the written examination described in 19 CFR 111.13; organizations file it by naming at least one licensed officer or member who meets the basic requirements in 19 CFR 111.11.
The filing goes in with the required fee, fingerprints and background information, after which CBP investigates the applicant and decides whether to grant the license under 19 U.S.C. 1641.
Fees, the post-examination application window, the passing score and processing times change; confirm every one of them on cbp.gov before filing CBP Form 3124.
The same part 111 obligations that follow the license, notably the notification of change and triennial status report duties in 19 CFR 111.30, are where most licensed brokers get into trouble after CBP Form 3124 is approved.

CBP Form 3124, Application for Customs Broker License, is the form an individual, partnership, association or corporation files with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to obtain a customs broker license under 19 CFR part 111 and 19 U.S.C. 1641. It is filed after an individual applicant has passed the customs broker license examination, or, for an organization, when the organization can name a licensed officer or member, and it is submitted with the required fee, fingerprints and background information. The license granted on the strength of CBP Form 3124 is the credential that stands behind every entry a brokerage transmits, so the form sits upstream of the entry lifecycle rather than inside any single shipment.

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the regulations, the statute and the official CBP program pages themselves. Read the source. This article is current as of October 2026.

At a glance

Full name: CBP Form 3124, Application for Customs Broker License.
Who prepares or uses it: an individual who has passed the broker examination, or a partnership, association or corporation applying for an organization license, with CBP as the reviewing agency.
When in the lifecycle: before any entry work is done in the applicant's own name; it precedes the license, the district permit and all downstream filing.
System or channel: submitted to CBP with fee, fingerprints and background information; confirm the current submission channel and any electronic option on cbp.gov.
Governing authority: 19 U.S.C. 1641 and 19 CFR part 111, in particular 111.11 (basic requirements), 111.12 (application for license) and 111.13 (examination).
Continuing obligations: 19 CFR 111.30, notification of change and the triennial status report.
Related terms: CBP Form 400 (ACH Debit Application), CBP Form 5955A (Notice of Penalty or Liquidated Damages Incurred and Demand for Payment), CBP Form 6084 (CBP's bill form).
Not to be confused with: the broker examination registration, an ABI filer code request, or CBP Form 5106.

Who files CBP Form 3124 and when?

CBP Form 3124 is filed by the person or entity that wants the license, not by an employer on a candidate's behalf and not by a client. For an individual, the sequence is fixed: meet the basic requirements set out in 19 CFR 111.11, sit and pass the written examination described in 19 CFR 111.13, then apply for the license under 19 CFR 111.12. The application is a separate step from the examination registration, and passing the exam alone confers nothing. CBP publishes the window in which an individual must apply after passing; it is a real deadline with real consequences, and you should confirm its current length on cbp.gov rather than rely on recollection or on what a colleague did several exam cycles ago.

For a partnership, association or corporation, CBP Form 3124 works differently. The organization does not take an examination. Instead it must be able to show that it satisfies the organizational basic requirements in 19 CFR 111.11, which turn on having a qualifying licensed officer or member, and it files the application with the supporting organizational documents. This is why brokerages encounter CBP Form 3124 at particular business moments: when a qualifying licensed officer resigns or retires and the organization has to re-establish its qualifying individual, when a firm restructures or incorporates in a new entity, and when hiring, because a candidate's license status is a hiring fact that has to be verified rather than assumed.

What CBP Form 3124 asks for

CBP Form 3124 asks for identity, background and character information sufficient for CBP to run the investigation that 19 U.S.C. 1641 contemplates before a license is issued. In practice that means personal identifying data, residence and employment history, questions about arrests, convictions, financial responsibility and prior dealings with the government, and, for organizations, the formation documents and the identity of the licensed officer or member who qualifies the entity. The application is submitted with the required fee and with fingerprints. CBP sets the fee amounts and the fingerprint procedure, and both have changed over time, so check the current figures and instructions on the CBP customs broker pages before you write a check or schedule a fingerprint appointment.

Accuracy on CBP Form 3124 matters more than speed. An applicant who omits an arrest, a prior business failure or a period of employment is not simply filing an incomplete form; the omission itself becomes a character issue in the investigation. The safer approach is to disclose and explain rather than to decide unilaterally that something is too old or too minor to matter.

How CBP reviews a CBP Form 3124 application

CBP reviews a CBP Form 3124 application by verifying the information supplied, running a background investigation and then deciding whether to grant or deny the license under the authority in 19 U.S.C. 1641 and the procedures in 19 CFR part 111. Applicants are commonly contacted during the investigation for clarification, references or supplemental documents, and responsiveness at that stage is part of the record. Processing times vary widely and CBP does not guarantee one, so do not build a start date, an office opening or a client commitment around an assumed turnaround; confirm expectations with the processing port or on cbp.gov.

If CBP denies a license, part 111 provides the procedural framework for that outcome. Read the denial letter against the regulation rather than against general expectations, because the available next steps and their timing are set by the regulation and by the terms of the letter itself.

Common CBP Form 3124 errors

The errors that sink a CBP Form 3124 application are mostly procedural rather than substantive. The most common are these:

Applying outside the post-examination window. An individual who passes the examination and then lets the application window lapse may have to sit the examination again. Confirm the current window on cbp.gov as soon as results are released.
Incomplete organizational paperwork. Corporate and partnership applications stall when formation documents, officer lists or evidence of the qualifying licensed member are missing or inconsistent with state records.
Unreported changes of address or officers. This is a post-license failure, but it begins with habits formed at application. Under 19 CFR 111.30, licensed brokers must notify CBP of changes and file the triennial status report; a brokerage that treats the license as a one-time filing drifts out of compliance quietly.
Incomplete disclosure. Leaving a gap in employment history or omitting a reportable event invites a second round of questions and undermines the character finding.

How CBP Form 3124 relates to other CBP forms

CBP Form 3124 is a credentialing form, which distinguishes it from nearly every other CBP form a broker handles. It is not an entry document, not a declaration and not a payment instrument. Once the license exists, the brokerage goes on to file entry and release paperwork and to deal with CBP on money and enforcement through entirely separate channels: CBP Form 400, the ACH Debit Application, enrolls a payer in CBP's Automated Clearinghouse debit program to pay duties, taxes, fees and bills electronically; CBP Form 6084, CBP's bill form, is the mailed bill for money owed to CBP; and CBP Form 5955A, Notice of Penalty or Liquidated Damages Incurred and Demand for Payment, is the Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures notice claiming a penalty or bond liquidated damages. None of those replaces or renews a license.

The same separation holds for the operational forms a licensed broker prepares for clients. CBP Form 3311, Declaration for Free Entry of Returned American Products, supports duty-free return of U.S.-origin goods; CBP Form 3299, Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles, covers personal and household effects arriving separately from the traveler; CBP Form 4455, Certificate of Registration, registers identifiable goods with CBP before export so they can return duty free under Chapter 98; CBP Form 7523, Entry and Manifest of Merchandise Free of Duty, Carrier's Certificate and Release, is a paper entry for low-value duty-free goods that also serves as a carrier release and small-vehicle inward manifest; CBP Form 7553, Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy or Return Merchandise for Purposes of Drawback, lets CBP examine goods before export or destruction on a drawback claim; CBP Form 4647, Notice to Mark and/or Redeliver, is CBP's notice that articles or containers lack country of origin marking; and FinCEN Form 105, Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments, is filed with CBP when currency or monetary instruments above the reporting threshold cross the border. The authority to act as a broker in connection with any of them traces back to the license obtained through CBP Form 3124.

Frequently asked questions

Is CBP Form 3124 the same as registering for the broker exam?

No. CBP Form 3124, Application for Customs Broker License, is filed after the examination described in 19 CFR 111.13 has been passed. Examination registration is a separate filing with its own deadlines and fee, handled through CBP's broker exam process.

Can a corporation file CBP Form 3124 without a licensed employee?

No. An organization filing CBP Form 3124 must satisfy the organizational basic requirements in 19 CFR 111.11, which depend on having a qualifying licensed officer or member. If the qualifying individual departs, the organization needs to address that promptly under part 111 rather than wait for the next triennial cycle.

How much does CBP Form 3124 cost and how long does CBP take?

CBP sets the fee that accompanies CBP Form 3124 and does not publish a guaranteed processing time. Both the current fee and the current practical timeline should be confirmed on cbp.gov before filing.

What happens after a CBP Form 3124 license is granted?

After CBP Form 3124 results in a license, the broker takes on the continuing obligations in 19 CFR 111.30, including notifying CBP of changes such as address, officers or business structure and filing the triennial status report. Missing those filings can put the license at risk even when entry work is otherwise clean.

What importers and brokers should do

Check the current fee, application window, fingerprint instructions and submission channel for CBP Form 3124 on the CBP customs broker pages before preparing the application; do not rely on prior-cycle figures.
Read 19 CFR 111.11, 111.12 and 111.13 against the applicant's actual facts, and disclose background items in full rather than filtering them.
Keep a calendar entry for the 19 CFR 111.30 notification and triennial status report obligations for every license and permit the organization holds, and update it when officers or addresses change.
When hiring or when a licensed member departs, verify license status directly rather than assuming, and identify the qualifying individual for the organization license before the departure takes effect.

Key references

19 CFR part 111 (eCFR): the customs broker regulations, including 111.11 basic requirements, 111.12 application for license, 111.13 examination and 111.30 notification of change and triennial status report.
19 U.S.C. 1641: the statute authorizing customs broker licensing, permits, and discipline.
CBP customs brokers program page: current licensing instructions, fees, examination information and application guidance.
CBP forms library: the official source for CBP Form 3124 and other CBP forms.

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About the Author

Franz Brotzen, CustomsGenius CEO & Founder. Franz is a published researcher on U.S. trade policy. He has worked at think tanks in Washington DC and Tokyo, where his academic publications focussed on tariffs and legal compliance. Franz received his JD from Harvard Law School.