The short answer is, “No, but it depends.” It depends primarily on two important variables viz. your level of preparation and the degree of difficulty of the test.

Several factors influence these two variables. Your level of preparation may depend on factors such as your motivation, prior work experience, level of education, aptitude and time devoted to study and preparation. The degree of difficulty of the test also varies across tests as the test is not standardized.

The Customs Broker Exam is challenging because it tests a wide range of topics in customs compliance. Historically the pass rate has ranged from as low as 1.5% for the April 2012 test and as high as 34% for the October 2012 one. On average, the pass rate is roughly around 20% which means that only one in five test takers will pass the test.

However, statistics do not tell the whole story and so these figures should not discourage you. The reality is that many test takers do not prepare adequately to take this challenging test.

While the material maybe vast, it is not complicated like calculus or nuclear physics. Moreover, the test is open book, and the questions are objective and provide you five alternatives from which to choose the correct answer. So, you have all the answers in front of you, but you need to know enough to identify the correct answer and know where to look for relevant information in your reference material.

Therefore, it is very important to read the study material several times and practice taking tests. The more you use the study and reference material in taking old exams, the better your understanding will be of the material and over time you will know where to refer to find relevant information to answer a question.

The questions also vary in terms of their degree of difficulty. Some questions are easy and can be answered quickly without referring any material. Others may need reference to the regulations or the HSN tariff or other reference material to find the correct answer.

A few may need careful review and analysis of the regulations and may take more time. If you have prepared well, you may be able to answer the easy questions quickly without having to refer any material and this may save you time to focus on the more difficult ones.

While the material may look overwhelming and vast, we have identified 16 important topics from where 99% of test questions were drawn in previous tests. We have boiled the essence of these topics into easy to understand material.

Further, you can take 120 short quizzes to test your knowledge and gain proficiency over these 16 topics. Then you can take over 20 full length timed online practice tests to gain experience for the actual test.

This preparation should help you be very well prepared to take the test as well as teach you how to manage your time efficiently. With this level of preparation, the test should not be difficult to pass for you.

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.