Studying For the U.S. Customs Broker's Exam

Dear Import/Export Compliance Manager,

I’m taking the Customs Broker’s exam for the first time on April 13. I read last week’s column about why taking the exam is a good idea. Since you took it and passed it, would you mind sharing some advice? Thank you.

Testy in Temecula

Dear Testy,

The Import/Export Compliance Manager is no test-taking guru and the exam has changed a little bit since he put pencil to paper back in 2004.  Still, that’s not going to stop him from acting like he knows something.  Let’s do this!

The key to success on the Customs Broker’s exam, in the opinion of the Import/Export Compliance Manager, is not to think of it as a test of knowledge; rather, think of it as a test of your ability to take tests.  Seriously, how many people with the ‘LCB’ after their names could pass the exam without having to crack open the regulations for the vast majority of the questions? Are you kidding? We’d all fail with flying colors.  In reviewing the October 2014 exam, there seem to be a few questions that could be answered by most experienced brokers based on their knowledge, including the HTS Code classification questions, but, on the whole, these are questions few people will know the answer to offhand.

If it’s not a test of knowledge, then, passing becomes an exercise in research: finding the right answer as quickly as possible and moving on to the next question.  The Import/Export Compliance Manager read exactly ZERO Parts cover-to-cover; this was because memorizing regulations wasn’t the goal.  The goal was to know where the knowledge was in general and find it in the defined area rapidly. This has been made easier since the questions are now grouped together by subject matter.

Below are the actions the Import/Export Compliance Manager recommends.  Keep in mind, though, that these techniques worked in 2004 for a different style of exam and may not work for everyone. Also, there may be better techniques out there for you (perhaps that you learned in a training course). Anyway, here they are:

• Get a catalog rack. Taking the exam without a catalog rack full of all of the printed regs and documents (double-sided) is like trying to pick up Lego toys with your teeth.  Don’t hamstring yourself.

  
  

• Memorize the names of ALL Parts 0-192 of 19 CFR and the important subsections like 141.31-46 (Powers of Attorney).  The goal is that when you see a question, you immediately know which Part or Parts the answer should be in.  Therefore, you don’t waste time looking at the Table of Contents or the index. Get somebody else to quiz you on them.

  
  

• Get three colored highlighters, go to your printed regulations (in your trusty catalog rack) and use the first one to highlight the number of every single Section of 19 CFR. Every single one. Get the second color and highlight all of the numbers of the subsections: a, b, etc.  Take the third color and highlight all the number of the sub-subsections.  Just a little mark is all that’s needed. What this does is allow you to scan through the regulations more quickly.  When you know that 18.1 doesn’t have your answer, you can quickly move on to 18.2 without having to take time to figure out where 18.2 begins.  Just scan to the next color indicating a new Section.  Sure, it may save only a small amount of time in that particular instance.  Multiply it over the course of four hours and you’re potentially talking the difference between passing and failing.  Every second counts.

  
  

• Take a sheet of blank paper and make your own mini-answer sheet.  Write out the numbers 1-80 and, next to each number, write A, B, C, D and E. As you go through the exam, strike through all answers you know for sure are not correct (which is especially important for those nasty NOT questions).  When you find the correct answer, circle it.  Then make a mark by the question number indicating your level of confidence in the answer: “Yep, this one’s right”, “Um, come back and check this one if there is time”, “Wild guess”.  If the question is taking too long to answer, make another mark to indicate you should circle back toward the end of the exam and make a guess.

  
  

• Since you’re learning how to take tests, having access to the old exams is a veritable gold mine.  If you’re not already using the exams and the answer keys, you are truly missing out.  Take at least two exams in a situation to mimic the real exam: four hours with no breaks.  Don’t be discouraged if your score is horrible.  The only score that matters is the one you get on the real thing.

  
  

• Take the practice tests.  Over and over.  There’s no substitute for the feel of the actual tests, particularly how the test makers think in terms of how they ask questions and the tricks they like to use.  Start off doing the questions one-by-one, checking the answer key to see how well you’re doing.  After you’ve gone through maybe two or more tests and feel decently comfortable, set aside 4.5 hours some Saturday or Sunday and take the test as if it were the real thing.  Don’t be discouraged if your score is horrible.  The only score that matters is the one you get on the real thing.

Three big changes from 2004 are that 1) you can now write on the exam, 2) the questions are grouped into sections and c) you can bring in additional materials such as past exams.  The Import/Export Compliance Manager wouldn’t recommend writing on the exam since you will have your own mini-answer sheet.  As mentioned before, having the questions grouped together by subject helps for speed. As for additional materials, well, don’t sacrifice speed to the possibility of an easy answer.  For example, looking through past exams for a question that may have appeared three years ago sounds like a time-consuming exercise to the Import/Export Compliance Manager.

Again, these techniques may not work for everyone and it is likely there are better ones out there.  Go with what works for you and pass that thing! Good luck!