- Julio Rodriguez US Customs Broker
- Services
- Customs Exams
Customs exams, managed instead of endured
CBP can examine any shipment, and when it picks yours the questions come fast: what kind of exam, how long, who pays, and what can anyone do about it. As your licensed customs broker we cannot cancel an exam, and nobody honest will claim they can. What we do is keep your paperwork clean and flowing, because complete documents are the one thing that reliably shortens a hold.
The exam ladder
Exams escalate in intrusiveness and cost. Knowing which rung you are on tells you most of what the next week looks like:
| Exam | What happens | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|
| VACIS / X-ray | Non-intrusive scan of the sealed container | Hours to a couple of days |
| Tailgate | Doors opened, contents inspected from the rear | Days |
| Intensive / CES | Container trucked to a Centralized Examination Station and fully devanned | The longest and costliest rung |
CBP decides the exam type. The importer pays the exam costs at every rung, even when nothing is found.
Who pays, and what the bill contains
The importer pays for the exam, always, found or not. An intensive exam bill stacks CES handling, devanning and reloading, drayage to the exam site and back, storage at the station, and the demurrage and per diem still running underneath at the terminal. None of it is refundable from CBP.
Our role is the part that actually moves: we respond to CBP's document requests the day they arrive, keep your entry data consistent so the exam does not spawn secondary questions, and can arrange the exam-site trucking through carrier partners so the container is not waiting on a truck once CBP releases it. We are a brokerage, not a trucking company, and we say so; arranging the move is part of clearing your freight.
What reduces exams over time
Exam rates respond to track record. Clean, consistent, complete entries filed by the same licensed broker under the same filer code build the history that lowers your targeting profile. Sloppy or inconsistent filings do the opposite. It is one more reason the cheapest entry filing is rarely the cheapest importing.
FAQ
Why is my container held by customs?
Usually one of four reasons: routine or random selection, a document mismatch, a partner agency review, or targeting on the shipment profile. Your broker can see which hold type is on the entry and tell you what actually clears it.
How long does a customs exam take?
An X-ray exam often resolves in hours to days. A tailgate takes days. An intensive exam at a CES is the slowest, and CBP publishes no average times; in our files the station's backlog, not the exam itself, sets the length. Complete paperwork from your broker is the main thing that keeps it at the short end.
Who pays for a customs exam?
The importer, at every exam level, even when CBP finds nothing. The bill can include CES handling, devanning, drayage both ways, storage and the terminal charges still accruing.
Can a broker stop or speed up an exam?
No one can stop a CBP exam, and anyone promising to should worry you. What a licensed broker does is answer document requests immediately, keep the entry consistent, and have the release-day logistics arranged, which together shorten the total hold.
What is a tailgate exam?
CBP opens the container doors and inspects the contents from the rear, without unloading everything. It sits between a VACIS scan and a full intensive exam, and it usually adds days to the hold.
What is a VACIS exam?
A non-intrusive scan: the sealed container passes through a VACIS or x-ray unit and CBP reviews the image without opening it. It is the lightest exam on the ladder and usually takes hours to a couple of days. If the image raises a question, CBP can move the container to a tailgate or an intensive exam.
Held container? Start with the facts
Send us the container number and what you have heard so far. A licensed broker will identify the hold type and tell you what today's useful move is.
CTPAT certified broker · EWVFive questions, no email. See which refund routes are open on your entries.
Check your refund, freeHow we file refunds- Tariff Refunds
- Customs Clearance
- Duty Drawback
- ISF Filing
- Customs Bonds
- In-Bond and Bonded Moves
- HTS Classification
- Trade Agreements
- PR Excise Tax and SURI
- AES Export Filing
- APHIS Permits
- Warehousing and Distribution
- Freight Forwarding Arrangements
- Binding Rulings
- Duty Payment
- Government Agency Filings
- Compliance and Recordkeeping