What is the Customs Brokers Licensure Examination?
The CBLE is the PRC board exam that licenses customs brokers under RA 9280, the Customs Brokers Act of 2004. It is given by the Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers. Licensed brokers prepare and sign goods declarations, compute duties and taxes, and represent importers and exporters before the Bureau of Customs.
The exam format
| Licensing body | PRC, Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers |
|---|---|
| Law | RA 9280 (Customs Brokers Act of 2004) |
| Subjects in the law | Customs laws and regulations; tariff laws and trade agreements; practical computation of duties and taxes; documentation, ethics and procedures; warehousing and cargo handling (RA 9280, Sec. 15). Weights are set by the Board. |
| To pass | General average of at least 75%, with no subject below 60% |
| Who may take it | Philippine citizens of good moral character with a Bachelor's Degree in Customs Administration (RA 9280, Sec. 16) |
| Recent sitting | November 2025: 3,078 examinees, with a pass count of 2,238 |
What the exam covers
- The CMTA: importation, liability for duties, prohibited, restricted and regulated goods, de minimis, post clearance audit, protests, advance rulings, penalties and conditionally free importations.
- Customs procedures: lodgement, formal and informal entry, selectivity, transit, transshipment, bonded warehouses, abandonment and drawback.
- Tariff classification under the AHTN 2022 and the six General Interpretative Rules.
- Customs valuation: transaction value, adjustments, assists, royalties and the alternative methods.
- Trade agreements and rules of origin: ATIGA, RCEP, regional value content, tariff shift, de minimis and cumulation.
- Duties, taxes and computations: ad valorem and specific duties, VAT on importation, excise tax, trade remedies, interest and fines.
- RA 9280 and ethics: the Board, qualifications, signing declarations, prohibitions and penalties.
Free official resources, and what we add
The PRC publishes the examination programme and results, the CMTA and RA 9280 are free on lawphil.net, the Tariff Commission publishes the tariff schedule, and the Bureau of Customs posts its Customs Administrative Orders. There is no official question bank. We add 104 original practice questions written and checked against those laws, with every computation worked out step by step.
How to prepare
- Read the CMTA titles on importation, clearance, valuation, conditionally free importations, post clearance audit and penalties.
- Memorise the six General Interpretative Rules and practise applying them in order.
- Work through valuation and landed cost problems until you can do them quickly: dutiable value, duty, VAT base and VAT.
- Learn the ATIGA origin rules: 40% RVC or change in tariff heading, 10% de minimis, Form D.
- Take a timed mock exam, then review every wrong answer and its legal source.
Practice questions with answers
Tap a question to see the correct answer and explanation.
Under the CMTA, when does importation begin?
- When the goods are paid for
- When the goods leave the exporter's warehouse
- When the carrying vessel or aircraft enters Philippine jurisdiction with the intention to unload
- When the importer signs the goods declaration
Answer: C, When the carrying vessel or aircraft enters Philippine jurisdiction with the intention to unload. Section 103 of the CMTA provides that importation begins when the carrying vessel or aircraft enters the jurisdiction of the Philippines with intention to unload, and is deemed terminated on payment of duties and release, or on withdrawal for transit or from a free zone as allowed. Source: RA 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act), Sec. 103.
Under the CMTA, commercial goods may be cleared through an informal entry when their dutiable value does not exceed:
- P10,000
- P50,000
- P100,000
- P250,000 if imported by a registered business
Answer: B, P50,000. Section 402 of the CMTA allows informal entry for commercial goods with a dutiable value of P50,000 or less, and for goods for personal use. Above that, a formal entry is required. Source: RA 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act), Sec. 402.
Under GIR 2(a), how is an unassembled bicycle shipped in a box with all its parts classified?
- As parts of bicycles
- As each part under its own heading
- As toys of Chapter 95
- As a complete bicycle
Answer: D, As a complete bicycle. GIR 2(a) extends a heading to incomplete or unfinished articles that have the essential character of the complete article, and to complete or finished articles presented unassembled or disassembled. A complete bicycle kit is classified as a bicycle. Source: General Interpretative Rules for the Classification of Goods (HS Convention, adopted in the AHTN 2022), Rule 2(a).