# Customs brokerage software that keeps the entry file and its retention clock together > A customs broker is a person or company licensed to transact customs business on behalf of importers and exporters, working under 19 CFR Part 111. An individual licence requires citizenship, a minimum age of 21 and a passing grade of 75 percent or higher on the broker examination, and a national permit is needed to work throughout the customs territory. Records run 5 years from the date of entry, with powers of attorney kept until revoked and 5 years beyond. Neurobird holds the entry file and its retention rule together. - URL: https://neurobird.com/customsbrokerage/ - Product: Neurobird Customs Brokerage Compliance Platform - Niche: customs brokerage - Buyer: licensed customs brokers and trade compliance teams - Status: in development, open for early access - Updated: 2026-08-21 ## What Neurobird Customs Brokerage does - Hold every entry as a file: importer, documents, classification basis, filing and any correction - Track powers of attorney against the retention rule that applies to them rather than the one that applies to entries - Show responsible supervision and control as evidence: who reviewed what, and when - Run retention by record type, so nothing is purged early and nothing is kept forever by default ## How it works 1. **Every entry is a file** Importer, commercial documents, classification and valuation basis, the filing itself and any post summary correction, held in one place. 2. **Retention runs by record type** Five years from date of entry for most records, until revoked plus five years for powers of attorney, and shorter rules for packing lists and informal entries. 3. **Supervision is visible** Reviews, queries and sign offs are recorded against the entry, so responsible supervision and control is a record rather than an assertion. ## From the source material > To the extent that additional information is subsequently discovered, the broker must electronically provide that information within 72 hours of discovery. Source: 19 CFR Part 111, printed edition, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2024-title19-vol1/pdf/CFR-2024-title19-vol1-part111.pdf ## Industry context - **75 percent** An individual applying for a broker licence must be a United States citizen, at least 21 years of age, of good moral character, and must have attained a passing grade of 75 percent or higher on an examination taken within the 3 year period before the application. (source: eCFR, 19 CFR 111.11, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.11) - **5 years** Broker records other than powers of attorney must be retained for at least 5 years after the date of entry, while powers of attorney are retained until revoked and then for 5 years after revocation or after the client stops being an active client. (source: eCFR, 19 CFR 111.23, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.23) - **$390** The examination fee is $390, an individual licence application is $300 and a partnership, association or corporation application is $500, with a further $100 for a national permit application. (source: eCFR, 19 CFR 111.96, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.96) - **60 days** The general recordkeeping rule runs 5 years from the date of entry, but packing lists run 60 calendar days from the end of the release period and drawback records run until the third anniversary of the payment of the claim. (source: eCFR, 19 CFR 163.4, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-163.4) - **111.19** A national permit application must set out the office of record, a point of contact available to answer customs business questions, a list of all employees, and a supervision plan describing how responsible supervision and control will be exercised. (source: eCFR, 19 CFR 111.19, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.19) ## Pricing - Single broker: $210 per brokerage, per month - Brokerage: $420 per brokerage, per month - Trade group: $840 per brokerage, per month ## Questions ### What is a customs broker? A customs broker is a person, partnership, association or corporation licensed by the federal customs authority to transact customs business on behalf of others. An individual must be a United States citizen, at least 21 years old, of good moral character, and must have passed the broker examination with a grade of 75 percent or higher taken within the 3 years before the application. ### What is a national permit? A national permit is required to transact customs business throughout the customs territory of the United States. The applicant must be a licensed broker, must name an office of record and a point of contact, must file a supervision plan describing how responsible supervision and control will be exercised, and must pay both a permit application fee and the annual permit user fee. ### How long must customs records be kept? Under 19 CFR 111.23(b) broker records other than powers of attorney are kept for at least 5 years after the date of entry. Powers of attorney are kept until revoked, then for 5 years after revocation or after the client ceases to be an active client, whichever is later. The general recordkeeping rule at 19 CFR 163.4 also runs 5 years from the date of entry. ### What are the exceptions to the five year rule? Drawback claim records run until the third anniversary of the date the claim was paid. Packing lists run 60 calendar days from the end of the release or conditional release period. Informal entry records held by an appointing consignee run 2 years, as do records for duty free admissions under the low value provision. ### Does it file the entry? No. Filing stays with your entry software and the customs interface. What lives here is the file behind the filing: the documents, the classification basis, the reviews and the retention clock. ### How does it help with supervision? Responsible supervision and control has to be demonstrated, not asserted. Reviews, queries and sign offs recorded against the entry give you something to show, which is the part most operations cannot produce quickly. ## Sources - [19 CFR Part 111, customs brokers](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/chapter-I/part-111) - [19 CFR 111.11, basic requirements for a license](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.11) - [19 CFR 111.23, retention of records](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.23) - [19 CFR 111.96, fees](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-111.96) - [19 CFR 163.4, record retention period](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-163.4) - [19 CFR Part 111, printed edition](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2024-title19-vol1/pdf/CFR-2024-title19-vol1-part111.pdf) ## Contact - office@neurobird.com - https://neurobird.com/