After the October 2026 CBLE: Results, Appeals, License or Re-sit

The October 2026 CBLE is on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. CBP emails results letters within two to three weeks of the exam, so expect yours November 11-18, 2026. This page covers the three paths from that letter: apply for the license, appeal, or re-sit. Dates checked 17 Oct 2026; rules as at 12 Oct 2026.

Before the letter arrives

• Download your answer record from the exam vendor. You have 120 days from the exam, and you cannot build an appeal without it.
• CBP posts each exam and its answer key on cbp.gov after the sitting. When the October 2026 exam is out, score your own record against it.
• Write down, while it is fresh, which categories felt slow. That list is your re-sit plan if you need one.

If you passed: apply for the license

• A pass supports a license application made within 3 years (19 CFR 111.11(a)(4)). You must be at least 21 to apply (19 CFR 111.11(a)).
• File CBP Form 3124 with the US$300 fee for an individual (19 CFR 111.12, 111.96(a)). CBP runs a background investigation, including fingerprints (19 CFR 111.14).
• To transact customs business you also need a national permit: US$100 to apply plus the annual permit user fee, US$190.88 from October 1, 2026 (19 CFR 111.19, 111.96).
• Full steps: how to become a customs broker and every CBP fee.

If you scored 57, 58 or 59: consider an appeal

• From the April 2026 exam, only examinees with 57 or more of 80 may appeal, and on at most four questions (CBP "How to Appeal").
• The first appeal is due within 60 days of the results letter (19 CFR 111.13(f)).
• Argue each question from the reference text, with the section that decides it. Our appeals guide walks through the rules.

If you need to re-sit

The next sitting after this one is expected on Wednesday, April 28, 2027, the fourth Wednesday rule's date (19 CFR 111.13(b)); CBP has not announced it or its registration dates yet. CBP usually opens registration about 10 weeks before the exam, and you register and pay the US$390 fee on eCBP again.

• Start from your weakest category, not page one. Entry / Entry Summary (25 questions) and Valuation (15) carry the most points on recent exams.
• Sit each released CBP exam under the real 270-minute clock, then review every miss until you can cite the section that decides it (past exams).
• Drill the arithmetic by hand: duty, MPF with its minimum and maximum, HMF (calculations).
• Check which reference editions CBP names for your sitting (references); they change between April and October.