Challenging the CCS (Certified Customs Specialist) Examination

Note: Students currently enrolled in the CCS Course are not required to complete the application.

Eligibility

An individual may apply to challenge the CCS exam if the following two criteria are met:

current employment by a CSCB corporate member firm; AND
employer certification of two years' work experience in a Canadian customs environment.

Applicants located outside of Canada must be employed by a CSCB corporate member and the Canadian corporate member must be the party paying their salary.

Fees

For information on this year’s fees, please refer to the application (below).

Registration for the CCS examination will not be finalized until the CSCB National Office has received full payment of the examination fee. There will be a CDN$35 fee for NSF cheques.

Candidates may withdraw their application at any time; however, there will be no refund of examination fees after the application deadline date. An administrative fee of CDN$50 will be assessed in cases of withdrawal prior to the application deadline date.

Application

The application to write the examination, and the accompanying policy, are available in English and French.

Examinations

The final examination will take place on the final Saturday of September.

Examinations will be held in Canada. For applicants located in Canada, the examination will be held at a location no farther away than two hours` driving distance from the address indicated on the individual’s application. For US applicants, the examination site will be confirmed prior to finalizing enrolment.

A mark of 65% on the examination is required to pass.

Examination Deferrals

Examination deferral requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Proof of the death of a family member, illness of the applicant evidenced by a medical certificate, or religious reasons are acceptable reasons for not attending the examination on its scheduled date. A fee may be charged to applicants who write on the alternate date. Applicants who wish to write on the alternate date must make a request in writing to the CSCB no later than October 7th, but preferably prior to, the original examination date, where applicable. The deferred examination will be held before the end of October.

Certificates

Upon successful completion of the CCS examination, the CCS Designate will receive a CCS certificate, pin, and membership card. They may also use the designation, CCS (Certified Customs Specialist) as long as the designate meets the ongoing renewal standards.

Communications

All correspondence will be by email to the address indicated on the enrolment application.

It is essential that the CSCB office be notified immediately, in writing (fax or email is acceptable) of any change of mailing address. Failure to do so may result in delays of marks, certificates, or other important documents.