If you've ever gotten a customs broker quote and then a very different invoice, you're not imagining things. Most broker quotes show only the base entry fee — the rest of what you actually pay shows up as a list of add-ons after the shipment's already moving. Here's what's genuinely broker markup, what's a mandatory government fee no broker controls, and what to ask before you commit to one.
The base entry fee: $100–$250, usually
For a standard formal entry (shipments valued over $2,500), most licensed brokers charge somewhere in the $100–$250 range as their base filing fee, sometimes as low as $40–$50 for very simple entries or well above $400 for complex, multi-line shipments involving several HTS classifications. Informal entries (under $2,500) tend to run cheaper, often $75–$150.
That base fee covers the broker's actual work: filing your entry declaration through CBP's ACE system, calculating duties, and doing the compliance check that keeps your shipment moving instead of flagged. What it usually does not include is everything below.
The add-ons that turn a $150 quote into a $500 invoice
ISF filing fee — $25–$80 per ocean shipment. The Importer Security Filing has to be submitted 24 hours before your vessel departs. Some brokers bundle this into their base fee; most bill it separately. Ask upfront which one you're getting.
Bond fee — this is where regular importers overpay without realizing it. A single-entry bond typically costs $50–$100 per $1,000 of duties, taxes, and fees owed — meaning it scales with your shipment value. If you're importing more than 3–5 times a year, a continuous bond (roughly $500–$600 annually, covering unlimited entries for the year) is almost always cheaper than paying for a single-entry bond every time. This is one of the few genuinely actionable savings most small importers never ask about.
PGA coordination fees — $35–$150 per agency, per entry. If your product needs review by the FDA, USDA, or EPA on top of standard CBP processing, expect a separate coordination charge for each agency involved.
Exam/handling fees — $50–$150, if it happens. When CBP selects your shipment for physical examination, your broker typically charges a handling fee to coordinate it. Exam selection is largely random, though certain commodities and origins see it more often. This one's genuinely outside anyone's control — broker or importer.
Document handling / amendments — $20–$200 depending on what's needed.
Add these up across a year of regular shipments, and it's common for importers to land somewhere between $8,000 and $15,000 annually in total brokerage costs — not because any single fee is unreasonable, but because a per-shipment quote rarely shows the annual picture.
What's a government fee, not broker profit
Two charges get lumped into broker invoices constantly, and neither one is markup — your broker collects and forwards these to CBP, they don't keep any of it:
- Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) — 0.3464% of your shipment's customs value, with a $33.58 minimum and $651.50 maximum per entry (FY2026 figures, adjusted by CBP for inflation each October).
- Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) — 0.125% of customs value, ocean shipments only.
If you want to see exactly how these apply to your own numbers, our import tariff calculator breaks out MPF and HMF automatically — you can drop in a rough broker-fee estimate from this post's ranges above to get a fuller total landed cost picture in one place.
What to actually ask before choosing a broker
Getting three quotes side by side only works if you're comparing the same thing. When you request quotes:
- Ask for an itemized rate sheet, not a single bottom-line number for one shipment.
- Ask explicitly: "Is ISF filing included, or billed separately?"
- Ask what happens if your shipment gets selected for exam — is that fee disclosed upfront or added after the fact?
- Confirm the broker's CBP license number directly — every licensed broker has one, and it's a quick way to verify legitimacy before you commit.
- Ask specifically what the quote excludes — MPF, HMF, and duties are never part of a broker's fee, but a vague quote can make it look like they might be.
The honest bottom line
A customs broker isn't legally required — you can file your own entries — but the compliance risk of getting classification or documentation wrong (fines can start at $5,000+ per violation) is exactly why most importers use one anyway. The fee structure itself isn't the problem; the lack of itemized transparency is. A broker who gives you a real rate sheet upfront, rather than a single friendly-looking number, is usually the one worth working with.
Fee ranges in this post reflect typical US customs brokerage pricing as of mid-2026, compiled from multiple industry sources — actual quotes vary by broker, port, and shipment complexity. This is informational content, not a recommendation for any specific broker or pricing structure; confirm current rates directly with licensed brokers you're evaluating.