Freight Forwarding, Customs & International Career Roadmap

Ocean / Air Import Clerk

An ocean or air import clerk processes inbound shipments and the entry paperwork that travels with them, from arrival to final delivery. It's an entry seat on the Freight Forwarding & Customs career path and the closest first job to the customs broker's desk.

Ocean / Air Import Clerk Job Description

Import clerks own the inbound side of a forwarding or brokerage office. You follow each container and air shipment as it approaches, gather the documents customs will need, and get the freight from the terminal to the consignee once it's released. Across international freight and customs operations, the import desk decides how long cargo sits after it lands.

Core responsibilities:

Track inbound ocean and air shipments and update consignees on arrival dates
Send arrival notices to consignees and arrange delivery once the freight is released
Compile the import documentation for each entry, including commercial invoices, certificates of origin, and cargo-control documents
Check import documentation against the cargo and flag tariff classification questions to the licensed customs broker
Watch cargo-release status in CBP's ACE and pass holds to the brokerage team
Confirm each ocean import's Importer Security Filing (ISF) is on file before the ship reaches a U.S. port
Check received freight against invoices, and record shortages and damage
Trace lost or misrouted shipments and work claims with carriers

How to Become an Ocean / Air Import Clerk

Import Clerk Education Requirements

A high school diploma usually gets you hired. On-the-job training runs anywhere from a few days to a year. Expect to learn the import documents, the carriers and terminals your office uses, and the customs release process in your first months.

Import Clerk Certifications

You don't need a license for the import desk, but this seat sits closer to licensed work than any other entry role. These credentials shape where it leads.

U.S. Customs Broker License: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Import clerks aiming for the broker's seat. Eligibility: U.S. citizen, at least 21, not a current federal employee, and of good moral character. The exam has 80 questions, and 57 correct (71.25%) passes.
Certified Customs Specialist (CCS): NCBFAA Educational Institute. Clerks moving into customs compliance, after a year or two of related experience. No broker license required.
IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations training: International Air Transport Association (IATA). Air import clerks who handle or accept dangerous goods. Recurrent within 24 months.
49 CFR hazmat employee training: U.S. DOT, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Clerks handling hazmat moving by truck or rail after arrival. Refreshed at least every three years.

Ocean / Air Import Clerk Experience

Import desks hire for accuracy and follow-through. Time as a Port / Yard Clerk means you've already checked containers against manifests at the terminal end. Receiving work as a Shipping & Receiving Clerk builds the habit of checking freight against invoices. Following loads as a Track & Trace / Capacity Coordinator is the same tracking discipline on the domestic side.

Ocean / Air Import Clerk Skills

Import documents: commercial invoices, certificates of origin, cargo-control documents, and arrival notices
House bills of lading: matching the forwarder's or NVOCC's house bill to the carrier's master bill of lading
Air waybill (AWB): the core air-cargo document and the contract of carriage between the shipper and the airline
CBP ACE: reading cargo-release status in the "Single Window" every U.S. import passes through
HTS classification awareness: spotting a product description that won't support its HTS code

Shipment tracking: TMS and mobile tracking tools for vessels, flights, and final-mile trucks
Hand-held barcode scanners: entering received freight into the system
SAP and Microsoft Excel: import logs, status reports, and shipment records
Problem tracing: finding lost freight and working claims with carriers

A Day in the Life of an Ocean / Air Import Clerk

6:30 AM

Vessel Arrival Notices

A vessel carrying six of your containers berthed overnight. Its arrival goes into the shipment records first. Then arrival notices go out to all six consignees with the expected availability at the terminal. One consignee replies within minutes asking whether their container can go straight to a second warehouse, so you note the new delivery address on the file.

8:00 AM

Air Arrivals and ACE

Air freight lands on a different clock. Two air shipments arrived on early flights. Their air waybills match the import log, and both entries were filed yesterday. ACE shows one released and one on hold. The hold goes to the brokerage team with the entry number attached.

9:30 AM

Missing Origin Certificate

The documents for next week's ocean arrivals come next. A furniture importer's file has the commercial invoice and house bill of lading, but no certificate of origin. That request goes to the overseas supplier while there's still time before the ship arrives.

10:15 AM

Importer Security Filing

Another of next week's ocean arrivals shows no Importer Security Filing on record. That filing has to be in before the ship reaches a U.S. port. You send the importer's broker the shipment data and flag the file until it posts.

11:00 AM

House Bill Correction

The house bill on one container lists a different piece count than the master bill of lading. You ask the NVOCC to confirm the count, and they find a typo on their side. Their corrected house bill goes into the file before the broker builds the entry. Without it, the entry would have declared freight that never shipped.

1:00 PM

Air Delivery Booking

The released air shipment needs a truck. You book local delivery, send the consignee the delivery appointment, and update the TMS. The broker's team clears the second shipment by mid-afternoon, so it goes on the same route.

3:00 PM

Damage and Shortage Claim

A consignee reports that two cartons from yesterday's ocean delivery arrived crushed and one is missing. You compare the delivery receipt against the commercial invoice and record the shortage and the damage. The carrier's claims department gets the file with photos attached.

4:30 PM

Arrival File Review

Tomorrow's arrivals get a final review. Every file is checked against the document checklist, and three missing items go on a follow-up list for the morning. Two belong to the same importer, so one email covers both. The last task is updating the import status report your supervisor reads at 8 AM.

Ocean / Air Import Clerk Career Path

Most import clerks know the step is close when the broker starts handing them entries to prepare instead of documents to chase. The entry stretch typically runs 0 to 6 months. The move to a specialist seat often comes within 1 to 3 years.

The broker license is the import desk's natural target. Pass the CBP exam, file the application, and you can step up to Licensed Customs Broker. Earn the CCS instead, and Customs Compliance Specialist opens. Clerks who prefer the freight to the filings move to Ocean / Air Freight Specialist, and house bill work leads toward NVOCC Coordinator.

There's a crossover at the port, too. Clerks who've watched containers sit at the terminal can move into Intermodal as a Demurrage & Detention Analyst.

Ocean / Air Import Clerk FAQs

I'm an import clerk with a year in. What's the realistic path to becoming a licensed customs broker?

Pass the CBP Customs Broker License Exam, then apply for the license. The exam runs twice a year, in April and October, with 80 questions, and you need 57 correct, or 71.25%, to pass. You must be a U.S. citizen, at least 21, not a current federal employee, and of good moral character. CBP must approve the application, and the license then carries continuing education.

Will I have to handle hazmat paperwork on an air import desk?

Only if you're trained for it. IATA requires competency-based training for anyone who handles or accepts dangerous goods moving by air, with recurrent training within 24 months. If hazmat continues by truck or rail after arrival, 49 CFR adds hazmat employee training, refreshed at least every three years. Untrained clerks route those files to a dangerous goods specialist.

What will I actually learn in my first months on an import desk?

The documents first: commercial invoices, certificates of origin, cargo-control documents, and house bills of lading. Then the release process, including how entries move through CBP's ACE and what a customs hold means. On-the-job training runs from a few days to a year. By the end, you should be able to carry a shipment from arrival notice to delivery.

Ocean and Air Import Leadership Search

Inbound freight waits on the entry.

An import clerk who misses a document leaves containers on customs hold while demurrage charges build, and one who never records a shortage gives away the claim. The customs and freight leaders GESG places through its logistics executive search run import desks where every file is ready before the ship arrives.