CBP ruling H350722 explained: an AI review checklist for customs brokers

A feature-by-feature reading of H350722 and a printable checklist covering tools, entries, records, fees and staff.

CBP ruling H350722 is the closest thing licensed customs brokers have to a rulebook for AI. It is dated January 16, 2026 and was made public around March 2026 (ST&R Trade Report, Mar 2026). This post walks through what US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) actually decided, then turns it into a checklist you can use before and during any AI rollout.

A caution first: Lunan is not a law firm or a licensed broker. Read this as a working summary of public commentary, and confirm anything that matters with your customs counsel.

What the ruling was about

An unlicensed online platform based outside the US asked CBP which of its services counted as "customs business," the work that only a licensed broker may do for others under 19 USC 1641. The platform matched importers with brokers and offered several software features. CBP looked at each one.

What CBP decided, feature by feature

Drawn from ST&R (Mar 2026) and Diaz Trade Law (Mar 2026):

Feature	Customs business?	Why
Matching importers to licensed brokers	No	As long as the platform didn't decide what went to the broker or to CBP
OCR (optical character recognition) that scans shipping documents and pre-fills entry data	Yes	19 USC 1641(a)(2) covers preparing documents meant for filing with CBP
AI classification at 8 or 10 digits given to customers	Yes	It "impermissibly directs" entry preparation
General 6-digit suggestions not tied to an actual importation	No	General information, not entry preparation
Certifying and submitting CBP Form 5106 for importers	Yes	Treated as customs business in the ruling

CBP also flagged two more possible problems: 19 CFR 111.36(b), if the platform's fee was tied to the entry the broker filed, and 19 CFR 111.3(a), for conducting customs business outside the US customs territory.

Three lines from the ruling are worth memorizing, as quoted by GingerControl (vendor, Mar 2026):

"A tool does not constitute a 'person' as defined by 19 C.F.R. § 111.1."
"An unlicensed entity cannot decide what data should appear on an entry."
"An individual broker or other licensed person must have a role in specifying what information" a tool generates.

Diaz Trade Law's summary: AI "can connect people to brokers but cannot replace them," and an unlicensed entity cannot decide entry data "whether manually or by OCR."

What it means inside your brokerage

The ruling is about who decides, not about whether software may be used. A tool isn't a person, so it can't hold responsibility. Your licensed broker can, and does.

That leads to a workable model: AI drafts inside your brokerage, on your accounts, under your broker's direction, and the broker decides what goes on the entry. The risk shows up when a draft escapes that loop, for example a portal that hands 10-digit codes to an importer, or an outside service that pre-fills entries no broker directed.

Other duties don't go away either. Magaya, a brokerage software vendor, puts it this way: supervision and control, reasonable care and recordkeeping still apply, so document how AI output was verified and train staff on AI's limits (Magaya, vendor, Mar 2026).

The checklist

Before you switch on a tool

Write down which tasks the tool may do: extract data, suggest codes, sort entries, draft notices.
Name the licensed broker who directs each task and signs off on its output.
Confirm where the vendor processes and stores data. Original records, electronic ones included, must stay inside the US customs territory under the 2022 rules (GHY International, Oct 2022).
Get written client authorization before client information goes to a third-party AI service. The 2022 rules allow sharing with third parties when the client authorizes it in writing.
Turn off vendor training on your data where the vendor offers that setting.
Add the tool to your data-breach plan. Brokers must notify CBP of breaches.

On every entry

The AI output is labeled a draft until a licensed broker accepts it.
The broker reviews every 8- and 10-digit code, not just the ones the tool marks uncertain.
Pre-filled entry data is checked against the source documents before transmission.
Nothing the AI produced goes to the client until the broker has decided it.

For your records

Keep the AI draft, the broker's edits and who approved them in the entry file.
Hold those records for at least the 5 years after the date of entry that 19 CFR 111.23 sets for broker records.
Note the tool name and version used, so you can explain a decision later.

For deals and fees

No fee to a tool or referral partner that is tied to the entries you file. That was one of the possible violations CBP flagged.
No arrangement where someone outside your brokerage decides entry data for your clients.

For your staff

Train entry writers on common AI failure modes: confident wrong codes, invented ruling numbers, and missed product details.
Make it normal to reject a draft. A review step that never rejects anything isn't a review.

What the ruling didn't settle

It answers a platform's questions, not every brokerage setup. If your situation differs, ask counsel.
Beyond H350722, we found no CBP statement specifically on generative AI use by licensed brokers. CBP did run a webinar titled "A Chat About Artificial Intelligence" on June 16, 2026; we could not read its content.
It says nothing about how accurate a tool must be. That part is on you, which is why we suggest back-testing any classification tool on your own filed entries.

Where to go next

For the big picture, start with the series overview. For the data-handling side, a client authorization clause belongs in the AI-use policy kit linked from the AI for customs brokers page.

If you want help putting this checklist to work in your office, start a free conversation. You walk us through how an entry moves, and we send back a short written list of where AI could help and where it should stay out.