Pass the CBP Entrance Exam։ CBP Study Guide & Hiring Process in 2024
If you are looking for a career as a Customs and Border Protection officer, you will need to take the CBP Entrance Exam.
This entrance exam is made up of subjects that you likely haven’t dealt with recently. That’s why we are here. We will help you see how ready you are and provide you with tailored preparation.
Prepterminal’s CBP prep course and this CBP study guide are the foremost prep resources available on the market. Our course has been formulated to help you prepare for this extremely challenging exam in the most efficient way possible.
CBP Prep Course
What Does the CBP Entrance Exam Include?
The Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Entrance Exam takes approximately 4–6 hours to complete and is made up of four different sections: logical reasoning, arithmetic reasoning, writing skills, and work style (personal assessment). Let’s take a look at each of these sections in detail:
CBP Entrance Exam– Logical Reasoning Section
This is usually the first part of the CBP test and it is used to measure candidates’ ability to understand written passages and draw reasonable conclusions.
The questions in this section of the border patrol exam involve reading passages that are related to the work of border protection or federal government.
Candidates are required to assess the information provided in the passage, and to determine whether a given conclusion is accurate based on their understanding of a given statement. In other versions, the candidate must select the most logical conclusion from the five response choices that are provided.
The logical reasoning part requires careful reading and focus. Note that the objective of this part is not to test your knowledge of the facts, but your critical thinking skills and your ability to draw conclusions from the given passage.
CBP Entrance Exam – Arithmetic Reasoning Section
The arithmetic reasoning section is used in the border patrol entrance exam to assess the test taker’s skills in mathematical knowledge and reasoning.
Candidates are to answer necessary arithmetic computations that consist of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. Some of the questions may involve calculations involving decimals, percentages, averages and rates, distance, and time.
The few word-based problems in the CBP exam will require candidates to read and understand sentences or short paragraphs before conducting the necessary calculations.
CBP Entrance Exam – Writing Skills Test
The arithmetic reasoning section is used in the border patrol entrance exam to assess the test taker’s skills in mathematical knowledge and reasoning.
Candidates are to answer necessary arithmetic computations that consist of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. Some of the questions may involve calculations involving decimals, percentages, averages and rates, distance, and time.
The few word-based problems in the CBP exam will require candidates to read and understand sentences or short paragraphs before conducting the necessary calculations.
All CBP officers need to exhibit superior writing skills. Border protection officers typically need to write up assessments and reports that are easy to understand. These reports need to be concise and grammatically accurate.
The writing skills tests measure a test-taker’s ability to use words in an appropriate content, format paragraphs in a logical manner, and use punctuation correctly.
CBP Entrance Exam – Work Style Section
The work style or personal assessment section is the last part of the CBP test. It assesses the candidate’s job-related experiences and achievements. The section consists of a questionnaire to examine an applicant’s skills and potentials.
Customs and Border Protection Officer Application Requirements
Before you can apply for the border patrol exam or CBP test, you must first meet the following criteria:
- Must be a U.S. citizen
- You must have a valid driver’s license
- Must have resided in the country for at least three of the last five years
- Be eligible to use a firearm
- Must not be more than 40 years of age
- Be willing to travel to any part of the country
- Be able to pass the border patrol fitness test
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer Hiring Process
There are nine different steps involved in the hiring process of a CBP Officer.
These are:
- Apply for the CBP law enforcement officer position
- Take the CBP Entrance Exam
- Candidate’s Qualification Review
- Background Investigation
- Medical exam
- CBP Fitness Test or Border Patrol Fitness Test
- Structured Interview
- Border Patrol Polygraph Examination
- Drug Test
*Note: That some of these steps may coincide or in a slightly different order depending on your application circumstances.
The CBP Polygraph Test or Border Patrol Polygraph Test
Candidates applying for a law enforcement role at the U.S Customs and Border Protection agency are required to undergo a border patrol polygraph exam which is usually part of the background investigation process of the CBP test.
The outcome of the CBP polygraph or border patrol polygraph test will help to determine if the applicant is suitable for the position of law enforcement officer.
All information the agency collected on applicants, including their CBP polygraph exam results at the CBP test, will be kept for a minimum of two years and later used for future background investigations.
The Benefits of Becoming a Customs and Border Patrol Employee
A CBP Officer’s beginning salary is $32,844. Officers are also entitled to personal leave days for holidays, illness, family care, and ten paid federal holidays each year.
Officers are also entitled to life and health insurance options, and a Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The FERS comprises a Thrift Savings Plan, FERS basic annuity, and Social Security.
How Difficult is the Customs and Border Protection Entrance Exam?
The CBP entrance exam is extremely difficult. The hiring process is intentionally designed to be rigorous to ensure that only candidates that are both physically, morally, and mentally fit for the job pass.
Prepterminal’s comprehensive CBP Test Prep Course is designed by law enforcement experts who regularly review and research the contents of the CBP exam so that our guides are always up-to-date.
Prepterminal has produced a full curriculum-based course for an optimal structured learning experience that covers everything in the CBP test so that test-takers can flourish in this competitive job market.
We understand that the pressure that comes with taking on such a challenging test can often affect your ability to perform, so we want to take away the pressure by providing you an insight into the test, allowing you to prepare and secure the job, safe in the knowledge that you know exactly what is coming in these difficult exams.
