Your CBP triennial, on track with NEI

Most qualifying CE comes through one of CBP’s five selected accreditors, including NEI. CBP also runs free trade outreach webinars and government CE activities directly, which qualify on their own.

Activities that qualify include accredited webinars, seminars, conferences (including the Global Trade Educational (GTE) Conference), on-demand courses, port tours, trade days, and qualifying company training.

CBP also publishes a list of activities that do not qualify, including social events, government-led meetings such as COAC and ITAC, reading or writing trade publications, individual professional development, academic coursework, and sales or marketing events.

For CBP-direct CE, see CBP’s trade outreach webinars page; recorded webinars qualify for one year from the recording date. For CBP’s full list of qualifying and non-qualifying activities, see CBP’s continuing education page for individually licensed brokers.

CBP requires two visible signifiers on every accredited activity: the accreditor’s logo and the CBP Continuing Education logo. Activity pages normally also show how many CE credits the activity is worth. The LCB Triennial FAQ shows a visual example.

The CE code (also called a UIC) is not something to look for beforehand. It is issued at the end of the activity, on the closing slide or completion certificate.

In short: for every activity, keep the five details CBP requires, and enter your UICs as you go rather than saving them up.

It depends on whether you hold an NEI credential. Either way, CBP names five things to keep for each activity: the title, the dates attended, the provider, the number of credits, and the location. Online counts as the location for web-based activities.

If you do not hold a credential (CCS, MCS, CES, or MES), you maintain your own records. A spreadsheet works fine. Track the course title, provider, date completed, credit hours, location, and unique identification code (UIC) for each activity. Save your registration receipts and certificates of completion as evidence.

If you do hold a credential, you have access to Logistics-EI transcript tracking. Best practice still has three parts:

• Keep evidence of registration for every event you attend. CBP may request this information if you are audited, even for credits already in your Logistics-EI transcript.
• Enter your UICs as you go. The UIC is provided after you complete the activity, not at registration. Do not save them up to batch-enter close to the triennial deadline. UICs can be misplaced, and last-minute entries create avoidable risk.
• Download your Logistics-EI transcript once a year and save a copy. Review it for accuracy.

Walkthrough guidance is on the NEI FAQs & Policies page, plus a recorded walkthrough webinar on Logistics-EI.

To enter a UIC step by step, follow NEI’s UIC guide.

Important: the system requires two entries to get credit for both records. When you complete an accredited activity, you receive a unique identification code (UIC), the CE code shown at the end of an accredited activity, provided after you finish the activity, not at registration. To have that credit count toward both your CBP triennial requirement and your NEI designation renewal, you must enter the UIC in Logistics-EI twice:

• Entry 1: Log the UIC for your designation renewal. This counts the credit toward your 15-credit annual designation renewal.
• Entry 2: Log the same UIC for your LCB triennial tracking. This counts the credit toward your 20-credit (current cycle) or 36-credit (future cycles) CBP requirement.

If you only enter the UIC once, only one record gets credited. NEI is working to consolidate this process; until then, the two-entry workflow is required. For the steps to enter a UIC, follow NEI’s UIC guide.

If you hold an NEI credential, your Logistics-EI transcripts show your credits earned. Log in, open the LCB triennial transcript, and the credits you have entered for the current cycle are counted toward your 20-credit target. See NEI’s transcript guide for the steps.

If you do not hold a credential, you maintain your own running total. The countdown clock on the triennial overview shows how many credits per month you need to stay on pace through January 31, 2027.

Either way, the goal is 20 credits earned between January 1, 2025 and January 31, 2027.

Log into Logistics-EI with your personal credentials, navigate to your transcript, and use the download or print function. Your transcript shows all CE credits entered for the current cycle and any prior cycles where credits were recorded. It is the official record you produce if CBP audits you and the record behind your designation renewal. For the click-by-click steps, follow NEI’s guide to viewing your transcript.

If your transcript does not reflect credits you believe you have earned, contact transcripts@ncbfaa.org.

Three distinct payment paths depending on what is being paid:

• NEI designation renewal (annual, for CCS, MCS, CES, MES holders): handled through Logistics-EI with your personal credentials. Questions: CertificationRenewal@ncbfaa.org.
• Membership dues: log into ncbfaa.org and choose “Make a payment” from the drop-down. Professional Members use personal credentials (questions: NEImembership@ncbfaa.org). Regular, Affiliate, Associate, and Corporate Members use company credentials (questions: membership@ncbfaa.org).
• CBP $100 triennial fee: paid directly to CBP through the eCBP Portal, not through NEI or NCBFAA. e.cbp.dhs.gov/brokers.

If you are not sure which credentials to use, see the FAQ below on company vs. individual logins.

One login covers both Logistics-EI and ncbfaa.org. Your personal credentials work on both platforms. You do not need separate logins for each.

Use your personal credentials when you need to:

• Log into Logistics-EI to register for training, access courses, or find your transcript
• Log into ncbfaa.org to pay your NEI Professional Membership dues (choose “Make a payment” from the drop-down)
• Access member-only content on ncbfaa.org, including the NEI members-only Wednesday newsletter

Use your company credentials when you need to:

• Update your company profile, add or delete staff, or pay company-level dues
• Pay Regular, Affiliate, Associate, or Corporate Membership dues (log into ncbfaa.org with company credentials and choose “Make a payment”)
• Access member-only content on ncbfaa.org

The eCBP Portal at e.cbp.dhs.gov/brokers uses a separate Login.gov credential for filing your TSR and paying CBP’s $100 fee. That credential is issued by CBP, not NEI.

For the steps to log in, see NEI’s how to log in guide.

For login issues, contact enrollment@ncbfaa.org.

In short: if you hold an NEI credential, two things: the $95 annual designation renewal (to NEI) and the $100 CBP triennial fee (to CBP). No credential? Just the $100 CBP fee.

Two amounts come due in or near February 2027 if you hold an active NEI credential: your $95 annual designation renewal (paid to NEI) and the $100 CBP triennial fee (paid to CBP through the eCBP Portal). NEI Professional Membership is a separate annual renewal that follows your personal anniversary date, so it may or may not fall in February. Many LCBs hold all three because the combined member pricing and tracking benefits exceed the dues over a triennial cycle.

If you do not hold an NEI credential, the $95 renewal does not apply. You owe the $100 CBP triennial fee only.

If you hold two NEI designations (CCS and MCS, or CES and MES), the yearly continuing education requirement follows a specific policy for each pairing. See NEI’s FAQs & Policies page for the current rules, or email CertificationRenewal@ncbfaa.org with questions.

Your CES course is completed on GISTnet, not Logistics-EI. Everything else works the same as the other designations: your CE credits, transcript, and annual renewal run through Logistics-EI. See NEI’s CES page for details.

Grandfathering is a one-time benefit. If you have used the grandfathering process at any point in the past to become CCS or CES certified, you cannot use that path again. If you let any NEI credential (CCS, MCS, CES, or MES) lapse, the path back is reinstatement.

Once reinstated, your certification is valid until February 1 of the following year, and the standard 15 CE credits per year requirement resumes.

Contact reinstatement@ncbfaa.org to begin the reinstatement process.

In January 2027, before the TSR submission window opens, do the following:

• If you hold an NEI credential: log into Logistics-EI and confirm your transcript shows 20 or more credits for the current triennial cycle. Make sure all unique identification codes (UICs) you have earned are entered and that both entries are recorded for each activity (one for your designation renewal, one for your LCB triennial tracking). Download a copy of your transcript and save it.
• If you do not hold a credential: review your own records to confirm you have earned 20 accredited credits since January 1, 2025. Have documentation ready: course title, provider, date completed, credit hours, location, and UIC for each activity.
• Everyone: confirm your Login.gov credentials for the eCBP Portal are active. If you have not used them recently, test the login before the TSR window opens in mid-December 2026. Confirm your CBP license information is current at the eCBP Portal.
• Companies with multiple licenses: each license held requires its own TSR and $100 fee. Confirm which licenses are active and who will file each TSR.

For step-by-step guidance on the Logistics-EI tasks, see NEI’s guides.