How to Apply for an Import License

Video Transcript

"You've heard about importing goods and services, that it can be a very lucrative business and now you've decided that perhaps you want to explore this further but you don't know where to begin or how to start. Hello! I'm Robert Todd and I'm here to discuss how to obtain an import license. The first thing you want to do is to contact the United States Department of Commerce and discuss with them what it is that you're planning on doing to decide whether you even need an import license, sometimes you don't. If you do, you're going to have to determine what it is you're going to import and how much you're going to import. Secondly, you're going to have to have an import number of record. In many instances, this import number of record can be your federal tax identification number. Next, you're going to probably want to contact a customs broker to find out the avenues of distribution and the best ways to go about this. You're going to want to get a list of the ports of entry to see where you would be operating and then you're want, you want to contact the appropriate agency of the country from which you will be importing goods and services. I'm Robert Todd and thank you for watching."