CBP Announces Creation of the C-TPAT Status Verification Interface
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced the creation of its new Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Status Verification Interface (SVI).
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CBP states that it created SVI, a CBP Internet based user interface, in response to the operational need for certified C-TPAT partners to have the capability to verify the C-TPAT status of other certified C-TPAT partners.
CBP has posted to its Web site an overview, fact sheet, and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding SVI, highlights of which include:
C-TPAT partners must meet certain criteria to access SVI. In order to be qualified as a SVI participant (SVIP), a C-TPAT partner must meet the following criteria (partial list):
have received a letter from CBP and signed by an authorized officer of CBP that indicates that C-TPAT certification has been approved;
have given consent by properly executing the "C-TPAT Consent to Use Company Name" waiver; and
have been issued a SVIP alpha-numeric status identification number (I.D.) SVIP ID and password by the CBP C-TPAT program division.
Purpose of SVI is to allow SVIP ID Numbers to be queried. SVI allows an SVIP to verify the C-TPAT status of another SVIP from whom he/she has received an SVIP ID number. If a SVIP ID is queried and is found to be valid, the C-TPAT partner will receive the following information regarding that SVIP:
Partner ID - the SVIP member number(s) queried
Partner Name - the SVIP member/company name
DBA "Doing Business As" - if the SVIP has a DBA it will be displayed
Business Type - the SVIP's C-TPAT certification category
SVI information will be updated every 10-14 business days. According to CBP, the information in SVI will be updated approximately every 10-14 business days. CBP states that newly added consenting certified companies will receive an email message with their SVIP ID and temporary password (which must be changed upon initial use of SVI).
CBP cannot distribute list of C-TPAT partners. CBP states that C-TPAT is a voluntary program not regulated by law and for security and confidentiality purposes, CBP will not share any information regarding C-TPAT application or partnership status with anyone outside the company's authorized officials.
SVI may be accessed via CBP Web site or directly. According to CBP, the C-TPAT SVI function is accessed via the C-TPAT section of the CBP Web site or by going directly to https://apps.cbp.gov/svi.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/28/04 news, 04042810, for BP summary of CBP's recent update on C-TPAT's Smart Box initiative and other C-TPAT issues.)
SVI overview available at
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/svi/sviOverview.xml.
SVI fact sheet available at
SVI FAQs available at