Know Your True Level of CTPAT Compliance Before CBP Does

A comprehensive, expert-led audit to measure how well your company meets CTPAT Program Requirements and the Minimum Security Criteria (MSC).

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What is a CTPAT Compliance Audit?

A CTPAT Compliance Audit is an in-depth assessment of your company’s security practices, procedures, and controls to determine how closely you meet the CTPAT Program Requirements and the Minimum Security Criteria (MSC).

Secure Trade Advisors performs a full review of your operational, physical, procedural, and documentation-based controls to identify:

  1. Gaps in compliance
  2. Areas requiring corrective action
  3. Opportunities for security enhancements
  4. Best practices that strengthen your overall supply chain security

This audit provides the clarity needed to confidently prepare for CBP validations and maintain a strong, resilient security program.

Why Companies Request a CTPAT Audit

A CTPAT Compliance Audit gives your company a clear, objective understanding of how well your security program aligns with the CTPAT Program Requirements and the MSC. While an audit can help prepare for a future Validation, its primary purpose is diagnostic: to identify where the program meets the MSC, where gaps or inconsistencies exist, and where evidence is insufficient.

Companies request a CTPAT Compliance Audit to:

  1. Understand their true level of compliance with the MSC – Identify exactly where the program meets expectations and where gaps or inconsistencies exist.
  2. Strengthen their security program before any incident occurs – Ensure that if a supply chain security breach happens (contraband, unauthorized persons, tampering, etc.), the company can demonstrate a robust, compliant program to CBP and internal leadership.
  3. Reduce organizational risk – Confirm that policies, procedures, training, and controls genuinely reflect the MSC not just on paper, but in practice.
  4. Verify that business partners are being assessed correctly – Confirm that the company is conducting required business partner audits or questionnaires, that the assessments cover all applicable MSC criteria, and that proper documentation is maintained for each non-CTPAT/non-MRA partner.

Benefits of a CTPAT Compliance Audit

  • Accurate measurement of your compliance level - A detailed evaluation of every MSC category applicable to your entity type.
  • A complete Corrective Action Plan (CAP) - Clear, prioritized guidance to fix gaps and improve security controls.
  • Reduced risk during CBP Validation - Avoid surprises by knowing what CBP will flag — and how to fix it now.
  • Strengthened operational and physical security - Recommendations that enhance day-to-day security and long-term resilience.
  • Improved audit readiness for foreign suppliers - Ensure your partners meet expectations before CBP performs their on-site validation.
  • Practical, implementable solutions - We don’t just identify problems — we provide the exact documents, procedures, and actions needed to solve them.

Our CTPAT Audit Process​

Secure Trade Advisors performs a structured, in-depth review of your company’s security program and CTPAT documentation. A typical CTPAT Compliance Audit includes:

  1. CTPAT Portal & Documentation Review

    We review your CTPAT Portal account (company profile, security profile) along with key policies, procedures, forms, risk assessments, and internal audit reports uploaded.

  2. Meeting With Key Personnel

    We meet with the personnel responsible for areas such as HR, IT, physical security, access controls, and receiving/shipping/logistics to gather information, clarify processes, and ensure we understand how your security program operates.

  3. Business Partner Audit & Questionnaire Review

    We review your evidence that business partners are being assessed for compliance with the MSC. This includes:

    • Reviewing audit reports and/or completed questionnaires from your business partners
    • Verifying that the questions or audit criteria cover all relevant MSC requirements
    • Confirming you have a current audit report or completed questionnaire on file for each required business partner that is not a certified CTPAT member or a member of a supply chain security program with a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  4. Policy, Procedure & Form Assessment

    We perform a detailed review of your policies, procedures, forms, and training material to ensure:

    • They contain the required CTPAT language
    • They comply with the MSC applicable to your entity type
    • Any missing elements or deficiencies are identified

    If your documents are incomplete or partially compliant, we identify exactly what needs to be changed and how.

  5. Compliance Assessment (Remote or On-Site)

    We evaluate procedural compliance, physical security, security systems, and access controls at your facility (or facilities). This assessment is typically performed remotely but may also be conducted on-site when appropriate.

  6. Corrective Action Plan (CAP)

    You receive a clear, prioritized Corrective Action Plan that outlines:

    • Specific gaps
    • Required corrective actions
    • Recommendations
    • Responsible parties and target timelines
  7. Implementation Verification & Follow-Up

    We verify completion of your CAP tasks, review evidence of implementation, and provide ongoing guidance throughout the process to ensure all corrective actions are fully addressed. We also provide companies with any required policies, procedures, forms, and training material needed to comply with the MSC, or we guide you on how to modify existing documentation so it complies.

Why Choose Secure Trade Advisors

For more than two decades, we have specialized exclusively in CTPAT and supply chain security, conducting and supporting hundreds of CTPAT Compliance Audits and CBP Validations for importers, foreign manufacturers, carriers, and logistics providers.

Companies trust us with their CTPAT Compliance Audits because:

  1. We mirror how CBP evaluates you – Our audit approach follows the CTPAT Program Requirements and MSC, so your internal results closely match what CBP will see during a Validation.
  2. We know exactly what drives CBP findings – We focus on the gaps, evidence, and language that typically result in observations, recommendations, and actions in CBP Validation Reports.
  3. We provide practical, ready-to-use solutions – You don’t just get a list of issues; you receive clear corrective actions plus the policies, procedures, forms, and training materials needed to close the gaps.
  4. We reduce your team’s workload – Our team handles the heavy lifting: document review, evidence analysis, and drafting the Corrective Action Plan, so your staff can focus on their day-to-day responsibilities.
  5. We prepare you to be truly audit-ready and validation-ready – By the end of the engagement, you know your actual level of compliance, what remains to be fixed, and how to maintain alignment with MSC expectations over time.

When you work with Secure Trade Advisors on a CTPAT Compliance Audit, you gain more than an audit — you gain a strategic partner dedicated to strengthening your supply chain security and keeping you ready for CBP.