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Know Your CTPAT Compliance Level Before CBP Does

An independent audit that mirrors how CBP will evaluate you during validation. We find the gaps first, give you a prioritized Corrective Action Plan, and provide the documents to close them.

  • CBP-Aligned
  • Prioritized CAP
  • Validation-Ready
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What is a CTPAT Compliance Audit?

A CTPAT Compliance Audit measures how closely your security program meets the CTPAT program requirements and MSC — identifying gaps, corrective actions, and best practices to strengthen your supply chain security.

Members who let compliance slip risk Tier downgrades, suspension, or full removal from the program.

Gaps in Compliance

We identify every area where your program falls short of CTPAT program requirements and MSC expectations.

Corrective Action Areas

We pinpoint exactly what needs to be fixed — so your team knows where to focus first.

Security Enhancements

We highlight opportunities to strengthen your physical, procedural, and operational security controls.

Supply Chain Best Practices

We share proven practices that keep your program resilient, audit-ready, and aligned with CBP expectations.

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:

MSC Compliance Level

Identify exactly where your program meets expectations and where gaps exist.

01

Pre-Incident Preparedness

Ensure your program can demonstrate compliance to CBP if a security breach occurs.

02

Reduce Organizational Risk

Confirm policies, procedures, and controls genuinely reflect the MSC in practice.

03

04

Partner Assessment Accuracy

Verify business partner audits cover all MSC criteria with proper documentation maintained.

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:

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.

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.

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)
  • Validating CTPAT membership of business partners using the Status Verification Interface (SVI) in the CTPAT portal

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.

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.

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

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:

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.

We focus on the gaps, evidence, and language that typically result in observations, recommendations, and actions in CBP validation reports.

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.

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.

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.

CTPAT Compliance Audit
Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to common questions about CTPAT compliance audits, what’s included, and what to expect from the process.

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).

Companies request a CTPAT compliance audit to understand their true level of compliance, identify gaps and inconsistencies, verify that evidence supports Security Profile responses, and reduce risk before a CBP validation or program review occurs.

We review operational, physical, procedural, and documentation-based controls and identify compliance gaps, corrective actions, opportunities for security enhancements, and best practices to strengthen your overall supply chain security program.

You receive clear findings that show where your program meets the MSC, where gaps or inconsistencies exist, where evidence is insufficient, and what corrective actions are required to strengthen compliance and readiness.

Yes. While the audit is diagnostic by design, the results are especially useful for validation readiness because they highlight gaps, documentation issues, and operational misalignment before CBP reviews your program.

No. A compliance audit is valuable for both certified companies and those pursuing certification because it helps measure readiness against the MSC and identify what must be strengthened to meet program expectations.

Common gaps include missing or outdated procedures, incomplete evidence to support Security Profile responses, inconsistent implementation across facilities, and security controls that do not fully align with the applicable MSC requirements.

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