How to become a clearing or Forwarding agent

Official title: Clearing/Forwarding agent

Also called: Clearing agent, Clearing and forwarding agent, Forwarding agent, Goods agent (railway), Railway goods agent, Brokerage Supervisor, Permit Coordinator/Shipping Coordinator/Custom Clearance Coordinator, Ÿ Railway goods agent

Clearing/Forwarding agent carries out customs clearing procedures for exports or imports, signs and issues bills of lading, checks import/export documentation to determine cargo contents, and classifies goods into different fee or tariff groups. He/she ensures goods are cleared through customs or quarantine in accordance with import and export laws and regulations.

Main tasks

• Carrying out customs clearing procedures for exports or imports
• Ensuring that insurance is in order
• Ensuring that export/import licences and other formalities are in order
• Signing and issuing bills of lading
• Checking import/export documentation to determine cargo contents, and classifying goods into different fee or tariff groups, using a tariff coding system

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $48,564 a year. The middle half earn $42,048 to $57,876 a year.
• Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Shipping agent/Boarding officer
• Freight inspector
• Auctioneer
• Exhibition/Conference/Event planner
• Employment agent/Labour contractor
• Real estate agent

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Questions people ask

How much does a clearing or Forwarding agent earn in Singapore?

Median full-time pay is $48,564 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $42,048 to $57,876.

Will AI change the work of a clearing or Forwarding agent?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026