“The Customs House Agent (CHA) Certificate Course 2026 – I”
- The course is scheduled to start in the month of October 2026 and the starting date will be notified later, a week prior to commencement.
- Required qualifications for eligibility:
- Three (3) Passes in core subjects at GCE A/L Examination in one sitting OR an equivalent qualification, certified letter by the Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka addressed to Director General of Customs.
AND
- A simple pass or above for English at GCE O/L or General English at GCE A/L OR an equivalent English language qualification, certified letter by the Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka addressed to Director General of Customs.
- Applications will be received at HRD Directorate, 9th Floor, Sri Lanka Customs Headquarters, No 40, Main Street, Colombo 11 from 14.09.2026 onwards from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on weekdays.
- Only 200 participants are to be selected for the certificate course in the order of receiving applications to the HRD Directorate. Closing date for receiving applications is 30.09.2026.
- Fifty (50) applicants will be selected on first come first serve basis, to attend in person in the Customs HRD Auditorium and 150 applicants via virtual mode (preference shall be mentioned in the application form).
- The course will be conducted for nine (09) consecutive days on weekends (except public holidays) from 09.00 a.m. to 05.00 p.m., on hybrid mode.
- The course fee of Rs. 40,000.00 needs to be paid to the Customs Shroff and the original copy of the receipt is to be submitted to the HRD Directorate.
- Repeat candidates who intend to sit for the examination at the end of the aforesaid Certificate course should also register themselves before 30.09.2026 by filling the application at the HRD Directorate. Registration number at the initial CHA course, Registration numbers at the repeat examinations (If Applicable) and a coloured photograph of size 3.5 * 4.5 cm is required along with copies of NIC and the previous payment receipt/s. Repeat examination fee of Rs. 7,000.00 should be paid to Customs Shroff once the repeat application is verified by Customs.
- Refer “Instructions to Applicants and Terms & Conditions” in page No. 03 of the application, before submitting the applications to HRD.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- Once paid, the course fee will not be refunded or transferred to be used for any other course or purpose.
- Only candidates whose attendance is more than 80% will be permitted to sit for the examination.
- III. Candidates will only be allowed to sit for the examination as a repeater twice, within 05 years’ period of initial first registration.
- Candidates who successfully passed the Customs House Agent (CHA) Certificate Course examination but do not wish to obtain an operational CHA Pass/License shall be issued a “CHA Course Certificate of Completion.”
- Successful candidates seeking active registration or license issuance as a Customs House Agents are required to complete all of the following requirements;
- Candidates who successfully complete the theoretical training and written examination of the CHA Certificate Course must undergo a mandatory six (06) consecutive months of practical internship within an organization approved by the Sri Lanka Customs.
- In light of capacity constraints and limited availability of accredited internship positions, placement opportunities provided by Sri Lanka Customs will be awarded in the order of academic merit, prioritizing candidates with the top examination scores achieved in the CHA Certificate Examination. Candidates who do not qualify in the primary selection round will be placed on a merit-based waiting list and offered placement opportunities in subsequent phases as additional capacity or vacancies become available.
- The candidate must submit a formal Internship Report to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Directorate within fourteen (14) days following the completion of the 6-month period.
- Internship candidates whose Internship Reports are accepted by the HRD Directorate will be called to appear and successfully face a Viva Voce Examination.
- Final approval and issuance of the Customs House Agent (CHA) License shall be strictly contingent upon completing above “a, b, c and d” requirements
- Failure to complete the internship, non-submission of the report, or failure in the Viva Voce examination will result in the immediate disqualification of CHA license.
- Without valid reason no repetition chance will be given to internship opportunity and viva voce examination.
- An applicant who has been found guilty of a criminal offence by a court will not be eligible to obtain a CHA license
- On all matters pertaining to the course and the examination, the decision of the Director General of Customs shall remain final.
Applications for the course, Eligibility Criteria, Instructions and Terms & conditions can be downloaded via the following link.
DC (HRD)
