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How the CBP Officer Exam Score Is Used

There is no rank order and no eligible list. Both tests are hurdles and they come in order: pass the writing test to reach the reasoning test. CBP publishes no passing score for either.

There is no ranking

Both live CBP Officer announcements — the GS-5/7 and the GS-9 — state that the vacancy is filled under Direct Hire Authority, that all applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements will be reviewed, and that Veteran's Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply.

The entrance examination appears in the announcement as a pre-employment step you must complete and pass. There is no eligible list and no position on one.

Two hurdles, not one

What makes this examination different from Border Patrol's is that there are two places to fall. The Writing Skills Test removes candidates before the Logical Reasoning Test is offered at all, and CBP says so in as many words. So "passing" is not one event here — it is two, in order, five days apart.

CBP publishes no threshold for either. It confirms one exists through its retest rule and never states a number, and nor will we.

What failing costs

A 90-day waiting period before you are allowed to retest. Not completing the examination within its deadlines is treated as abandoning your application, and you must reapply during the next open period.

Sources

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