Acustom house orcustoms house was traditionally a building housing the offices for ajurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collectingcustoms duty on imported goods. A custom house was typically located in aseaport or in a city on a major river, with access to an ocean. These cities acted asports of entry into a country.

Due to advances in electronic information systems, the increased volume of international trade, and the introduction of air travel, the term "custom house" became a historical anachronism. There are many examples of buildings around the world that were formerly used as custom houses but have since been converted for other uses, such as museums or civic buildings.

As examples, the formerAlexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York, (now theGeorge Gustav Heye Center) presently houses a branch of theNational Museum of the American Indian, the formerU.S. Custom House in New Orleans, Louisiana, is now home to theAudubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, the formerU.S. Custom House in San Francisco, California, now houses offices of theU.S. Customs and Border Protection andSocial Security Administration and the formerU.S. Custom House in Baltimore, Maryland, was in 1973 serving as aSelective Service office.^[1] As of 2019^[update], the Custom House ofValletta inMalta was still being used for its original purpose.^[2]

Custom Houses became a prominent feature of English ports after 1275, following the creation of a national system for collecting duties on overseas trade.^[3]

In theUnited Kingdom, since 1386, the phrase "custom house" has been in use over the term "customs house". This was after theCity of London's Custom House was erected at Wool Wharf inTower Ward, to house just the officials overseeing the Great Custom on Wool and Woolfells. The singular form was used even though in later years the City of London's Custom House served as the workplace for other customs officials as well.^[4]

• Customs broking

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCustom houses.

• "U.S. Custom House, Philadelphia, PA".General Services Administration.
• "Custom House, Leith"(PDF). Scottish Historic Buildings Trust. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2020-03-17. Retrieved2020-03-17.

• Custom houses
• History of international trade
• Business terms
• Government buildings

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