In an increasingly busy industry, customs is something we would all rather ignore.

But from shipments being stuck at ports to huge financial losses, the consequences of not fulfilling your customs obligations can be severe. 

Don’t let customs confusion slow you down. These are the customs documents you actually need. 

Your customs documents 

Depending on where you are transporting to/from and what you are moving, you may require some or all of the following:

Import Declaration 

You need to declare your goods when transporting them from one country to another. To correctly transport your goods into a country, an import declaration is required.

Export Declaration

An export declaration is required when you are transporting goods out of a country. When transporting goods between countries, an import and export declaration will be required.

Safety & Security Declaration (SSD)

This is required by border authorities to analyse the potential risk of imported goods (where an entry summary declaration (ENS) is required) or exported goods (where an exit summary declaration (EXS) is required). 

From the end of October 2024, SSDs will also be required for GB imports coming from the EU and will be known as an S&S GB.

Port Pass

Port Passes show that the necessary customs procedures have been completed before the vehicle arrived at port. 

The exact Port Pass you require will depend on the country you are transporting goods into. For example, a GMR is required for GB whereas a PBN is needed for Ireland.

Transit Accompanying Document (TAD)

Goods not in free circulation can be transported within the UK or EU via transit, a customs procedure that enables goods to move with reduced customs duties. A T1 or T2 transit declaration may be required.

And that’s not all. 

Customs can be complicated

Depending on the nature of your goods, you might also need an IPAFFS, TRACES pre-notification and more. Simply put, there’s a lot to consider. 

That’s why we created CustomsLink. 

With declarations cleared in as little as 3 minutes, our sister company can help you with their managed customs service (you send over your commercial invoice and CustomsLink takes care of the rest) or digital service (where you do it all yourself through a straightforward platform). 

No matter which service you choose, the CustomsLink team is available to support you 7 days a week. 

So, which customs documents do you actually need for your journey?

Use the bespoke CustomsLink “What do I need” tool to find out.

Please note, the tool is a guide only. Due to the ever-changing nature of customs, requirements may vary.

For the latest information, contact the CustomsLink team.