Forms Needed for International Shipping

Required for All Cross-Border Shipments (Commercial Invoice)

The commercial invoice (or pro forma invoice) is required for all cross-border shipments (except for documents that have no commercial value). It is the primary form used for importation control, valuation and duty determination.

Our shipping tool will help you fill out your commercial invoice as you’re creating your shipping label. It is important to provide accurate and specific information in order to avoid customs delays.

We can transmit your commercial invoice digitally if you have a UPS account. (To enable Paperless^® Invoice, go to your account details screen. If you need an account, you can open one here.) Otherwise, be sure to print out three copies of the commercial invoice and include it with your package.

If you would like to fill out the commercial invoice on your own, without the aid of our shipping tool, we made a guide to help walk you through it.

You can also view more information about Understanding Customs or International Shipping Forms.

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Where was the item you are shipping manufactured? (Certificate of Origin)

A certificate of origin is a document that verifies the manufacturing country of the items being shipped, and the item’s origin and destination determine if the certificate is required. Requirement reasons could be because of established Treaty arrangements, varying duty rates and preferential duty treatment dependent on the shipment´s origin.

For instance, when you are shipping between the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico, you should use the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) Certificate of Origin to determine if the goods imported into your country qualify for the reduced or eliminated duties allowed under CUSMA. To be assessed the proper duty and to avoid delays in customs clearance in the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico, include a CUSMA Certificate of Origin with the export documentation.

Use our Import and Export Regulations tool to see additional forms you may need for these and other countries.

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Are You Shipping a List of Goods to a Customer or Vendor? (Packing List - Optional)

A packing list is an optional document that allows shippers to give specific details on a shipment’s contents. A packing list might seem similar to a commercial invoice, but it’s not the same. A packing list should not – and will not – replace a commercial invoice. Why? Because it isn’t used by customs to determine duties and fees associated with the shipment.

Without information about the cost or value of a shipment’s contents, a packing list can still be very useful. For example, packing lists come in handy when a shipment’s contents are being forwarded to a third party, such as a customer or vendor.

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Are the goods you’re shipping restricted or valued over CAN $2000? (Export Documentation)

Commercial shipments to international destinations other than the United States (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) containing restricted goods or goods valued over CAN$2,000 require submission of an export declaration to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

An export declaration can be submitted using the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS), or G7 Electronic Data Interchange Export Reporting (G7 EDI) system.

Additional information about export documentation and filing requirements is available in the CBSA’s Guide to exporting commercial goods from Canada.

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