Forms Needed for International Shipping

The commercial invoice (or pro forma invoice) is required for all cross-border shipments (except for documents, which 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 and will be automatically enrolled.) 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, you can read this guide or view this video for guidance.

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.

To check and see what forms you’ll need, use our Import and Export Regulations tool.

Rules for when a certificate is needed change frequently. Be sure to verify your specific requirements before shipping.

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.

Different countries require different export documentation. The type of product you ship and the local regulations of the destination country that you are shipping to, will influence what additional documentation is required. To learn about some common export documents needed while shipping internationally, watch this video.