Carriers and customs agencies often require additional documentation to help streamline customs clearance. Depending on your products, and the country you are shipping your products to, compliance requirements may vary.
As a reminder, you are the exporter of record. Ensuring your products can be exported, sold and imported for B2B purposes in other countries, and including any supportive documentation, falls under your responsibility.
To learn more about selling and shipping internationally, visit our guide to selling internationally on Faire.
How can I upload compliance documents when Shipping with Faire?
Currently, uploading compliance documents is an option with UPS and DHL for European brands only. When choosing your shipping carrier, if you select either UPS or DHL, you will see the option to upload documents.
To upload documents:
- Click on Add documents
- Select the Document type in the drop-down menu.
- If the document you want to upload does not directly correspond to the options, select Export accompanying document
- If you have additional documents, select Add another document
- Click save
- Review your order, box dimensions and additional options, if all looks good, click on Create labels
Documents uploaded only apply on an order by order basis.
Who are the documents I upload shared with ?
The documents you submit and upload are shared with the carrier for customs clearance purposes. Customs department will have direct access to any file you upload, when processing your order.
Can I check if my documents have been successfully uploaded?
After creating your shipping label, you will see a list of the documents you have uploaded under your shipping labels.
What If I am getting an error message?
If you receive an error message when trying to upload or save a document, we recommend :
- Reviewing the file name and removing accents (à, ë, etc.) and extra format indicators that may be duplicated. (ex: pdf.)
- Re-trying
What are the most frequently required types of documents for customs clearance?
Please note that requirements vary depending on multiple factors, such as:
- Nature of the products
- Provenance of the products
- Destination country and import regulations
We recommend you consult a customs broker to determine your readiness to export your products to each country you sell to on Faire.
You will find below a list of the most commonly required documents to ship products internationally :
- Certificate of Origin: This document certifies the country of origin of the goods and is often necessary for determining tariffs and trade agreements. It is usually issued for goods that are being sold abroad as a permanent export. Certificate of origin may be requested for commercial or customs reasons. They tend to be issued by a chamber of commerce.
- GSP Certificate of Origin: This certificate allows eligible products to benefit from preferential tariff rates under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.
- Manufacturing address or specifications : This information is frequently requested by customs for certain controlled product categories subject to rules of origin. If your products are controlled, we recommend uploading manufacturing address information as supportive information in tandem with a certificate of origin.
- Certificate of Conformity: Issued by a recognized third-party certification body, this certificate confirms that the products meet specific quality, safety, and technical standards.
- Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Certificates: These certificates are related to the health and safety aspects of agricultural and food products, ensuring they meet the required sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
- Technical Compliance Certificates: These certificates demonstrate that products meet technical regulations and standards set by the importing country.
- Environmental Compliance Certificates: For products that impact the environment, these certificates confirm that the goods adhere to environmental regulations.
- Dangerous Goods Certificate: For hazardous materials, this certificate verifies that the goods are appropriately labeled, packaged, and documented for safe transportation.
- Export declaration : An official document submitted to customs authorities by exporters before shipping goods internationally. It contains essential information about the exported products, their value, destination, and compliance with export regulations. The declaration helps customs monitor trade, enforce laws, assess compliance with the import country and apply import duties/fees accordingly.
- Packing and Weight Certificates: For certain goods, customs may require certificates verifying the accuracy of the weight and packing materials used. (This is common for natural products, that have inconsistent sizes and weights, customs will often request a document stating the exact weight and size of the product as the ones on the commercial invoice will not be accurate or specific enough)