UK Export Declaration: How It Works (CDS)

What is a UK export declaration?

A UK export declaration is the customs declaration for goods leaving the UK, submitted to HMRC through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). Under GOV.UK guidance on exporting goods, you or your representative must submit it and get clearance from customs before the goods are allowed to leave the UK.

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When is an export declaration needed?

GOV.UK's step-by-step process applies when you move goods permanently from England, Wales or Scotland (Great Britain) to a country outside the UK, which includes EU countries. It also covers goods moving permanently from Northern Ireland to a country outside both the UK and the EU. Different rules apply to goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or between Northern Ireland and the EU, to goods sent by post, to small amounts of goods you take personally to sell abroad, and to goods leaving the UK temporarily.

Before you make a full declaration, check whether you need to declare the goods at all, and whether your goods need a licence or certificate (see below).

Who submits the export declaration?

You can do it yourself, or you can hire someone to deal with customs for you. If you appoint a customs agent, they make the declaration and get your goods through the UK border. To submit in CDS you need:

• an EORI number that starts with GB (an XI number may also be needed for goods moving to or from Northern Ireland);
• access to CDS, either through the online service or through commercial software.

Read our guide to EORI numbers (GB, XI and EU), and see who counts as the exporter under UK customs rules. If you would rather not run CDS yourself, see our UK customs clearance service.

When must you submit it? Timing and exit

The declaration must be submitted and cleared before the goods leave. GOV.UK sets minimum lead times for the export declaration (which, as a combined export declaration, also covers the exit summary declaration data; these are not ENS deadlines) that depend on the last mode of transport (GOV.UK: Making a full export declaration):

• Road and inland waters: at least one hour before departure.
• Air: at least 30 minutes before departure from a UK airport.
• Sea: at least 2 hours before the goods leave port for cargo not in a container, and also for containers going to Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland or ports on the Baltic, North, Black or Mediterranean Seas (which covers most short-sea routes to the EU); for all other containerised cargo, at least 24 hours before it is loaded onto the vessel.
• Rail: at least one hour before arrival at the office of exit when the journey to it takes under 2 hours, otherwise at least 2 hours before the goods leave the UK.

Pre-lodged or arrived

The declaration type depends on where the goods leave from. At certain locations you must submit it as arrived before the goods start their journey to the border location. Submitting as arrived means you are digitally presenting the goods to customs. GOV.UK lists these locations, which include the Dover Eastern Docks, the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone, Holyhead, Fishguard, Pembroke, part of Heysham and part of the Port of Liverpool. Check the current list of arrived-export locations before you book transport. For any other location, submit before the goods are presented to customs at the UK border.

Departure message

After you submit, HMRC must be told the goods have left the UK. At locations using an inventory linked system, the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) or an approved loader, this happens through those systems. If you export from any other location, you need to report to HMRC when the goods are presented at the UK port of departure and when they have left the UK. For goods leaving through GVMS locations, make sure the haulier follows GVMS processes to create a goods movement reference (GMR) and includes every DUCR in the export GMR. Without a departure message, your declaration cannot be used as official evidence of export, although commercial evidence under VAT Notice 703 can still support zero-rating.

What data do you need?

The declaration must include the customs procedure code (CPC), the commodity code (an 8-digit code is mandatory on CDS declarations, with limited exceptions) and your Declaration Unique Consignment Reference (DUCR), which links the declarations for a consignment. You also provide:

• the EORI numbers of every organisation involved in the export;
• departure point and destination, consignor and consignee;
• type, amount and packaging of the goods, with value, weight and size;
• transport method and costs, currency and valuation method;
• invoice and packing list references, plus any certificates and licences.

Use the price you are selling the goods for as the value on the invoice, or the market value if you are not selling them, and list any freight or export insurance separately. Find the right code using the UK Trade Tariff. Our guides cover how to prepare an export invoice and how to prepare your declaration data.

Export licences and controlled goods

Some goods need a licence or certificate to be exported. GOV.UK lists categories including animals and animal products, plants and plant products, drugs and medicines, chemicals, F-gases, art and antiques, waste, firearms, military goods and items with both civil and military uses. If a UK sanction applies to your export, check the sanctions guidance as well. The completed invoice and any licences or certificates must travel with the goods. See key aspects of UK export licensing and dual-use goods.

Export declaration, exit summary declaration and GMR

If you move goods out of Great Britain, you need an exit summary declaration unless a waiver applies or the goods are going to Northern Ireland. When you make an export declaration, it can stand in for the exit summary declaration, which GOV.UK calls a combined export declaration. A separate exit summary declaration is needed only for movements that need one but not an export declaration.

The GMR is a separate step for hauliers moving goods through GVMS locations. An ENS (entry summary declaration) is about goods arriving in Great Britain, so it belongs to import movements rather than to exports from GB. See GMR vs ENS and what a safety and security declaration is.

Proof of export and zero-rated VAT

To zero-rate a supply as an export, VAT Notice 703 says the goods must be exported, and you must hold valid proof of export, within 3 months of the time of supply. If you do not meet these conditions, you must account for VAT on a supply that would normally be standard-rated in the UK.

• Official evidence: a CDS export declaration that has generated a departure confirmation. You need its MRN or DUCR.
• Commercial evidence: transport documents such as air or sea waybills, bills of lading or CMR notes. Notice 703 treats official and commercial evidence as generally equally valid, but if the evidence you choose lacks enough detail, you will need the other type as well.
• Retention: keep proof of export for 6 years and make it available to a visiting VAT officer.

What happens on the EU side?

A UK export declaration only covers the UK exit. GOV.UK notes that the business or person receiving the goods may need to make an import declaration in their country, and may need licences or certificates to receive goods from the UK. For goods arriving in an EU country, the importer or its agent therefore deals with the EU customs formalities. Separately, operators bringing goods into the EU must lodge an entry summary declaration (ENS) with safety and security data in the EU's Import Control System 2 (ICS2). Ask the buyer what information they need from you, and agree who pays duty and import VAT in advance (DDP or DAP).

If you are an EU business sending goods to the UK, the process runs the other way, with an export declaration in the EU and a UK import declaration in CDS. See exporting to the UK: data and document checklist, exporting from Poland to the UK and how importing from the UK to Poland works.

Exporting from Poland (the EU) to the UK

The same declaration chain looks different for a Polish exporter. You lodge an export declaration in the EU (in Poland through PUESC, yourself or via a customs agent), and the UK importer or its agent lodges an import declaration in CDS. The exporter needs a Polish EORI number and the importer into England, Scotland or Wales needs an EORI number starting with GB (GOV.UK). Duty is set by the UK commodity code in the UK Trade Tariff, and 0% under the TCA needs preferential origin and proof of origin (the exporter's statement on origin or the importer's knowledge) (statement on origin and REX).

Since 31 January 2025, goods moving from the EU to Great Britain also need a safety and security declaration in S&S GB. The carrier is responsible, although another party such as the importer can lodge it for them (GOV.UK; see S&S GB or ICS2). At GVMS ports the driver needs a GMR. For the Polish exporter, 0% VAT on export depends on the exit of the goods being confirmed by the customs authority (Article 2(8) of the Polish VAT Act), so keep the electronic exit confirmation from the export system.

Common mistakes

• Wrong declaration type. Submitting as pre-lodged when the departure location requires arrived, or the reverse.
• Submitting too late. Not allowing the minimum lead time for your transport mode.
• Missing or wrong DUCR on the GMR. This can leave no departure message, so you have no official evidence.
• Wrong commodity code or value. Data that does not match the invoice and packing list causes queries. You can correct errors in a declaration, and amend one before customs has cleared it.
• Wrong EORI. Exports from Great Britain need a GB-prefixed number.
• Not keeping evidence. Without proof of export within 3 months you risk losing the zero rate.

Need help with a UK export declaration?

We can submit CDS export declarations and coordinate transport documents for your shipments. See our customs clearance from the UK page, see how we quote, or contact us.

Sources: GOV.UK, Export goods from the UK: step by step; Making a full export declaration; Exit summary declarations; VAT Notice 703.

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