ENS Declaration: What It Is and When to File (EU and GB)

An ENS declaration (entry summary declaration, also called a safety and security declaration) is the electronic filing of shipment data that the carrier must lodge before goods enter the EU or Great Britain. The deadline depends on the mode of transport: for road into the EU at the latest one hour before arrival, and for Great Britain at least two hours before arrival on RoRo ferries and one hour before the Eurotunnel terminal at Coquelles.

What is an ENS declaration?

An ENS is the declaration of safety and security data that must be lodged before goods are brought into a customs territory. It is not a duty or VAT declaration: it does not clear the goods, it lets customs assess risk before they arrive. People also search for it as an “ENS filing”, an “ENS customs declaration” or “ICS / ENS declaration”, and all of these mean the same advance declaration; in UK guidance it is also called a safety and security declaration (S&S). An “ENS document” is not a paper form but an electronic message (an XML message in S&S GB); once it is accepted, the system issues a movement reference number (MRN). Based on the data, UK customs identify imports they want to control on arrival and, for deep-sea containerised cargo only, shipments they want to prevent being loaded (GOV.UK).

For goods travelling between Poland and the UK you may need an ENS in both directions, because each side runs its own system. If you are not sure which one applies to your load, read Safety and Security GB ENS or ICS2: where to file.

Two regimes: EU (ICS2) and Great Britain (S&S GB)

ENS into the EU: ICS2

Under Article 127 of the Union Customs Code, goods brought into the customs territory of the Union must be covered by an entry summary declaration, lodged by the carrier. The importer, consignee or another person on whose behalf the carrier acts may lodge it instead, as may a person able to present the goods at the customs office of entry. The European Commission describes ICS2 as the system through which economic operators declare safety and security data before arrival, and says customs may impose administrative sanctions for non-compliance with data requirements.

ICS2 Release 3 brought road and rail into the system. Under Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2879, road and rail carriers were connected in a deployment window that opened on 1 April 2025 and closed on 1 September 2025 at the latest (Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2879, Annex). The Commission states that, after the temporary derogations ended on 1 June 2026, all consignments entering the EU by any means of transport should have a valid ENS, filed either directly in ICS2 or, in countries that have opted in, as part of a combined transit declaration through NCTS Phase 6. For the background to the road rollout see ICS2 for road transport: how to read the 2025 deadlines, ICS2 Release 3 and road transport and ICS2 and NCTS-P6 by 1 June 2026.

ENS into Great Britain: S&S GB

GOV.UK says that you need to make an entry summary declaration for goods you transport into Great Britain, and that you must do it before the goods arrive; declarations can be submitted up to 200 days in advance. “As the carrier who is moving the goods, you are responsible for making sure the entry summary declaration is submitted.” You can submit it yourself or use a third party, but you should not both file for the same shipment. For goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain or from outside the EU, the declaration is made in ICS2 instead. Read the official guidance: Making an entry summary declaration (GOV.UK). See also Safety and Security GB ENS or ICS2: where to file.

ENS into Great Britain from 31 January 2025

For goods imported into Great Britain from the EU (and from other territories that had no requirements before 1 January 2021), a temporary waiver from the ENS requirement applied. GOV.UK extended it in October 2024 to 31 January 2025 and recorded on that date that it had ended. Since 31 January 2025, a carrier bringing goods into Great Britain from Poland or another EU country must therefore make sure an ENS is lodged in S&S GB, unless a waiver applies (see below). A GMR does not replace it (Making an entry summary declaration (GOV.UK)).

When no ENS is needed

HMRC’s customs technical handbook lists waivers, including:

• electrical energy entering by pipeline,
• letters, postcards and printed material, including on electronic media,
• goods in travellers’ personal luggage,
• goods declared orally or by conduct, provided they are not moved under a transport contract (this includes empty trailers, containers and packaging),
• postal consignments carried under UPU convention rules,
• qualifying Northern Ireland goods moved into Great Britain.

The list is not exhaustive; the full list is in Article 104 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, which also exempts goods covered by an ATA or CPD carnet provided they are not moved under a transport contract (Art. 104(1)(p)). Whether a particular shipment is exempt is a question to settle before departure; see Does an ENS declaration apply to every shipment?. In our assessment, most commercial consignments are covered by the requirement (Customs Technical Handbook, GOV.UK).

When must the ENS be filed? Deadlines by mode of transport

Into the EU (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446)

Source: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Articles 105 to 110 (EUR-Lex, consolidated version of 1 July 2026). For a Poland–UK lorry returning to the EU this matters: on a Dover–Calais type ferry the two-hour sea limit applies, and on the Eurotunnel shuttle Article 110 points to the time limit of the active means of transport, which in our assessment is the rail limit in Article 107; the Regulation does not name the Eurotunnel expressly, so confirm the limit with the operator or your agent. The deadline is a legal minimum, not a plan: in practice a declaration that is rejected or needs a correction has to be fixed inside that window, so file earlier.

Into Great Britain

GOV.UK requires the declaration to be made before the goods arrive and allows submission up to 200 days ahead. HMRC’s customs technical handbook sets these minimum timing requirements:

Source: GOV.UK customs technical handbook: entry summary declarations. If you use GVMS ports and enter the ENS reference in the GMR, GOV.UK says the declaration must be submitted by the earlier of the minimum timing requirement or before check-in closes.

Who files the ENS: carrier, haulier or representative?

• Into Great Britain: the carrier, meaning the operator of the active means of transport on which the goods are brought in. According to HMRC’s technical handbook:
  • accompanied RoRo freight: the haulage company,
  • unaccompanied RoRo freight: the ferry operator,
  • road via the Eurotunnel service: the haulage company,
  • rail: the rail freight operator authorised to traction the train through the Channel Tunnel,
  • sea: the shipping company that contracted and issued the bill of lading,
  • air: the airline, as the party that issued the air waybill.
• Representative or customs agent: a third party (GOV.UK gives a customs agent as an example) may lodge the declaration only with the carrier’s knowledge and consent, and it remains the carrier’s responsibility to make sure it is filed on time.
• Do not file twice: if you and a third party both file for the same shipment, customs authorities can use both declarations for risk analysis or accept only yours. Agree in writing who files.

If you want an agent to file for you, contact us before the first movement so roles and data are agreed in advance.

What data does an ENS need?

GOV.UK says you need your documents and licences for the import, which can include the bill of lading, the airway bill and a commercial invoice. For S&S GB you also need to know where the goods come from, where and when they will arrive in Great Britain (using the S&S GB location code for the port of entry), and who they are sent from and to. The full list of mandatory, conditional and optional data elements is in the S&S GB data elements spreadsheet attached to the GOV.UK guidance. For the EU, the Commission says a complete ENS must contain all data elements specific to the mode of transport or business model, and may be a single or multiple filing depending on who holds the information. See ICS2 on the European Commission website.

After acceptance you receive a movement reference number (MRN). In GB you can amend a declaration before the goods arrive but you cannot cancel it; if you do not ship the goods you need take no action. An amendment overwrites the original, so it must contain the full data set; however, an amendment cannot change the details of the person lodging the declaration or their representative. If the route changes and no ENS was lodged for the new port, lodge it as soon as the decision is made and no later than two hours before arrival (S&S GB).

ENS and GMR: how are they linked?

A GMR (goods movement reference) is a different thing from an ENS: it is the reference a driver needs to board a ferry or Eurotunnel, created in the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS). GOV.UK says you will not be able to move goods through ports using GVMS without a GMR. For goods moving from the EU into Great Britain, including the ENS MRNs in the GMR is optional (“not mandatory”); for Great Britain to Northern Ireland GOV.UK says you should include them. Since its update of 1 September 2025 GOV.UK has confirmed that you can include multiple entry summary declarations in one GMR, both for EU to GB and for GB to Northern Ireland movements, so a haulier carrying several consignments can link them to a single GMR. More: Create a goods movement reference (GOV.UK), GMR vs ENS: what is the difference?, What is a GMR and how to link ENS declarations to it and how to check GMR status in GVMS.

What happens if there is no ENS or it is wrong?

The European Commission says EU customs may reject incomplete ENS declarations or issue risk mitigating referrals requesting more data, which can delay processing at arrival, and that customs may impose administrative sanctions for non-compliance with data requirements. In the EU the level of any penalty is set nationally, so we do not quote a figure. For deep-sea containerised cargo into GB, GOV.UK says the system may issue a “Do not load” message. In Great Britain, HMRC’s technical handbook says non-compliance can mean goods delayed at the border for checks and penalties under the Customs Safety and Security (Penalty) Regulations 2019: the Schedule sets a maximum penalty of £1,000 for the carrier where the ENS is not lodged within the time limit, and a maximum of £1,000 for the declarant, its customs representative, or both, where the declaration lacks the required particulars, as amended from 30 June 2026 by SI 2026/604. Read the full picture in What are the consequences of not filing an ENS?.

What about exports from Great Britain? The exit summary declaration

An ENS covers goods coming in. For goods leaving Great Britain, the equivalent safety and security filing is the exit summary declaration (EXS). GOV.UK explains that if you make a full export declaration (a combined export declaration), you do not need a separate EXS; a standalone EXS is submitted through the Customs Declaration Service (Making an exit summary declaration (GOV.UK)).

Common ENS mistakes

• Assuming one system covers both directions. An ICS2 ENS does not replace S&S GB for goods entering Great Britain, and the reverse.
• Nobody files, or both file. Agree in writing whether the carrier, forwarder or agent files, and do not duplicate the declaration.
• Filing at the last minute. The legal deadline is a minimum; a rejection or correction needs time.
• Wrong or incomplete data, such as a mismatch between the declared description and the transport documents, or missing consignor and consignee details, which can lead to referrals.
• Wrong EORI. The EU requires an EU Member State EORI and GB requires a GB EORI.
• Confusing ENS with GMR. A GMR does not replace an ENS where one is required. See ENS and GMR when importing from the UK and ENS, GMR and BTOM basics.
• Not amending after details change. GOV.UK says you must amend before the goods arrive.

Need help with an ENS?

We are a customs agency registered in CDS with a UK EORI number, and we can prepare and file ENS declarations for Poland–UK movements. Contact us with your route, mode of transport and cargo, and we will tell you which declarations apply. How we quote and what affects the cost: how much does UK customs clearance cost.

Frequently asked questions