Customs Clearance Services
UK customs clearance services for importers, exporters and hauliers: import and export declarations, T1 and T2 transit, ENS and ICS2 safety and security filings, handled end to end by one team, 24 hours a day. Most declarations are submitted within minutes of your paperwork reaching us.
Every Declaration Your Freight Needs
Goods moving into the UK, out to the EU, or transiting through all need the paperwork right before the vehicle moves. We file it, track it, and deal with the queries when they come.
Import Declarations
Full frontier, simplified and EIDR entries into CDS.
Export Declarations
Export entries and accompanying documents.
Customs Declarations
Classification, valuation, duty and VAT.
Transit (T1 & T2)
Transit declarations and guarantee management.
ENS & Safety and Security
Entry summary declarations for GB and the EU.
ICS2
Pre-arrival filings into the EU for road, air and sea.
Dover & Short Straits
Clearance for the Dover, Folkestone and Sevington routes.
Sevington
Transit opened and discharged at the inland border facility, minutes away.
Road Freight, UK & EU
Declarations and the truck, from one team.
Customs Clearance in Plain Terms
Three questions we are asked every week, answered without the jargon.
What customs clearance actually is
It is the process of getting goods past customs authorities so they can legally enter or leave a country. In practice that means declaring what the goods are, what they are worth and where they came from, calculating the duty and VAT owed, and holding the evidence to back all of it up.
How it works in the UK
Declarations are submitted to HMRC through the Customs Declaration Service. CDS replaced CHIEF for imports in September 2022 and for exports in June 2024, so every UK entry now goes through it. We are set up on CDS and file directly, under your EORI or ours.
How long it takes
Most declarations we submit clear within minutes. Where HMRC routes a consignment for a documentary or physical check, clearance depends on that check being completed rather than on the declaration itself. We chase those, and we tell you where things stand rather than leaving you to guess.
Paperwork In, MRN Out
No portal to learn and no ticket queue to join. You send the documents the way you already send them, and we take it from there.
If something is missing or a commodity code looks wrong, we tell you before we file rather than after HMRC rejects it. That is usually the difference between a declaration that clears and one that sits.
- Send the paperwork. Commercial invoice, packing list, transport details. Email is fine.
- We check it. Classification, valuation, origin, licences and any preference claim.
- We file to CDS. Submitted under your EORI or ours, with the right procedure code.
- You get the MRN. Sent straight back to you and to the driver or haulier.
- We watch it. If HMRC raises a query or routes the load, we deal with it and keep you posted.
Why Brokers, Hauliers and Importers Use Us
Around two thirds of what we do is customs and a third is moving the freight itself, which means the declaration and the truck are never two separate conversations.
Cover, not office hours
Freight does not stop at five. Declarations are filed through the night and at weekends.
Point of contact
The same named person handles the paperwork and the movement. No handing you round a team.
From paperwork to filed
Most declarations are submitted within minutes of your documents arriving, and most clear on submission.
Authorised by HMRC
We hold AEOC authorisation for customs simplifications, and we are BIFA and FIATA members.
The ELO, and Why It Catches People Out
If your freight crosses to France by ferry or shuttle, there is a French requirement sitting on top of the UK paperwork.
What the ELO is
The Enveloppe Logistique Obligatoire is French customs' Smart Border envelope. It links the customs, transit and movement references for a vehicle into a single barcode that is scanned on boarding, so French customs know before the ferry docks whether the load is cleared to roll off or needs to be pulled.
Where it goes wrong
The envelope is only as good as the references inside it. A missing MRN, a transit movement that was never linked, or a reference keyed in wrongly, and the vehicle is directed into the control lane at the other end.
- Declarations raised but never attached to the envelope
- T1 movements opened against the wrong office of departure
- ENS filed by one party and the customs entry by another, with nothing tying them together
What we do about it
We work with the haulier or carrier to make sure the customs entry, the transit movement and the safety and security filing all exist and all point at each other before the vehicle reaches the port. Because we file the declarations ourselves, there is nobody to chase for the references.
Customs Clearance FAQs
How long does customs clearance take?
Most declarations we submit clear within minutes. The variable is not the filing, it is whether HMRC selects the consignment for a documentary or physical check. If it does, clearance waits on that check. Accurate paperwork submitted early is the single biggest thing that reduces the risk of being selected.
What documents do you need from me?
For a standard import or export: the commercial invoice, a packing list, and the transport details. Depending on the goods we may also need licences, preference or origin statements, or evidence to support the customs value. If anything is missing we will tell you what to send rather than guessing.
Do I need my own EORI number?
If you are the importer or exporter of record, yes, you need a GB EORI, and an EU EORI if you are also declaring in the EU. If you do not have one we will point you at the right application. We can also act as your representative and file under our own authorisations where that is the appropriate arrangement.
What happens if my goods are held at the border?
We deal with it. That means finding out which authority has the hold and why, supplying whatever additional documentation is being asked for, and staying on it until the load is released. You get told what is happening, not left to find out when the driver calls.
Can you handle Irish imports and exports as well as GB?
Yes. We have an office in Dublin and file into the Irish system as well as into CDS, so a movement between Great Britain and Ireland can be handled at both ends by the same team rather than by two brokers who have never spoken.
Do you work with other freight forwarders and brokers?
Regularly. A good part of our work comes from forwarders and hauliers who want the customs side handled properly without adding headcount. We work in your name where you need us to, and we do not go around you to your customer.
Talk to someone who files declarations all day
Tell us what you are moving and we will tell you what it needs, what it will cost and how quickly we can turn it round.