How to fill out a general declaration
Sooner or later somebody asks for a statement no standard form covers: that the goods contain no wood, that they are not of military application, that a price includes a discount, that a shipment is a replacement rather than a sale. This is the document for those, and the only thing that makes it work is precision.
The 15 fields on a declaration
Taken from the document itself, in the order it prints them.
- Document No.
- Date
- PO Reference
- Shipper / Exporter
Who is making the statement, and who is answerable for it.
- Consignee
- Invoice No.
Ties the declaration to a consignment. Without it the statement floats free of any shipment.
- B/L / AWB No.
The transport document, so the declaration can be matched to what actually moved.
- Container No.
Where the statement concerns specific containers rather than the whole consignment.
- Description of Goods
What the statement is about, matching the commercial invoice word for word. A declaration about \u201cthe goods\u201d certifies nothing identifiable.
- Company
On letterhead. An unheaded declaration is routinely refused, because its only value is that a named company stands behind the words.
- Declaration
The statement itself, and the whole document. Write exactly what you are certifying, in one or two sentences, with no hedging. Where the requester supplied wording, use theirs verbatim. Banks and consulates reject paraphrase, and a helpful rewrite is the usual reason a declaration comes back.
- Name
A named individual with authority to bind the company. Not a department, and not a signature nobody can identify.
- Title
- Place
Where it was signed. Where the declaration needs legalising, the place of signature is what the consulate certifies.
- Date
A working declaration, prefilled with a sample shipment. Every field above is editable here, and it downloads as a PDF.
We, , in respect of the consignment shipped under invoice , hereby declare that:
Parties, ports, container and line items carry across every document.
Use their wording, exactly
Where a letter of credit, a consulate or a customs authority has specified the text, reproduce it character for character. Improving the grammar, combining two sentences or substituting a synonym is how a compliant declaration becomes a discrepancy. If the supplied wording is wrong or impossible, say so and ask for an amendment rather than quietly fixing it.
Certify only what you know
A declaration is relied on by somebody making a decision at a border or releasing money. Where the fact is your supplier's rather than yours, such as what a component is made of or where a sub-assembly came from, get their statement in writing before making your own. That is what you would need to produce if the claim were ever tested.
One statement per document
Where three unrelated things need declaring, three declarations are cleaner than one combining them. A single document asserting several unconnected facts is harder to reference, harder to reissue when one turns out wrong, and harder for a recipient to file against the requirement it satisfies.
+Does a declaration need to be notarised?
Only if the requester says so. Most are simply signed on letterhead. Some destinations additionally require chamber certification or consular legalisation, which take time to arrange.
+Can one declaration cover several shipments?
Generally no. These attach to a consignment through the invoice and transport document references. A blanket statement has nothing to attach to.
+What if I am asked to declare something I cannot verify?
Do not sign it. Ask for the requirement to be reworded to something you can support, or obtain the underlying statement from whoever does know.
Try it with a real shipment.
Everything above is already on the form. Fill it in and download the PDF — no account needed.
Open the declaration generator