How to fill out a USMCA certification of origin
The first thing to know is that there is no prescribed form. USMCA replaced NAFTA's certificate with nine required data elements and a certification statement, and they may appear on any document — including the commercial invoice itself. What matters is that all nine are present and that the claim is supportable.
The 10 fields on a certification of origin (usmca/cusma/t-mec)
Taken from the document itself, in the order it prints them.
- Reference
Your own reference tying this certification to an invoice or order. Not required, and worth having when a verification asks two years later which shipments a blanket covered.
- Valid Until
For a blanket certification, the end of the period covered — up to twelve months. Leave it blank and the certification covers only the shipment named. A blanket means you are standing behind every shipment of identical goods inside that window.
- Certifier
Importer, exporter or producer, and the document must say which. This changed with USMCA: under NAFTA only the exporter could certify. Certifying as producer means you are relying on your own production records; as importer or exporter, on somebody else's.
- Exporter
Required unless the producer is certifying and does not know it. Otherwise the party shipping the goods, with its address in a USMCA territory.
- Producer
Who made the goods. Where the producer certifies and does not know the exporter, exporter information is not required — useful when you sell through a trading house and would rather not disclose the chain.
- Importer
The party bringing the goods in and claiming preference. Mexico has accepted importer certification since 1 January 2024, completing the three-way option.
- Name
- Title
- Company
- Date
The line-item columns
One row per product. Columns can be hidden, renamed or added in the generator.
- Item #
- Description
Enough to link the goods to the HS code and to the invoice. A description that cannot be matched to the entry is the reason certifications get set aside.
- HS Code
Six digits at minimum, because the rule of origin is written per tariff heading. Without it nobody can check whether the criterion you claimed is the one that heading requires.
- Preference Criterion
The origin criterion each line qualifies under, per line. This is the technical claim: wholly obtained, produced exclusively from originating materials, or satisfying a product-specific rule of origin. Stating one you have not applied is where verifications go badly.
- Origin
Per line, since a consignment can mix origins and only some lines may qualify. Claiming preference across a mixed shipment on a single header origin is a misdeclaration.
- Qty
- Unit
A working certification of origin (usmca/cusma/t-mec), prefilled with a sample shipment. Every field above is editable here, and it downloads as a PDF.
Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada
Indicate whether the certifier is the IMPORTER, EXPORTER or PRODUCER of the goods.
| Item | 6 Description of Goods | 6 HS Tariff Classification | 7 Origin Criterion | Country of Origin | Quantity | Unit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I certify that the goods described in this document qualify as originating and the information contained in this document is true and accurate. I assume responsibility for proving such representations and agree to maintain and present upon request or to make available during a verification visit, documentation necessary to support this certification.
Your entries are kept as you move between documents: the parties, ports, container and line items all carry across.
Origin here is a test, not an address
Preferential origin is not \u201cmade in\u201d. It is a product-specific rule applied per tariff heading — usually a change of classification at a stated level, sometimes a regional value content percentage, occasionally both. Goods assembled in Mexico from Asian components may or may not qualify depending on that rule. Applying it is work, and skipping it while claiming preference is claiming relief you may not be entitled to.
Five years of records, and they are not the certificate
USMCA requires supporting records for five years from certification. A verification asks for bills of materials, production records and supplier declarations — evidence that the rule was actually met. The certificate itself proves nothing; it is the claim, not the support for it.
Recovery lands on the importer
If a claim is disallowed, the importer pays the duty plus interest, often years later. That is why importers increasingly ask exporters for supporting documentation up front rather than accepting a certification on trust, and why certifying as producer carries weight a trader's certification does not.
+Is there an official USMCA form?
No. Nine data elements and a certification statement, on any document. Many exporters put them on the commercial invoice, which is expressly permitted.
+Can one certification cover multiple shipments?
Yes, a blanket certification covers identical goods for up to twelve months. Every shipment inside it relies on the same claim, so the underlying rule has to hold for all of them.
+Does it need to be signed?
Yes, and dated, by the certifier or an authorised representative. An electronic signature is acceptable.
+What if only some lines qualify?
State the criterion only on the lines that qualify and leave the others blank. A blanket claim across a mixed shipment is the error auditors look for.
Judge it by the document, not the feature list.
Everything above is already on the form. Fill it in and download the PDF — no account needed.
Open the certification of origin (usmca/cusma/t-mec) generator