subject: Documents Needed For Border Customs [print this page] Businesses that are new to the industry of shipping goods may be ill-informed of the many documents that are potentially needed when crossing the United States/Canadian border. There are a number of forms that border customs expect with every shipment, and they must be filled out completely and correctly in order to avoid delays or suspicious inquiries. Knowing exactly what you need may be a bit more difficult than you anticipated. The easiest way to garner this information is usually to contact a California delivery service, which should be able to provide you with the necessary documents and assist you with the completion of details, or at least be able to offer you resources (such as an online website) which you can use to fill out and print the documentation, and access help materials to assist you in the process.
Most reputable California delivery services will handle a substantial amount of international shipping, and should therefore be able to provide you with a Bill of Lading (or BOL, for short). Again, copies may be available to fill out or print online. The service should also be able to direct you on how and where to get a NAFTA (North American Fair Trade Agreement) certificate, if required. An Import/Export license may also be required for certain goods. Furthermore, a completed and accurate commercial invoice is essential - which is common, as it simply states the agreement between the shipper and the receiver/purchaser, the amount and date of the purchase, the description of the goods, and any further shipping details. Several of these documents may be entirely new to you, so do not be afraid to ask the courier service for instructions or information if there is any confusion at all. Pay close attention to weight, detailed descriptions, inventory count, and value.
Lastly, once you have experience in completing these forms and knowing what forms are expected for each type of shipment, you will ultimately save a lot more time that if your shipment were to suffer a delay through border customs as a result of an incomplete or missing piece of documentation. A good delivery service should stress to you how important accuracy is when shipping goods internationally, it is simply not wise to guess or make estimations on these sensitive documents, as errors and incompleteness will most likely lead to delays or denials of your shipment's transport through border customs.
