Safety and security declarations

Information on safety and security declarations for Goods Vehicle Movement Service.

Great Britain is not part of a safety and security zone with the EU. A range of border controls have been introduced in stages from the end of the transition period. For safety and security, these have consisted of the following: 

  • exit summary declarations (EXS) have been required for exports from Great Britain into the EU since 1 October 2021 
  • entry summary declarations (ENS) have been required for imports into Great Britain from the EU from 31 January 2025 

For imports, safety and security (S&S) declaration reference numbers can be submitted when creating a goods movement reference (GMR). GMR creators can associate the S&S declaration against the declaration (whether customs, transit or other). There is also an opportunity for file upload of multiple S&S reference numbers in section 4 of the ‘Create a GMR’ journey. 

The inclusion of the S&S reference number in the GMR for Great Britain to Northern Ireland journeys automates the notifications of presentation and arrival. If this step is not completed this obligation is not met. 

For exports, in most cases the EXS dataset is combined in the export declaration. However, there are certain circumstances in which a standalone EXS is required. Read more information on safety and security export requirements. 

The following apply when adding S&S MRNs to a GMR: 

  • you cannot add the same S&S MRN twice to the same GMR 
  • if an S&S MRN is added to more than one GMR then the haulier will receive an error message 
  • if an S&S MRN is added to a GMR and then removed, it cannot be used again and a new ENS will need to be created 

Read more information safety and security declarations.