Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland
Find out what you need to do if you move licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland, including by import, export or transit.
Licence data on a declaration will be verified by a system called the Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) for Northern Ireland. This will replace the Border Trade Matching Service (BTMS), formerly the Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS).
There will be no change to the system you use for entering information in your declaration and licence.
The format for entering licence information may change.
If you move licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland, including by import, export or transit
You must make sure the information on your declaration matches the information on the relevant licence or certification. If it does not match, your haulier may need to report for inspection.
You can find further information if you move goods using the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS).
Eligible licensed goods can also be moved using the Internal Market Movements process by a business that holds a UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation. These goods can be moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland without a full customs declaration and without paying duty.
You can also find out more about moving licensed goods as parcels.
What you should do with your declarations
You should make sure that the information you provide on your declaration matches the licence or certificate for the goods you are moving into or out of Northern Ireland.
How to complete certain data elements on your declaration
Mismatches between your licence and your declaration can cause delays to your goods movements.
Find out more about:
In all cases, if the information does not match, then your goods may be subject to a hold or an inspection when it arrives in Northern Ireland.
Data element — 2/3 Documents and certificates
If the reference is not completed correctly:
- the licence cannot be validated
- your declaration will be rejected
- you will not receive a Movement Reference Number (MRN) and will not be able to continue moving your goods
The Common Health Entry Document (CHED) reference format must be letters followed by numbers and include the full stop character. For example, ‘CHEDA.XI.2025.1234567’.
Read Appendix 5A for details of the licence reference formats to be declared in data element 2/3.
Data element — 6/1 Net Mass
You should make sure that the information you include in this data element on your declaration matches the licence.
Data element — 6/2 Supplementary Units/SW Measurement Unit Code
You should make sure that the information you include in this data element on your declaration matches the licence.
Data element — 6/14 and 6/15 Commodity Codes
You should make sure that the information you include in this data element on your declaration matches the licence.
You must resolve any mismatching data elements before you can process the goods or use them for their intended purpose, even if the goods are moved away from the border under customs control. You may get a penalty if you do not resolve any mismatches.
If there is a problem with your declaration
You will receive a notification from CDS if there is a problem with your declaration. For example, when:
- a valid certificate or licence for your goods cannot be found (this will be checked at the pre-lodgement stage)
- there is a mismatch between the data supplied on your declaration and the relevant licence or certificate (during the crossing)
- your licence has insufficient quantity remaining (during the crossing) — when you have used all the allocation available for your licence
Before your goods arrive, you should:
- check your supporting licence
- amend your declaration, if you need to
- respond to any messages you receive from CDS
If your software does not allow you to amend your declaration, you need to cancel your declaration and submit a new one.
If you’re using the Trader Support Service for your licensed goods movements, you should contact them to help you.
If you need to report for an inspection
If you are a driver or haulier and you may need to report for an inspection:
- the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) driver messaging service will notify you
- you can use our online service to check if you need to report an inspection
Your inspection status will be one of the following:
-
inspection needed — unless you are told otherwise, you need to report to either or both of the following:
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERA) facility
- Border Force facility
- no inspection needed — you do not need to report to a DAERA or Border Force facility for inspection
- your inspection status is not ready yet — a decision has not been made on your goods and you should await confirmation
If you need an inspection, the GVMS will tell you which DAERA or Border Force facility to report to.
You can find more information on:
You must report for an inspection where a DAERA or Border Force control has been applied. In the case where the hold is due to a data element mismatch between declarations and your licence, HMRC may conditionally permit goods to leave the port and proceed to your end destination under customs control after all inspections have taken place. This is on the condition that the declarant must correct the mismatches before they are used for their intended purpose or processed.
Hauliers, if not acting as the declarant for the goods, should contact the consignee or importer to inform them.
Further information and support
The following is a list of certificates to which the checks apply along with the relevant document code:
| Certificate type | Certificate Type Detail |
|---|---|
| COI | Certificates of Organic Conformity |
| CHED.PP | Plants and plant products |
| CHED.D | Food and feed of non-animal origin |
| CHED.P | Food and products of animal origin |
| CHED.A | Live animals |
| ODS | Ozone depleting substances |
| FGAS | Fluorinated gases |
If you need more support you can:
- contact HMRC about customs
- contact Defra about licences and import and export of certain products
- contact the Trader Support Service if you are signed up
Updates to this page
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The guidance has been updated as the Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) will come into effect from 15 September 2025.
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First published.