Planning your route before moving goods using transit
Plan the route your goods will take so you can make your transit declaration and support your haulier or carrier to transport your goods.
What you need to do
Work out the route your goods will take by planning the:
- office of departure or authorised consignor location
- offices of transit where your goods will enter into other customs territories
- office of destination or authorised consignee location
You need this information so you can:
- make a transit declaration
- support your haulier to transport the goods
When your movements starts, your haulier is issued with a transit accompanying document (TAD). A TAD is a paper document that:
- summarises the route your goods will take
- must accompany the goods throughout their journey
- has a movement reference number and barcode that matches your transit declaration
How to find information on customs offices
The website lists information on:
- offices of departure
- offices of transit
- offices of destination
You can also check locations of Common Transit UK offices.
Planning where your movement will start
Your transit movement must start from either:
- an office of departure
- the premises of an authorised consignor (your own or an agent’s premises)
If you or your agent are not able to start the movement at your own premises, then the goods need to be taken to an office of departure to start the movement before they leave the UK.
You must declare where you will be starting your movement from when you make your transit declaration.
Starting from an office of departure
Most offices of departure are located at or near border crossings. This means you may be able to start your movement at the port or airport where your goods are leaving the UK.
You will need to check whether the border crossing your haulier intends to use has an office of departure you can use to start the movement. If they do not, you must start the movement from a different office of departure or designated sub-place before your haulier proceeds to the border.
Movements starting in Great Britain
If you’re starting your movement in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), you might be asked to go to an inland border facility to:
- start your transit movement
- complete other customs processes
Check if you need to go through offices of transit
Your goods must be presented at an office of transit before they can enter a different customs territory.
This includes any movement going directly from Great Britain to:
- Northern Ireland
- the EU or EU special territories
- any other common transit countries
It also includes movements going directly from Northern Ireland to:
- Great Britain
- any other non-EU or common transit countries
When you make your transit declaration, you will need to include the offices of transit based on your planned route.
You do not need to go to an office of transit when your goods cross:
- borders between EU countries
- directly between the EU and Northern Ireland
Checking your border crossings
You need to check whether:
- the border crossing you’re using to enter the customs territory offers an office of transit
- there are any specific location requirements that you or your haulier will need to follow on entry
This may change depending on both the:
- country of entry
- specific point of entry
If your port is using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service
Most ports in Great Britain and Northern Ireland use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service to digitally complete office of transit procedures when goods enter:
- Great Britain
- Northern Ireland
Check how to move goods through ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service.
Planning where your movement will end
When you move goods under transit the movement must end at either:
- an office of destination
- the premises of an authorised consignee
If you’re not able to end the movement at the premises of an authorised consignee, then the goods need to be taken to an office of destination. They can then be released into:
- free circulation
- another customs procedure
You must declare the office of destination or authorised consignee location when you make your transit declaration.
Ending movements at an office of destination
Most offices of destination are located at or near border crossings. This means you may be able to end your movement at the port or airport where your goods enter the UK.
You must check in advance whether the border crossing your haulier intends to use offers an office of destination where you can end the movement. If they do not, you will need to end the movement somewhere else before you can release your goods.
Movements ending in Great Britain
If your movement is ending at an office of destination in Great Britain, you might be asked to go to an inland border facility to:
- end your transit movement
- complete other customs processes
Starting and ending movements in Northern Ireland
If your goods are moving to an office of departure outside of Northern Ireland, for example Republic of Ireland, you will need to check the requirements with the relevant customs authority.
If you’re using an office of departure or office of destination
Find out more about the office of departure and office of destination process in Northern Ireland.
Get more information
Find out more about planning your route in the Transit Manual Supplement.
Last updated 28 June 2021 + show all updates
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Information about 'Before you start planning your route', 'Find out where you can start your movement', 'Find out if you need to go to an office of transit' and 'Find out where you can end your movement' has been updated.
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Call to action box added for users to check the UK locations of Common Transit UK offices.
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Information about the office of departure process in Northern Ireland for movements starting in Great Britain and for movements starting in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021 has been added.
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First published.