While you carefully pack your goods and plan the transport, a considerable stack of papers is already accumulating on your desk.

This seemingly endless flow of documentation isn’t just an unimportant byproduct of your transport—it’s the key to ensuring your shipment reaches its destination without detours, interruptions, or delays.

Your air freight forwarder needs various documents and information to properly handle your shipment, avoid delays, and meet all legal requirements.

The specific documents you need depend on the destination country, type of goods, and selected services.

The Essential Details of Your Freight

At the outset, your transport service provider needs detailed information about the shipment itself:

• Exact dimensions (length, width, height) of all packages
• Precise weight (gross and net weight)
• Detailed product description with material specifications and technical details
• Complete addresses of shipper and consignee
• Contact persons with phone numbers for inquiries
• Number of packages and type of packaging

For electronic equipment worth 50,000 euros, it makes a significant difference whether you declare it as “computers” or specifically as “servers with Intel Xeon processors, 64GB RAM.”

An imprecise description can lead to authority inquiries, transport problems, and costly delays.

Invoice and Packing List – The Commercial Basics

The commercial invoice transforms your goods from nameless objects into legally defined trade goods with clear value and destination. It must contain the goods’ value, detailed product descriptions, sales conditions, and payment terms.

For customs purposes, it’s particularly important that all items are listed individually and correctly valued.

In addition to the invoice, you often need a packing list that details the contents of each piece. This helps not only with customs clearance but also with damage inspection or when authorities conduct physical inspections.

Where Your Goods Come From – And Why It Matters

Many export transactions require certificates of origin or preference certificates. These documents prove where your goods were manufactured and can also provide customs advantages in the destination country.

Obtaining these certificates often takes several days, so you should initiate this process well before your planned shipping date.

Product-Specific Permits and Certificates

Certain product categories require special permits or certificates:

• Medical devices often need CE markings or FDA approvals
• Chemicals require safety data sheets
• Food products need health certificates

Your forwarder should review these documents in advance, as missing certificates can lead to complete delivery stops.

Dual-use goods, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, also require special export permits.

Processing time for such permits can take several weeks.

Transport Insurance Coverage

For appropriate transport insurance, you need precise value specifications and information about the type of goods. This largely derives from the previously mentioned commercial invoice and detailed product description. If you’ve prepared these correctly, the data can be used for insurance coverage.

Fragile or particularly valuable goods require special insurance conditions. For artwork or precision instruments, additional appraisals or value confirmations may be required.

It’s also important to specify the desired insurance amount and the insurance conditions under which you want to secure the transport.

Special Transport Requirements

You must inform your forwarder about special transport requirements from the beginning.

These include, for example:

• Temperature requirements for pharmaceutical products
• Handling instructions for sensitive electronics
• Security requirements for dangerous goods

Time-critical requirements such as express services or specific delivery dates must also be communicated in advance so the forwarder can reserve appropriate capacity.

Who Can Handle What on Your Behalf?

If the forwarder is to handle customs clearance for you, they need appropriate authorizations. These can be granted in the form of written customs power of attorney or as electronic authorization in the customs administration system.

Without such authorization, no one may perform customs-related actions on your behalf.

Additionally, authorizations for communication with authorities, receipt of documents, or payment of fees may be required.

Digital Advance Transmission

Modern air freight handling often requires digital advance transmission of documents. Many customs administrations now require shipment data to be transmitted electronically before the aircraft arrives.

Your forwarder therefore needs all relevant information early in digital form.

As a rule of thumb, you should submit all documents completely at least 24 hours before the planned departure.

For complex shipments or special requirements, a longer lead time may be advisable.

Practical Tip: Create a Checklist for Document Preparation

To avoid delays, you should create a shipment-specific document checklist in advance. This checklist functions like a customized roadmap for your shipment: it considers not only standard documents but also the special requirements of your specific goods, destination country, and selected services.

Your forwarder can help you develop such a checklist. In practice, this means you receive a concrete list of documents, deadlines, and responsibilities that you can check off. This way, you maintain overview and don’t forget any important documents.

Invest time in careful preparation of all documents. This pays off through smooth processes and avoided additional costs. Your air freight forwarder is available to advise you and can inform you about the specific requirements of your shipment.