Commercial Invoice needs company letterhead and a signature

Summary: Some countries require the Commercial Invoice (CI, the customs document that lists what is in the box and its value) to be on company letterhead with a signature. When that is required, turn off the electronic form and attach a printed, signed CI.

Problem

An international shipment errors on the Commercial Invoice. You may see:

COMMERCIAL_INVOICE requires an image

The destination country needs the CI on company letterhead with a signature, and with the electronic form turned on the shipment will not process. Some countries do not accept electronic customs documents at all.

Cause

Certain countries require the Commercial Invoice to show company letterhead and a signature. When the electronic CI is sent without a letterhead-and-signature image, it does not meet the requirement and the shipment errors. Some countries do not accept electronic customs documents at all, so sending the electronic form to them fails.

Fix

  1. As a quick fix, turn off the use-electronic-form option so the CI is not sent electronically.
  2. Print the Commercial Invoice on your company letterhead, sign it, and attach the required copies to the package.
  3. For a country that does not accept electronic customs documents at all, leave the electronic form off. Shipstore turns it off automatically for countries that do not accept it; if the error continues, confirm the electronic form is off for that destination.
  4. If one carrier cannot send the electronic CI to a destination (for example FedEx to some countries), try a different carrier whose rules allow it, such as UPS Paperless Invoice. Each carrier has its own list of accepted countries, so confirm the destination is supported first.
  5. If you want to add an electronic letterhead-and-signature image and are not sure it is supported for your setup, email support@shipstore.com.

What you should see

With a printed CI on letterhead attached, or the electronic form off for a country that does not accept it, the shipment processes and the Commercial Invoice generates correctly.

Related articles

  • Commercial Invoice shows the wrong party
  • How to Add Broker, Importer, and Exporter Information to a Commercial Invoice