What documents does a customs broker need for an import?

The core set is the commercial invoice, the packing list, and the transport document (bill of lading or air waybill); a certificate of origin is added when a preferential-tariff claim is made, a compliance certificate (CPC/GCC/SDoC) when the product is CPSC/FCC-regulated, and a partner-agency document when another agency (FDA, USDA, EPA) regulates it. The free Broker-Ready Document Check reads an importer's own documents, checks they are consistent with each other, and marks which of these a broker will look for that is missing. It is a self-check, not a customs filing.

Why do my invoice and packing list quantities need to match?

A quantity, value, or party that does not tie out across the commercial invoice, packing list, and bill of lading is one of the first things a customs broker questions, and it slows the entry. Catching the mismatch before the handoff avoids the round-trip. The tool checks that the fields are consistent across the documents; it does not determine which figure is correct or compute the customs value — those are the broker's calls.

Does the check confirm a compliance certificate covers the right product?

When a compliance certificate (CPC, GCC, SDoC, or test report) is uploaded with the invoice, the Broker-Ready Document Check compares the product identifier — a model, SKU, or style number — on the certificate against the invoice, and checks the certifying party against the seller, buyer, and manufacturer named on the shipment. A certificate issued against a different model, an old version, or by a company not on the shipment is a common reason a marketplace or a broker rejects it. The tool prompts to verify a mismatch; it never judges whether the certificate is valid or the right one — that is confirmed by the certifier, the broker, or the marketplace.

Is the Broker-Ready Document Check free, and is anything stored?

Yes — it is a free tool and needs no signup. Each document is read into key fields and then discarded; nothing is stored. It helps an importer self-check their own documents are complete and internally consistent before a broker handoff; it is not a customs clearance and not a substitute for the broker's review.

Broker-Ready Document Check · Free

Check the shipment documents before the broker does

Reconciles the invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificates against each other, and marks what a broker will look for that is missing. Nothing is stored.

A few questions about the goods set which documents a broker will expect.

This is the Compliance Requirement Check; the answers carry over.

Product

What kind of product is it? Pick the closest — it can be refined below.

Is this product made for children 12 or under?

CPSC weighs four things:

A statement by the manufacturer about the product's intended use, including a label, where that statement is reasonable.
Whether the packaging, display, promotion or advertising presents it as appropriate for children 12 or younger.
Whether consumers commonly recognise it as intended for a child 12 or younger.
The Commission's Age Determination Guidelines (September 2002) and any successor to them.

Why we askit decides which kind of certificate this points to, and it is the one question no customs code can answer.

Customs code (optional)

Search HS codes by keyword, or enter one already known

Start typing to see candidate HTS codes — pick the closest, never auto-filled.

Why we askA customs code lets the check read CPSC's own list for this product. It can be added later.

What is this code?

An HS code is the 6-digit product code used in tariff schedules worldwide. CPSC organises its eFiling requirements by HS code, so the one picked here is used to look up which safety rules may apply. This searches the official tariff descriptions by keyword — it is not a classification opinion, and it is not a duty or cost calculator. The code that goes on an actual customs entry is a longer HTSUS code; that is a separate code, set by a licensed customs broker or whoever files the entries.

Other agencies

A couple of questions decide whether the product needs FCC equipment authorization, and which kind. Answer no to both if it is not electronic.

Does the product deliberately transmit radio signals?

Why we askWi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular all transmit (they are two-way), as do RFID readers, remote controls, and wireless keys or openers. A GPS or radio that only RECEIVES does not transmit, so answer no here and yes to the digital electronics question below. If it transmits, it has an intentional radiator.

Does the product contain digital electronics?

Why we askA microprocessor, a microcontroller, or a clock or oscillator running at 9 kHz or above. Most powered products with a chip do. If yes, it has an unintentional radiator.

Pick what the product is to continue.

Run the requirement check above to continue.

This helps spot gaps before a customs broker does; it is not a customs clearance and not a substitute for the broker's review. It checks that documents are complete and internally consistent — never that a figure is accurate or that the shipment is entry-ready. A licensed customs broker files the entry.

Reference · What a broker looks for in an import document set

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When a supplier returns the documents for a shipment, a customs broker builds the entry from them — so the set has to be complete and has to be consistent with itself. A quantity that differs between the invoice and the packing list, a party named two ways, a missing certificate of origin behind a preferential claim: each is a question the broker has to send back, and each slows the clearance. Catching them first makes the handoff clean.

The core set a broker expects

Commercial invoice, packing list, and transport document (bill of lading or air waybill) — the documents an entry is built from.
Certificate of origin — when a free-trade-agreement or preferential origin is claimed.
Compliance certificate (CPC, GCC, SDoC, test report) — when the product is regulated by CPSC or FCC.
Partner-agency document — when another agency (FDA, USDA, EPA) regulates the goods at entry.

What the tool does, and does not, do

It reconciles the documents against each other and marks what a broker will look for that is missing. When a compliance certificate is in the set, it also checks the certificate names the same product identifier and certifying party as the invoice — the mismatch that gets a certificate rejected. It never classifies the goods, computes a customs value, or determines trade-agreement eligibility — those are the broker’s determinations, and the tool routes them there. It checks that documents are complete and internally consistent, never that a figure is accurate or that the shipment is entry-ready.

A customs broker receiving these? How brokerages use this tool.