Most entries start with three: a commercial invoice, a packing list, and a bill of lading or air waybill. Depending on the goods, you may also need a certificate of origin, a safety certificate, or a document another agency asks for. Your broker files the entry, but these papers come from you and your supplier.
Watch the free check read a document set and flag the mismatches a broker would send back.
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| Document | When it's needed |
|---|---|
| Commercial invoice | Almost every entry |
| Packing list | Almost every entry ("where appropriate", in CBP's rule) |
| Bill of lading or air waybill | The transport document: a bill of lading by sea, an air waybill by air |
| Certification of origin | When the goods claim a trade-agreement rate, like USMCA |
| CPC, GCC or FCC authorization | When the product is regulated |
| Another agency's document | When FDA, USDA, EPA or another agency regulates the goods |
| English translation | For any invoice or attachment not in English |
Source: 19 CFR 142.3, 141.86(d) and 182.12; 16 CFR part 1110; CBP, ACE Cargo Release with PGA Data Glossary
Three sit at the center of almost every entry: the commercial invoice, the packing list, and the transport document (a bill of lading for sea freight, an air waybill for air). CBP's entry rules list the invoice, and a packing list where it applies, among the papers needed to make entry. Your broker builds the entry from them.
If one is missing, the broker can't go ahead. So have all three in hand before the handoff.
Only when the goods claim a lower duty rate under a trade agreement, like USMCA. Then the certification of origin has to be in the importer's hands when the claim is made, and shown to CBP if it asks. Whether the goods qualify is the broker's call, not something a document check settles.
When CPSC regulates the product. A children's product takes a Children's Product Certificate (CPC); other regulated goods take a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC). A device the FCC regulates needs its own authorization. The free certificate check works out which one, if any, from the product's details.
Where a certificate is required, your broker will expect it, or the test report behind it, with the rest of the set.
Some goods answer to a second agency at entry: FDA for food, drugs and cosmetics, USDA for some farm products, EPA for others. That agency decides what it needs, such as a prior notice, a permit or a registration. A broker who works with it will expect that document too.
Yes. The invoice and everything attached to it must be in English, or come with an accurate English translation.
Say your supplier's invoice is in Chinese. It needs a translation with enough detail for CBP to examine the goods and work out the duty. It's easy to miss, so line one up before the handoff, not after.
The broker files the entry and makes the customs calls: the classification, the declared value, the origin. The documents come from you and your supplier. A broker can't invent a missing invoice or a certificate nobody got.
That's why it pays to check the set first. A quantity that doesn't match between the invoice and the packing list is cheaper to catch on your own desk than after the broker sends it back.
The free document check reconciles your own shipment documents against each other — quantities, values, parties, origin and dates — and flags what a broker will look for that is missing, each cited to its rule, before the handoff. Nothing is stored.
Check my documents — free →The plan puts every step for your product in order, from the supplier to customs and the marketplace, with a source for each line. It's free, with no signup.
See the plan for your product →The rules on this page do change — an eFiling date, a list, a threshold. Leave an email and a short note goes out if one does: a few a year at most, one click to stop, and the address is used for nothing else. A summary of the guide and a link arrive now, as confirmation.
Information current as of 2026-10-31.
This report is an automated, informational screening tool only. Tiana & Co. is not a licensed customs broker and does not conduct customs business. This report does not constitute legal advice, a compliance determination, or a certification of admissibility for any supplier, product, or shipment.
Verdicts in this report are produced by deterministic code, not by a language model. The explanatory paragraph accompanying each check is model-generated and checked against the cited sources before delivery. No part of this report is reviewed by a person before it is issued, so every material finding and citation should be confirmed against the underlying government source before it is relied on.
This report reflects data available as of the report date. The OFAC SDN and Consolidated lists, the other U.S. Consolidated Screening List constituents, the UFLPA Entity List, CBP withhold release orders, CPSC's eFiling list, and regulatory guidance are updated frequently and without prior notice. Users should re-screen periodically and consult qualified counsel for compliance decisions.
Name-similarity results do not establish or rule out the identity of any company. Where multiple similarly named records exist, none should be treated as confirmed without independent verification against the primary government source.
This tool is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or any other government agency. No warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any finding.
Use of this report for import, procurement, sanctions-compliance, or investment decisions is at the user's own risk. Anyone with compliance obligations under UFLPA, OFAC, or CPSC regulations should consult qualified legal counsel before making a transactional decision.
This report is an automated, informational screening tool only. Tiana & Co. is not a licensed customs broker and does not conduct customs business. This report does not constitute legal advice, a compliance determination, or a certification of admissibility for any supplier, product, or shipment.
Verdicts in this report are produced by deterministic code, not by a language model. The explanatory paragraph accompanying each check is model-generated and checked against the cited sources before delivery. No part of this report is reviewed by a person before it is issued, so every material finding and citation should be confirmed against the underlying government source before it is relied on.
This report reflects data available as of the report date. The OFAC SDN and Consolidated lists, the other U.S. Consolidated Screening List constituents, the UFLPA Entity List, CBP withhold release orders, CPSC's eFiling list, and regulatory guidance are updated frequently and without prior notice. Users should re-screen periodically and consult qualified counsel for compliance decisions.
Name-similarity results do not establish or rule out the identity of any company. Where multiple similarly named records exist, none should be treated as confirmed without independent verification against the primary government source.
This tool is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or any other government agency. No warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any finding.
Use of this report for import, procurement, sanctions-compliance, or investment decisions is at the user's own risk. Anyone with compliance obligations under UFLPA, OFAC, or CPSC regulations should consult qualified legal counsel before making a transactional decision.