Guidance

Get ready for safety and security declaration requirements for importing goods from the EU

Updated 18 December 2024

From 31 January 2025, any goods imported from the EU to Great Britain must be covered by a safety and security declaration (also known as ‘entry summary declarations’ or ‘ENS’).

Making things easier

From 31 January 2025, the amount of safety and security data required on an Entry Summary Declaration will be reduced.

There will be 20 mandatory fields which must be completed for all declarations.

There will also be 8 conditional fields which only need to be completed in certain circumstances.

The remaining 9 fields will be optional to complete or leave blank.

If you already submit safety and security declarations for imports from countries outside the EU (or already voluntarily submit them for EU imports), you don’t need to change your existing systems or procedures if you don’t want to.

However, you can benefit from the reduced dataset by only completing the mandatory and any relevant conditional fields from 31 January 2025.

Find more information about safety and security requirements on imports and exports.

What you can do now

• businesses that are ready to start submitting safety and security declarations before 31 January are encouraged to do so
• speak to your supply chains now to agree who is responsible for completing declarations for EU to Great Britain imports from 31 January 2025, and the most suitable method for doing so. If you need more advice, you may want to speak to your trade representative

What you need to know

• businesses that export from Great Britain or import from countries outside the EU are already required to submit safety and security declarations
• carriers or hauliers are legally responsible for submitting safety and security declarations - a party other than the carrier, such as the importer or an intermediary, can lodge the declaration on the carrier’s behalf, although the carrier is still responsible for making sure the declaration is submitted
• if you already submit declarations for Rest of World imports, or voluntarily for EU imports, you won’t need to make any changes and should continue to submit declarations as you do currently - but you may be able to benefit from some of the changes from 31 January 2025

Submitting safety and security declarations

Safety and Security entry summary declarations are submitted into an IT platform called Safety and Security Great Britain (S&S GB).

There are different options for submitting declarations, such as purchasing specialist software or using customs agents/intermediaries.

If you chose to submit entry summary declarations yourself, you will need to Register for Safety and Security Great Britain – to do this you will need:

• a Government Gateway account
• a Great Britain Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number If your business is not established in Great Britain, you can apply to register for a Great Britain EORI in order to submit your entry summary declarations.

As the Safety and Security Great Britain service does not have a user interface, you will need to make sure you are able to lodge your declarations by either:

• developing compatible software in-house
• purchasing compatible software
• employing the services of a Community System Provider

To complete entry summary declarations, you will need access to:

• documents and licences for your imports such as airway bills or commercial invoices
• goods description
• consignor and consignee
• type, amount and packaging of your goods
• mode of transport at the border
• onward journey details
• Safety and Security Great Britain location code for the port of entry

New Safety and Security GB dataset

Mandatory – 20 fields

• Local Reference Number (LRN)
• consignor
• consignee
• country(ies) of routing codes
• person lodging the summary declaration
• mode of transport at the border
• identity of means of transport crossing the border
• first place of arrival
• date and time of arrival at first place or arrival
• place of loading
• place of unloading
• goods description
• types of package
• number of packages
• goods item number
• gross mass
• seal number
• transport document number
• transport charges method of payment
• declaration date and time

Conditional – (Mandatory only if certain conditions are met) 8 fields

• unique consignment reference number – this field must be provided by Fast Parcel Operators. It is optional for other modes of transport
• carrier – this field must be completed if the carrier is different from the person lodging the Entry Summary Declaration (ENS)
• notify party – this field must be provided where this information is available
• conveyance reference number – this field is not applicable for RoRo, where the intended ferry company name should be included (if known)
• number of pieces – this field must be provided if pieces are unpackaged
• container number – this field must be provided where containers are being moved. In particular this must be provided for Maritime Containers and Unaccompanied RoRo (where it should be Trailer Number)
• shipping marks and numbers of packages – this field must be completed for all packaged goods, and should include information and descriptions that will enable the identification of individual packages
• UN Dangerous Goods code – this field must be provided if relevant

Optional – 9 fields

• commodity code
• total number of packages
• number of items
• other specific circumstances indicator
• special mentions
• signature and authentication
• declaration place
• nationality of active means of transport crossing the border
• office of subsequent entry

Find more information about making an entry summary declaration.