Guidance

Starting and ending transit movements in Northern Ireland

How to notify Border Force if you're starting a movement from an office of departure or ending a movement at an office of destination in Northern Ireland.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 23 December 2020
• Last updated: 19 January 2023 — See all updates

Applies to Northern Ireland

You must tell Border Force in advance if your goods are:

• starting their transit movement from an office of departure in Northern Ireland
• ending their transit movement at an office of destination in Northern Ireland

You do not need to follow this process if your goods are:

• starting their movement from the premises of an authorised consignor
• ending their movement at the premises of an authorised consignee

Starting a transit movement at an office of departure

You must provide Border Force with notification of planned departures before you arrive at the office of departure by emailing: BFPortteam@homeoffice.gov.uk.

You will need to include:

• your name
• your Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number
• your local reference number (LRN) and either your:
  • movement reference number (MRN)
  • export reference number (ERN) from your export documentation (if applicable)
• method of transport
• the name of the port you will be departing from
• the location where your goods will be held in Northern Ireland until the transit movement has been started
• date and time of intended departure from Northern Ireland

Ending a transit movement at an office of destination

You must provide Border Force with notification of planned arrivals before you arrive at the office of destination by emailing: BFPortteam@homeoffice.gov.uk.

You will need to include:

• your name
• your movement reference number (MRN)
• the method of transport
• the name of the port you will be arriving into
• the location where your goods will be held on arrival in Northern Ireland
• the estimated arrival date and time of arrival of your goods at your stated location

You’ll also need to attach:

• your transit accompanying document (TAD) (or C88 document)
• a confirmation of entry of the movement into another customs procedure, such as:
  • an entry into the Customs Declaration Service
  • import declaration
  • movement into temporary storage
  • T2L documents

Using the Trader Support Service

If you’re moving goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), you can check if the Trader Support Service can help you with the movement of your goods.

Get more information

Find guidance on planning your route before moving goods using transit.

The transit manual and transit manual supplement contain more information on starting and ending transit movements.

Published 23 December 2020
Last updated 19 January 2023 + show all updates

1. 19 January 2023

   Guidance on making a transit declaration has been moved to the 'Preparing to move your goods out of Northern Ireland using transit' guide.

2. 1 October 2022

   Information about Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) has been removed. You can no longer use CHIEF for import declarations unless you have permission from HMRC.

3. 22 March 2021

   This page has been updated with information about what to do from 5 April 2021 when moving goods using transit in Northern Ireland.

4. 23 December 2020

   First published.