Certificate of Origin for Exports, Certified by the Savannah Chamber

What a certificate of origin is

A certificate of origin states the country where the goods in a shipment were made. The importing country's customs authority uses it to decide which duty rate applies, whether a trade agreement or a trade restriction covers the goods, and how to record the import. Banks ask for one under letters of credit, and many buyers ask for one even when their customs office does not.

There are two kinds. A generic, or non-preferential, certificate is certified by an outside body; ours is certified by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce. A free trade agreement certification is not issued by a chamber at all: the exporter, producer or importer certifies origin themselves, using the data elements the agreement sets out.

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What the certificate shows

A generic certificate of origin follows the layout chambers of commerce use worldwide. Each box has to agree with the commercial invoice and the bill of lading, because customs officers and banks compare the three documents line by line.

• Exporter: the U.S. seller or shipper, with full address.
• Consignee: the buyer or importer named on the bill of lading.
• Transport details: vessel or voyage, port of loading, port of discharge and final destination.
• Marks and numbers: container and seal numbers, or the VIN or serial number for a vehicle or machine.
• Description of goods: make, model and year, written as on the invoice, with the number of packages or units.
• Quantity and gross weight, matching the packing list and the bill of lading.
• Country of origin for each line, which can differ between items in the same container.
• The exporter's signed declaration and the chamber's certification, with date and reference number.

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Generic certificate or FTA certification

Some shipments need both: a chamber-certified generic certificate because the buyer's bank or customs office asks for one, and an FTA origin statement so the importer pays the preferential rate.

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How we prepare and certify it

1. 1

   Confirm what the destination accepts

   We check whether the buyer's customs office, bank or letter of credit names a format, a number of originals or a language. Requirements differ by country and sometimes by buyer.

2. 2

   Establish the origin

   Origin is where the goods were manufactured, not where they were bought. For a vehicle or machine we read it from the manufacturer's plate, the VIN or PIN and the title.

3. 3

   Prepare the certificate

   We fill in exporter, consignee, conveyance, ports, marks, description, quantity and weight so they match the commercial invoice and bill of lading word for word.

4. 4

   Submit it to the Savannah chamber

   We submit the certificate with the commercial invoice to the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, which reviews it and certifies it with its stamp and signature.

5. 5

   Add the FTA statement if one applies

   When the goods qualify under a U.S. trade agreement, we help you set out the origin statement with the data elements that agreement requires, for you or the importer to sign.

6. 6

   Deliver it with your documents

   The certified copy travels with the bill of lading, invoice and packing list, as a scan for early review and as an original by courier when the destination requires paper.

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The origin of a used vehicle or machine

Exporting from the United States does not make a machine American. A tractor built in Germany and sold at a Georgia auction is German origin on its certificate, and that changes the duty in countries with a U.S. trade agreement.

Chile is the clearest example: a U.S.-built machine enters at 0% under the U.S.–Chile FTA with a certificate of origin, while one built in Japan or Europe pays 6%. The duty figures for each machine are on our shipping to Chile page.

For cars and light trucks, the first character of the VIN usually shows the country of assembly:

• 1, 4 or 5: United States
• 2: Canada
• 3: Mexico
• J: Japan
• K: South Korea
• W: Germany

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Who asks for a certificate of origin

• Destination customs. Some countries require one on every commercial import; the United Arab Emirates, for example, asks for a chamber-certified certificate of origin together with attestation of the commercial invoice.
• Banks. A letter of credit often lists a certificate of origin among the documents needed for payment, sometimes with a set wording or number of originals.
• Buyers and their brokers. Importers ask for one to classify the goods correctly and to apply trade agreement rates or trade remedy rules at their end.
• Trade agreement partners. Australia's agreement with the United States needs no certificate of origin at all; Chile, Peru and others accept an origin statement with set data elements instead of a chamber form.

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Consular legalization

Some countries also require the chamber-certified certificate, or the commercial invoice, to be notarized and legalized by their embassy or consulate. We do not provide consular legalization or attestation. If your destination requires it, we tell you at booking and send you the chamber-certified originals early, so you or your buyer can complete it before the cargo arrives.

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What we need from you

• The commercial invoice, or the purchase receipt for auction goods, showing the seller, buyer and value.
• The consignee's name and address exactly as they will appear on the bill of lading.
• For vehicles and machines: make, model, year and VIN or serial number; for other goods, where each item was made.
• Any wording, number of originals or language your buyer, bank or letter of credit requires.

What gets a certificate of origin rejected

• Descriptions, quantities or weights that differ from the invoice and bill of lading.
• The country of purchase entered as the country of origin.
• A generic certificate presented to claim a free trade agreement rate, when the agreement asks for its own origin statement.
• Too few originals, or an original that arrives after the cargo.
• Legalization left until the cargo is already at destination.