EUDR reference number for DHL, UPS and FedEx shipments: what the courier asks for

Since the Commission published the TARIC document codes for the EU Deforestation Regulation (working document, revision 1 of 23 September 2026), couriers have started asking shippers and importers for a due diligence statement reference number before they clear a parcel. If the request has landed in your inbox, this page tells you which of three cases applies to you, what to enter and what to do when you have no number.

Why the courier asks

If a courier such as DHL Express, UPS or FedEx handles customs clearance, it lodges the customs declaration as a customs representative under Article 18 of the Union Customs Code. The declaration for a product listed in Annex I of the Regulation must carry a TARIC document code and, in the regular case, the reference number of a due diligence statement. The number has to be available to customs before release for free circulation and must be provided by whoever lodges the declaration (Article 26(4) of the Regulation), so by the courier when the courier clears the goods. A courier that cannot fill the field cannot clear the parcel. That is the whole reason for the request. The courier does not become an operator by clearing the goods: according to Commission FAQ 3.15, customs representatives are never operators.

Three cases, three answers

Case 1: you place the product on the EU market yourself. You are the importer in the customs declaration, or you export the product from the EU. Then you are the operator. You submit the due diligence statement in the EU Information System before the shipment, receive the reference number and pass it to the courier. The declaration carries document code C716 and your reference number. Micro and small primary producers with a simplified declaration pass the identifier of that declaration instead; the code is then C717.

Case 2: you ship a product that someone else already placed on the market. You bought the product in the EU and now send it to a customer outside the EU, or you re-import it. Then you are a downstream operator and need no statement of your own. On export the declaration carries Y188 (SME) or Y196 (non-SME, registered in the Information System) and no number; on re-import C725 or C720 with the reference number of the upstream statement. Commission FAQ 5.6.1 confirms that a business that buys in the EU and exports needs no reference number on export. UPS asks EU businesses in this situation to put the supplier's reference number on the invoice; agree with the courier what goes into the declaration. The details are in the article on export, re-import and re-export.

Case 3: the product is not covered. Samples of negligible value and quantity, products for examination or tests, parcels between private individuals, products produced before 29 June 2023, used products and waste, or products placed on the market during the transitional period: each has its own code (Y187, Y142, Y132, Y133, or C718 with the conventional reference number 99EU9999999999). Tell the courier the code. There is no value threshold: a single parcel of coffee needs a number or a code like a container (Commission FAQ 2.3). All codes are listed in the glossary of EUDR TARIC codes.

What each courier has published

DHL Express asks the shipper or importer for the reference number or the TARIC document code, and for exempt goods the exemption code, electronically through its shipping systems when the shipment is created. According to the DHL Express customer notice, shipments without this entry cannot be cleared through customs.

UPS makes the business that places the goods on the market or exports them responsible for providing the reference number when creating the UPS shipment, and requires it on the commercial invoice.

FedEx advises registering in the Information System early so that the shipper can include the number for each product on the commercial invoice and the air waybill before shipping. While the shipment is on its way, FedEx may ask you to confirm the number or an exemption; storage charges may apply if shipments are held while waiting for EUDR information.

None of the three notices says whether the courier acts as direct or indirect representative, or which field of its shipping systems the number goes into. Clarify both with your courier before the first shipment.

What to do when you have no number

If you are the operator and have not submitted a statement yet, the Information System is the only way to get a number; a courier cannot issue one. How to submit is explained step by step. If you bought the product from an EU supplier, ask that supplier whether it is an operator and, if so, for the reference and verification number of its statement; a text module for the request is in the article on the reference number. You need the numbers for your records under Article 5(3) and for any re-import (C720 or C725). On export you declare Y188 or Y196 without a number in any case. If the supplier is itself a downstream operator or trader, there is no number to collect. If a courier refuses to clear a shipment, ask which code and which field it expects; the notices do not say.

How Polygon One helps

Polygon One submits due diligence statements to the Information System, returns the reference number automatically and keeps it with the shipment, so that the number is ready when the courier asks for it. Downstream companies keep their suppliers' numbers in one place and can check them in bulk. How the EUDR software works.

Frequently asked questions

Can the courier submit the due diligence statement for me?

Only if you have given it a separate mandate as authorised representative under Article 6 of the Regulation. Clearing customs alone does not make the courier an operator.

Does the number have to be on the invoice?

The Regulation requires it in the customs declaration. UPS and FedEx ask for it on the commercial invoice as well; that is the courier's process, not the law.

Is there a minimum value or quantity?

No. The Regulation has no threshold (Commission FAQ 2.3). A parcel is out of scope only where an exemption applies: samples and test products (Annex I, note 5, Y187), products produced before 29 June 2023 (Article 1(2), Y132), used products and waste (Y133) or non-commercial parcels between private individuals (FAQ 3.16, Y142).

What if the parcel is a gift between private individuals?

Parcels between private individuals are outside the scope (Commission FAQ 3.16); the declaration carries Y142.

What is 99EU9999999999?

The conventional reference number for products placed on the market during the transitional period, used with document code C718 on export or re-import.

Sources and status: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, Articles 1, 2, 4 to 7 and 26; Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (Union Customs Code), Article 18; Commission FAQ version 5 (revised 21 August 2026), questions 2.3, 2.13, 3.15, 3.16 and 5.6.1; Commission TARIC working document, revision 1 of 23 September 2026; customer notices of DHL Express, UPS and FedEx as cited in the article on the reference number. As at 13 October 2026. This article is not legal advice.