Becoming an Authorised Exporter: Requirements and Benefits
Faster clearance, self-issued ABDs, less administrative burden. Here is how your company can obtain authorised exporter status.
Anyone who exports regularly will recognise the pattern: every consignment a new declaration, every declaration a time window that has to be co-ordinated with the freight forwarder, and occasionally an examination order from the customs office that holds up the lorry. Authorised exporter status is an officially approved simplification that reduces exactly this friction — for companies that meet the requirements and are willing to go through the authorisation process.
What does the status deliver?
An authorised exporter may carry out certain export procedures in a simplified manner or independently. The most important practical benefits are:
- Self-issuance of ABDs: Instead of declaring each consignment individually at a customs office, the company may issue the Export Accompanying Document itself — on the basis of an authorisation and under defined conditions.
- No presentation obligation at departure: In certain configurations, the obligation to physically present the goods at the office of departure falls away.
- Faster clearance: Not having to go through the standard process every time yields measurably time savings in daily operations — particularly relevant for tight windows in sea freight or when multiple consignments are shipped per week.
- Proof of preferential origin: For origin declarations under free trade agreements (e.g. EUR.1, invoice declaration), authorised exporter status is frequently a prerequisite for issuing statements on the invoice without an upper value limit.
The status is most worthwhile when third-country goods are exported on a regular basis, shipment frequency is high, and the administrative burden per consignment is a tangible cost.
Requirements in detail
The authorisation is granted by the competent Hauptzollamt (principal customs office). The office examines whether the company meets the requirements under Article 197 of the UCC Delegated Regulation (UCC-DA):
Establishment in the EU: The company must be established in the European Union. For companies operating in Germany, the locally competent Hauptzollamt is the relevant contact.
Regular export activity: A one-off or very sporadic export activity will not generally justify an authorisation. The Hauptzollamt typically expects demonstrable, continuous export activity.
Reliability and compliance: The company must not have committed any serious or repeated infringements of customs or tax law in the preceding three years. The reliability of the persons acting on behalf of the company (managing directors, persons responsible for customs) will be assessed.
Organisational requirements: The company must be capable of maintaining the records and documentation necessary for the supervision of the procedure. This requires a functioning internal customs organisation — either through dedicated staff or a structured process.
Technical connectivity: Depending on the scope of the authorisation, a direct ATLAS connection or the use of certified software may be required.
Application and authorisation procedure
The application is submitted in writing to the competent Hauptzollamt — in practice, this is increasingly done through the customs portal (ATLAS or the authorisation management module). The application must be accompanied by:
- Description of the customs organisation and internal procedures
- Evidence of export activity (e.g. a summary of exports over the preceding 12 months)
- Details of the persons responsible
- Description of the IT systems used
After receipt, the Hauptzollamt reviews the documents and will normally conduct a site visit (audit). During the audit, the actual processes are compared with the submitted description. The overall procedure takes three to six months in practice — depending on the workload of the Hauptzollamt and the completeness of the documents submitted.
Following a positive outcome, the authorisation number is issued; this must be used in all future declarations.
Obligations after authorisation
The authorisation is not a blank cheque. Authorised exporters are subject to ongoing obligations:
- Record-keeping obligation: All exports carried out must be recorded in a register and retained for at least 10 years.
- Notification obligations: Changes in company structure, the customs organisation, or IT systems must be notified to the Hauptzollamt.
- Regular monitoring: The Hauptzollamt may conduct audits at any time. Infringements can lead to revocation of the authorisation.
- Continuing training: The responsible staff members must remain current on changes in customs law.
Is this worthwhile for you?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer — but some benchmarks help with the assessment:
Companies with more than 50 export consignments per year and an average consignment value above €5,000 generally benefit significantly from the status. If each declaration requires 30–60 minutes of internal effort plus external customs agency costs, the one-off investment in the authorisation process typically pays for itself within 12 to 18 months.
For companies with few, irregular exports, it is often more economical to outsource the declaration on a per-consignment basis to a customs agency.
How we support you
We guide companies through the entire authorisation process: from analysing the requirements and preparing the application documents to accompanying you during the site visit. We also train the responsible staff members on their ongoing obligations.
Full details of this service are on the Authorised Exporter page.
As background reading, we recommend our article first: What Is an ABD? — there we explain the export procedure that, as an authorised exporter, you will be managing independently.