FedEx Electronic Trade Documents is an international shipping solution that allows you to submit your customs documents electronically so you no longer need to print multiple copies — it’s all automated.

It will simplify the international shipping process. You don’t have to print, sign, fold, and attach multiple copies of trade documents to each shipment. You can save money on printing documents and save time on processing international shipments.

FedEx Electronic Trade Documents helps you simplify the international shipping process, makes operational efficiencies possible by helping you save paper and reducing your printing costs, and provides peace of mind.

• Upload trade documents in advance of your shipment, allowing time for pre-clearance assistance.
• Upload company letterhead and signature images to help you comply with customs clearance requirements in some countries/territories.
• Lower your consumption of paper, printers, toner, and shipping materials, and reduce your carbon footprint.
• Reduce customs delays, which increases your shipping reliability and improves your reputation.
• Save time when preparing documentation, enabling you to perform other departmental tasks, and improving your company’s productivity and profits.
• Reduce the chances of shipment thefts because there are no invoices on the package and commodity information is not revealed to third parties.

It allows you to send the customs documents much earlier. If there is any missing or additional information needed, you may be notified earlier, reducing the impacts of any shipment delays or caged shipments.

FedEx Electronic Trade Documents can be used for both imports and exports. View the list of available countries/territories to see if it is accepted in the countries/territories you ship to/from.

It is available for both FedEx Express^® and FedEx Ground^® shipments. FedEx Electronic Trade Documents is most beneficial for non-document or commodity shippers who have a LAN-based connection.

You can prepare, store, and reuse customs documents online with the FedEx Document Preparation Center on FedEx^® Global Trade Manager. The International Document Help section has additional information on how to complete your customs documents.

FedEx now provides three ways to upload customs documents via FedEx Electronic Trade Documents:

Option 1: Pre-shipment

Prior to creating your label on FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.ca, customs documents may be uploaded. Use Global Trade Manager’s Document Preparation Centre to create and save your customs documents for later use.

Option 2: At-shipment

Customs documents may be uploaded by your shipping solution at the same time your label is being created. This is the most commonly used method to upload your customs documents.

Option 3: Post-shipment

Customs documents may be uploaded after the label has been created. Post Shipment Document Upload (PSDU) is an option that is ideal for shippers who create their own Commercial Invoices and do not have customs documents ready before or while the label is created. This option is available with FedEx Global Trade Manager, FedEx Ship Manager Software, FedEx Ship Manager Server and FedEx Web Services. Review the user guide here.

You can choose to either electronically submit your own trade documents or take advantage of documents generated by FedEx. The choice is yours.

You may be required to submit original paperwork based on the destination country/territory requirements. The Country/Territory Profiles feature on FedEx^® Global Trade Manager provides an overview of essential, country/territory-specific shipping information and regulatory requirements, including proper documentation, special clearance requirements, what duties and taxes will need to be paid, and much more. Please remember to print your international shipping label for all shipments.

Yes. FedEx Electronic Trade Documents allows you to submit customs documents electronically, but you must still print a shipping label.

The Electronic With Original (EWO) feature on ETD allows customers using FedEx Ship Manager Server and FedEx Web Services to use ETD for shipments to countries/territories that do not accept electronic trade documents. Now shippers can upload their customs documents for any country/territory, for the benefit of an early broker review, which gives the customer advance notice of potential issues with their shipments. For countries/territories that are not ETD eligible, an original document must be placed in the pouch on the package to comply with destination regulatory requirements.