Air Freight Documentation Checklist
The documents that travel with every shipment, plus the ones that only apply to specific commodities or lanes — know which is which before you book.
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Documents on every shipment
1
Conditional on CPTPP claims
2
Conditional on commodity type
0
Substitutes for a licensed agent's filing
What travels with every shipment, and what's conditional
Every air freight shipment carries a baseline document set regardless of commodity or lane: a commercial invoice, a packing list, and an Air Waybill. Beyond that baseline, which additional documents apply depends on what's being shipped and where it's going — a CPTPP-eligible garment shipment needs a Certificate of Origin that a non-CPTPP shipment doesn't; a pharmaceutical shipment needs a Drug Establishment Licence reference that a garment shipment doesn't; a dry-ice-packed cold-chain shipment needs a dangerous goods declaration that a dry-goods shipment doesn't.
The checklist below separates the always-required baseline from the commodity- and lane-specific conditions, so you can tell at a glance what applies to your specific shipment rather than treating every document as universally required — or worse, assuming something doesn't apply when it does.
The document checklist
Check each document against your specific shipment — the conditional ones only apply when the trigger condition is met.
Commercial Invoice
Declared value, buyer/seller details, and goods description — the primary document CBSA and the origin customs authority both clear the shipment against.
Packing List
Itemized contents, weights, and dimensions per package — reconciled against the commercial invoice and the AWB at every handling point.
Air Waybill (MAWB and/or HAWB)
The contract of carriage and tracking reference. See our AWB guide for the full breakdown of what it contains and how the 11-digit number works.
Certificate of OriginCPTPP claims only
Required to claim a preferential duty rate. Form and issuing process vary by origin — MITI-stamped Form CO from Malaysia, eCoSys-issued Form CPTPP from Vietnam, self-certified from Singapore or Canada. Not required at all if you're not claiming a preferential rate.
Drug Establishment Licence referencePharmaceuticals only
The Canadian importer's DEL number and covered product category, verified before booking so a pharmaceutical shipment doesn't arrive at CBSA examination without the licence reference it needs.
Dangerous Goods DeclarationDGR-triggering cargo only
Required whenever a shipment uses dry ice (UN 1845, Class 9) for cold-chain packaging, or carries any other IATA-classified dangerous good — vented packaging and prior carrier arrangement both apply.
Common Hold-Up
A missing or mismatched Certificate of Origin is the most common cause of a customs hold, not a tariff dispute
CBSA won't accept a duty claim it can't verify against a CO on file — it holds the shipment for manual review instead.
This applies whether the CO is missing entirely, references the wrong HS code, or was issued after the goods already departed. Confirm the CO is in hand and correctly referenced on the commercial invoice before the shipment is tendered, not after it's in the air.
Worked example
Assembling documents for a CPTPP garment shipment
Take a garment shipment moving on the Vietnam-Canada CPTPP lane — a real routing already established on ourHo Chi Minh City origin page. Here's what actually needs to be in hand before it's tendered.
Baseline: commercial invoice (declared value, buyer/seller), packing list (piece count, weight, carton dimensions), and the AWB itself — a HAWB if this is a consolidated booking, referencing UAL's MAWB with the operating carrier. Because this is a CPTPP claim, a Certificate of Origin, Form CPTPP, is also required — issued through Vietnam's eCoSys platform by a Ministry of Industry and Trade-authorized body, since Vietnam doesn't permit exporter self-certification the way Singapore or Canada does.
Not required: a DEL reference (this isn't pharmaceuticals) or a dangerous goods declaration (dry garments trigger no DGR classification). The document set for this exact shipment is four items, not six — the checklist's conditional items only apply when their trigger condition is actually met, and forcing extra paperwork onto a shipment that doesn't need it just adds friction without adding compliance.
What UAL handles for you
We verify the full document set against your specific commodity and lane before booking — not a generic checklist applied blindly, but the actual conditional requirements that apply to your shipment.
Frequently asked questions
No — a CO is only required to support a preferential duty claim. If your shipment is clearing at the standard MFN rate (no CPTPP or other preference claimed), no Certificate of Origin is needed, and requesting one anyway just adds cost and lead time without any customs benefit.
Related
What is an Air Waybill?
Read more →
Master AWB vs House AWB
Read more →
Dangerous Goods in Air Freight
Read more →
Documentation standards: IATA Resolution 600a; CPTPP Rules of Origin. Last verified: July 2026.
Air Freight Fundamentals
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