The document every international shipment needs: each required field explained, HS codes and Incoterms in plain language, courier requirements, and a free generator.
BillingOtter Team
A commercial invoice is the official document that accompanies goods shipped internationally. It is issued by the exporter (the shipper) to the importer (the consignee) and it does two jobs at once: it is the seller's bill for the goods, and it is the declaration customs authorities use to identify what is in the shipment, assess duties and taxes, and check that the trade is allowed.
Every non-document parcel that crosses a border needs one. Couriers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS will not accept an international shipment without it, and a missing or incomplete commercial invoice is the most common reason parcels sit in customs.
Shipper. Your business name, full address, phone and email, and your tax or exporter identification number (EORI in the EU, EIN in the US).
Consignee. The person or company receiving the goods, with a full address, phone number and, for business buyers, their tax or importer number. If a different company pays, add a separate "Bill to" block.
Invoice number and date. Unique and sequential, like any invoice.
Description of goods. Precise and plain: "Men's cotton T-shirts, knitted, 100% cotton" passes; "clothing" or "samples" gets queried. Include material, use and, where relevant, model number.
HS code. The Harmonized System code that classifies the product. The first six digits are the same in every country; importing countries add digits of their own. Look it up in your national tariff database (the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule, the EU TARIC database, or your customs authority's search tool). One code per line item.
Country of origin. Where each item was manufactured or substantially transformed, not where it was shipped from. Duty rates and trade agreements depend on this field.
Quantity, unit value and total value. In the currency of the sale, with the currency stated. Customs calculates duty on the declared value, so it must be the real price. Undervaluing is a customs offence.
Incoterms. The three-letter terms that say who pays for transport, insurance and duties, and where risk passes. The ones you will use most: EXW (buyer collects from your door and pays everything), FOB (you deliver to the ship or aircraft, buyer pays from there), DAP (you deliver to the buyer's address, buyer pays import duty), DDP (you deliver and pay duty too). State the place as well, for example "FOB Mombasa".
Reason for export. Sale, gift, sample, repair and return, return for refund, intercompany transfer. Gifts and samples still need a realistic value.
Shipping details. Carrier, air waybill or tracking number, number of packages, gross and net weight.
Declaration and signature. A statement that the information is true and correct, signed and dated by the shipper.
The proforma comes first: it is the preliminary document the buyer uses to approve the order and, in many countries, to apply for an import permit. The commercial invoice is the final document that travels with the goods. The two should match line for line unless the order changed. Read proforma invoice: meaning, format and template for the proforma side.
Couriers generally want three signed copies: one attached to the outside of the parcel in a document pouch, one inside, and one uploaded or handed over with the booking. Many carriers now accept an electronic commercial invoice through their shipping portal; a PDF from the commercial invoice generator uploads directly.
The free commercial invoice generator has a field for every item above, including per-line HS codes, country of origin, Incoterms and reason for export, and downloads a clean PDF ready for the courier. The invoice templates page also offers commercial invoice versions in Word and Excel if you need to keep an editable file.
When you are ready to send and track invoices in one place, BillingOtter is free for 5 invoices a month, with no card needed.
See BillingOtter plans and pricingSend your next invoice with BillingOtter
Invoices, estimates and payment tracking in one place, in your browser.
Start freeFree plan · no credit card · cancel anytime
A plain-language definition of an invoice, the nine things every invoice must contain, how it differs from a receipt, a bill and an estimate, and a worked example.
A field-by-field walk through a standard invoice, then the extra lines you meet on shipping invoices and tax invoices, and the checks to do before you pay.
What a proforma invoice is, how it differs from a final invoice and a quote, the exact format customs and buyers expect, and a free generator to produce one.