Documentation needed to ship to France

There are 292 French customs offices throughout the country. You can choose any one of them and you can complete your own paperwork or you can assign a customs broker to do it for you. Usually this is the fastest and most elegant manner as there are many documents needed prior to shipping to France.  If you are sending, through USPS, you will need to fill-out the PS Form 2976 and PS Form 2976-A and the procedure is simple as long as you check to see if your product is not restricted or prohibited in France. You should know that shipping to France includes Corsica and Monaco.  A certificate of origin is recommended for any commodity shipped to France but it is required for textile products valued at over 1000 euro. If your goods claim preferential duty or exemption, you will need to fill out a Certificate of Origin Form A. You will need to attach a commercial invoice if your products are part of a commercial transaction either between companies or to an individual. You must attach a copy in French and it should include freight costs, insurance and other cost plus a complete description of the goods.  If you are sending textiles, marked samples or software on CD you must provide additional details on the invoice.  For some goods you will need to prepare a Dangerous Goods certification and an Air waybill is usually requested. It the product is known to be an antiquity you must fill out a Declaration of Antiquity, which must include the words “circa date” and the manufacture year. These documents should be prepared prior to shipping to France. Import permits are needed for products like steel, textiles, livestock, fish, cheese and firearms.For all goods that are not categorized as documents you must provide a customs valuation, which should have a proper value declared. Every product must have this document and a declared value. If you fail to submit, one you will have to pay fine or penalties and your product might be held at the customs longer than expected. The customs broker will assist you in filling out all these forms.