Guides / T1 through France · Updated 30 September 2026

T1 transit from the UK through France: the short-straits route

Most lorries leaving Great Britain for continental Europe cross the short straits into France, yet many of them are not delivering in France at all. For loads heading on to Germany, Poland or Italy, the question is where the goods should be cleared into the EU: at the French border, or at the destination under a transit movement.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Why transit matters on a route through France

When goods leave Great Britain for the EU, they become non-Union goods arriving in the EU customs territory. Somebody has to deal with import formalities. On a load that is delivered in France, clearing at the point of entry is often the simplest option. On a load that simply drives through France to another member state, clearing at the French border means paying or accounting for import charges in a country where the goods will not stay, and it depends on arrangements at a busy port.

Customs transit exists for exactly this situation. The European Commission describes it as a procedure that allows the temporary suspension of duties, taxes and commercial policy measures that apply at import, so that customs clearance formalities can take place at the destination rather than at the entry point into the customs territory. The UK side runs through the T1 declaration in the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS), which the UK uses as a member of the Common Transit Convention.

Transit or clearance at the border: a quick comparison

This is a planning guide, not a rule: the right answer depends on who the importer is, where the goods are cleared best, and whether a guarantee is in place.

The UK side: export, transit and the GMR

HMRC's step-by-step guidance for moving goods out of Great Britain using transit sets out the sequence. You make an export declaration, then a transit declaration in NCTS that includes the export declaration reference. The transit movement starts either at an office of departure or at the premises of an authorised consignor, where the Transit Accompanying Document (TAD) is printed and handed to the haulier with the other documents. If the movement starts at an office of departure, the haulier takes the goods to an inland border facility, a port's designated customs checking facility or another office of departure.

At ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, the link between the transit movement and the crossing is the goods movement reference (GMR). Gov.uk guidance on creating a GMR says a Common Transit Convention movement needs the MRN generated by NCTS, and that you present the GMR at the port you are leaving from. The haulier or trader creates the GMR in GVMS using the sign-in details from registration. GOV.UK also notes that, if NCTS is unavailable at the office of departure, an offline TAD travels with the goods and this is entered as a manual transit procedure on the GMR.

• Export declaration made and its reference included in the transit declaration
• Transit declaration accepted in NCTS and MRN issued
• Guarantee in place for the movement
• TAD printed and with the driver
• GMR created in GVMS with the transit MRN before the vehicle reaches the port

Planning the French leg

HMRC's route-planning guidance asks you to work out three points before you declare: where the movement starts, which offices of transit are needed, and where it ends. It states that goods must be presented at an office of transit before they can enter a different customs territory. On the short-straits route, that means the first customs office in the EU on your route, at the point of entry, and it has to be named in the transit declaration.

The HMRC guidance tells you to check whether the crossing you intend to use has the offices you need, and that you must declare your start and end points when you make the transit declaration. A declaration written for one crossing does not automatically fit another, so if the haulier's routing changes, check the declaration still matches. We have not found an official EU source describing office-specific procedures at individual French ports, so confirm local arrangements with your haulier or agent rather than relying on assumptions.

Closing the movement at destination

The movement ends when the goods reach an office of destination (a customs office) or the premises of an authorised consignee, where they can be released into free circulation or placed under another customs procedure. This is where the import declaration in the destination country comes in, and where the importer's position, including whether an agent acts by direct representation, matters.

After arrival, HMRC's guidance says to check that the movement has ended on NCTS and that your guarantee has been released, and to ask for a receipt from the customs office or consignee. The guarantee is released when the transit movement is discharged, meaning destination customs have confirmed the goods arrived and the transit requirements were met. An open movement is a liability that stays with the holder of the procedure, so follow it up rather than assuming the driver's delivery closed it.

Common gaps on this route

• The GMR is created without the transit MRN, so the port cannot link the lorry to the movement.
• The declared office of transit does not match the crossing actually used.
• No one owns the destination end: the consignee is not ready to clear, and the movement stays open.
• Groupage loads are treated as one movement when the drops are in different countries.

For the wider picture of T1 movements from the UK into the EU, including who usually files and what a broker does, see our guide to T1 transit from the UK to the EU. Easy Clearance has a practical walkthrough of the T1 route from the UK through France, covering the stages from opening to closing a movement. If you are unsure whether to use an agent at all, start with do you need a broker?.

Related guides

• Movement Reference Number (MRN): what it is and how hauliers use it

• T1 transit from the UK to the EU: what the broker does

• Groupage and consolidated loads: UK–EU customs explained

Sources

• Moving goods out of Great Britain using transit: step by step (GOV.UK)
• Planning your route before moving goods using transit (GOV.UK)
• Create a goods movement reference (GOV.UK)
• Check how to move goods through ports that use GVMS (GOV.UK)
• What is customs transit? (European Commission)

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.