Guides / Customs checks · Updated 30 September 2026
UK customs checks: what happens if your goods are selected
Selected for a customs check? Here is how documentary and physical checks work, where they take place, what to have ready, and how to correct a declaration after the goods are released.
This guide is also available in Polish.
Most import and export declarations clear without anyone looking at the paperwork or opening the trailer. A small share are selected for a check. Being selected is not an accusation: HMRC and other border agencies pick consignments based on risk, and some are chosen for routine reasons. What matters is that you (or your agent) respond quickly and have the right documents to hand. This guide walks through what happens when a UK consignment is stopped, where checks take place, and how to fix a mistake after clearance.
Documentary checks and physical checks
There are two broad kinds of intervention. A documentary check means customs officers want to see evidence behind the declaration: typically the commercial invoice, transport documents, proof of origin if a preference was claimed, and any licence or certificate the goods need. A physical check means the goods themselves are examined, which usually happens at a designated checking facility rather than on the quayside.
Customs is not the only agency that can hold goods. For non-food products, the Office for Product Safety and Standards works with HMRC to target products considered a high risk of being unsafe or non-compliant, and consignments can be referred to market surveillance authorities such as Trading Standards. Animal and plant products follow their own sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regime with checks at border control posts.
How you find out your goods have been selected
Import and export declarations are made in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), the system that replaced CHIEF. If an agent submits declarations for you, they will often be the first to hear about a query on it, so make sure they can reach you and your supplier at short notice.
For roll-on roll-off freight moving through ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, gov.uk explains that a driver can check the status of their goods using the "Check if you need to report for an inspection" online service from a mobile phone. Hauliers moving goods subject to SPS official controls into Great Britain receive an automated message if an inspection at a border control post is required. The practical point: the haulier, the driver and the declarant all need to be watching, because the notification may land with any of them.
Where checks happen
According to HMRC's haulier guidance, checks can take place at:
- inland border facilities serving the GVMS locations at Dover, Eurotunnel Cheriton and Holyhead;
- designated customs checking facilities at ports;
- in some cases, the trader's own premises.
Inland border facilities are government sites where customs and document checks can take place away from port locations. Beyond routine customs checks they handle Common Transit Convention movements (see our T1 transit guide), ATA and TIR carnets, CITES checks and, since 2024, SPS checks. Gov.uk currently lists Sevington and Holyhead as the operating sites; several earlier facilities have closed, so do not rely on old route plans.
How long goods can be held
There is no single clock that applies to every check, and the length of a hold depends on the agency involved, the type of check and how quickly documents are produced. Gov.uk does give one concrete example: for non-food product safety checks, unless the consignment is referred to a market surveillance authority for further checks, it will be released within three working days (four for Northern Ireland). Customs or SPS holds follow their own processes, and missing paperwork is the most common reason a hold drags on.
What to prepare before anything is stopped
The fastest way through a check is to have everything ready before the goods move. A sensible pack for each consignment:
- the commercial invoice matching the value and description declared;
- packing list and transport documents (CMR, bill of lading or air waybill);
- proof of origin if you claimed a preferential duty rate;
- any licence, health certificate or phytosanitary certificate the goods need, with originals carried by the driver where required;
- your EORI number and the movement reference number (MRN) of the declaration;
- contact details for the supplier, in case officers ask technical questions about the goods.
HMRC's haulier guidance says drivers must carry all the necessary customs information and documents supplied by their haulage company. If you are unsure who is responsible for what, our page on whether you need a customs broker explains how the work is usually split.
After clearance: post-clearance checks and amendments
Clearance is not the end of the story. HMRC can look at declarations after goods have been released, and you remain responsible for their accuracy. Under direct representation the importer is liable for the customs debt; under indirect representation the agent is jointly liable with the importer. That is why it is worth checking your declarations yourself, rather than assuming the agent has spotted every error.
Gov.uk sets out the time limits for CDS import declarations. You have up to 3 years to amend a declaration from when it is accepted or a control is applied, and 90 days to cancel it from the same point. Before the declaration is cleared, amendments can be made in the declaration software without contacting HMRC. Once it has cleared, changes have to go through HMRC.
Correcting errors: which route to use
| Situation | Route named on gov.uk |
|---|---|
| Declaration not yet cleared | Amend through your declaration software |
| You paid too little duty or import VAT | Voluntary clearance amendment (underpayment), form C2001 |
| You paid too much | Claim a repayment of import duty and VAT, form C285 |
| Underpaid import VAT under postponed VAT accounting | Correct it on your VAT Return instead |
| Wrong importer details | Email HMRC with the MRN, new importer details and evidence |
A voluntary disclosure of an underpayment through C2001 results in a C18 charge being raised for the extra duty or VAT due. The form asks for the original and revised procedure codes (see customs procedure codes explained), the importer's and representative's details and EORI numbers, the MRN, item numbers, and the amounts already paid and owed. Coming forward yourself is generally better than waiting for HMRC to find the mistake.
If something goes wrong at the check
Most checks end with release. If officers find a problem, outcomes can range from a request for more information to detention or seizure, and penalties can follow in more serious cases. For a wider view of triggers, detention, seizure and penalties, read an explainer on when customs control happens, then confirm specifics on gov.uk for your own case.
Related guides
Shipping goods from Germany to the UK: customs step by step
Exporting tractors and farm machinery from the UK to the EU
15 UK–EU customs terms explained in plain English
Want the wider picture on customs control?
Plutos is a UK–Poland customs information site run by the same team as this guide and Easy Clearance. Its explainer covers common triggers for customs control, detention, seizure and penalties.
Read the Plutos explainerSources
- Transporting goods between Great Britain and the EU by RoRo freight: guidance for hauliers (GOV.UK)
- Attending an inland border facility (GOV.UK)
- Border controls for non-food products (GOV.UK)
- Amend or cancel a Customs Declaration Service import declaration (GOV.UK)
- Apply for a voluntary clearance amendment (underpayment) (GOV.UK)
General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.