It is required for the following types of products:

• Animals or Products of Animal Origin (POAO)
• Plant or Plant Products
• Feed and Food Products of Non-Animal Origin

The CHED document must be presented at the Border Control Post (BCP) to conduct safety and security checks. This would be a presentation alongside any other documentary requirements, such as an Export Health Certificate or Phytosanitary Certificate.

The CHED must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to arrival in NI, and the CHED reference must be included in the Customs Declaration. This is to ensure that the Customs Declaration is linked correctly to the CHED reference so the goods can clear Customs electronically.

A new reference format was introduced on the 15th of September 2025 for common health entry documents covering these movements.

Due to the new reference format now in place, it is vital to understand the requirements for declaring a CHED, given the validation process and the potential for delays at the BCP for the goods in question.

As these items may have a limited shelf life, it is important to ensure that declarants of the Common Health Entry Documents do so correctly to avoid any delay.

Whether you are registered for TRACES and submit the Common Health Entry Documents yourself or use a third party to complete them for you, you must ensure that the following is used.

Further guidance on Traces can be found here: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/imsoc-guide/tracesnt-help/Content/en/documents-certificates/ched.html.

Non-Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) declarations

These are pre-notified to the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES), and the CHED reference format must include letters followed by numbers, and the 3 '.' characters. 

The reference number will be provided on the TRACES NT platform. This reference is then included in DE 2/3 on CDS (Customs Declaration Service).

These are as follows, depending on the CHED type that is being used :
 

• Document code - 'C640’ for Live Animals – CHEDA.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn
• Document code - 'C085' for Plant Products – CHEDPP.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn
• Document code - 'N853' for Products of Animal Origin – CHEDP.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn
• Document code - 'C678' for Feed and Food of Non-Animal Origin – CHEDD.XI.yyyy.nnnnnnn

This is broken down into the following: 

• 'yyyy' represents the year the licence was issued, for example, 2026
• 'nnnnnnn' represents the CHED reference number, for example, 1234567
• The 3 '.' characters must be included 

For POAO (Products of Animal Origin), this would be displayed as:

Document code in DE 2/3 N853 followed by the CHED reference from TRACES    ‘CHEDP.XI.2026.1234567’

What about NIRMS movements?

NIRMS movements under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, the CHED reference must state NIRMS.

The format under NIRMS is as follows - 'GBCHDyyyy.NIRMS'. 

This is broken down into the following: 

• 'yyyy' represents the year the movement took place
• The '.' after the year must be included 
• For example, ‘GBCHD2026.NIRMS’

CERTEX and multiple CHED documents.

Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) is the system that validates licences against the Customs declarations.

It cannot validate multiple CHEDs declared against a single item unless the original write-off quantities are declared against each document code. 

This could potentially cause an issue with validation. For example, it would fail and show an insufficient quantity message if the mass of an item were declared as 100 kg and there were two CHEDS in place. That would be one CHED for 40 kgs and another for 60 kgs, so we must ensure that the information provided for each CHED is correct.

We must ensure the quantities and measurements are accurate so they can be validated and included in DE 2/3 in CDS.

Where to find more information

Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland 

For those users of the Trader Support Service 

Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on 0300 200 7852 or email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk