Prepare a Travel is the mandatory process where holders or their representatives select goods and itinerary information in order to generate the transaction codes required for Customs declarations.
This digital preparation replaces the manual completion of paper vouchers and should normally be completed before arriving at Customs.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Signing the Carnet
- ATA Carnet Desktop
- General Rules Applicable to All Travel Preparations
Signing the Carnet
 | Before you can prepare any travels or declarations, the holder or their authorised representative must sign the carnet to confirm its data.
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Important – signing authority and error correction
The holder or an authorised representative must first sign the carnet to confirm its data. Each prepared Travel must then be signed separately before its declarations and transaction codes become active.
If a carnet is signed accidentally by a non‑authorised person, this does not automatically invalidate the carnet:
- The Issuing Association (IA) can correct the situation by performing a Carnet Amendment within 30 days of the issue date.
- When an amendment is applied:
- The existing digital signature becomes invalid.
- The carnet must be signed again by the correct authorised person after re‑issuance.
This mechanism allows accidental signing errors to be rectified without issuing a new carnet, provided no Customs transaction has yet taken place.
If you are unsure whether a carnet was signed correctly, contact your Issuing Association immediately before using the carnet at Customs.
Digital identity and responsibility
- Users must create their ATA Carnet account using their official name as shown on their passport or identity document.
- When a carnet or travel is signed, the signer’s account details are recorded and made visible to Customs during transactions.
- The digital signature represents consent and responsibility, not an automated identity verification.
- Customs authorities remain responsible for assessing whether the signer is authorised, based on the carnet data, identity documents, and any Power of Attorney where applicable.
ATA Carnet App
Before arriving at customs, you must prepare a travel declaration using the 'Prepare a Travel' feature. This step is essential for carnet holders or their representatives.
To prepare a travel:
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| (b) …or from the sidebar menu. |
| Select the carnet you want to use by tapping on it. |
| Tap on ‘Travels’ on the bottom and then the + button on the top right corner. |
| Fill in the required fields. If required and you have transit sets available, add transit countries/territories by tapping on + and selecting the countries/territories intended to transit through. Tap on + in the Declared items. |
| Type in the goods to declare from the General List of the ATA Carnet in the field on the top of the screen to add them to the travel. You may also tap on Select all if required. Once all goods have been added, tap on the ← on the top left corner to go back to the Prepare Travel screen. First journey and partial exports: Validation covers the complete General List, whereas the Export or Export without Exit transaction may cover only the goods physically travelling. Select only those goods in the prepared Travel. Once Customs commits the first transaction associated with the Travel, the Travel becomes read-only and the goods selection can no longer be changed. See Preparing a travel for special scenarios → Handling split consignments. |
| If supporting documents are required, you can upload a PDF document, select or take a photo directly from your smartphone, or select an existing holder attachment. Tap Save as draft to save the Travel and return to it later, or Save and sign to accept your liabilities, sign the Travel and activate its transaction codes. Check the Travel carefully before signing. Once Customs commits the first associated transaction, the Travel becomes read-only. |
| To modify a Travel, tap Edit travel. After making the required changes, tap Save and sign. You may also delete a prepared Travel while no associated Customs transaction has been committed. . |
ATA Carnet Desktop
From the Carnets page, click on Details on the corresponding carnet you would like to use and then Prepare travel on the bottom of the screen.
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Preparing vs Signing a Travel (Desktop only)
Administrative users may prepare travels and save them as Draft.
The travel must be signed by the holder or an authorised representative before declarations and QR codes become active.
General Rules Applicable to All Travel Preparations
Before signing a Travel
Each prepared Travel generates the transaction codes required for the relevant Customs operations and uses one available voucher set from the carnet.
Before selecting Save and sign, check that the following information is correct:
- the departure and destination information;
- the goods and quantities included in the Travel;
- any information concerning goods that are not expected to be returned;
- the authorised representative, where applicable; and
- any supporting documents associated with the declarations.
Once signed, the transaction codes become active and may be presented to Customs.
Once Customs commits a transaction You may edit or delete a signed Travel while no associated Customs transaction has been committed.
Once Customs commits the first transaction, the entire Travel and its associated declarations become read-only. If an error is identified after commitment, the applicable cancellation and correction procedure must be followed. Following cancellation, where correction is supported, the holder or representative can correct the declaration and present the new transaction code to Customs for reprocessing. In other cases, a new Travel may be required.
Choosing the destination country
When preparing a travel, select the country where the importation transaction is expected to take place.
For movements into the European Union, you may indicate either:
- the first EU country of entry; or
- the final destination country within the EU;
because both belong to the same customs territory for ATA Carnet purposes.
The "To location / city / event / use" field is used to indicate the intended final destination, location, event or use of the goods. It is mandatory for Importation transactions. For other transaction types, it may be displayed as optional depending on the transaction context.
Changes to your itinerary after preparing a travel
The destination country selected during travel preparation is primarily used for itinerary information and transaction code preparation. It does not by itself determine where Customs may process a transaction. Transaction validity depends on the transaction type and the customs territory where the transaction is committed.
The ATA Carnet System validates declarations based on:
- the transaction type; and
- the customs territory where the transaction is processed.
Examples:
- A travel prepared for Norway may later be used for an Importation in the United Kingdom.
- A travel prepared from Finland may be used for an Exportation in Sweden because both belong to the European Union customs territory.
However:
- Validation, Exportation and Re-importation must be processed in the carnet's domestic customs territory.
- Importation and Re-exportation must be processed in a foreign customs territory.
- Transit may be processed in either territory as applicable.
If the itinerary changes, update the Travel before Customs commits the first associated transaction. After commitment, the Travel becomes read-only.
The selection of countries during travel preparation supports transaction preparation only and does not constitute the formal Customs declaration, which takes place when the transaction is committed by Customs.
Related FAQs:
- I selected the wrong destination country when preparing my travel. Do I need to create a new travel?
- My route changed after I prepared the travel. Can I still use it?
- What determines whether a transaction is valid?
- Should I update the travel if my destination changes?
- Why can I no longer edit my travel?
- Which transactions lock a travel?
- What if I made a mistake in the itinerary or goods selection?
- Why can't Customs simply edit the declaration?
- Why did my travel become locked after "Export without Exit"? (EU users only)
Travel synchronisation and sharing
Prepared travels automatically synchronise between devices using the same carnet.
A travel may be saved as a draft and completed later.
Before arriving at Customs, ensure all required information has been completed and the travel has been signed.
Once a travel has been signed, voucher QR codes may be shared with authorised representatives. See Sharing a Voucher for more information.
Deleting an unused prepared Travel restores the corresponding voucher set, provided no associated Customs transaction has been committed.
Supporting documents and attachments
Starting with ATA Carnet System version 2.3, holders and authorised representatives can upload, remove and manage supporting documents while preparing or editing a travel or pre-declaration. The standard travel locking rules continue to apply. Once a travel has been locked by a committed Customs transaction, the travel can no longer be edited and its associated attachments can no longer be modified through that travel.
Documents and photos added by holders and authorised representatives are stored as holder attachments and can be reused across multiple travels and pre-declarations. During travel or pre-declaration preparation, users can select which holder attachments should be associated with the relevant declaration and made available to Customs authorities.
Examples of supporting documents include:
- Powers of Attorney (POA)
- Transport documents
- Event-related supporting documents
- Other documents required by Customs or the Issuing Association
Attachment restrictions
Holder attachments are stored in PDF format.
In ATA Carnet App, users can also select or take a photo directly from their smartphone. The system automatically converts the photo to PDF and reduces the file size where necessary before storing it as a holder attachment.
Size limits
- Each attachment must not exceed 2 MB.
- The combined size of all holder-uploaded attachments for a carnet must not exceed 20 MB.
These limits apply to the cumulative holder attachment repository for the carnet.
PDF documents exceeding the applicable size limit must be reduced in size or split into multiple PDF files before upload. Photos added directly through ATA Carnet App are automatically converted and resized by the system where necessary.
How attachments are stored and shared Holder attachments are stored at carnet level and may be reused across multiple Travels and pre-declarations. When preparing a Travel or pre-declaration, select the attachments that should be associated with that declaration and made available to Customs. Customs can distinguish between carnet attachments uploaded during issuance and declaration attachments selected for the specific declaration.
Large Carnets (More Than 2,000 Items)
To ensure stable performance on mobile devices, the ATA Carnet App only supports travel preparation for carnets containing up to 2,000 General List items.
If the carnet exceeds this limit:
- Travel preparation must be performed using ATA Carnet Desktop.
- This is an expected limitation and not a system error.
After signing the travel in ATA Carnet Desktop, it will automatically synchronise to the mobile app and may be used normally at Customs.
Using “Any authorised representative”
If the carnet states “Any authorised representative”:
- A representative may prepare and sign a travel.
- The signer’s identity is recorded and visible to Customs.
- Customs may request a Power of Attorney if the representative is not explicitly named on the carnet.
If a representative cannot or does not wish to sign:
- The holder can sign the travel in advance on their own device.
- The resulting QR code can then be shared for presentation at the border.
Name spelling and characters
Users should enter their name exactly as shown on their official identity document, including diacritics where supported.
Minor spelling differences or character variations are not technically blocked by the system, but final acceptance remains at the discretion of Customs, as with paper carnets.
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