Preparing a travel

Modified on Tue, 21 Apr at 3:50 PM

Prepare a Travel is the mandatory process where holders or their representatives select specific goods and itinerary details within the digital wallet to generate the transaction codes required for Customs declarations.

This digital preparation replaces the manual completion of paper vouchers and must be completed before arriving at the border to enable a seamless Customs transaction.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Validation (signing the Carnet)
ATA Carnet App
ATA Carnet Desktop

Validation (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.

Open the carnet in your app or desktop.
Review the carnet details and General List to ensure they match official records.
Confirm that your personal data matches your official identity documents.
Provide your initial digital signature as prompted by the system.

Important – signing authority and error correction

The initial carnet signature must be completed by the holder or an authorised legal representative.
Administrative or support staff should not sign the carnet unless they are explicitly authorised to do so.

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:

	(a) Tap on Carnets from the main menu…
	(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. Alternatively, use the + and – buttons to add individual items or you may select / unselect all. 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.
	Tap on Save as draft to save the travel and come back to it later, or Save and sign to accept your liabilities, sign and activate the declarations.
	To modify a travel, simply tap Edit travel and after the edits have been made tap Save and sign. You may also Delete prepared travels if needed and if not yet transacted.

Please consult the Special Scenarios chapter for comprehensive guidance on preparing a travel under specific circumstances.

Prepared travels synchronise between devices. A travel prepared on one device for a carnet will appear on another device with the same carnet downloaded.

A travel can be saved and prepared in multiple stages. Make sure all the fields are complete and the declarations are signed before going to Customs to process a transaction.

Once a travel is prepared, the holder can share one or more vouchers with his representative who shall make the declaration at customs. Please see the “Sharing a voucher” section to learn more.

A prepared travel consumes 1 ‘set’ (exportation, importation, re-exportation, re-importation, transit) of the ATA Carnet. Only by deleting the prepared travel will you be topped back of the corresponding sets.

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.

Preparing vs signing a travel

Administrative users may prepare travels and save them as Draft.
The travel must be signed by the holder or an authorised representative to activate the declarations and QR codes.

	Fill in the required fields. If required and you have transit sets available, add transit countries/territories by clicking on + and selecting the countries/territories intended to transit through. Click 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. Alternatively, use the + and – buttons to add individual items or you may select / unselect all. You may also click on Select all if required. Once all goods have been added, click on Save. Once the declaration is complete, click on Save and sign, accept your liabilities and activate the declarations, or Save as draft if you wish to come back to it later.
	To modify a travel, open the carnet Details, navigate to Travels and click on Edit. After the edits have been made click Save and sign. You may also Delete prepared travels if needed and if not yet transacted.

Please consult the Special Scenarios chapter for comprehensive guidance on preparing a travel under specific circumstances.

Prepared travels synchronise between devices. A travel prepared on one device for a carnet will appear on another device with the same carnet downloaded.

A travel can be saved and prepared in multiple stages. Make sure all the fields are complete and the declarations are signed before going to Customs to process a transaction.

Once a travel is prepared, the holder can share one or more vouchers with his representative who shall make the declaration at customs. Please see the “Sharing a voucher” section to learn more.

A prepared travel consumes 1 ‘set’ (exportation, importation, re-exportation, re-importation, transit) of the ATA Carnet. Only by deleting the prepared travel will you be topped back of the corresponding sets.

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.