EUDR Due Diligence Statement (DDS): Step-by-Step Guide

From 30 December 2026, no DDS reference number means no EU customs clearance for in-scope goods. This is the single document every EUDR shipment depends on — here is exactly how it works.

1. What a DDS is — in one paragraph

The Due Diligence Statement is an electronic declaration submitted in the EU Information System by the operator (or trader supplying to the EU market) before or at the moment in-scope products are placed on the EU market. By signing it, you declare you have carried out due diligence per Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 and conclude the products are deforestation-free and legal. The system issues a reference number — this number must be quoted in the customs declaration, effectively becoming a "compliance passport" for the shipment.

2. Who must submit — and who only quotes

RoleDDS duty
Operator placing products on the EU market for the first time (EU importer, or non-EU company with an EU-established authorisation)Submits full DDS with all plot data and due diligence results
Downstream EU traders and operatorsQuote the existing DDS reference number in their own transactions
SME tradersKeep records of reference numbers for 5 years
Non-EU suppliers (you, the factory/cooperative)Not obliged to file, but your EU customer can only file if you feed them complete data — plot coordinates, legality evidence, traceability. Practically: your data quality decides your market access
Key insight for Asian/African/American suppliers: you will not click the submit button yourself in most cases — but if your data is incomplete, your EU buyer's DDS fails or they switch to a better-prepared competitor. The DDS obligation lands on the EU side; the data burden lands on you.

3. The submission process, step by step

  1. Register your company in the EU Information System (reuses the TRACES platform: information-system.efca.europa.eu). Non-EU companies can register to obtain a token for downstream use.
  2. Prepare the data package: product descriptions, quantities, country of production, geolocation coordinates of all plots of production, scientific species names for wood (e.g. Eucalyptus spp.), supplier traceability records, due diligence results.
  3. Run your due diligence per Articles 8–12: information collection → risk assessment → risk mitigation, documented and auditable.
  4. Submit the DDS and receive the reference number (plus a verification number). Annual DDS covering multiple consignments is allowed.
  5. Pass the number down the chain: quote it in customs declarations, invoices and to downstream buyers. Retain all records for 5 years.

The mistakes that get shipments blocked

  • Coordinates in the wrong format (GCJ-02 instead of WGS-84; single points where polygons are required)
  • Missing scientific species names for wood products
  • Plot lists that don't reconcile with claimed volumes (more tonnes than the plots could produce)
  • Annual DDS submitted after the first placement, or reference numbers not passed to customs

4. Simplified due diligence for SMEs

Small and medium operators benefit from a simplified regime: for products from low-risk countries, they can skip full risk assessment and file a simplified DDS ("simplified due diligence"), collecting information only. But the information collection (including geolocation) is never waived — simplification reduces the risk work, not the data work.

We build the DDS data package for you: coordinate files in the exact system format, species naming, volume reconciliation and a submission runbook your EU importer can execute without questions.

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Read the full regulation guide →