USMCA Certificate Of Origin: How To Fill It Out Correctly

There is no official USMCA certificate of origin form. The certification only needs to contain nine required data elements and can appear on a commercial invoice or any other document. The exporter, producer or importer may certify. A blanket certification covers up to 12 months of shipments, the document is accepted for four years, and records must be kept for five.

• USMCA prescribes no form; CBP Form 434 is no longer in use and NAFTA paperwork is not valid for USMCA claims (CBP).
• The certification must contain the nine minimum data elements set out in USMCA Annex 5-A (USTR).
• The exporter, the producer or the importer may complete it, and no Party can force a producer or exporter to issue one (USMCA Art. 5.2, 5.3.4).
• A blanket certification covers multiple shipments of identical goods for a period of up to 12 months (Art. 5.3.5).
• The certification is accepted for four years from the date it was signed, and records must be kept for five years (Art. 5.3.6, 5.8).

How do I complete a USMCA certificate of origin?

By including nine specific data elements on any document you choose, including a commercial invoice. There is no official form to download. The one hard restriction is that the certification cannot be issued on an invoice from a country outside the agreement.

The first thing to understand is that the document most people go looking for does not exist. USMCA deliberately prescribes no format: the agreement says the certification need not follow a prescribed format, that it may be provided on an invoice or any other document, and that it simply has to describe the goods in enough detail to identify them. CBP has confirmed that the old NAFTA form, CBP Form 434, is no longer in use, and that even if the origin rule and all the data happen to be the same, goods must be certified again under USMCA rather than relying on NAFTA paperwork. What the agreement does require is nine data elements, listed in Annex 5-A. One, state whether the certifier is the importer, exporter or producer. Two, the certifier's name, title, address including country, telephone and email. Three, the exporter's details if different from the certifier, with an address in the Party country from which the good is exported. Four, the producer's details if different, with the option to write Various when there are several, or to state that the information is available on request from the importing authorities. Five, the importer's details if known. Six, a description of the good and its HS tariff classification at the six digit level, plus the export invoice number if the certification covers a single shipment. Seven, the origin criterion under which the good qualifies. Eight, the blanket period if it covers multiple shipments. Nine, the authorised signature and date, together with the certification statement given in the annex. There is one restriction that catches people out: the certification cannot be issued on an invoice or commercial document issued in a non-Party country. If your invoice comes from outside the region, put the certification on a separate document.

Who can certify, and for how long?

The exporter, the producer or the importer, which is the biggest change from NAFTA. A blanket certification covers up to 12 months of identical goods, the document itself is accepted for four years, and you must keep supporting records for five years.

Under USMCA any of three parties can issue the certification, and this is the most useful change from the NAFTA era. A producer certifies on the basis of its own information showing the good originates. An exporter that is not the producer certifies either on its own information or by reasonably relying on the producer's written representation. An importer certifies only on the basis of its own information and documents, which means an importer cannot simply lean on the exporter's word, and cannot later make a second claim for the same import based on an exporter or producer certification. It is also worth knowing that no country can compel a producer or exporter to issue a certification at all, so if a supplier refuses, the importer route may be the only path. Three time periods matter and they are routinely confused with each other. The blanket period is how many shipments one document covers: up to 12 months of identical goods, meaning goods that are the same in all respects including physical characteristics, quality and reputation, where minor differences in appearance do not matter. The validity period is how long the document is accepted by customs: four years from the date it was signed. The recordkeeping period is how long you keep the evidence behind it: at least five years, running from the date of importation for the importer and from the date the certification was issued for the exporter or producer. That last obligation applies even if the importing country never asks for the certification or waives it entirely.

The rules that save you money and mistakes

Small errors cannot be grounds for rejection, you get at least five business days to fix a defective certification, and you can claim preference up to a year after importation. Below a value threshold no certification is needed at all, but confirm the Mexican figure with your broker.

Several provisions exist specifically to stop good faith mistakes from costing you duty, and few importers use them. Customs cannot reject a certification because of minor errors or discrepancies that do not put the accuracy of the import documents in doubt. If a certification is illegible or defective, the importer must be given at least five business days to provide a corrected one, so a rejected entry is usually recoverable rather than lost. If you did not claim preferential treatment at the time of import, you can still claim a refund for up to one year after the date of importation, which is the single most overlooked way to recover money already paid. If you discover your own certification was wrong, correcting the document and paying the duty promptly protects you from penalties, and the same protection exists for an exporter or producer who notifies the error in writing. The certification may be written in English, French or Spanish, and electronic issuance and electronic or digital signatures must be accepted, so there is no need to chase wet signatures. On low value shipments the agreement sets a baseline: no certification is required where the value of the importation does not exceed 1,000 US dollars, or a higher amount set by the importing country, provided the shipment is not part of a series arranged to avoid the rules. The United States applies 2,500 dollars on its side. We could not verify Mexico's own figure from an official Mexican source, so treat 1,000 dollars as the agreement floor and confirm the current Mexican threshold with your customs broker before relying on it. Finally, the 2026 joint review has not changed any of this. The United States did not agree to renew the agreement in its current form, but USTR confirmed the agreement remains in force pending resolution, so preferential tariffs, origin rules and every procedure above apply as normal today. BringGo Ship prepares origin documentation as part of clearance, so US origin goods move duty free instead of paying a tariff they never owed.

USMCA certification: the periods that get confused

Definitions

• Certification of origin: A certification of origin is the statement, in any format, that a good qualifies as originating under USMCA and contains the nine required data elements.
• Blanket period: A blanket period lets one certification cover multiple shipments of identical goods for up to 12 months.
• Identical goods: Identical goods are the same in all respects including physical characteristics, quality and reputation, where minor appearance differences do not matter.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official USMCA certificate of origin form?

No. USMCA prescribes no format. The certification only needs to contain the nine data elements in Annex 5-A and can be placed on a commercial invoice or any other document. CBP Form 434 from the NAFTA era is no longer in use, and NAFTA paperwork cannot be relied on for a USMCA claim even when the origin rule is the same.

Who can complete a USMCA certification of origin?

The exporter, the producer or the importer. That third option is the main change from NAFTA. An importer must certify on the basis of its own information rather than the exporter's word. No country can force a producer or exporter to issue one, so if a supplier refuses, certifying as the importer may be the only route available.

How long is a USMCA certification valid?

Customs accepts it for four years from the date it was signed. This is different from the blanket period, which is how many shipments one document covers and is capped at 12 months, and different again from recordkeeping, which is five years. Confusing these three is one of the most common compliance errors.

Can I claim USMCA preference after the goods have already been imported?

Yes. If preferential treatment was not claimed at the time of import, you can apply for a refund for up to one year after the date of importation. This is the most overlooked way to recover duty already paid, and it is worth reviewing past entries where origin documentation existed but was never used.

Do small shipments need a certificate of origin?

The agreement sets a baseline of 1,000 US dollars, below which no certification is required, provided the shipment is not part of a series arranged to avoid the rules. The United States applies 2,500 dollars on its side. Mexico's own threshold should be confirmed with your customs broker before you rely on it.

Let BringGo Ship prepare your origin documentation

Sources

• USTR, USMCA Chapter 5 Origin Procedures (ustr.gov)
• US Customs and Border Protection, USMCA FAQs (cbp.gov)
• SAT (Mexican tax administration) (sat.gob.mx)

Note: This content is for general information only and is not legal, tax or customs advice. Rates and rules can change often in 2026; verify the current details with an official source (SAT, DOF, CBP) or our licensed customs broker before acting.