Checklist

Commercial Invoice Required Fields Checklist

If you already know you need a commercial invoice, the fastest next step is to confirm the fields before you generate the PDF. Use this checklist to make sure the draft includes the shipment details customs, carriers, and buyers usually expect.

Short answer

Before you send a commercial invoice, confirm the parties, invoice reference, currency, line items, values, and any shipment-specific details your lane requires.

Best for

Users preparing a commercial invoice draft for an actual shipment
People checking whether they forgot a common invoice field
Teams doing a fast pre-download review before sharing the PDF

Next step

Open the commercial invoice generator Fix goods descriptions

1. Seller, buyer, and consignee details

Start with the parties. The document should clearly show the seller or shipper, the buyer, and the consignee when that is different from the buyer. Names and addresses are the fields people most often copy from an old file and forget to update.

Seller or shipper name and address
Buyer name and address
Consignee name and address when applicable
Contact details if your workflow needs them

2. Invoice reference, date, and currency

Your invoice number, issue date, and currency should match the shipment or order record you are working from. If you are exporting several documents for the same shipment, use references that stay consistent across the set.

Invoice number
Invoice date
Currency
Optional shipment or purchase reference if you use one internally

3. Line items with descriptions, quantities, and values

Every commercial invoice needs the goods line items. That usually means one row per item or item group, with a description, quantity, unit value, and line total. If this is the part you are stuck on, read how to write description of goods before you export.

Goods description
Quantity per line
Unit value
Line total and document total

Have the parties and line items ready? Open the generator, fill the fields once, then preview the draft before download.

Open the generator →

4. Shipment-specific supporting details

Some shipments also require extra shipment details such as country of origin or harmonized codes. These are not universal for every lane, but if your broker, carrier, or internal export checklist asks for them, confirm them before you download the PDF.

Country of origin when required
Harmonized code when required
Incoterms or shipping terms if your process uses them

5. Final pre-download checks

Before you treat the draft as final, double-check totals, addresses, document number, and whether the line items match any packing list you plan to send alongside it. If both documents are going out together, use the consistency checklist to compare them line by line.

One thing this checklist does not do

This page helps you confirm the fields before you generate a commercial invoice. It does not replace shipment-specific customs, tax, or compliance guidance for a particular destination.