Make a commercial invoice PDF
A commercial invoice is the exporter’s statement of what is in a shipment, who sold it to whom, what each article cost and where it was made. Customs use it to value and classify the goods, and every courier asks for one with international parcels. This generator lays out a commercial or pro forma invoice from your details, adds up the lines and charges, can fill a line from a product page with its HS code, and gives you a signed-ready PDF.
Updated
- Cost
- Free, no account
- Kinds
- Commercial invoice (goods sold) or pro forma (not sold)
- Help
- Fill a line from a product link, or find its HS code
- You get
- A vector PDF on A4 or US Letter, 1 to 3 copies
Fill in the parties and the goods and watch the preview: every page updates as you type. Paste a product page into a line to fill its description, price, HS code and origin. Download the PDF when it’s right.
1 line · total $0.00 · origin
How to make a commercial invoice with border.bot
Fill, check and print a commercial or pro forma invoice in five steps.
Choose commercial or pro forma
Use a commercial invoice when the goods are sold. Use a pro forma invoice for goods that aren’t: gifts, samples, returns and repairs. Give it a number and a date.
Enter the parties
Give the exporter’s and consignee’s names and full addresses, with their tax and customs numbers (EORI, VAT, EIN…). Add the buyer or the importer of record when they aren’t the consignee.
List the goods
One line per article: a detailed description, the HS code, the country where it was made, the quantity and the unit price. Paste a product page to fill a line, or find the code from the description.
Add charges and shipment details
Itemise freight, insurance and packing, choose the Incoterm and add the carrier, tracking number, packages and weights. The totals are worked out for you.
Download, sign and send
Check the preview, download the PDF, sign it and send it with the goods: in the parcel’s document pouch, and uploaded with the courier booking.
Example: a UK exporter’s invoice to Los Angeles
300 cotton T-shirts at USD 6.40, 180 hooded sweatshirts at USD 14.75, 60 tote bags at USD 3.10, DAP Los Angeles
| Lines | 3, made in Portugal and India |
|---|---|
| Subtotal | USD 4,761.00 |
| Freight | USD 210.00 |
| Insurance | USD 18.50 |
| Total | USD 4,989.50 |
| Net weight | 84.6 kg, from the lines |
The tool’s “Fill an example” invoice.
What a US commercial invoice must show (19 CFR 141.86)
| Required | Where it goes on this invoice |
|---|---|
| Port of entry | Shipment: port of entry |
| Seller and buyer, or shipper and consignee | Exporter, consignee, buyer |
| Detailed description, marks and numbers | Each line’s description; marks and numbers |
| Quantities | Each line’s quantity and unit |
| Purchase price of each item, and the currency | Unit price; currency |
| Every charge by name and amount | Freight, insurance, packing, other charges |
| Rebates, drawbacks and bounties | Further declarations |
| Country of origin | Each line’s origin |
| Assists (dies, moulds, tools, engineering) | Further declarations |
What customs read on an invoice
- A detailed description
- What each article is, what it’s made of and what it’s for: “men’s knitted cotton T-shirts”, not “clothing”. General words such as “parts”, “samples” or “gifts” get parcels held, so the tool refuses them.
- The HS code
- Six digits are the same everywhere; the destination adds its own (10 for the US HTSUS). Since 24 July 2026 mail into the US needs the 10-digit code for CBP’s postal entry, so give the destination’s full code when you know it.
- Country of origin
- Where each article was produced, manufactured or assembled, not where it ships from. It decides the duty rate and any extra duties, and it is printed per line because one parcel can hold goods from several countries.
- Price and currency
- The price actually paid per unit, in the currency of the sale. For goods that aren’t sold, the value they would sell for. Undervaluing a parcel is a customs offence in most countries.
- Charges and Incoterms
- Freight, insurance and packing are listed on their own lines. The Incoterm says who pays carriage and duties: DAP leaves the duties to the buyer, DDP has the seller pay them.
- The signed statement
- The exporter declares that the invoice is true and correct and signs it. On a pro forma invoice the statement says the goods aren’t sold and the values are for customs purposes.
Before you send it
- Use the same values and descriptions as the courier booking and any electronic customs data: a mismatch is the commonest reason a parcel is held.
- Print two or three copies when the courier or the destination asks for them, and keep one.
- Gifts and samples still need a value: customs decide duty on what the goods are worth, not on what was paid.
- Put tax numbers where they belong: the exporter’s EORI or EIN with the exporter, the importer’s with the consignee or importer of record.
- Goods that need a licence or certificate: say so in Further declarations and attach the document.
From your own systems and agents
The same engine answers over the REST API and the MCP server with an account, charged in credits. In the browser, agents can use this page’s WebMCP tool without an account.
- WebMCP on this page
- create_commercial_invoice
Common questions
What is a commercial invoice?
The document an exporter issues for goods shipped across a border. It names the seller and buyer, describes each article with its quantity, price and country of origin, lists the charges and is signed as true. Customs use it to value and classify the goods, and couriers need it to clear the shipment.
What is the difference between a commercial and a pro forma invoice?
A commercial invoice records a sale. A pro forma invoice declares goods that aren’t being sold, such as gifts, samples, returns or repairs, with their value for customs. Both carry the same details and the same signed statement.
Does a commercial invoice need HS codes?
Most couriers and many customs authorities ask for one per line, and parcels clear faster with them. Mail into the US has needed the 10-digit HTSUS code since 24 July 2026. Paste a product page or describe the article and the tool finds the code for the consignee’s country.
What does a US commercial invoice have to show?
Under 19 CFR 141.86: the port of entry, the seller and buyer, a detailed description with marks and numbers, quantities, the price of each item and its currency, every charge by name and amount, rebates, the country of origin, and any assists. This tool has a place for each.
Can I make the invoice from a product page?
Yes. Paste the page’s address into a line and choose Fill from link: the tool reads the page and fills the description, price, HS code and, when the page says, where it’s made. Each lookup uses one free classification. Check every value before you sign.
Who signs the commercial invoice?
The exporter or someone authorised to sign for them. The signature confirms that the details are true; the person signing answers for them.
How many free invoices do I get?
Each visitor gets a few free documents, shared between the commercial invoice and air waybill generators and separate from the other free tools; the page shows how many are left. With an account, invoices cost credits in the dashboard, the API and the MCP server.
Sources
Other free tools
- HS code classifier
Describe a product or paste a product URL and get the HS, HTS, CN/TARIC, UK or Canadian code for its destination, with official descriptions and confidence.
- Landed cost calculator
Estimate duties, taxes and fees for parcels to the US, UK, Canada, the EU and more, from an HS code or a product description.
- Country of origin finder
Paste a product URL or give a title, description or barcode, and get the likely country of manufacture with its probability, alternatives and evidence.
- Air waybill generator
Fill an IATA air waybill, master or house, with a live preview, the check digit verified and the chargeable weight worked out, and download 3 originals or all 8 copies as a PDF.
- Denied-party screening
Check a person or company against denied-party and sanctions lists, including the US Consolidated Screening List, and see each possible match with its list and why it matched.
- CPSC eFiling checker
Every HTS code on CPSC’s eFiling list, and a check of whether a product needs a CPSC certificate at US entry (and which regulations it cites) or a disclaim.
- HS code from a photo
Upload a photo of the goods and get every item’s name, description, quantity, category, material, HS code, country of origin and value.