DOCS

Supporting documents

Upload the customs paperwork your shipments need and attach it to your products, so it follows them onto every order and shipment.

Beyond U.S. government agency screening, some postal shipments need supporting paperwork to clear customs or to claim a benefit—like a certificate of origin for a trade agreement, or a Section 232 certificate for steel and aluminum. Upload these documents once and attach them to the products, orders, or shipments they apply to. Attach a document to a product and it automatically follows that product onto future orders and shipments, so you aren't re-uploading the same paperwork every time.

You provide supporting documents only when they apply to your goods—not for every item or postal shipment. Where a U.S. government agency requirement is flagged for you and enforced at the border, a supporting document is something you choose to attach to claim a benefit or meet a specific need.

Document accuracy and validation 

When you upload a compliance document, Zonos attaches it to your products and shipments and uses it for customs clearance. You are responsible for making sure every document you upload is genuine, accurate, current, and valid for the claim it supports — uploading a document is an attestation that it is correct.

Zonos honors the documents you provide, but a document that is invalid, incorrect, expired, or that doesn't match the goods or the claim you're making won't hold up — and can lead to clearance delays, duty and tax adjustments, penalties, or a rejected claim at the border. For example, a certificate of origin that doesn't actually qualify under the free trade agreement you're claiming will fail at customs regardless of whether it's on file with Zonos.

Zonos validates the documents you upload. A document that backs a specific claim — like a certificate of origin for a free trade agreement — is verified against that claim. Validation helps you catch problems before a shipment moves, but it does not change your responsibility for the accuracy and validity of what you upload.

What you can upload 

  • Certificate of origin — a preferential certificate claiming a free trade agreement.
  • Country of origin certificate — confirms where a product was made.
  • Section 232 certificates — country of smelt, country of cast, country of melt and pour, and country of pour certificates for steel and aluminum products. There is no official government form for these, so Zonos accepts your own certificate for the required information.
  • Material certificate and mill test certificate — document a product's material makeup.
  • Commercial invoice, customs bond, Importer Security Filing (ISF), and packing list.
  • Power of attorney — authorizes your customs broker to act on your behalf.
  • Other — any supporting document that does not fit the categories above.

Claiming a free trade agreement? For the free trade agreements Zonos supports and what each one requires to use on a shipment, see the Free Trade Agreements guide (coming soon).

Supported files 

  • File types: PDF, JPG, PNG, CSV, TXT, XLSX, and ZPL.
  • Maximum size: 25 MB per file.
  • One file per document. To store more than one file, upload each as its own document.

Upload a document 

Attach a document from your catalog—to one or many products at once—or from a single product's detail page.

Manage your documents 

Select Compliance documents under Products to see every document you have uploaded, with its type, how many products it is associated with, its expiration, and upload date.

  • PGA checks — How Zonos screens your catalog items for U.S. agency requirements.
  • Section 232 — U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, and derivative products, and the certificates importers must provide.
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