Frequently asked questions about sending items abroad

No official paperwork, such as a customs declaration, is required for shipments sent to EU countries when shipments are non-commercial. For commercial goods deliveries, a commercial or pro forma invoice is required.

Yes, please use custom’s forms CN22 or CN 23 when sending goods. You can read more about custom declaration here. Please note that the sender is always required to check custom declaration rules of receiving country and act accordingly. Customs documents are subject to country-specific requirements. For instance, some countries require several copies of the CN23 customs declaration. You can check the country-specific requirements here.

For customs purposes, the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) regulations require exact electronic information about the sender, recipient and contents of items sent outside the EU. We will forward the information to the destination country’s customs via postal operators operating in the transition countries and the country of destination.

If you are sending the item outside the EU, notify Posti of the sender and recipient as well as the information required by the CN22 or CN23 customs declaration, both electronically and on the item. This information will be forwarded to the required parties when you enter it either here, via the contract customers’ sending channels or at a Posti outlet.

• Full name and address information of the sender and recipient

• Content information:

  • An accurate description and quantity of the goods in English, e.g., ‘men’s cotton shirt, 2 pcs’

  • The weight of each item in kg, e.g., the above-mentioned shirts, a total of 0.45 kg

  • The value and currency of each good, e.g., EUR 48.60

  • The total weight of the item

  • The total value and currency of the item

Voluntary delivery information:

• Customs tariff number (a minimum of six digits). The tariff number has particular significance in case of items sent for commercial purposes.

• The country of origin of the goods. This information has particular significance in case of items sent for commercial purposes.

If the electronic advance information is incomplete, the item may be sent back to the sender from the country of destination without an attempt to deliver it to the recipient. The sender is always responsible for submitting the information. Please note that we are unable to submit the information on the customer’s behalf.

Don’t forget:

• When sending commercial goods (sale of goods), it’s a good idea to include the tariff number as well as the country of origin of the goods.

• For further information on returning goods, go to the Finnish Customs website.

• When it comes to documents, it’s good to keep in mind that normal letters, postcards, Braille items and individual invoices are not considered goods; they can be sent without the electronic advance information and the CN22 customs declaration. However, a customs declaration can be used for document items to facilitate the customs processing, for example, if the item looks like a goods item due to its thickness

Private customers: Follow the same procedure as when sending items outside the EU. Corporate and contract customers: you can find handy tips in Posti’s release.

The changes applicable to postal traffic between the UK and Northern Ireland have not yet been fully implemented. Different parties are working on it, but due to the wide-ranging effects of Brexit, enacting the changes is taking time for reasons unrelated to us. When sending an item, you should select the UK as the country of destination in Posti’s customer interfaces until Northern Ireland becomes available as a separate country of destination. For now, you have to select the UK for the item and fill in the customs declaration. Northern Ireland will be added to the menu later on.