Documents to Ship to Colombia: Requirements & Process

Quick Answer: Shipping to Colombia from the USA requires a commercial invoice (Factura Comercial) with itemized values, a Bill of Lading or Air Waybill, a packing list with weights and dimensions per package, and the importer's RUT/NIT. With AB Group Shipping, a 20 ft container to Cartagena starts at $756 (September 2026 quote, Miami).

Before anything else: Colombia approves no import licenses for used vehicles and parts, used tires, or used or irregular clothing, and weapons and explosives are reserved for the state-owned Indumil. If your cargo falls there, no documentos para enviar a Colombia will fix it — check legality first, then price the freight.

What documents do I need to ship a package to Colombia from the USA?

Quick Answer: You need a commercial invoice (Factura Comercial) with itemized values and an accurate description, a Bill of Lading for ocean or an Air Waybill for air, a packing list showing weights and dimensions per package, and the importer's RUT/NIT. Commercial cargo also needs a cargo manifest and, when a preference applies, origin proof.

The core set is short and non-negotiable. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Colombia - Import Requirements and Documentation page (March 2026) lists the invoice, the B/L or AWB, the packing list, and a certificate of origin when a preference applies.

DIAN, the Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales, is Colombia's customs authority. Its parcel verification procedure PR-COA-0176 requires an itemized commercial invoice with values and an accurate goods description. Vague wording is the fastest route to a documentary review.

Commercial cargo adds one more piece. Per Decreto 1165 de 2019, consolidated and containerized cargo also requires a cargo manifest alongside the B/L or AWB.

• Factura Comercial — line-by-line, with values, currency and country of origin
• Bill of Lading (ocean) or Air Waybill (air) — consigned to the correct importer
• Packing list — weights and dimensions per package, matching the B/L piece count
• Importer's RUT with NIT — the importer of record DIAN needs on file
• Cargo manifest — for commercial ocean and air consignments
• Origin proof — only when claiming a trade-agreement preference

One thing you do not need: an Andean value declaration for travellers' baggage and menaje de casa. Decreto 1165 de 2019 art. 327-6 excludes it outright.

What is a Factura Comercial and why does DIAN demand it?

Quick Answer: A Factura Comercial is the seller's itemized invoice showing each item, quantity, unit value, total value, currency and country of origin. DIAN uses the declared value to assess arancel and IVA, so vague descriptions like "gift" or "samples" are a common cause of holds at Colombian customs.

Per DIAN's own guidance on parcels, the authority uses the declared value to assess arancel and IVA. That makes the invoice the tax base, not a formality. Treat it like a legal filing.

How to build each invoice line

Every line must stand alone. An inspector should read one row and know exactly what is in the box.

• Full description in plain terms — brand, model, material, use
• Quantity and unit of measure
• Unit price and extended price, with the currency stated explicitly
• HS code at 6 digits minimum (10 digits helps your agencia de aduanas)
• Country of origin per line, not per invoice
• The Incoterm 2020 rule agreed with the buyer
• Full legal names of seller and buyer, with the buyer's NIT/RUT

"Assorted goods" on one lump sum triggers a documentary review almost every time. So does a value that does not match the market. The same discipline applies to spare parts shipments — see our Importing Auto Parts from USA to Guatemala: Full Guide for a worked example of line-item invoicing on a mixed parts order.

Vehicles: DIAN checks your number against its own

DIAN values imported vehicles using its own reference databases, per Oficio 30288 de 2019. A below-market declared value holds the cargo at port while the value is reviewed. Declaring a car low to save tax costs far more in storage and delay.

Which documents change by customs mode: courier, express, ordinary import or ocean cargo?

Quick Answer: The paperwork changes with the customs regime, not with the cargo. Courier and postal traffic are filed by the courier itself; ordinary import needs a full import declaration with an agencia de aduanas; consolidated ocean cargo needs a Bill of Lading, manifest and importer RUT/NIT. Moving between regimes changes the documents required.

Choose the regime before you pack, not after the cargo lands. DIAN's 2024 shipping guide is explicit that moving from courier shipments to consolidated cargo changes the applicable customs regime. That changes who files, what forms apply, and what the consignee must have registered.

For courier shipments, the courier files the import declaration with DIAN at destination, per Oficio 913042 de 2021. You hand over the invoice and the consignee data; the operator does the filing.

What documents does the Colombian consignee need: RUT, NIT and mandato aduanero?

Quick Answer: The consignee in Colombia needs a valid RUT with NIT to act as importer of record, plus a mandato aduanero when an agencia de aduanas or attorney files the declaration on their behalf without a customs endorsement. Without a matching RUT/NIT, DIAN will not release a commercial consignment.

A missing or mismatched RUT is a common reason a shipment stalls at destination. DDP shipments into Colombia require an importer of record with a valid RUT/NIT, per DIAN's RUT guidance. No RUT, no release.

When is a mandato aduanero required?

A mandato is required when a customs agency or attorney files the declaration and there is no customs endorsement, under Decreto 1165 de 2019 art. 177-7. In practice, most commercial importers sign one with their agency before the vessel arrives. Doing it afterwards wastes free days at the terminal.

The exception: personal effects and menaje

People under the menaje and travellers regime do not have to register in the RUT as customs users, per DIAN cartilla CT-COA-0125 (2022). For household goods, the transport document must be consigned to the owner of the menaje (Decreto 1165 de 2019 art. 283). If you are moving a home rather than selling goods, read our Moving Abroad From the USA: Complete Guide before you book.

When do you need a Certificate of Origin for Colombia?

Quick Answer: You need origin proof only when you claim a trade-agreement preference. Art. 177(4) of Decreto 1165 de 2019 requires the proof of origin set out in each agreement — which may be a certificate, a certification or a declaration of origin. Colombia's USD 200 express-shipment duty exemption requires no certificate of origin.

Most importers over-document this. A Certificado de Origen is not always the required document. DIAN's extract of art. 177(4) points to the proof defined in each specific agreement, so the US–Colombia agreement, the EU agreement and the CAN rules can each call for a different instrument.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Colombia guidance (March 2026) confirms the trigger: Colombian imports require a Certificate of Origin when a trade-agreement preference is applied. No preference claimed, no origin document needed.

Decreto 1090 de 2020 is equally clear in the other direction: Colombia's USD 200 duty exemption for express shipments does not require a certificate of origin. Sending a small express parcel? Skip the paperwork and focus on a clean invoice.

• The exporter or producer normally signs the origin document — not the freight forwarder
• Claiming US origin on goods manufactured elsewhere is a misdeclaration, not a shortcut
• Keep mill certificates, bills of material and supplier declarations on file
• Preferences can be audited after release, so the evidence must survive the clearance

Which goods need an INVIMA, ICA or other permit before shipping?

Quick Answer: Products controlled by INVIMA or ICA require the corresponding permit, obtained before the cargo ships. INVIMA covers products for human consumption; ICA issues sanitary import permits for animal products, vegetables, fruits, grains, pet food, dairy and seeds. The VUCE visto bueno is a pre-shipment step, not a destination fix.

This is where US exporters lose the most money. INVIMA's own guidance requires the visto bueno through the VUCE platform for products under its competence. If the cargo is already on the water without it, you are paying storage while you apply.

Per the USDA FAS FAIRS report on Colombia, ICA issues the sanitary import permits for animal products, vegetables, fruits, grains, pet food, dairy products and seeds. Food for direct sale to consumers must be registered with INVIMA.

On jewelry the US government trade guide (March 2026) is blunt: every piece, including gold, silver and gemstones, must go through a formal entry process or customs will seize the shipment. There is no informal path.

What can't you ship to Colombia, and what has no import license?

Quick Answer: Colombia approves no import licenses for used vehicles and parts, used tires, or used or irregular clothing. Weapons and explosives are reserved for Indumil. Used goods under the ordinary regime need a prior import license (licencia previa), and vehicles, motorcycles and boats can never travel as household goods.

Read this before you source product. According to the US government trade guide on Colombia (March 2026), no import licenses are being approved for used vehicles and parts, used tires, or used or irregular clothing. That single line kills a large share of US-sourced deals.

Used vehicles: not a pricing problem

Private individuals who are not diplomats cannot import used vehicles into Colombia. A used car cannot be legally imported and delivered at any cost, because the licensing regime approves no license for it. If you are shipping a new or treaty-qualifying vehicle, our Car Shipping to Colombia Calculator: Instant Rates covers the route and the paperwork.

Used goods and the licencia previa

Used goods imported under the ordinary regime need a prior import license, per Decreto 925 de 2013 arts. 4 and 14. That is a separate authorization step, not a document your forwarder issues.

• Vehicles, motorcycles and boats cannot travel as menaje doméstico (Decreto 1165 de 2019 art. 281)
• Artworks forming part of the Nation's cultural heritage sit outside the menaje list (Resolución DIAN 46 de 2019 art. 293)
• Weapons, explosives and related raw materials are strictly reserved for Indumil
• If your product appears above, no freight quote solves it — verify legality first

How does DIAN clearance work and what happens if the shipment is held?

Quick Answer: DIAN releases a shipment once the import declaration, the Factura Comercial and the importer's RUT/NIT match the cargo and any selected inspection is completed. Holds almost always come from a mismatch: wrong description, wrong value, missing permit, or a consignee name that does not match the RUT on file.

The sequence is predictable once you have seen it a few hundred times across the USA–Latin America corridor.

1. Transmit the cargo manifest with weight and number of packages (Decreto 1165 de 2019 art. 144).
2. File the import declaration through your agencia de aduanas — or the courier files it under postal/express.
3. Wait for selectivity: DIAN decides whether to inspect documents, the cargo, or neither.
4. Present the cargo if inspection is selected, with the file already complete.
5. Release once declaration, invoice, RUT/NIT and cargo all agree.

Which form applies to personal shipments

Household goods use Formulario 500 under subheading 9805.00.00.00, with the licence box left blank and a description giving brand, reference, serials and identifying numbers (DIAN cartilla CT-COA-0125, 2022, section 1.9). Unaccompanied baggage is declared on the travellers' declaration, Formulario 530 (Resolución DIAN 46 de 2019 art. 286). Menaje doméstico pays a single tax (tributo único) of 15% ad valorem in place of duty and IVA, under Decreto 1165 de 2019 art. 284 and Ley 488 de 1998 art. 92.

Hold triage: which document fixes what

Colombia's usual ocean arrival ports are Cartagena (COCTG), Barranquilla (COBAQ), Santa Marta (COSMR) and Buenaventura (COBUN). Cartagena has the best container port infrastructure in Colombia, which is why most of our USA–Colombia volume routes there.

What does shipping to Colombia cost, and how do Incoterms change your paperwork?

Quick Answer: Port-to-port ocean freight to Cartagena starts low and moves monthly; in September 2026 a 20 ft container from Miami quoted from $756 and a 40 ft HC from $972, with 4 days transit from Miami. Your Incoterm then decides who files, who pays duty and whose RUT appears on the declaration.

These are port-to-port prices from our quoting system, dated September 2026. They change every month — the price table under the opening answer updates itself, and the calculator on this page prices your exact origin today.

FCL 20ft

MiamiUSMIA

→

CartagenaCOCTG

from · Sep 2026 USD$756 Quote this route →

FCL 40HC

HoustonUSHOU

→

CartagenaCOCTG

from · Sep 2026 USD$972 Quote this route →

FCL 20ft

New JerseyUSNYC

→

CartagenaCOCTG

from · Sep 2026 USD$821 Quote this route →

Which gateway does your region use?

Your origin city decides your port, your price and your transit. Other US cities route through the nearest listed gateway at that origin's price, written approx. with the port it leaves from — Atlanta cargo, for example, moves approx. at the Miami rate out of PortMiami or Savannah.

• Florida → Miami
• Texas and the central states → Houston
• The Northeast → New York/New Jersey
• California and the Southwest → Los Angeles/Long Beach
• The Southeast → Savannah
• The Midwest → rail via Chicago to the nearest coastal gateway

Incoterms 2020: who owns the paperwork

DDP looks clean on a quote and exposes the US seller to import-side liability. It still requires an importer of record with a valid RUT/NIT in Colombia. DDP is not a shortcut around registration — it just moves the cost, not the requirement.

Taxes are not our prices

Colombia charges arancel by tariff classification plus IVA, and IVA is calculated on CIF plus tariff, not on CIF alone. Colombia also applies 19% IVA to local customs brokerage and storage services, per art. 468 of the Estatuto Tributario. For vehicles, Decreto 1432 de 2025 raised the tariff on gasoline and diesel passenger cars (heading 8703) to 40%; electric vehicles stay at 0%, and treaty preferences such as the US–Colombia TPA still apply.

Worked example, showing the math: a gasoline car with a CIF value of $14,000 and no treaty preference pays 40% tariff — about $5,600 — and IVA on $19,600, about $3,724. Your agencia de aduanas liquidates the final figure before DIAN. For general import basics on the US side, see CBP's Basic Importing and Exporting guidance.

Your next three steps before booking

Quick Answer: Confirm the product is importable, confirm the consignee has a valid RUT with NIT, then build the Factura Comercial and packing list so every description, value and piece count matches the Bill of Lading. Those three steps clear the large majority of commercial consignments into Cartagena without a documentary hold.

The documentos para enviar a Colombia are not complicated. They are unforgiving. Get the four core documents consistent, obtain any INVIMA or ICA permit before the cargo moves, and name your Incoterm in writing.

• Verify legality and licensing with a licensed agencia de aduanas before you buy inventory
• Collect the consignee's RUT, NIT and legal name before the B/L is cut
• Match invoice, packing list and B/L on description, value and piece count
• Decide your origin claim early, and keep the evidence on file for audit

For anything about Colombian duty rates, eligibility or specific regime rules not named here with its legal source, speak to a licensed customs agent or an international tax attorney. We are a freight forwarder, not legal counsel — and we would rather tell you that than guess. Need the freight side priced today? Use the calculator on this page to compare FCL, LCL, air and courier rates for your exact origin to Cartagena — real numbers in seconds, no email required and no follow-up calls.