EUDR DDS reference number: which number do you need?

Four identifiers that should not be mixed up

DDS reference number

Assigned by the Information System to identify the DDS. Use the number associated with the relevant goods, not a number copied from another shipment.

Verification number

A separate security number issued by the Information System. The documented retrieval operation uses it together with the DDS reference number. Treat the pair as controlled information, not a public link to publish on your website.

Submission UUID

The technical identifier returned by the V3 submission operation. It lets an integration retrieve the DDS overview; it is not a substitute for the DDS reference number.

Internal reference

Your own identifier for the record. It helps reconcile a submission with your system, but does not become an official DDS number.

The Commission’s V3 DDS reference documents these separately. A simplified declaration identifier belongs to an SD, not a DDS. Eligible micro or small primary operators follow that separate declaration route.

When do the numbers become available?

The Information System assigns the DDS reference and verification numbers. In the V3 API, submitDds returns a UUID. An integration then retrieves the overview using getDds or its internal reference. The overview contains the statement’s status and identifiers. A successful transport response or a UUID alone should not be recorded as a completed customs handoff.

1. Keep the submission response and your internal record together.
2. Retrieve the statement and confirm its current status and issued identifiers.
3. Match the result to the right goods and production environment before passing it on.

If you are preparing the statement by hand, leave those system-issued fields empty in your DDS preparation worksheet. Inventing a plausible-looking number cannot reserve one.

Who must receive and retain the reference?

Under the Commission’s current roles guidance, the upstream operator passes its DDS reference number to its direct downstream buyer. The first downstream operator or trader collects and keeps the reference number or simplified-declaration identifier for at least five years. It does not need to pass that number on to its own buyers.

That is different from saying that every buyer must submit another DDS, or that everyone in the chain must receive the verification number. Work out your role for the relevant transaction before designing requests to suppliers. If someone needs access to statement content, confirm their permitted access and the required identifiers separately.

Which number does customs need?

Where Article 26(4) applies, the person lodging the customs declaration makes the DDS reference number or applicable simplified-declaration identifier available to customs before release for free circulation or export, unless the statement is made available through the specified electronic interface. The provision does not identify the verification number as that reference.

The amended provision excludes exports by downstream operators from this requirement. Read Article 26(4) in the context of the transaction rather than applying a blanket rule to every export. Check the relevant national customs instructions for the declaration field and document code; this guide does not prescribe a universal field mapping.

A number is not proof that the goods comply. Customs release itself is not proof of EUDR compliance either, as Article 26(10) makes clear. The evidence supporting the due diligence conclusion still matters.

What should you check when a number is missing?

• Only a draft exists. Check whether the statement was actually submitted. A saved preparation record is not a submission receipt.
• You have a UUID, but no DDS number. Retrieve the overview and inspect the status. Do not replace the missing number with the UUID.
• The statement cannot be found. Check the legal entity, account access and environment. Acceptance and production are separate; an acceptance record is not a production filing.
• The reference and verification pair fails. Check that both came from the same statement, without transcription errors. Confirm access and the statement’s current status with its issuer.
• A submission timed out. Reconcile the outcome using the available identifiers before submitting again. A timeout does not tell you whether the server created the statement.

The documented reference-and-verification retrieval operation has access restrictions; it is not an anonymous public lookup. Use the official Information System and access guidance for your account. If the issue persists, provide technical support with the environment, timestamp, operation and non-sensitive error details. Share identifiers through an appropriate private support channel.

Can one reference cover several shipments?

Yes, where the DDS covers those goods and the legal requirements remain satisfied. The Commission’s due diligence guidance allows a reference to appear in several customs declarations when the DDS covers multiple shipments or batches. Keep an allocation record so the quantity and goods remain within what the statement covers.

For your own records, retain the product or lot, environment, internal reference, submission UUID where applicable, official reference, current status and the time you checked it. Restrict access to verification numbers. These are practical record-design suggestions, not a new mandatory template.

Reviewed 6 September 2026 against the consolidated EUDR, current Commission roles guidance and V3 API documentation. General operational guidance, not legal advice.

Keep each reference connected to the right goods

The submission walkthrough shows where an internal reference gives way to a system-issued number. If your team reconciles those outcomes by hand, we can help scope status and identifier handling within your existing systems.