Guides / Importing fish and seafood · Updated 30 September 2026

Importing fish and seafood into Great Britain

Fish and seafood sit under two separate sets of rules at the GB border: animal-health controls for products of animal origin, and catch documentation designed to keep illegally caught fish out of the market. Both have to be right before the lorry or container arrives, on top of the ordinary customs declaration.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Two regimes, one consignment

It helps to think of a seafood import as three parallel workstreams. The customs declaration deals with duty, VAT and the commodity code. The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) workstream deals with whether the product is safe to enter, and runs through IPAFFS, health certificates and border control posts. The illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing workstream deals with where and how wild fish were caught, and runs through catch certificates.

A problem in any one of them can hold the goods, so it pays to know who in your supply chain owns each piece of paper. If a customs agent submits your declaration, check whether they also handle the SPS side or whether that stays with you or another party. Our guide to whether you need a broker covers how to split those responsibilities.

Animal-product controls: IPAFFS, health certificates and BCPs

Pre-notification in IPAFFS

Fish and fishery products are products of animal origin, so imports into Great Britain must be pre-notified in the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS). For products of animal origin from non-EU countries, gov.uk says you must notify at least one working day before the goods are expected to arrive at the point of entry. A step-by-step walk-through is in our IPAFFS pre-notification guide.

One detail that trips people up: IPAFFS asks for the IPAFFS commodity code, not the Trade Tariff commodity code you use on the customs declaration. The two are related but not interchangeable, so keep both to hand.

Health certificates

Under the Border Target Operating Model, products are grouped as low, medium or high risk. Medium and high risk consignments need a health certificate issued by the competent authority in the country where the goods originate. For fishery products, gov.uk notes that the certificate can be signed by a non-veterinary certifying officer qualified for the task. Low risk products need a commercial document instead of a health certificate.

Border control posts and checks

Freight imports of fish must enter Great Britain through a point of entry with a border control post (BCP) designated to check that commodity, unless the goods come from Ireland. Every consignment gets a documentary check; some also get identity and physical checks. Routing a load to a port or airport whose BCP is not designated for fishery products is an avoidable way to lose days.

EU and non-EU origin under the Border Target Operating Model

The Border Target Operating Model applies risk-based checks to both EU and non-EU goods, but the practical experience differs.

Point	EU origin into GB	Non-EU origin into GB
IPAFFS pre-notification	Required for all risk categories	Required, at least one working day before arrival
Health certificate	Medium and high risk	Medium and high risk (low risk: commercial document)
Entry point	Point of entry with a BCP designated for the commodity	Point of entry with a BCP designated for the commodity
Checking if you are called for inspection	Via GVMS for road movements, with IPAFFS showing the risk assessment	Via IPAFFS and the BCP

For EU goods, gov.uk sets out published inspection rates by category: high risk goods are inspected every time, medium risk goods between 1% and 30% of the time, and low risk goods are not routinely inspected but can face intelligence-led checks. Low risk non-EU consignments must still come through a BCP, though they may not get physical or identity checks.

Northern Ireland follows different rules for EU fish; this guide covers Great Britain only.

Catch certificates under IUU rules

Most imports of fish into the UK need a validated catch certificate. It is issued by the competent authority of the country where the fishing vessel is registered or licensed, and it records the vessel details, species, commodity codes and weight.

If the fish were processed or stored in a country other than the vessel's flag state, you also need a processing statement or proof of storage endorsed by the competent authority where that happened. This is common with fish landed in one country and filleted or frozen in another.

Catch documents are uploaded to IPAFFS, and to PHILIS where your port health authority uses it. Gov.uk sets submission lead times by transport mode:

Sea imports: 72 hours in advance
Air and rail imports: 4 hours in advance
Road imports: 2 hours in advance

Fishery products from recreational sea fishing may be treated differently; gov.uk advises contacting your port health authority for those.

The catch certificate and the health certificate are different documents from different authorities. A valid health certificate does not cover IUU requirements, and a catch certificate does not satisfy animal-health rules. Check you have both where both apply.

Customs classification basics

The customs side works as for any other import: you need the correct Trade Tariff commodity code, which drives duty and any preference claim, and a declaration in CDS. Fresh, chilled and frozen fish are classified differently from prepared or preserved fish products, so the form of the product (whole, fillet, smoked, cooked, canned) matters as much as the species. Confirm the code in the Trade Tariff before booking transport, and remember that the IPAFFS commodity code is a separate field. Our guide to the CDS import declaration explains what the broker files.

A practical sequence

Confirm the Trade Tariff code and the IPAFFS commodity code.
Check the product's BTOM risk category and whether a health certificate is needed.
Choose a point of entry with a BCP designated for fishery products.
Obtain the catch certificate and any processing or storage statements from the relevant authorities.
Pre-notify in IPAFFS and upload catch documents within the mode-specific lead time.
Lodge the customs declaration and, for EU road loads, follow the GVMS status.

For a supplier-facing overview written with UK–Poland flows in mind, see Plutos's guide to border controls for seafood.

Related guides

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.