The Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) is a commerce department form (Form 7525-V) that is required by law to enable the Census Bureau to compile official U.S. export statistics. This form is required for materials originating in the United States or Puerto Rico only.

The conditions under which an SED must be filed are as follows:

• The value of a single Schedule B commodity exceeds $2,500.00

• The shipment is traveling under an export license

• The destination includes territories that are currently experiencing strained relations with the United States such as Cuba

Shipments from the U.S. to Canada do not have to be reported in an SED except those requiring an export license.

How Do I fill out the form?

Most shippers will fill out the form on AESDirect.gov. The unfortunate thing is that when you register you need to take a tutorial and pass a certification exam to show that you know how to use the site before you can actually use the site. This can be frustrating especially if you are under a time constraint. In addition the tutorial which must be downloaded is a little confusing at first. It is ironic that the tagline for AESDirect is “Reducing Export Stress With AES” as my stress level increased dramatically when I found out that I had to sign up, take tutorial and certification exam before I could use their system.

The certification exam is made up of 30 questions and you must score 90% to pass the exam. In order to facilitate your tutorial process we have outlined the information that is important to AESDirect. This outline along with the tutorial should help you pass the certification exam on the first go around.

How do I pass the Automated Export System (AES) tutorial.

The tutorial is broken down into 5 segments:

• Introduction to AES

• USPPI Profile Maintenance

• Consignee Profile Maintenance

• Freight Forwarder Profile Maintenance

• Creating a Shipment

Important Lessons from the tutorial

Here are some points that were emphasized in the AES tutorial that you may miss taking the exma the first time around.

1. Do not use “&” when filling out form.

2. Do not use “-” when filling out form.

3. After entering information hit Tab and/or enter to proceed.

4. To retrieve a shipment you need a shipment number.

5. When the shipment is retrieved you get access to the USPPI, ITN and XTN

6. To check the status of a shipment you go to the shipment report center and you get an email message.

7. AES assigns the ITN number.

8. To delete a shipment you need the USPPI and the shipment number.

9. Consignee profiles are linked to USPPI

10. Freight Forwarder profiles are linked to USPPI and must be created by the USPPI

11. All profiles can be searched by name.

12. Each USPPI profile contains company information and cargo origin information.

13. You need a cargo origin information for all shipment locations.

14. One profile can have many cargo origin locations.

15. To fill out a USPPI profile you need a company name, EIN, contact name and number.

16. When looking for a USPPI you can enter part of name and look up corresponding USPPI for a match.

17. When you select the USPPI the EIN get populated in the shipment declaration being prepared.

18. The USPPI need to fill out the profile for the freight forwarder.

19. The consignee profile gets attached to a USPPI.

20. The freight forwarder or the USPPI fills out the consignee information.

21. When creating a shipment you can add more that one email for responses by separating them by commas.

22. The shipment number is always created by the shipper up to 17 characters and must be unique.

23. Transport reference is mandatory for vessel shipment.

24. There is a lookup table for port of exports codes. Input a “?” to get to table.

25. There is a lookup table for port of unlading codes. Input a “?” to get to table.

26. Input departure date using the following format mm/dd/yy.

27. Fill in the best estimate for the date of departure if you do not know it for sure.

28. Mode of transport has to be filed in.

29. When there are various segments involved in the shipping of an international item such as manufacture, shipment, usage etc., the USPPI is always the entity in the US that benefits monetarily from the shipment.

30. Each SED created has to be connected to a USPPI.

31. To input the Schedule B or Harmonized Tariff Code use the line item option.

32. There is a lookup feature for Schedule B or Harmonized Tariff Code.

33. Schedule B or Harmonized Tariff Code is a 10 digit number.

34. Do not use any “.” in the number.

35. The quantity of the commodity is always in units designated in the Schedule B or Harmonized Tariff Code rounded up to the next whole number.

36. Commodity value is always in dollars.

37. Commodity gross weight must be in kilograms.

38. Although a commodity does not require an export license it still may require and SED.

39. Clear section will clear everything from a particular section.

40. The number of profiles templates that can be created is neither 1000 nor 50.

More about Automated Export System (AES)
Shipper Export Declaration-Frequently Asked Questions

The following two sources provide more detailed information about Automated Export System (AES):

Electronically Submitting Your Shipper’s Export Declaration - The Automated Export System (AES) was implemented to provide an alternative method for exporters to submit their Shipper’s Export Declarations (SEDs) as well as ensure compliance with the applicable laws governing the exportation of … HR 5828 Would Significantly Change the Current AES Environment - See “Foreign Trade Regulations: Mandatory Automated Export System Filing for All Shipments Requiring Shipper’s Export Declaration Information,” 70 Federal Register 2005 (February 17, 2005). As the Federal Register notice’s title …

Good Luck and Good Shipping

Your How To Ship Advisor