Benefit Info

Certificates of Origin

American World Trade Chamber of Commerce

Create, submit, and print electronically certified documents right at your own desk.

Electronic Certificates of Origin provide easier and faster Customs clearance and productivity gains for companies.

The Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce (NOACC), through a partnership with the American World Trade Chamber of Commerce, offers electronically chamber stamped Certificate of Origin and export related documents.

Ensure your process is compliant and future proof by enabling document verification. The authenticity of each document can be verified by customs worldwide through the International Chamber of Commerce Accreditation Chain at certificates.iccwbo.org. For full document verification visit CertificateofOrigin.com.

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What is a Certificate of Origin?

A Certificate of Origin (CO) is an important international trade document attesting that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured, or processed in a particular country. COs also constitute a declaration by the exporter.

Millions of COs are issued every year, facilitating trade around the world. Since as early as 1898, Chambers of commerce have been issuing non-preferential COs.

The 1923 Geneva Convention and subsequent Kyoto Convention have seen governments formally recognize the important role chambers play in this domain, deeming them competent authorities and credible trusted third parties in the issuance of COs.

Virtually every country in the world considers the origin of imported goods when determining the duty that will be applied to the goods or, in some cases, whether the goods may be legally imported at all.

In addition, COs may be needed to comply with letters of credit, foreign customs requirements, or a buyer’s request.

Beyond the CO—Legalization

Certain countries, primarily those that are non-signatories to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, require commercial documents to be legalized by the country’s US Embassy or Consulate. Depending on invoice value, embassy fees can run into thousands of dollars in some countries, so exporters must be aware of these requirements.

The most common countries requiring embassy or consulate legalization include: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Paraguay, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Qatar, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen.

Next Steps

Our chamber, in partnership with AWTCC, offers this service to system users. Each document is quoted on an individual basis prior to processing.

If you are already a member of a NOACC Chamber of Commerce, please check their website for this service and register there. LINK TO CHAMBER MAP. If you wish to register through NOACC, simply request legalization service using Registration button below.  Each unique document will cost $50 USD to verify using this program through NOACC.