REX number: the Registered Exporter that self-certifies origin (2026 guide)

One invoice, one sentence, zero certificate

Your leather-goods supplier in India sends an invoice for a $60,000 order. To import into the EU at the preferential rate instead of the standard MFN duty, you need no certificate stamped by Indian customs. All it takes is one sentence — the statement on origin — printed on the invoice, followed by an identifier: the exporter's REX number.

The Registered Exporter system (REX) quietly retired a stack of paperwork. No more Form A endorsed by the authorities in the country of origin, no more three-week round trip: the registered exporter certifies origin itself, under its own liability. But that simplicity hides precise rules — a threshold, a mandatory wording, and agreements that do not use REX at all. Getting it wrong costs the entire preference.

This guide explains what REX is, when it applies (and when EUR.1 still rules), the pivotal EUR 6,000 threshold, the registration process, and three worked examples for importers and exporters.

What is the REX system?

REX is the self-certification of origin system introduced by the European Union (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, Articles 78 to 93). Instead of asking an authority for a preferential certificate of origin, the exporter is registered once in a database run by the European Commission, receives a REX number, and then places it on every statement on origin it draws up itself.

The mechanism rests on accountability: the exporter declares that its products meet the rules of origin of the agreement (sufficient processing, cumulation, local-value thresholds). Customs can verify after the fact and, in case of a false declaration, reclaim the evaded duty and impose penalties. It is the same logic as the approved exporter status, but generalised and paperless.

REX covers three families of flows: exports from GSP beneficiary countries to the EU, exports from the EU to new-generation agreement partners (CETA, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore), and certain re-consignments under regional cumulation.

REX or EUR.1: which applies?

This is the number-one confusion. The proof of origin depends on the trade agreement, not the product. Here is the split in force in 2026:

Simple rule: GSP and next-generation agreements = REX (self-certification). Mediterranean association and pan-Euro-Med agreements = EUR.1 (customs endorsement). For the paper certificate in full, see our dedicated EUR.1 guide.

The decisive threshold: EUR 6,000 per consignment

This is the figure to memorise. Below EUR 6,000 of originating products per consignment, any exporter can make out a statement on origin without being REX-registered — the wording alone suffices. Above it, the REX number becomes mandatory on the document.

Two classic traps. First, the threshold is assessed on the value of originating goods only, not the invoiced total (freight and non-originating products excluded). Second, it is assessed per consignment: artificially splitting to stay under EUR 6,000 is treated as circumvention, exactly like splitting under the de minimis threshold.

How to obtain a REX number

The process is free and done once:

• EU: the exporter must first hold an EORI number, then file the application with the competent customs office. The REX number is issued within a few days to two weeks.
• GSP beneficiary country: the application goes through the local competent authority (customs or trade ministry), which registers the exporter in the Commission's REX system.
• Validity: no expiry. The number stays active as long as the declared information (company name, activity, products) remains accurate. Any change must be reported.

Once registered, the exporter adds the prescribed statement-on-origin wording to each relevant invoice — a fixed text set out in the annexes to the regulations, not to be paraphrased.

Three worked examples

Example 1: leather goods from India to the EU (GSP)

Without a valid REX number on the invoice, the EU importer pays the full MFN duty. With a complete statement on origin, the GSP preference applies. On a $60,000 order, even a mid-single-digit duty rate is several thousand dollars — all hinging on one sentence and an identifier correctly placed on the document.

Example 2: UK importer verifying a supplier's REX

A common error for UK importers is assuming an EU REX statement works for a UK claim. It does not: since Brexit the UK operates the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, with its own self-certification. Reusing an EU REX statement gets the preference refused on the CDS declaration. See our post-Brexit UK import guide for the CDS side.

Example 3: small $5,000 consignment

A small exporter shipping occasional low-value lots can certify origin without registering. As soon as consignments exceed EUR 6,000, registration becomes essential — so it pays to register early rather than scramble on a large order. For the sourcing angle, see our importing from India guide.

Conclusion: origin is proven, not assumed

REX simplified the proof of origin but shifted the liability onto the exporter. A savvy importer systematically checks three things before claiming the preference: that the agreement is REX-based (not EUR.1), that the number appears on the invoice above EUR 6,000, and that the statement wording is exact. Those three checks are often worth several thousand dollars in duty.

To go further, pair this with our guide to customs value (the base the duty applies to) and our method for classifying a product under the right HS code — because without correct classification, no rule of origin can be applied.