How to Import Atlantic Salmon from Norway to the UK: The Controls, Documents and Checks, Step by Step

How to Import Atlantic Salmon from Norway to the UK: The Controls, Documents and Checks, Step by Step

Atlantic salmon from Norway is fishery product of animal origin. That single classification decides every control, document and check that follows.

If you're importing Atlantic salmon from Norway to the UK, the route is well-trodden and entirely workable — Norway is an approved third country for fishery products, and thousands of consignments clear every week. But it is not check-light, and it is not duty-by-default. Your salmon is a product of animal origin (POAO), specifically a fishery product, which means it falls under sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls at the GB border. In practice that means three things have to line up before the fish reaches a plate: a pre-notification raised in IPAFFS that generates a CHED-P, an export health certificate (EHC) signed by a Norwegian official vet, and a customs declaration in CDS. The consignment lands at a Border Control Post (BCP) designated for fishery POAO, where it faces documentary, identity and — depending on risk — physical checks set by the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).

This guide walks the whole thing end to end. Where a rule can change, I'll say so — and you should always check the current position for your specific commodity and route on GOV.UK, or ask us.

Is Atlantic salmon classed as a product of animal origin (POAO)?

Yes. For import purposes, Atlantic salmon from Norway is a fishery product of animal origin (POAO), and that classification is what triggers SPS controls at the GB border. It doesn't matter whether the salmon is wild or farmed, whole or filleted, chilled or frozen — it is POAO, and the documentary, identity and physical check regime follows from that.

This is the point that catches first-time importers. "It's farmed, not wild" feels like it should change something — it doesn't change the controls. Nor does "it's just fish, not meat". POAO is a broad category that covers fishery products alongside meat, dairy and eggs. Per GOV.UK's guidance on importing animals, animal products and food, fishery products from a listed third country are subject to SPS import controls and must enter through an appropriate BCP. Norway is a listed third country for fishery products, which is precisely why this route works — but "works" still means "follows the full POAO process".

The form your salmon takes does matter for two downstream decisions: the commodity code you declare (chilled, frozen, fresh, smoked and prepared products sit under different codes), and the risk category BTOM assigns it (which sets your check frequency). We'll come to both. But the gateway classification — POAO, fishery product — is fixed.

What documents do I need to import salmon from Norway to the UK?

You need three core documents, each owned by a different party: an export health certificate (EHC) signed by a Norwegian official veterinarian, a CHED-P generated from your IPAFFS pre-notification, and a customs declaration submitted in CDS. Get all three right, in the right order, before the consignment arrives, and the fish moves. Get one wrong, and it waits.

Here's what each one is and who is responsible for it.

The export health certificate (EHC). This is the official document, signed by a competent authority in Norway (an official vet), that attests the salmon meets GB import health requirements. It is not a letter your supplier writes in their own words — it is a model certificate, a published template, completed and signed by the certifying officer. The relevant model for fishery products is published by APHA/Defra, and your Norwegian supplier's certifying vet must use the current version. Model certificates get revised; the version signed last quarter may not be the one APHA expects this consignment to carry. Confirm the certificate version before the consignment is certified, not after it lands.

The CHED-P (Common Health Entry Document). This is the pre-notification you — the importer (or your agent acting for you) — raise in IPAFFS (the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System). For POAO, the document is a CHED-P (the "P" is products of animal origin; you'll also see CHED-A for live animals, CHED-D for certain feed and food not of animal origin, and CHED-PP for plants and plant products — define each once and the family makes sense). The CHED-P tells the BCP what's coming, when, and from where. Critically: raising the CHED-P is your responsibility, not your freight forwarder's. Your forwarder books the crossing; the pre-notification is on you. This is the single most expensive misconception in the chain.

The customs declaration. Norway isn't in the EU customs union, so this is a genuine customs import, declared in CDS (the Customs Declaration Service). You'll need the correct commodity code, the customs value, and — because of the UK–Norway trade relationship — the right preference and origin treatment if you're claiming reduced duty. Origin isn't automatic; salmon farmed and processed in Norway will normally qualify, but you claim it correctly or you don't get it.

A note on the supporting paper that travels with these: a commercial invoice, packing list, and transport documentation (the CMR or equivalent). The BCP's identity and documentary checks reconcile what's declared against what's certified against what's physically present. If those three don't agree, that mismatch is where holds start.

How does the import process work, step by step?

The process runs in a fixed sequence: classify and source, certify in Norway, pre-notify in IPAFFS before arrival, declare in CDS, then clear documentary, identity and physical checks at the designated BCP. Each step gates the next. Skip the order and you create a hold rather than a clearance.

Here is the end-to-end flow.

1. Classify the goods and confirm the route. Establish the commodity code for your exact product (chilled fillets and frozen whole fish are not the same code), confirm Norway's listed status for that fishery product, and identify a BCP designated for fishery POAO on the route you're using. Not every port is designated for every product type — your salmon can only land where the BCP is approved to handle fishery POAO. Per GOV.UK's published list of designated BCPs, this is checkable in advance; do it before you book, not after.

2. Arrange certification in Norway. Your supplier's certifying official vet completes and signs the correct, current model EHC for the fishery product. This happens before the consignment leaves — the certificate must match the consignment that actually travels.

3. Pre-notify in IPAFFS (raise the CHED-P). You (or your appointed agent) submit the pre-notification, generating the CHED-P, at least one working day before arrival — but check the current minimum notice period for your commodity, as these windows are set by GB import rules and can change. Miss the window and the consignment can be refused entry; for chilled salmon, refused entry means losing the cargo. The CHED-P declares the commodity, the BCP of arrival, the EHC reference, and the expected arrival window. Each of those fields has a hold attached if it's wrong.

4. Submit the customs declaration in CDS. Declare the import, the commodity code, the value, and the origin/preference claim. This can be handled by your customs agent, but you remain responsible for its accuracy.

5. Arrival and checks at the BCP. On arrival, the consignment faces checks in this order: a documentary check (does the EHC and CHED-P paperwork stack up?), an identity check (does the consignment match the documents — seals, marks, species?), and, if selected, a physical check (inspection, and potentially sampling). The documentary and identity checks happen first, and most chilled-salmon holds start there, not at the physical stage.

6. Release. Once checks are satisfied and customs is cleared, the BCP releases the consignment and the salmon completes its journey to your cold chain.

How often will my salmon be physically checked at the border?

Check frequency is risk-based, set by the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM). Defra's BTOM assigns fishery POAO a risk category, and that category — combined with the country of origin and the specific product — determines the percentage of consignments selected for identity and physical checks. Lower-risk goods are checked less often; the documentary check applies to all.

This is the part an ops lead most wants to predict, and the honest answer is: you can't predict any single consignment with certainty, but you can know your category. Per Defra's Border Target Operating Model, fishery products from listed third countries sit within a defined risk tier, and physical-check rates are set against that tier rather than applied to every load. A consignment that passes documentary and identity checks cleanly, with no anomalies, is less likely to be pulled for physical inspection — which is exactly why getting the EHC and CHED-P precisely right is the highest-leverage thing you control.

One caution on currency: BTOM has phased in changes to how fishery POAO is treated, and risk categorisations are reviewed. A routing or classification you set a while ago may now direct your salmon differently. If you haven't reviewed your setup recently, treat that as a live action — check the current rules for your commodity, or ask us.

A worked example: a chilled salmon consignment from Norway

Take a real-shaped scenario. You're an importer bringing chilled Atlantic salmon fillets from a processor outside Bergen into GB on a refrigerated truck via a short-sea route. Here's how the controls land on that specific consignment.

Before anything moves, you've confirmed the commodity code for chilled fillets and checked that your intended arrival BCP is designated for fishery POAO. Your supplier's official vet completes the current model EHC for fishery products, matched to the exact consignment — species, quantity, processing establishment approval number, and the storage and transport conditions. That certificate now defines what must arrive.

You raise the CHED-P in IPAFFS the working day before arrival, entering the EHC reference, the commodity, the arrival BCP and the window. Your customs agent submits the CDS declaration with the commodity code and your origin/preference claim under the UK–Norway arrangement. The truck crosses.

At the BCP, the documentary check reconciles the CHED-P against the EHC — references match, the certificate is the current version, signed and complete. The identity check confirms the species, the seals and the establishment marks match what's declared. Because chilled fishery product is perishable and the paperwork is clean, the consignment isn't selected for physical inspection on this occasion. It's released and moves into your cold chain.

Now change one detail: the EHC carries last quarter's certificate version. The documentary check flags it. The consignment is held while the discrepancy is resolved — and chilled salmon doesn't pause cheaply. A perishable hold compounds by the hour. That's the difference a single field makes, and it's why the work happens before the truck leaves, not on arrival.

How does this interact with commodity codes, duty and labelling?

Three adjacent mechanisms ride alongside the SPS controls: the commodity code (which sets duty and feeds the IPAFFS declaration), duty and origin (Norway is outside the EU customs union, so duty isn't automatically nil), and labelling for onward sale in GB. Each is a separate workstream, and each can hold or cost you if you treat it as an afterthought.

Commodity codes. The code isn't just a customs formality — it determines your duty rate and must align with what you declare in IPAFFS. Chilled, frozen, fresh, smoked and prepared salmon products classify differently. Get the code wrong and you risk both an incorrect duty position and a mismatch between your customs and SPS declarations. If you've been using an inherited code without checking it against the current tariff, that's worth a review; a wrong code is one of the more common reasons importers overpay duty.

Duty and origin. Because Norway sits outside the EU customs union, importing salmon from Norway is a customs event with a duty question attached. The UK and Norway have a trade relationship that can reduce or remove duty on qualifying goods, but the preference is claimed, not granted by default, and it depends on origin. Salmon farmed and processed in Norway will generally meet origin rules — but you claim it correctly in CDS, with the right documentation, or you forfeit it.

Labelling for onward GB sale. Once cleared, salmon sold in GB must meet GB food information rules (the retained FIC framework) — accurate species naming, allergen handling, storage instructions, and where relevant the catch/production method and origin information consumers expect on fishery products. Labelling is a separate discipline from the border controls, but it's the same consignment — and it's far cheaper to get the label right before print than to discover a problem after the fish is in the country.

The point of naming these three here is simple: the border clearance is necessary but not sufficient. A consignment can clear the BCP perfectly and still cost you money through a wrong commodity code, an unclaimed duty preference, or a labelling problem that surfaces at the retailer. Treat the SPS controls, the customs position and the in-market requirements as one job.

Bringing it together

Importing Atlantic salmon from Norway to the UK is a defined, repeatable process — not a black box. It starts from one classification (fishery POAO), runs through three documents (EHC, CHED-P, CDS declaration), and lands at a designated BCP where documentary, identity and risk-based physical checks decide whether the fish moves or waits. The leverage is almost entirely in the preparation: the right commodity code, the current EHC version, an accurate CHED-P raised inside the notice window, and a correct customs and origin position. Do that work before the truck leaves Norway, and the border is the easy part.

Rules change — BTOM categories, notice periods and model certificates all get revised — so check the current position for your specific commodity and route on GOV.UK, or talk to us.

Something held, or moving soon? The Falsum Helpdesk triages live customs and SPS issues — tell us the goods and the route, and we'll tell you exactly what you need. Find us at support.falsum.co.uk.

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