Free Excel template
Customs inventory list template
When you ship your household goods to another country, customs and your mover usually want a list of what’s in the shipment: box by box, item by item, with values. This free Excel template has the columns for it, totals that add themselves up, and a filled-in example. No sign-up.
Customs inventory list template
Excel (.xlsx). Opens in Google Sheets and Numbers too.
What’s in it
- Your list: the columns below, with room for 300 things and totals that add up as you type.
- Example: a few made-up boxes, filled in, to copy the style from.
- How to fill it in: the steps below, so they’re there when you need them.
| Box | Room | Item | Description | Quantity | Value each | Total value | Shipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kitchen | Dinner plates | White stoneware | 6 | 10 | 60 | To follow |
| 1 | Kitchen | Blender | Countertop blender, serial no. on the base | 1 | 90 | 90 | To follow |
| 2 | Office | Laptop | 14-inch laptop, model and serial no. from its label | 1 | 450 | 450 | With me |
| 3 | Hall closet | Winter coats | Wool and down coats | 3 | 100 | 300 | To follow |
| 4 | Living room | Books | Hardcovers and paperbacks | 24 | 5 | 120 | To follow |
| Total | 1020 | ||||||
The columns
- Box
- The number written on the box, so the list and the box match.
- Room
- Where it was packed, or where it goes in the new home.
- Item
- What it is, specifically: “dinner plates”, not “kitchen”.
- Description
- Brand, model and serial number for electronics and appliances; anything that tells it apart.
- Quantity
- How many.
- Value each
- What one is worth now, used: not what it cost new.
- Total value
- Works itself out: quantity × value each.
- Year bought
- Roughly when you got it. Things bought recently can be treated differently.
- New or used
- Used for anything you’ve had and used; new if it’s unused.
- Shipment
- With me, or to follow (in a later shipment), for destinations that ask.
- Notes
- Anything else: fragile, a receipt you have, a gift.
How to fill it in
- 1Ask your mover or customs broker which format they need, and check your destination’s official customs site. Some countries have their own form.
- 2Number every box, and use the same number in the Box column.
- 3List each thing specifically as you pack it. A vague line like “35 boxes, personal effects” is the kind that gets questions.
- 4Give each thing its value now, used, in the currency your mover or customs asks for.
- 5Add brand, model and serial numbers for electronics and appliances.
- 6If your destination asks what arrives with you and what comes later, fill in the Shipment column.
- 7Keep a copy. Send the list to your mover or broker, or copy it onto the official form if there is one.
Or let BoxTrack make the list
Snap what goes in each box and Pax lists it, with values. Export the whole list to Excel in one tap, box by box with totals (on your free box, then on Plus and Unlimited), and tag things Ship to export only what goes in the container. You send it to your mover or copy it onto the official form: BoxTrack doesn’t fill in or file official forms.
First box free. No card needed.
Questions
Is this an official customs form?
No. It’s a plain valued inventory list. Some countries have their own form (Canada’s BSF186, for example), and your list makes filling it in quicker. Ask your mover or customs broker which format they need.
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Yes. Open the .xlsx file in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers or LibreOffice. The totals work in each of them.
What value should I put?
What each thing is worth now, used, not what it cost new. Customs uses the list to check that what’s in the shipment matches what you declared, so honest used values are best. Keep receipts for anything new.
What if my destination wants the list in its language?
Some do, and some want it signed by you. For Spain, brokers ask for a valued inventory in Spanish, signed by the person moving. Plain, specific item names make the list easy for a translator to work from.