Customs Clearance at 26 UK Seaports

One HMRC-authorised broker, one EORI, every major UK port. Declarations from £35, pre-lodged against the arrival so release is not waiting on paperwork.

Felixstowe

The UK's largest and busiest container port. Handling over 4 million TEUs annually with 40+ shipping lines.

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Southampton

UK's second largest container port. Expert handling for automotive, retail, and Ro-Ro cargo.

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London Gateway

Advanced deep-sea port and logistics hub on the Thames. Fast access to London markets.

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Tilbury

Port of London's fastest growing container hub. Gateway for FMCG, paper, and consumer goods.

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Liverpool

Primary gateway for transatlantic trade and north-west manufacturing. Key for Americas and Ireland routes.

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Dover

The UK's busiest Ro-Ro port. Critical post-Brexit gateway for European trade and FMCG.

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Hull

Strategic Northern Powerhouse gateway. North Sea routes and energy sector logistics hub.

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Immingham

The UK's largest port by tonnage. Key hub for bulk, container, and liquid cargo on the Humber.

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Grimsby

Leading automotive import hub. North Sea freight gateway for the East Midlands and Yorkshire.

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Teesport

Northeast England's premier commercial port. Specialist in chemical, bulk, and container logistics.

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Bristol / Avonmouth

Southwest England's gateway for international trade. Key for perishables, vehicles, and dry bulk.

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Belfast

Northern Ireland's premier gateway. Irish Sea routes and specialist post-Brexit customs support.

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Portsmouth

South England's ro-ro gateway for European ferry trade. Key route for France, Spain, and Channel Islands cargo.

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Harwich

East Anglia's gateway for North Sea ferry and container trade. Stena Line services to Hook of Holland.

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Sheerness

Kent's specialist vehicle and fruit import port on the Medway. Fast access to London and South East markets.

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Tyne (Newcastle)

Northeast England's deep-water port. North Sea bulk and container gateway for the Tyne industrial corridor.

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Grangemouth

Scotland's largest container port. Primary gateway for Central Scotland industry and North Sea energy supply chains.

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Aberdeen

Scotland's North Sea energy hub. Specialist port for offshore oil, gas, and renewables cargo clearance.

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Cardiff

Wales's primary commercial port. Bulk, container, and Ro-Ro gateway for Welsh industry and retail distribution.

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Newport

South Wales's steel and bulk cargo gateway. Specialist port for raw materials serving Welsh manufacturing.

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Swansea

West Wales port for metals, bulk, and energy cargo. Growing hub for South Wales supply chain logistics.

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Holyhead

UK's second busiest Ro-Ro port. Critical Irish Sea gateway for GB–Ireland trade and time-critical ferry freight.

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Heysham

Lancashire's Irish Sea ferry port. Key route for Ireland trade serving Northern England and Scottish Borders.

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Plymouth

South West England's ferry and cargo port. Brittany Ferries gateway for France and Spain trade routes.

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Poole

Dorset's natural harbour port for Channel Islands and France ferry cargo. Fast-clearance for perishables and express freight.

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Ipswich

Suffolk's inland port for bulk agri-commodity and container trade. Grain, malting, and food sector specialist.

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Need air freight customs clearance?

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For customs explainers and route planning insights, visit our customs and logistics blog.

24/7 clearance cover

Out-of-hours and weekend entries at every port on this page, so time-critical consignments are not held until the next working day.

HMRC-authorised, filed through CDS

Declarations from £35, filed by a named broker on our team. Thousands of entries a year. See our customs broker service.

One broker, 26 ports

The same team and the same EORI handle your entries wherever the cargo lands, so you are not re-appointing an agent per port.

How to choose a customs broker for UK port cargo

Most importers compare brokers on price alone and find the cheaper quote costs more once the container sits. Four things separate brokers on sea freight, and only one of them is the declaration fee.

1. Can they file before the vessel berths?

A declaration lodged against the arrival, rather than after it, means release is not waiting on paperwork. Where your documents allow it we pre-lodge, so the entry is already with HMRC when the cargo becomes available. Brokers who only file on arrival add a day to every container.

2. Do they cover the port you actually use — and the others?

Appointing a different agent per port means a different EORI arrangement, a different contact and a different set of errors at each one. We clear at all 26 ports listed above under one account, which matters the first time a sailing is diverted from Felixstowe to Southampton at short notice.

3. What happens outside working hours?

Demurrage does not pause at 5pm on a Friday. Ask what a broker does with a Saturday arrival. Ours are handled the same day; a broker without out-of-hours cover will hold the entry until Monday and the storage clock runs the whole weekend.

4. Is the fee the whole fee?

Our declarations start at £35. What varies is the number of commodity codes on the entry and whether the goods need a licence or a preference claim — not surprise handling charges added after the fact. Get the quote in writing with the line count assumed, and compare like for like.

Air freight instead? Air cargo arriving at Heathrow is cleared through customs at no charge — you pay only the HMRC duty and VAT actually due. See our UK airport coverage.

UK port customs clearance — common questions

Which UK ports do you clear customs at?

All 26 listed on this page, including Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway, Liverpool, Dover, Tilbury, Immingham, Grimsby, Teesport, Hull and Belfast. The same team files every entry, so using more than one port does not mean appointing more than one broker.

How much does customs clearance cost at a UK port?

Our declarations start at £35, plus the HMRC duty and VAT actually due on the goods. The fee varies with the number of commodity codes on the entry and whether a licence or preference claim is involved.

How long does port customs clearance take?

Where documents are complete and the entry is pre-lodged against the arrival, shipments are cleared within hours of the cargo becoming available. Delays are almost always a document problem rather than an HMRC one — a missing commodity code, an unsigned invoice or a mismatch between the packing list and the bill of lading.

Do I need a customs broker to import through a UK seaport?

Not legally — you can file your own declarations through CDS. In practice most importers use a broker because the entry needs a correct commodity code, a valid EORI and the right procedure code, and an error on any of them holds the container while storage accrues.

Can you clear cargo at a port you have not worked before?

Yes. Clearance is filed electronically through CDS, so the entry is not tied to a physical presence at the quay. If your port is not on this page, ask — the declaration process is the same.

Get your port cargo cleared

Tell us the port, the goods and the arrival date. You get a written quote with the declaration fee and the duty and VAT you should expect.

Declarations from £35 · HMRC-authorised · Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 10am–5pm