Kenya ACD 🇰🇪

The Kenya Advance Cargo Declaration, or ACD, is a mandatory pre-arrival cargo declaration used to provide Kenyan Customs with shipment, vessel, exporter, importer, and cargo information before the goods arrive at a Kenyan port.

It may be compared with cargo-tracking systems known in other countries as CTN, ECTN, BSC, or BESC.

The Kenya ACD is scheduled to launch on 3 August 2026 for containerized cargo destined for Kenyan ports.

Send us the following documents:

• Draft Bill of Lading
• Commercial invoice
• Freight invoice
• Export declaration

The documents should contain consistent cargo, container, shipper, consignee, freight and voyage information.

It must be endorsed on the Bill of Lading before the shipment proceeds to Kenya.

You can send the available documents for an initial assessment and quotation.

The systems perform a similar cargo-declaration and tracking function. The terminology differs by country.

Kenya officially uses the name Advance Cargo Declaration, abbreviated as ACD.

Failure to obtain a valid ACD may lead to:

• Customs-clearance delays
• Fines
• Additional port or storage costs
• Cargo rejection
• Shipment disruption
• Seizure or confiscation in severe cases