France’s Enveloppe Logistique Obligatoire (ELO) is a mandatory pre-crossing logistics envelope required by French customs (DGDDI) for road vehicles entering or exiting France on UK–France RoRo and Eurotunnel routes. It links the physical vehicle movement to the customs declaration MRNs and safety & security filings (ENS / ICS2) for that crossing — and without a valid ELO, the vehicle is refused crossing.
Customs Declarations UK is fully live with ELO, integrated directly with the French customs platform. Generate a compliant ELO barcode without leaving CDUK, completing the entire UK–France sequence — customs declaration, ICS2/ENS filing and ELO generation — in one place.
ELO is free with fair usage.
No hidden charges, no minimum commitments — for all existing and new Customs Declarations UK customers.
ELO generation is included at no extra cost for every CDUK customer — no hidden charges, no minimum commitments, no contractual lock-in.
Generate your ELO directly within CDUK — integrated with French customs and linked to your declarations in minutes.
What the ELO is, and who needs it.
The ELO is a mandatory pre-crossing document for all road vehicle movements — loaded or empty — crossing between the UK and France by RoRo ferry or Eurotunnel. Once generated, it produces a unique barcode (the Barcode Token) that the driver presents to French customs at the border, and it must accurately reflect every linked declaration for that movement.
One envelope, every reference
- Vehicle & crossing details — direction, truck type, loaded or empty
- Customs declaration Movement Reference Numbers (MRNs)
- Safety & security references (ENS / ICS2)
- Shipment flags — TIR/ATA Carnet, SPS goods, fish & seafood, empty packaging
- Produces a unique Barcode Token for the border
Required for every road crossing
- Hauliers and carriers crossing GB–France by road
- Import movements (UK → France) and exports (France → UK)
- Loaded trucks, empty trucks and specialist vehicle types
- Any movement where customs or ENS/ICS2 filings link to the crossing
- A permanent, non-negotiable operational requirement
ELO and ICS2 are two halves of one crossing.
The ELO does not exist in isolation. For goods moving from Great Britain into the EU — including France — safety and security data must be submitted via an ICS2 Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) before the crossing, and French customs requires the ELO to correctly reference that filing.
Customs Declarations UK supports ICS2 end-to-end across all transport modes — making it the only platform you need for the full UK–France sequence: CDS customs declaration, ICS2/ENS filing and ELO generation, all in one place, with no risk of data mismatches between filings.
Everything the ELO needs, in one platform.
From customs declaration to ICS2/ENS filing to ELO barcode, the entire compliance sequence for a UK–France road movement is completed in a single environment.
Direct French Customs Integration
CDUK connects directly to the French customs platform — envelopes generated here are fully compliant and accepted at all UK–France RoRo crossing points.
End-to-End Workflow
Customs declaration, ICS2/ENS filing and ELO generation in one platform — no external logins, no copy-pasting MRNs between systems, no duplicated effort.
Instant Barcode Generation
Once the ELO is accepted, the barcode and reference document are generated immediately — download and share with the driver in seconds.
Linked MRN Management
Add and manage all declaration MRNs within the envelope, with multiple MRNs per ELO and clear validation so it reflects the full load before submission.
Support for All Crossing Types
Handles every direction (UK → France, France → UK), all truck types (Plein / Vide) and shipment flags — TIR/ATA Carnet, SPS goods, fish & seafood, empty packaging.
Searchable Envelope History
Every ELO is stored and searchable by Transaction Number, Numéro Dossier, status and date range — a complete audit trail for every crossing.
From sign-up to barcode in four steps.
A straightforward path from onboarding to a border-ready ELO — existing CDUK users have immediate access, no extra setup.
Onboarding
Register and configure your account. Existing CDUK users have immediate access to the ELO module — no additional setup required.
File Your Declarations
Submit your customs declaration and ICS2/ENS filing through the guided wizards. Your MRNs are generated and stored, ready to link.
Create Your ELO
Select crossing direction and truck type, add your MRNs, confirm shipment flags and submit. The platform validates before submission.
Download & Go
On acceptance by French customs, your ELO barcode and reference document are ready to download. Share with the driver — ready to cross.
One platform for the whole UK–France crossing.
End-to-end compliance, integrated with French customs, on a secure cloud platform — free with fair usage and no contractual commitments.
- Free ELO with fair usage
- End-to-end UK–France compliance
- Direct French customs integration
- ICS2 / ENS integrated workflow
- Instant barcode generation
- Searchable envelope history & audit trail
- Secure, cloud-based platform
- No contractual commitments
The French ELO, end to end.
A high-level view of how the ELO links the vehicle, the customs declarations and the safety & security filing into a single border-ready envelope.
Read more: ELO audits on the rise — why post-clearance is the new front line for customs compliance
Generate Your ELO — Free, in Minutes
ELO is free with fair usage for every Customs Declarations UK customer — no hidden charges, no minimum commitments. Complete the full UK–France sequence — customs declaration, ICS2/ENS and ELO — in one place. Running regular Channel routes or higher volumes? Get in touch and we’ll help you get set up.