What Is a Due Diligence Statement Reference Number?

The number identifies a due diligence statement

An EUDR reference number is the identifier assigned by the Information System to an ordinary due diligence statement. It enables that statement to be identified in the regulatory and commercial workflow. It is often called the due diligence statement reference number, because the statement is the record it identifies. It is different from the declaration identifier assigned to a simplified declaration and from the verification number associated with either kind of submission. The presence of a reference number does not itself certify that the products comply.

Treat it as a link to a particular legal record. It is not a generic licence for the operator, a product certification number or an identifier for every commodity the supplier may sell in the future. A reference connected to one set of products and production origins cannot automatically cover a later purchase from different origins merely because the seller is unchanged.

Reference number or verification number?

The two numbers belong to the same submission but do different jobs. The reference number identifies the due diligence statement itself: it is the identifier passed to downstream businesses and used to connect the statement to the goods it covers. The verification number is a security number attached to the same record. Under Article 10(3) of the amended implementing rules, another user's access to a submission works through the relevant reference or declaration identifier together with its associated verification number.

Neither number certifies that the products comply. The reference number points to the operator's statement; the verification number protects access to that record. A simplified declaration carries a declaration identifier instead of a reference number, with its own associated verification number.

When the reference becomes available

Under the implementing rules, the system assigns the reference after completing the prescribed electronic risk profiling and makes it available with the associated verification number. Authorities can delay availability within the applicable legal framework. A draft saved internally or a request transmitted without a completed outcome should not be treated as though it already has an available reference.

The number's availability is a system event, not the end of all regulatory scrutiny. Competent authorities may still examine the statement and goods. A business should therefore record both the reference and the submission's status at the point when the record is used for a transaction, together with the evidence supporting the underlying operator decision.

Connect the reference to actual goods

The operator should be able to explain which products the statement covers. Keep the connection between the reference, internal product code, quantities, origin set and affected lots or consignments. The format of that internal allocation register is a business choice, but its purpose is practical: someone reviewing the shipment should be able to determine why the cited statement applies.

For example, a cocoa importer may have several shipments from the same exporting company but different producing areas. If the reference attached to a delivery note covers only one origin set, the importer needs a reliable way to avoid citing it against unrelated goods. A customer cannot solve that mismatch simply by checking that the characters form a valid reference.

The Information System guide explains the relationship between product evidence and electronic submissions. Establishing that relationship before numbers enter invoices and customs workflows reduces the risk of copying a real number onto the wrong consignment.

Communication to downstream businesses

Article 4(7) addresses the operator's communication of the relevant reference numbers or declaration identifiers to the downstream operators and traders it supplies. Article 5(3)(a) requires downstream operators and traders to collect those identifiers where their supplier is an operator, together with the specified supplier identity information. The revised text does not impose an identical identifier-collection rule at every later downstream transaction.

This means a purchaser should first identify its supplier's legal role. A direct purchase from an operator needs the associated statement or simplified-declaration identifiers under the provision. A purchase from a downstream operator or trader has a different statutory information position. Commercial traceability arrangements can include more information, but they should be described as such rather than presented as a universal legal requirement.

Customs use and identifier security

For relevant products entering or leaving the market, Article 26 contains the applicable customs presentation rules. Keep the customs-facing identifier consistent with the operator's submission and the goods declared. Do not substitute an internal purchase-order number, EORI number or verification number where the legal process calls for the statement reference or declaration identifier.

A verification number has a separate security purpose and should not be routinely displayed in public catalogues or unrestricted documents. The reference identifies the record; a reference-and-verification combination can affect access to its information. The verification number guide explains why access should be managed separately from ordinary transaction identification.

Grouping and changes to the controlling reference

The 2026 implementing amendment provides for grouping a user's own previously submitted statements or declarations, including the same-operator authorised-representative case. The grouped record represents and replaces the individual records for the specified purposes. Its identifier is then the identifier communicated or made available in place of those individual identifiers under the grouping provision.

Do not confuse this mechanism with a downstream business bundling unrelated suppliers' statements into its own ordinary declaration. The September 2026 user guide describes the interface grouping function; keep a replacement map in the internal records and verify any automated implementation against its supported API release. If a customer or customs process still holds an individual reference after an authorised grouping, staff should be able to identify the currently controlling record without losing the historical audit trail.

When a reference is received, capture who provided it and when, alongside its product association. This small amount of provenance helps resolve later disputes over whether the supplier changed the reference or the buyer copied it incorrectly. If a reference is replaced through a legally valid system action, retain both the historical value and the reason the new record controls instead of overwriting the old value without explanation.