CTC Traders API

Available in Sandbox Yes
Sandbox base URL https://test-api.service.hmrc.gov.uk
Available in Production Yes
Production base URL https://api.service.hmrc.gov.uk

Overview

Use the CTC Traders API to:

  • send departure and arrival movement notifications to the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS)
  • retrieve messages sent from customs offices of departure and destination

The API endpoints relate only to Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

You can also use the HMRC sandbox environment to run tests for Great Britain and Northern Ireland transit movements.

Version 1.0 of the API supports only NCTS phase 4. Version 2.0 of the API supports only NCTS phase 5.

For a detailed overview of v1.0 of the API, see CTC Traders API phase 4 service guide. For a detailed overview of v2.0 of the API, see CTC Traders API phase 5 service guide.

Changelog

You can find the changelog for v2.0 of the API in the common-transit-convention-traders GitHub wiki.

Errors

We use standard HTTP status codes to show whether an API request succeeded or not. They are usually in the range:

  • 200 to 299 if it succeeded, including code 202 if it was accepted by an API that needs to wait for further action
  • 400 to 499 if it failed because of a client error by your application
  • 500 to 599 if it failed because of an error on our server

Errors specific to each API are shown in the Endpoints section, under Response. See our reference guide for more on errors.

Testing

You can use the HMRC Developer Sandbox to test the API. The Sandbox is an enhanced testing service that functions as a simulator of HMRC’s production environment.

Versioning

When an API changes in a way that is backwards-incompatible, we increase the version number of the API. See our reference guide for more on versioning.

Endpoints

View API endpoints
Why do these endpoints look different?

The endpoints for this API now use the Open API Specification (OAS).

The API has not changed. You do not need to make any updates to your application if you already use this API.

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