what is the reference number I receive after submitting my due diligence statement

What the reference number means and how you use it

The reference number is proof that your due diligence declaration has been submitted and registered in the EU information system; together with the corresponding verification number, it forms the key with which you and others can find that declaration later. Both numbers appear in the register after submission and belong to that one declaration, not to an entire shipment or an entire supplier.

In practice, this number appears in multiple places. On import or export, it must be included together with the verification number in the customs declaration, so that customs can link the shipment to the underlying declaration; how that link works in detail is described on the page about how a due diligence declaration number is linked to the customs declaration. Anyone further down the supply chain who resells the same raw material often passes this number on to the next party, so that they can rely on the underlying declaration without having to draw up a new one themselves. Therefore, keep the number together with the rest of your file: it is not something you need only at the time of submission, but something you need to refer back to at every subsequent step in the chain.

Where this comes from: the EU information system and the submission obligation

The obligation to submit a due diligence declaration through the EU information system, and the role of the reference and verification number in it, follows from the provisions on the information system in Regulation (EU) 2023/1115. The system itself, in which declarations are registered and numbers are assigned, is accessible via the register of the European Commission. How the submission works in detail and what data is needed for it is set out on the pages about submitting a due diligence declaration step by step and about what data must be included in a due diligence declaration.