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Finalisation and check-in

After a GMR has been created using the Create Goods Movement Record endpoint your software will receive a notification providing the state of the GMR. At this point the state will be either OPEN or NOT_FINALISABLE.

If the state is NOT_FINALISABLE, your software will need to call the Update Goods Movement Record endpoint to resolve the ruleFailures listed in the notification. See the Create or update a GMR documentation for more details.

Once you have a GMR in an OPEN state, it is ready to be used for check-in at a GVMS port.

In previous versions of this documentation, there was a requirement for GMRs to be finalised before taking the goods to port. This is no longer necessary and the Finalise GMR endpoint has been removed from the API.

The check-in process

At check-in with the carrier it is important that:

  • the vehicle driver can present the Goods Movement Reference (gmrId), or has already provided it to the carrier while making the booking for the crossing
  • for accompanied movements, the registration number of the vehicle presenting the GMR at check-in matches the vehicle registration number recorded in the GMR
  • for unaccompanied trailer movements, the vehicle’s trailer identification numbers match those recorded in the GMR
  • for unaccompanied loaded container movements, the vehicle’s container reference numbers match those recorded in the GMR
  • the GMR presented is in an OPEN state

Depending on the carrier’s T&C’s you may be asked to present the gmrId in the following ways:

  • Enter a gmrId during the carrier’s booking process
  • Present a GMR barcode for scanning at check-in
  • Present a gmrId at check-in

Your software can create a GMR barcode by using the Code 128 linear barcode standard. Many software libraries are available that can perform this function for you. The value to encode is the gmrId as returned by this API (uppercase with no spaces or dashes).

Your software will receive two notifications when the vehicle successfully checks in. The first provides the updated GMR state of FINALISED indicating the GMR has been locked for further updates by the haulier. The second provides the updated GMR state of CHECKED_IN.