GUIDE 01 · 6 MIN READ · UPDATED SEP 2026
What is a DDS? The due-diligence statement, explained.
The due-diligence statement is the EUDR’s central document — one form, filed before market access, backed by your evidence. Here’s what it is, who files it, and what goes in it.
What a DDS is and who files it#
A due diligence statement (DDS) is the declaration every operator files before placing covered commodities on the EU market — or exporting them. It records that due diligence was exercised: that the products are deforestation-free, produced in line with the relevant legislation of the country of production, and covered by a risk assessment.
Who files: the operator — the person or company placing the product on the market for the first time, or exporting it. Downstream traders don’t re-run due diligence where the rules let them reference the original DDS number instead (as amended).
What it must contain#
The DDS references, for each product: the description and quantity (HS code, trade name, mass where applicable), the country of production and parts thereof, and — the part everyone remembers — geolocation of all plots of land where the commodities were produced.
It also states the conclusion of your risk assessment. If you rely on third-party information or tools, they slot in as complementary information under Art. 10(2) — the DDS conclusion remains yours.
“A DDS is a claim you sign with evidence behind it — the work is having that evidence organized before you sign.”
Where TRACES fits#
DDS filings go through TRACES, the EU’s traceability system. Filing returns a DDS reference number that customs and downstream operators reference — the number is what links your shipment to its due diligence.
In practice: run due diligence, file the DDS in TRACES, receive the reference number, attach it to the consignment. No reference, no market access for covered goods.
What “negligible risk” means in practice#
Your DDS states a risk conclusion. “Negligible risk” means a competent operator, on the evidence available, found only a vanishingly small chance that the product falls short — plots deforestation-free after 31 December 2020, legally produced, no adverse signals.
For standard-risk origins you’ll carry real evidence per plot: geolocation, screening against satellite datasets, supplier documents. The conclusion is a judgment you document — not a feeling.
How evidence packs make DDS prep boring (the goal)#
Most DDS panic is retrieval panic: the facts existed somewhere, but assembling them per shipment is the pain. An evidence pack — plot geolocation, screening results with dataset versions, custody chain, timestamps — turns filing into assembly instead of archaeology.
That’s the goal state: boring, repeatable DDS preparation. Free tools, including our scope-checker, exist to get your plots and evidence in order before the deadline.
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See how an assembled evidence pack looks — open the sample pack (DEMO).
SEE A SAMPLE EVIDENCE PACK (DEMO)