D.R. Congo FERI certificate

Who issues the FERI, and what it links to

The FERI — Fiche Électronique de Renseignement à l’Importation — is issued under the authority of OGEFREM, the Office de Gestion du Fret Multimodal, the DRC’s public freight-management body headquartered in Kinshasa. It is the country’s national form of the cargo tracking note, and it is mandatory for every shipment.

What makes the FERI different from most cargo tracking notes is that it does not sit on its own. It reconciles the Bill of Lading, the freight value and the cargo value from origin through to final import, and it is tied to two identifiers belonging to the Congolese importer:

• The importer’s FXI licence number
• The importer’s OGEFREM shipper subscription number

Neither of these belongs to you as the shipper. Both have to come from your consignee before the declaration can be completed, which is the single most common reason a DRC shipment stalls at the documentation stage.

The shipper subscription number

Since 1 October 2025, OGEFREM has required a shipper subscription number on every FERI application. Applications without one are rejected. The requirement comes from Ministerial Decree N° 010/CAB/VPM/MIN/TC/2019.

The number is tied to an annual Shipper Subscription Card held by the DRC-based importer, valid for one calendar year from January to December. Importers apply either in the DRC or through an OGEFREM representation office abroad.

If you are shipping to a Congolese importer for the first time, ask for their FXI number and their current-year subscription number at the quotation stage — not when the container is booked. A card that expired in December will hold your shipment in January.

Timing, and why it is not the same as elsewhere

Most cargo tracking notes are judged against the loading date. The FERI is judged against arrival: the certificate should be validated before the vessel enters Congolese territorial waters, tracked from the manifest.

In practice that gives a little more room than a strict pre-loading rule, but it is not a reason to delay. We open the file as soon as the draft Bill of Lading exists and validate immediately after departure, which leaves time to correct container numbers or a revised invoice value before the deadline closes.

Ports, and cargo that never touches a Congolese port

The FERI covers the Congo River ports of Matadi, Boma and Banana. But a large share of DRC-bound cargo never passes through them.

Freight for the eastern provinces — Goma, Bukavu, Lubumbashi — routes through Dar es Salaam or Mombasa and moves overland. Neither Tanzania nor Kenya requires its own cargo tracking note for cargo in transit to the DRC, so the FERI is the only tracking document needed for the sea leg.

Cargo discharged outside the DRC and moving overland additionally requires an Attestation de Destination, the Certificate of Destination. Southern routings through Walvis Bay and Durban work the same way. If your cargo is discharged anywhere other than Matadi, Boma or Banana, tell us at the outset — the document set changes.

What OGEFREM checks

Congolese customs use FERI data to verify declared values, and the DRC scrutinises valuation more closely than most destinations on this list. The freight value on the declaration is checked against the freight invoice, and the cargo value against the commercial invoice.

Each FERI is tied to one shipment: one Bill of Lading, one vessel, one freight cost, one incoterm, one import licence. It cannot be reused or split. If the vessel changes or containers are amended, the declaration must be corrected before arrival.

What happens without one

Cargo cannot be cleared in the DRC without a validated FERI. Checks are carried out at DRC entry points, at origin, and in transit for cargo continuing by road or rail — so a missing certificate can surface long before the container reaches Matadi.

Where a shipment arrives uncovered, the exporter or shipper is required to regularise the certificate at the port of discharge and incur the penalty, which is assessed as a multiple of the standard fee. Demurrage runs throughout.

Air freight and overland

The FERI is not limited to sea freight. Air shipments into Kinshasa and road or rail cargo crossing DRC borders both require certification, with an Air Waybill or road manifest in place of the Bill of Lading. If you are moving something by air into the DRC, the requirement still applies.