Guinea-Bissau
Certificado Electrónico de Embarque
CEEElectronic shipping certificate
Shipments to Guinea-Bissau need a CEE (Certificado Electrónico de Embarque). Once the CEE reference for Guinea-Bissau is issued, the original bill of lading must follow within 5 days, or the certificate is cancelled.
When is it required?
Once the CEE reference for Guinea-Bissau is issued, the original bill of lading must follow within 5 days, or the certificate is cancelled.
Who applies?
The shipper or the freight forwarder files it.
How long does it take?
Draft the same day once the application is complete.
Guinea-Bissau CEE guide
Who runs it, where the cargo discharges, and the rules your file is checked against.
- Issuing body
- Conselho Nacional de Carregadores da Guiné-Bissau (CNC)
- Port of discharge
- Bissau
Rules to know
- The final, dated master bill of lading is needed before validation.
- Shipper, consignee and notify party addresses must be the same on every document.
- The weight on the export declaration must match the bill of lading.
- The statistical value on the export declaration must match the commercial invoice.
- For shipper-owned containers, the tare weight must be shown on the bill of lading.
- The authority does not require the CEE number on the master bill of lading, but some carriers ask for it.
Documents to prepare for Guinea-Bissau
Tick what you already have. Send them when the list is complete, or send what you have now and we tell you what is missing.
List from our operations team, updated 4 August 2026.
Before you apply
Send your documents, we check them first
Upload the draft bill of lading or invoice. We check the details the CEE needs and tell you what to fix before anything is filed.
- Your files go only to our certificate team.
- You decide whether to apply after our reply.
In 2011, Guinea Bissau authorities implemented a new regulation. This regulation made the CEE certificate mandatory for all sea cargo coming to Guinea Bissau. If a shipment arrives without one, they’ll be facing severe consequences and enormous amounts of penalty fees. But if you are using Guinea Bissau for transit purposes, in some cases, a CEE certificate might not be necessary. The CEE is mandatory for all ports such as Port of Bissau.
Although it is a mandatory and crucial certificate, most people overlook and miss this certificate way more often than it should be.
What is Guinea Bissau CEE?
CEE stands for Certificado Eletronico De Embarque. It is the equivalent of the ECTN (Electronic Cargo Tracking Note) certificate, and its name is quite explanatory. It enables authorities to track, manage, and supervise all cargo from loading to discharge. Additionally, it provides them with the necessary information before the shipments arrive at the destination. The document includes details about the exporter, the importer, the goods being transported and their value, the cost of the freight, the type of shipment, the name of the vessel, and more.
What are the required documents?
- Bill of Lading: It contains details about the exporter, the importer, the weight of the goods, the shipping line, the vessel name, etc.
- Commercial Invoice: It includes the details of the goods, the freight cost, the incoterm, and some other charges if there is any, etc.
- Freight Invoice: This is only a required document if the freight cost is not on the commercial invoice.
- Export Customs Declaration: Customs Officials of the exporter country prepares this document, and it lists the goods being transported and contains some important details of them.
- Tax Payers ID Number: The importer must provide it. It is also known as the NIF Number.
What are the consequences of not having it?
The CEE must be validated five days before the vessel arrives at the latest. If you don’t meet these requirements, there will be a cost twice the amount of the CEE cost plus the regulation charges determined by the Guinea Bissau National Port Officials.
Pricing
Certificate cost depends on the number of Bill of Ladings and the containers, the country of origin, the port of discharge, etc. This is why we can’t give you an exact price for the CTN. But if you share your shipment’s details with us we can send you an exact quote for your certificate. We offer free quotation.
Memberships and certifications
Membership
Certifications
- ISO 9001:2015Quality management
- ISO 14001Environmental management
- ISO/IEC 27001Information security management
