Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) - A Key Transition for RoRo Trade with the United Kingdom

Mise à jour le 11/08/2025

Version française

The Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) will be deployed in the spring of 2025 at the smart border between France and the United Kingdom.

ELO will consolidate all the necessary information and declarative formalities for crossing the border under a unique barcode, thus simplifying and securing the smart border process. Starting in April 2025, truck drivers (whether loaded or empty) will need to present a single ELO reference to cross the smart border, both for imports and exports.
The creation of ELO will take place before crossing the border, by a single person designated by the various stakeholders in the logistics chain. The ELO manager will also answer questions pertaining to the nature of the goods covered by the ELO.

Access to ELO

Since April 28, 2025, you are able to access the ELO application through your personal portal on douane.gouv.fr
You will need to create a personal account on douane.gouv.fr if you do not already have one. 
The process to create an account is easy but is only available in French. The following link is a user guide in French to create your account on douane.gouv.fr : S'inscrire et créer un compte personnel sur douane.gouv.fr | Portail de la Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects
Once you are logged into your account, search "ELO" in the search bar to find the enw ELO application. No prior registration is necessary to access ELO. 
 
We also invite you to regularly consult the website "Météo informatique des services en ligne" where you will find communication related to any ongoing IT issues that you may encounter: Météo des services en ligne
 

 

 

Deployment Calendar

ELO will be gradually deployed between April and September 2025, to allow economic operators and other stakeholders to adapt their operational methods. 

  • 28th April 2025 : ELO was released and is now ready for use
  • April to August 2025 : Transitional phase
  • Fall 2025 : ELO becomes obligatory

 

SI Brexit / ELO : Situation Report - August 2025

 

ELO, launched on 28 April 2025, secures the Brexit Smart Border crossing by grouping customs declarations under a single barcode.

Since 14 July, over 4,200 trucks per week have been using ELO for export (over 12% of the traffic) and around 400 trucks for import (1.4%). Usage for empty trucks remains marginal (1%), even though no obstacles exist: operators are therefore encouraged to create ELOs for these crossings without delay.

Fixes and developments

To ensure the smoothest possible transition to mandatory ELO usage, the following fixes and improvements have been deployed:

ELO – 12 June 2025 (version 7.2.6)
• Fixes for PDF download issues and non-compliant export MRNs;
• Improved labels in French and English.

DELTA IE Import Module – 24 June 2025 (version 1.3)
• The “boarding” event sent by ferry companies now allows automatic validation of import declarations during the crossing. The process for using the smart border with import declarations lodged in DELTA IE Import Module is now fully operational.

ELO EDI – 4 August 2025 (version 7.2.6.2)
• Fix for a non-systematic issue of multiple responses to a single request.

Outlook and upcoming milestones

Presentation of an ELO will be mandatory in autumn 2025 (transition period extended beyond 1st September). A communication will be issued to set the date, with sufficient preparation time provided.

In the meantime, operators are encouraged to use ELO:

  • for empty trucks (import/export);
  • for full trucks at export;
  • for full trucks at import when safety and security declarations are lodged in ICS2.

For detailed information on these changes, please consult the attached notice.
Operators are also invited to consult the dedicated notice

Updates will be published regularly.

An ELO user guide is available below under « Documents ». In the event of an anomaly, operators should first contact the transport company used (rail or ferry).

Documents
Brexit Archives
Important Regulatory Information
News
Useful Links