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How to read document statuses in TRACES
Each status says who the document depends on now. Reading them is knowing who to call.
The question that repeats most during a season is not how to fill anything in: it is «why is this still stuck?». And the answer is always in the status. Each one says exactly one thing —who the document depends on right now— and reading it correctly is the difference between calling somebody who can unblock it and somebody who cannot.
The map: what each status means and what to do
| Status | Depends on | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| DRAFT | You | It is half-done: complete it |
| NEW | The circuit already started | It was submitted; wait |
| VALIDATING AUTHORITY NOTIFIED | The authority | Await their decision |
| VALIDATING AUTHORITY SIGNED | You again | Transport and your signature are missing |
| ENDORSING AUTHORITY NOTIFIED | The authority | Processing Statement awaiting endorsement |
| DECLARING AUTHORITY NOTIFIED | The authority | Non-manipulation under verification |
| VALID | Nobody | Finished |
Important
The two rows in bold are the ones that cost money, and for the same reason: both are cases where the ball is in your court and it does not look like it. A forgotten `DRAFT` and an unclosed `VALIDATING AUTHORITY SIGNED` are documents nobody is processing, that raise no error, and that nobody chases because from outside they look in progress.
How to review them without opening TRACES one by one
- 1
Go in via «Dashboards» → «My pending certificates»
The view built for this, avoiding document-by-document checking.
- 2
Filter in «Documents» → «CATCH» by «Certificate status»
The same filter needed to create a Processing Statement.
- 3
Check «Notifications», top right
Where authority decisions arrive.
- 4
And consult the document's «History» tab
It says what happened and when, which is what you need to chase with grounds.
Watch out
A habit that removes half the emergencies: check statuses as routine, not on incident. A stalled document does not announce itself. If review only happens when somebody asks about one consignment, the rest stay stalled — and are all discovered together, on the day there is a rush.
Worth knowing
Statuses verified in 2026-08 against the European Commission's official help (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/IMSOC/tracesnt-help). TRACES is operated by the Commission and may change without notice. Whether this applies to you is for the competent authority and your adviser to determine.
›My document has been in «DRAFT» for days.
«DRAFT» means it is half-done and depends on you: nobody else will move it.
›The authority signed — is that it?
Not for the simplified one: you must complete transport and sign to reach «VALID».
›Where do I see what happened and when?
In the document's «History» tab.
A real case
The situation
Three documents sit in «DRAFT» for weeks unnoticed.
What you do
- Shows which formalities remain unfinished
What you get
They are closed before there is a rush.
The situation
The authority is chased over a document that depended on you.
What you do
- Records who each formality depends on
What you get
The call goes to whoever can resolve it.
The situation
The decision lands in «Notifications» and nobody sees it.
What you do
- Reflects the formality's status in the file
What you get
Follow-up does not depend on checking TRACES.
The situation
You need to chase and nobody knows since when it has been stuck.
What you do
- Keeps the date of each status change
What you get
The chase happens with dates.
This article answers
- catch certificate statuses in traces
- what does validating authority notified mean
- endorsing authority notified what to do
- my certificate is still in draft
- traces nt manual document statuses