---
id: KB-AL-047
url: https://stage.codecontract.io/help/food-and-beverage/how-to-create-a-simplified-catch-certificate
idioma: en
categoria: sector-alimentacion
subcategoria: normativa-pesca
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-AL-044, KB-AL-046, KB-AL-050]
citadoPor: [KB-AL-030, KB-AL-046, KB-AL-050]
---

# How to create a simplified catch certificate in TRACES

_The one for small vessels. Fewer boxes, but a longer signature path: exporter, authority, exporter again._

**Responde a:** simplified catch certificate · simplified catch certificate traces · small vessels catch certificate · when to use the simplified catch certificate · validating authority notified status

The simplified certificate exists for catches from **small vessels**, and its name slightly misleads: it does have fewer boxes than the ordinary one, but **the signature path is longer**. It goes through you, then the authority, then you again, with a different status at each hop. Whoever treats it as «the easy one» is surprised to find it does not end on submission.

## The full path, with statuses

| Who acts | What they do | Resulting status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exporter | Creates and submits for validation | VALIDATING AUTHORITY NOTIFIED |
| Authority | Verifies and decides in «Box 5» | VALIDATING AUTHORITY SIGNED |
| **Exporter** | **Completes transport and signs** | **VALID** |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **The third row is the forgotten one.** When the authority signs, the document looks finished — and it is not: you still have to complete transport and sign. A simplified certificate left in «VALIDATING AUTHORITY SIGNED» is one step from useful and is not useful, and nobody warns you because technically everything is fine.

## Phase 1 — Create and submit for validation

1. **Go to «Documents» → «CATCH»** — You need the «fishing exporter» activity approved.
2. **Click «+ Catch Certificate» → «Create new Simplified Certificate»** — A distinct option from the ordinary certificate, under the same button.
3. **Select the product codes** — By Harmonised System, six digits.
4. **Fill «Validating Authority» and «Box 4» (Exporter)** — The two initial mandatory fields. Then «Save as Draft».
5. **Complete the «List of Vessels» tab and «Box 2»** — Species, vessels —«small vessels» only— and quantities per vessel. In Box 2, the conservation measures.
6. **Click «Submit for Validation»** — It lands in «VALIDATING AUTHORITY NOTIFIED».

## Phase 2 — What the authority does

1. **Completes the national document number** — Not something you enter.
2. **Verifies the information and decides in «Box 5»** — «Validated» or «Not validated».
3. **Signs with «Sign declaration as [authority]»** — The document moves to «VALIDATING AUTHORITY SIGNED».

## Phase 3 — Closing it yourself, the step people forget

1. **Open the «Transport details» tab** — Export country, port or airport of departure, destination point, means of transport and container numbers.
2. **Sign with «Sign as [operator]»** — Only now does it reach «VALID».
3. **If needed, add the next operators** — «Next operator(s)» section on the same tab, via «Update next operators». Optional.

> [!WARNING]
> Check before starting that the catch fits: **the simplified certificate is for «small vessels»**, and that condition is not decided by which formality is more convenient. If the vessels are not, the correct document is the ordinary one, and discovering that after the authority has signed means redoing it entirely by the other route.

> [!NOTE]
> **Procedure verified in 2026-08** against the European Commission's official help (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/IMSOC/tracesnt-help), simplified catch certificate. TRACES is operated by the Commission and **may change without notice**. Whether this applies to you and with what scope is for the competent authority and your adviser to determine.

**Does it end when the authority signs?**

No: you still complete transport and sign for it to reach «VALID».

**When do I use the simplified one instead of the ordinary?**

It depends on the vessels. If they are not «small vessels», the ordinary one applies.

**Are next operators mandatory?**

That section is optional; it is updated with «Update next operators».

## Ejemplos

**The document stays in «VALIDATING AUTHORITY SIGNED» and nobody closes it.**

- Warns about formalities still unfinished

→ The last step is not forgotten.

**The simplified route is chosen with vessels that are not small.**

- Records the vessel type before choosing the document

→ Redoing it by the other route is avoided.

**Container numbers are missing when signing transport.**

- Gathers transport data before the final phase

→ The signature happens in one go.

**Nobody knows what status each in-progress certificate is in.**

- Shows the status of every formality in one list

→ Follow-up stops being opening TRACES one by one.