---
id: KB-AL-050
url: https://stage.codecontract.io/help/food-and-beverage/how-to-read-document-statuses-in-traces
idioma: en
categoria: sector-alimentacion
subcategoria: normativa-pesca
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-AL-044, KB-AL-045, KB-AL-047]
citadoPor: [KB-NO-010, KB-AL-043, KB-AL-047]
---

# How to read document statuses in TRACES

_Each status says who the document depends on now. Reading them is knowing who to call._

**Responde a:** 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

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.

> [!WARNING]
> 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.

> [!NOTE]
> **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.

## Ejemplos

**Three documents sit in «DRAFT» for weeks unnoticed.**

- Shows which formalities remain unfinished

→ They are closed before there is a rush.

**The authority is chased over a document that depended on you.**

- Records who each formality depends on

→ The call goes to whoever can resolve it.

**The decision lands in «Notifications» and nobody sees it.**

- Reflects the formality's status in the file

→ Follow-up does not depend on checking TRACES.

**You need to chase and nobody knows since when it has been stuck.**

- Keeps the date of each status change

→ The chase happens with dates.