Export License Verification
Export authority fails late and expensively: a transaction that survives counterparty and commodity checks can still die at the port because the seller's export documentation was fictional, expired, or belonged to someone else. Verifying it early is cheap; discovering its absence after payment is not.
What export authority looks like
Producing jurisdictions typically require some combination of: an export license or permit for the commodity class, per-shipment authorizations, mineral-specific certificates (for example Kimberley Process certificates for rough diamonds), and tax or royalty clearances. The exact stack is jurisdiction-specific — which is the point: a seller who cannot name their jurisdiction's stack has never exported from it.
Verifying with issuers
Licenses verify with their issuing ministries and agencies, by license number and holder name. In many jurisdictions this is a slow, manual, but answerable process — and brokers of legitimate standing in-country can usually confirm within days. An export license that can only be verified by the seller who produced it is unverified.
Check the license holder matches the selling entity exactly: licenses are not transferable in most regimes, and 'we export under our partner's license' is a claim requiring its own complete verification chain.
Verification checklist
- Identify the full export documentation stack for the commodity and jurisdiction
- Verify license numbers with the issuing authority
- Match the license holder exactly to the selling entity
- Check validity dates and quantity ceilings against the transaction
- Confirm commodity-specific certificates (e.g. Kimberley) where applicable
Paste the offer, email or chat into the Free Deal Check and get a preliminary verification posture with a concrete evidence list — no account required.
Run the Free Deal Check