What is a Certificate of Free Sale?

Montana World Trade Center, working with our partners at World Trade Center Denver, can issue a Certificate of Free Sale for products manufactured and legally sold in the United States. A Certificate of Free Sale states that the company selling the products has submitted evidence to us that the products listed on the certificate are freely sold in the United States.

If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) covers your product, we cannot issue a Certificate of Free Sale for you. You must contact the FDA directly and have them issue the certificate.

Why do I need a Certificate of Free Sale?

Many countries are now requiring a Certificate of Free Sale, sometimes called a “Certificate for Export” or “Certificate to Foreign Governments”, as assurance from a foreign agency that the products listed on the certificate are freely sold and manufactured in the U.S.

What is an Apostille and Why Would I Need One?

An Apostille is simply the name for a specialized certificate, issued by the Secretary of State. The Apostille is attached to your original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic so it will be accepted in one of the other countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention.

How do I get a Certificate of Free Sale from Montana World Trade Center?

*Please Read Carefully*

(Certificates may be delayed, denied, and include additional costs if requirements below are not met)

  • Please specify for which country or list of countries you would like the Certificate(s) issued (not just regions).
  • You must provide a Declaration Statement (Click to Download) in which you declare that your products are manufactured in (insert country here) and freely sold within the United States of America. The declaration must: (1) be on the letterhead of the manufacturer, if different from the company requesting the certificate, (2) contain within the declaration the names of the products being certified, (3) include the language “products are manufactured in (insert country here) and freely sold in the USA,” and (4) include the name of the applicant company if different from the manufacturer.
  • For each product you would like listed on the Certificate of Free Sale, your company must submit copies of invoices showing the sale of each product to two different U.S. customers.
  • The invoices should be dated within the last 12 months and the product names must be the same as how they will appear on the Certificate. 
  • * Please specify exactly how the products should be listed on the Certificate(s). This should coincide with how they are listed on the commercial invoice by at least 80% (e.g.: Listed as ‘Grape Shampoo’ on invoice, but needs to be listed as ‘Shampoo, Grape, 16 oz.’ on the certificate. An example we cannot comply with would be if ‘Grape Shampoo’ is listed on the invoice, but needs to be listed as ‘Special Volume Control Grape Shampoo’ on the certificate).*If the product(s) name you list on the form does not match the invoice product(s) name, we will not be able to process the certificate. Provide a product key showing the correlation between the products and their listing on the invoices if at least 80% correlation.
  • Specify how your company name and address should read on the certificate. There needs to be a proven connection between the address you require on the certificate to the address on the invoices you provide.

Please note that we partner with World Trade Center Denver to issue our Certificates of Free Sale.