# Get your TRACES NT CHEDs and COIs through an API

> Read a CHED's status, the boxes of a COI or your list of pending documents from TRACES NT with one API call each. A workflow can take the day's CHED references from your system and post each status change to your customs or ERP system.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/traces-nt
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own TRACES NT account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on TRACES NT

### Check a CHED's status

Opens a CHED from Documents > CHED by its reference and reads its type, status, border control post and the operators named in Part I.

- Takes: CHED reference
- Returns: CHED reference, type, status, local reference, border control post, consignor, consignee, expected arrival

### List my pending documents

Reads the dashboard of documents pending an action from your user, sorted by document type.

- Takes: Document type (optional)
- Returns: Document type, reference, status

### Get a COI's details

Opens a COI from Documents > COI by its reference and reads the boxes of the certificate of inspection.

- Takes: COI reference
- Returns: COI reference, status, issuing control body, exporter, importer, country of origin, border control post, products, first consignee

### Prepare a CHED-P draft from an earlier one

Opens an earlier CHED-P, uses Copy as new, updates the local reference and prior notification, and saves it as a draft for you to check and submit.

- Takes: Earlier CHED reference, local reference, expected arrival date and time
- Returns: Draft reference, local reference, border control post, expected arrival

## Automate TRACES NT with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### Decisions on today's CHEDs, posted to your customs system

Starts: When your system calls the workflow's webhook with the day's CHED references

1. For each CHED reference you send, check the CHED's status in TRACES NT.
2. Keep the CHEDs whose status changed since the last run.
3. Post each one, with its status, border control post and local reference, to your customs or ERP webhook.

### Morning list of documents pending your action

Starts: Every weekday at 7:00

1. Read the dashboard of documents pending an action from your user.
2. Keep the documents that were not there on the last run.
3. Email you the list, grouped by document type.

### COI details handed to your purchasing system

Starts: When your system calls the workflow's webhook with a COI reference

1. Get the COI's details by its reference.
2. Stop when the COI is not found.
3. Post the reference, status, exporter, country of origin, products and first consignee to your webhook.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Check a CHED's status” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "webgate.ec.europa.eu/check_ched_status",
    "input": {
      "ched_reference": "CHEDP.NL.2026.0041872"
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "ched_reference": "CHEDP.NL.2026.0041872",
    "type": "CHED-P",
    "status": "Validated",
    "local_reference": "ACME-IMP-2211",
    "border_control_post": "Rotterdam port",
    "consignor": "Globex Seafood Exports",
    "consignee": "Acme Foods B.V.",
    "expected_arrival": "2026-11-12T06:30:00+01:00"
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## TRACES NT’s own options

TRACES NT is free to use with an EU Login account. Its public documentation describes the web interface and does not describe an API for operators. By default an operator sees only the data related to its own activities, and the FAQ sends operators who need other data to their competent authority. Authorities get analytics through Qlik Sense.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Data through your competent authority | Data beyond your own activities, released by the Commission only with the approval of the authorities concerned. | A request to your competent authority, or to the TRACES Helpdesk if you cannot reach it. |
| IPPC ePhyto link (CHED-PP) | Links an electronic phytosanitary certificate from the IPPC ePhyto system to a CHED-PP, from the search screen or the CHED-PP links box. | A CHED-PP for plants or plant products and an ePhyto issued for the consignment. |
| TRACES NT by hand | Creating, cloning and following CHEDs, COIs and other certificates, the dashboard of pending documents and PDF printing. | A free EU Login account and an operator role in TRACES NT. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [TRACES NT Documentation: General Questions](https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/imsoc-guide/tracesnt-help/Content/en/faq/general-questions.html), [TRACES on the Commission's food safety site](https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/traces_en), [CHED-PP functionalities](https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/imsoc-guide/tracesnt-help/Content/en/documents-certificates/ched/ched-pp-user-guides/ched-pp/functionalities.html).

## Signing in to TRACES NT

TRACES NT signs you in through EU Login, the Commission's sign-in service, with an email address and password. EU Login offers second factors by text message, the EU Login Mobile App, eID and security keys, and its password expires every six months. With Fous you sign in through TRACES NT's own sign-in with your own account, and the login is sealed with AES-256.

## Worth knowing

- **Only production has legal value**: Production, training and acceptance are separate environments. One EU Login works for all three, but roles and operator details have to be set up again in each, and only certificates submitted in production have legal value.
- **You see your own activities**: By default an operator's account shows only the data related to its own activities. A method reads what your role can see, so give it a user with the operator role the documents belong to.
- **Pending means pending for you**: The dashboard lists documents pending an action from the current user, so it depends on that user's roles. A document drops off it when a colleague has already acted on it.
- **An issued COI changes only in some boxes**: The importer can still modify boxes 10, 19, 20, 23 and 24 of an issued COI. Once the COI is in verification of the goods or endorsed, it can no longer be changed.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Does TRACES NT have an API?

No public API for operators is described in its documentation. The TRACES NT documentation covers the web interface, and its FAQ sends operators who need data beyond their own activities to their competent authority. A CHED-PP can be linked to an IPPC ePhyto certificate inside TRACES NT.

### How do I check whether a CHED has been decided?

Open the CHED from Documents > CHED and look at its status. For a CHED-PP the documentation names New, In progress, Validated, Rejected, Partially Rejected, Authorised for transhipment and Authorised for transfer. A CHED-P becomes New when Part I is submitted for decision.

### Can I reuse an earlier CHED for a repeat consignment?

Yes. In the More menu of a CHED, Copy as new creates a new CHED with most boxes copied and leaves the original as it was. You can save it as a draft and submit it for decision when it is complete. A COI can also be cloned as a CHED, which links the two.

### Can I use the training environment to test?

Yes, for training only: certificates submitted there have no legal value. You ask the TRACES Helpdesk for a training profile. Your EU Login works there, but roles and operator details are set up again, and data does not move between environments.

### Is Fous affiliated with the European Commission?

No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own TRACES NT account, and a method reads and does only what that account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of TRACES NT (European Commission (DG SANTE)). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.