The Windsor Framework
The Windsor Framework is a government-led initiative designed to address shipping regulations for Northern Ireland following Brexit.
Since Northern Ireland remains landlocked within a European country but is part of the UK, special shipping measures are required. These measures dictate specific protocols for shipping goods to Northern Ireland, including additional data that must be shared. Visit the UK government website for further detail and publications.
Announcement
As you may have seen or heard, the implementation of the Windsor Framework has now been postponed until 31st March 2025.
We are currently working with the affected carriers on platform where changes were due to be implemented on 30th September 2024 to understand their position and whether they still wish to accept the new data fields if passed through to them. It is not expected that information will become mandatory at this point.
We will keep you updated as information becomes available.
Carrier Matrix
The matrix table below shows our supported carriers and the required fields, in our data contract, that need to be included for packages being sent to Northern Ireland.
The following fields whether mandatory, conditional or optional, must be supplied at the create stage of a consignment, although validation will not be triggered until the later quote stage.
You can find these fields available in our API reference -https://docs.sorted.com/pro/api/reference/index.html.
Note
Please note, this matrix outlines the new data requirements for carriers shipping under the Windsor Framework. It does not include the mandatory fields specified in the Sorted data contract.
For example, if the matrix specifies a field in the Customs Documentation array is required for a carrier, you should review the API data contract to see what other fields (if any) are required.
For details on those requirements, please visit our Ship API documentation.
| Key | |
|---|---|
| M | Mandatory |
| M* | Mandatory (Awaiting confirmation) |
| C | Conditional |
| O | Optional |
| - | Not required by the Carrier |
Carrier special notes
Here are some carrier specific notes we wanted to share outside of our matrix table...
Royal Mail
Some HMRC harmonisation codes require a supplementary unit. It is up to you to check if this additional data is required for the HS code for the item you are sending and to pass the value (numeric) to Sorted (if required by carrier). For example, Royal Mail require this data for B2B shipments (if required by HMRC). https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/xi/browse.
Only Tracked 48 services can currently handle B2B shipments from GB to NI.
DX Freight
- b2c shipments from GB to NI must comply with the following weight limits:
- A package must not exceed 31.5kg if it contains more than a single item (or quantities of the same item with the same SKU)
- A package must not exceed 100kg if it contains a single item (or quantities of the same item with the same SKU)
DHL Parcel
There will be a 31kg weight limit for all parcels being shipped from GB to NI.
If you will be shipping b2b_at_risk (red lane) shipments from GB to NI and will move to use a deferment account linked to your NI EORI number for customs charges please remember to authorise DHL to apply charges to this account. Please also let Sorted know the Deferment account number so that we can add this to your account configuration and so that we can pass it to DHL in the manifest file as required. Failure to do this will result in DHL providing a deferment account which will result in an admin charge to you.