Asked for an OO or OD Permit? What Singapore Customs Says
Your forwarder or supplier says the shipment needs an OO permit, or an OD permit, and nobody has told you what the letters mean. They are prefixes on a TradeNet permit number, and Singapore Customs advises you to read the message type and declaration type instead (AskGov). So stop chasing the meaning of the letters. Ask which message type and declaration type the person means, then check the answer against how your goods are moving.
Your next step is Declaration Nexus. WhatsApp us your invoice and packing list now, with the letters you were given. We'll tell you what we can do for you.
Rules checked against Singapore Customs and AskGov pages on 7 November 2026.
What do permit letters like OO and OD mean?
An AskGov question names IG, II, OO and OD as permit prefixes and asks how they differ and when to apply. Customs' answer defines none of them:
“TradeNet Permit Number is generated based on the Message and Declaration Type and the information submitted in the permit application.” (AskGov)
Rather than working from the prefixes, the answer advises you to use the message and declaration type to work out what kind of application it is (AskGov).
The answer gives no time to apply. By its description, the number comes out of the application, from its message type, its declaration type and the information you submit.
The message type is the broad group, such as OUT for exports. The declaration type is the narrower one, such as DRT or TCI (Module 5). Customs writes the pair as OUT (TCI) (AskGov).
Watch the word code. The Customs export page tells you to use the correct message type and declaration type, plus a permit code, and its Code column holds entries such as DRT (Singapore Customs). Those entries stand for declaration types, which Customs' AskGov answer treats separately from permit number prefixes, so check which kind the person means.
Which letters does Customs actually use?
Customs uses OO, OU, XO, XP and OT in specific places. On the pages linked here, it names OD, IG and II only as examples of prefixes.
Letters | What Customs says | What it does not settle |
OO | A motor vehicle going overseas for repair: Customs writes of a temporary export [OUT (TCI)] “OO” permit application (AskGov). Also a condition on temporarily imported goods: they must be re-exported before the stipulated date, on an ‘OO’, ‘OU’ or ‘XO’ Customs permit (Singapore Customs). | These are two settings, not a definition. Neither says every OO permit is of that kind. |
OU | Customs calls OU a permit prefix, issued from what an application declares (AskGov). It also appears in the re-export condition above. | Which goods it covers. The answer points you to the message and declaration types. |
XO and XP | Customs requires an Individual Permit, prefixed XO or XP, to export, tranship or transit any strategic goods or related technology (Singapore Customs). XO is also in the re-export condition. XP is also named as the Strategic Goods Transhipment (“XP”) permit (Singapore Customs). | The Individual Permit line does not split XO from XP. That page lists exemptions. |
OT | Named as the Outward Transshipment (“OT”) permit, separately from XP (Singapore Customs). | A name, with no definition beside it. |
OD, IG, II | Named as prefixes in the AskGov question described above. | The Customs pages linked here give no meaning for these letters, so we will not give you one. |
Given letters that are not in this table? Ask for the message type and declaration type.
What to ask whoever gave you the letters
Ask the person who used the letters. It takes one message, and their answer may be all you need. It is a routine question, not a correction. Copy this:
Thanks. For this shipment, which message type and declaration type do you mean, and which documents do you need from me?
A useful answer looks like OUT (TCI) rather than a second set of letters. Documents depend on the permit. Two examples from Customs:
For imports: Customs' checklist names invoices, BL/AWB and a packing list, among others (Singapore Customs).
For the OO motor vehicle application in the table above: a cover letter giving the purpose and duration of the export, the LTA log card or proof that duty and/or GST was paid earlier, the commercial invoice, the export bill of lading or air waybill, and a packing list if any (AskGov).
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Which message and declaration type fits your goods?
Start from the movement. Customs' import checklist asks whether the goods are for local use, storage or temporary entry, or for re-export or destruction (Singapore Customs). Then compare the answer you were given with the closest row below. The table covers common movements only; Customs publishes the complete list of permit applications.
How the goods are moving | Message type | Declaration type |
Imported for local use, paying GST, including goods that qualify for duty exemption | IPT | GST |
Dutiable goods imported, paying duty and/or GST | IPT | DNG |
Moved into a first or second Free Trade Zone (FTZ) for storage | INP | SFZ |
In temporarily for repair or related testing | INP | TCR |
In temporarily for an event, such as an exhibition or conference | INP | TCS |
In temporarily for general purposes the other rows do not cover | INP | TCO |
Coming back after a temporary export | INP | TCI |
Locally made or GST-paid goods leaving Singapore | OUT | DRT |
Goods stored in a first FTZ, re-exported through a second FTZ | OUT | DRT |
Leaving for repairs, exhibitions, overseas jobs, contracts or rental, and meant to return | OUT | TCI |
Temporarily imported goods going back out | OUT | TCS, TCO or TCR, matching the inward permit |
Purposes are from the Customs import and export permit pages. Message types and the last two rows are from Module 5 of the Customs procedures guide, updated 1 January 2025.
One label reads two ways. The export page calls OUT (TCI) "Re-import under TIS" (TIS is the Temporary Import Scheme), and Module 5 heads it "Temporary Export/Re-Imported Goods". Module 5 covers goods going out that are meant to come back, so read OUT (TCI) as the outward leg of that trip.
For the conditions on those trips, see our guides to temporary export permits and temporary import permits. For the other rows, see import permit declarations and export permits in Singapore.
What the letters will not tell you
Do not read a permit prefix as an answer on whether your goods need a licence, what their HS code is, or what duty or GST is due. Customs' import checklist has its own step for whether your goods are controlled, exempt, dutiable or non-dutiable (Singapore Customs). If a licence is the worry, read licence or permit: which one you need.
Send us what you were told
Declaration Nexus is a Singapore customs broker and declaring agent. We prepare and file the TradeNet permit.
Customs also lets a business appoint a declaring agent, or register as one and get a TradeNet user ID for its own permits (Singapore Customs). See filing your own permits or using a declaring agent.
Send us the product description, the HS code if you have one, and the supplier's invoice, and tell us what you're trying to work out. We'll tell you what we can do for you.
WhatsApp us now on +65 8786 3987, and see import and export permit filing.
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Frequently asked questions
What is an OD permit?
OD is a letter pair Customs names as a permit prefix in an AskGov question, and the Customs pages linked in this article give no meaning for it. Ask whoever used it for the message type and declaration type.
Is an OO permit the same as an export permit?
The Customs pages linked in this article do not say so. Customs ties OO to a temporary export under OUT (TCI) in one answer, and to re-exporting temporarily imported goods in one permit condition. Neither passage defines OO or says it covers every export.
What is an OT permit in Singapore?
Customs names an Outward Transshipment (“OT”) permit on its transhipment procedures page, separately from the XP permit, and gives no definition beside the name.
Permit types and permit conditions are set by Singapore Customs and can change. Check the linked official page, or ask Customs, before your goods move.
Related guides
PUBLISHED BY Declaration Nexus Team Declaring agent and customs broker at Paya Lebar Square, Singapore |
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