Colombia Sanitary Certificates Electronic

Trade Document Exchange System (eTDE)

and Electronic Document Creation System

(eDocs)

Overview of the USDA Online Procedures
Page 2 | 16

Table of Contents

Applicant Checklist ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Timing to Register and Begin Requesting Certificates ...................................................................................... 3

Overview............................................................................................................................................................ 4

Section 1: Registration...................................................................................................................................... 5

Section 2: Requesting Certificates.................................................................................................................... 8

• Billing Details........................................................................................................................................ 10

• The actual form tab ............................................................................................................................. 10

Section 3: Amendments ................................................................................................................................. 15

Contact............................................................................................................................................................ 16
Page 3 | 16

Applicant Checklist

To work within this security framework, there are a number of actions that new users

and companies must take:

 Obtain level 2 eAuthentication. Each individual who will access the eTDE/eDocs 

system must have level 2 eAuthentication and complete eTDE registration.

 Register in eTDE

 Sign up for an eTDE/eDocs training session with USDA AMS Information Technology 

Services (ITS) once eTDE registration is complete. 

Timing to Register and Begin Requesting Certificates

Required Action Timeline

eTDE Registration Up to 2 weeks

eTDE/eDocs Training – (please note that the schedule is 

subject to change based on the trainer’s availability)

Conducted every Thursday 

at 4 p.m. 

Certificate Processing through eDocs Up to 5 business days
Page 4 | 16

Overview

To request Colombia Sanitary Certificates exporters must register to use the Electronic Trade

Document Exchange System (eTDE). eTDE provides a secure environment for sharing trade

documentation with governments and businesses across the supply chain. The Electronic

Document Creation System (eDocs) generates certificate requests to US government agencies

for the creation of government – issued trade documents disseminated through the eTDE

system.

The following pages provide a basic overview guide of the eTDE/eDocs systems for the

Colombia certificate. Please make sure you use the links provided to obtain the specific stepby-step procedures, where necessary, for more detailed instructions.

Important: Please remember to allow 5 business days for processing certificate requests

through eDocs. Certificates are dated the day the information is reviewed and approved by a

USDA endorser. Some countries do not accept Sanitary Certificates after the consignment

departs from the United States. It is the exporter’s responsibility to make sure they meet the

importing country’s documentation requirements prior to shipping.
Page 5 | 16

Section 1: Registration 

Step 1: Go to eTDE home – http://www.etde.usda.gov/ and select 

http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov/

Step 2: Select Create an Account
Page 6 | 16

Step 3: Select Register for a level 2 Account

By selecting Register for a Level 2 eAuthentication you will be provided access to

complete your registration in eTDE. Once you have level 2 authentication you must 

then go to the closest USDA service center with a government-issued ID to prove identity. 

USDA Local Registration Authority (LRA) locations are found at: 

http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?type=lra. 

Once eAuthentication has been completed you will finish your eTDE registration by 

establishing your company as entity and associating staff to that entity (see Step 4).
Page 7 | 16

Step 4: Go to http://www.etde.usda.gov/eTDEHelpCenter_Dairy.aspx and follow instructions in eTDE 

Dairy Owner User Guide

This Guide will show the actual eTDE Graphical User Interface (GUI) and provides

step-by-step instructions for how users will interact with each screen. The eTDE System

can be accessed on the internet at http://www.etde.usda.gov. 

Once fully registered in eTDE, exporters must contact DairyNFO@ams.usda.gov to request

attendance in an IT training session for eTDE/eDocs. Once you have attended a webinar your

eTDE registration should be complete. You can then go to the Electronic Document Creation 

System (eDocs) to apply for Colombia Sanitary Certificates.
Page 8 | 16

Section 2: Requesting Certificates

Once you have completed all of the registration steps and training you are now ready to begin 

requesting export certificate in the eDocs system. 

Step 1: Go to - http://etde.usda.gov/edocs to request export certificates. Select “Login to 

eDocs.

Step 2: Enter your eAuthentication User ID and Password.
Page 9 | 16

Step 3. Select Colombia from the drop down list.
Exporters can create custom templates for regular shipments. Each company can store up to 60

templates.

There are three sections on the request forms.

• Billing Details

• Part I for consignment details

• Applicant Certifications where you attest your information is accurate

There are three tabs for each request.

• The actual form tab

• A Comments tab where you can add comments or USDA adds comments if a

request is rejected

• An Attachment tab where you attach your self-addressed courier label if you

wish to receive the certificate via courier service

If a courier label is not attached, certificates are returned via United States Postal Service (US

Mail). Please note that UPS and Federal Express make daily pickups at AMS. There may be a 

delay if USPS or DHL services are used as pickups have to be scheduled and are infrequent. 
Part 1 – Consgiment Details. Provide information in all required fields which are annotated with an 

asterisk (*). The individual requesting the document must be associated with the Consignor and 

the Consignor company name on the application must match exactly how the company name is 

registered in eTDE. If you need to associate a new user please review the instructions in the eTDE 

Application User Guide.
 Save the request if the information is complete.

 Save as a template if you wish to retain the information for future

requests.

 This is the screen view after you select “save”.
If you make last second edits, select ‘Save’ again.

If you want to preview your document, select ‘Print PDF’

If you are ready to request a document, select ‘Submit’.

If you select “Submit” the screen takes you back to the original screen “My Certificate Requests”.
Requests in the ‘In Progress’ tab 

are still available for editing.

The requests have not been

submitted if they are still in “new”

status in the ‘In progress’ tab.

These are active request that can 

still have edits or attachments

added. USDA does not have

access to requests in “new”

status, they must be submitted 

for USDA to review the

information.

Submitted requests appear in the ‘Submitted’ tab; they are pending review and approval by USDA.

Exporters may still pull back requests in ‘submitted’ status for editing if USDA has not opened the

request for review.

The table below provides a description of the various statuses under the Submitted tab.

Status Description

New The exporter has saved a certificate from a template or

copied data from an old certificate but has not yet

modified the certificate.

In Progress The certificate is saved after modifying information from a

template or data copied over from an old certificate but has

not yet submitted the application for approval.

Submitted The exporter has successfully submitted the certificate 

to AMS for approval.

Reviewing AMS is in the process of reviewing the certificate but has

not yet approved or rejected the application.

Approved AMS has approved the certificate but the eTDE data 

transfer has not yet been made (eTDE runs are

scheduled every 3 hours).

Rejected AMS rejected the certificate. Note: If a certificate is rejected 

AMS will provide a reason for the rejection under the Notes 

Section.

Ready to print eTDE data transfer was made and the certificate is ready for

AMS to print the official copy.

Printed AMS has printed the original certificate.

Recalled The exporter has canceled a certificate request after

submitting it to AMS and has not yet submitted a revised 

application (a certificate cannot be recalled after AMS has

approved it).
Section 3: Amendments

To request an amendment select the document that needs amended from your queue. If there

is already an amendment(s) in the system, you must select the most recent amendment to 

make the new changes. Select ‘Amend/Supersede’ make the necessary changes, select ‘save’,

attach courier label, and select ‘submit’
Contact

USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Room 2746-South Building

Washington, DC 20250-0269

E-mail: DairyExportsQuestions@ams.usda.gov

Fax: 844-804-4701

Acting Director

Will Francis

Dairy Grading & Standardization Division

202-720-6274

William.Francis@ams.usda.gov

Dairy Grading Staff

LatoyaV Carr 

202-260-9523

LatoyaV.Carr@ams.usda.gov

Carrie Sayasithsena

202-720-9381

Carrie.Sayasithsena@ams.usda.gov

MD McWilliams

202-720-3171

MD.McWilliams@ams.usda.gov

To Request Account Information for Dairy Export Certificates

Phone: 630-437-5045

Fax: 630-437-5060

Email: DairyNFO@ams.usda.gov

Or by mail:

USDA, AMS, Dairy

2150 Western Court, Suite 100

Lisle, IL 60532

For technical questions or

concerns with eTDE/eDocs please

contact:

Fariba.Tacoukjou@ams.usda.gov