The Inspection Certificate for pre shipment inspection is a document issued by an authority indicating that goods have been inspected (typically according to a set of industry, customer, government, or carrier specifications) prior to shipment and the results of the inspection.

Inspection certificates are generally obtained from neutral testing organizations (e.g., a government entity or independent service company such as SGS o Bureau Veritas). In some cases the Inspection Certificate can come from the manufacturer or shipper, but not from the forwarder or logistics firm.

The Inspection Certificate Guide is helpful for anyone involved in international trade, including: exporters, importers, distributors, traders and brokers, logistics professionals, forwarding agents, shipping lines, airlines, and international trucking firms. This guide is also helpful to trade associations, chambers of commerce, consultants, professors and students of internacional trade.