Overview
Effective as of 1 January 2026, the Cameroonian authorities now require a BESC certificate for all shipments transiting through Cameroon.
Compliance Requirements
Any transit cargo moving without a valid BESC will no longer be accepted and may be subject to:
- Delays
- Penalties
- Rejection by local authorities
Recommendation
Full compliance with this new requirement in advance is strongly recommended to avoid operational disruptions.
Next Steps
Should you require assistance with BESC issuance or have questions regarding this update, contact the service provider for support.
Update: two transit corridors are exempt
A later notice, dated 2 July 2026, narrowed this requirement. Until further notice a Cameroon transit BESC is not required for cargo moving on either of two corridors:
- Douala to N'Djamena, Chad
- Douala to Bangui, Central African Republic
Cargo routed through Douala for onward carriage to those two destinations may proceed without an additional transit BESC. Every other transit movement through Cameroon still needs one. If your routing is one of the two exempt corridors, read the fuller notice before filing: Cameroon BESC: Transit Shipment Documentation Update.
For Cameroon shipments that are not in transit, our desk records the BESC as filed with the bill of lading, the commercial invoice, the freight invoice and the import declaration. Applications most often come back for a missing or blurred SGS stamp on the commercial invoice, for a freight breakdown that does not declare sea freight separately, or for an HS code outside the four to eight digits Cameroon customs expects.