What is a pro forma invoice?
ITA describes a pro forma invoice as a quotation in invoice format. Before preparing one, ask what the buyer intends to use it for; do not assume every request represents the same shipping requirement. ITA’s pro forma invoice guidance.
What arrangements might the buyer use it for?
ITA identifies possible uses including an import-license application, pre-shipment inspection, opening a letter of credit and arranging a hard-currency transfer. These are possible purposes, not a list of requirements for every sale. ITA’s explanation of possible uses.
Ask the buyer: Which arrangement does this request support? Who will receive the document, and what information has that recipient requested? These are editorial conversation prompts, not official completion instructions.
What order information and proposed changes should the parties discuss?
ITA emphasizes informative order details and says changes should not be made without the buyer’s consent. That creates two distinct questions: what remains provisional, and whether proposed revisions have consent. ITA’s guidance on information and changes.
The following editorial prompts make that discussion more concrete. They are not an official mandatory-field checklist:
- Provisional information: Are the goods description, quantity, quoted price or shipment information still provisional? Which of those details do you need us to confirm before preparing this version?
- Proposed revisions: What exactly would change from the version you received? Have you consented to each proposed change, or does any item remain under discussion?
Keep these questions separate from the document’s intended use and recipient. Knowing that a document is needed for a credit arrangement, for example, does not answer whether a quoted order detail is settled.
How does this purpose differ from the commercial invoice’s stated customs role?
ITA describes the commercial invoice as a clearance document used by customs authorities in the importing country to assess duties and taxes. That description does not establish that a pro forma invoice satisfies a particular destination’s requirements. ITA’s commercial invoice guidance.
For the separate task of comparing shipment documents, see the commercial invoice and export packing list comparison worksheet.
What remains country-specific or outside these captured excerpts?
ITA recommends consulting reliable sources about country-specific commercial-invoice requirements. These excerpts do not provide a complete invoice template or settle your destination’s rules. ITA’s country-specific guidance.
Start by asking the buyer which arrangement the requested pro forma will support, which details remain provisional and whether proposed changes have consent. If the sale advances, research the applicable destination requirements separately.
Source basis: These bounded excerpts were captured on October 26, 2026, UTC; no fresh availability check was performed. Their supplied validity ends October 27, 2026, at 03:31:26.947548 UTC for the pro forma source and 03:31:27.856296 UTC for the commercial-invoice source. Refresh expired evidence before relying on it.
