EUDR DDS · TRACES
How to submit an EUDR Due Diligence Statement in TRACES
Every operator and non-SME trader placing an in-scope commodity on the EU market files a Due Diligence Statement (DDS) in TRACES. The step that trips people up is the geolocation: a GeoJSON file describing every plot the commodity came from. Here is what TRACES expects, and how to get your file accepted the first time.
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What a Due Diligence Statement needs
A DDS in TRACES ties a consignment to the plots it came from: the operator and commodity details, the country of production, and — the part that causes most trouble — a geolocation file for every production place. For plots over 4 ha that file must be a mapped boundary (polygon); smaller plots may be a point with a declared area (EUDR Art. 2(28)).
How the geolocation gets into TRACES
TRACES accepts geolocation only as GeoJSON — a FeatureCollection in WGS84 (longitude, latitude). The "Import Geojson" dialog will not even let you select a .kml, .xlsx or Shapefile .zip, so those have to be converted first. TRACES reads the geometry and area from your file but ignores the country in it — the Country of Production comes from the form dropdown.
What gets a DDS rejected — or silently accepted wrong
A few file problems make TRACES reject the import outright: invalid JSON syntax, or a polygon with holes. Far more dangerous are the errors it accepts silently: an area typed as text that imports as 0 ha, swapped latitude/longitude that puts a plot in the ocean, or a self-intersecting boundary that collapses the area. The declaration goes in wrong and only surfaces under audit.
Prepare the file first — in your browser
DDSpass converts your supplier's Excel, KML, Shapefile or GeoJSON and repairs these issues in one pass, then hands you a TRACES-ready file plus a plain-language fix report. Validation and on-screen fixes are free, and nothing is uploaded. It works per commodity — coffee, cocoa, timber, rubber, soy, cattle and palm oil.
Questions
What is an EUDR Due Diligence Statement (DDS)?
A statement filed in the EU TRACES system confirming you have done EUDR due diligence on a consignment. It includes the geolocation of every plot the commodity was produced on.
What file format does TRACES accept for EUDR geolocation?
GeoJSON only — a FeatureCollection in WGS84 (longitude, latitude). KML, KMZ, Excel and Shapefile must be converted to GeoJSON first.
Do I get a DDS reference number after submitting?
Yes. Once the DDS is submitted, TRACES issues a reference and verification number that downstream operators and traders quote in their own statements.