Guides · Updated August 25, 2026

Pedimento vs DODA: what the difference is

If you import into Mexico or move freight across the southern border, you will hear both words in the same sentence, often as if they meant the same thing. They do not. The pedimento and the DODA belong to the same operation and are produced by the same customs broker, but they do different jobs: one declares the goods to the authority, the other physically presents them at the border module. Mixing them up is what leads to failed status lookups, phone calls to your broker, and a driver idling in the yard.

What the pedimento is

The pedimento is Mexico's customs declaration, the closest analogue to a US entry summary, though it does more. Legally it is an electronic document transmitted to the customs authority through the electronic customs system with the information about goods entering or leaving the country (article 36 of the Ley Aduanera), together with the electronic annexes that go with it (the COVE value document, permits, certificates) under article 36-A.

It carries everything the tax authority cares about:

• The importer or exporter of record and the broker filing the entry.
• The clave de pedimento, a code that sets the customs regime: definitive import, temporary (IMMEX), transit, return.
• Tariff classifications, quantities, descriptions and customs value.
• Duties, VAT and fees assessed and paid.
• Non-tariff regulations and restrictions being complied with.

A pedimento number has 15 digits: two for the year, two for the customs port, four for the broker's patente (license number), and seven for the sequential number. It is usually printed in groups, which is why you see it with spaces. That number lives on for years in your records; it is what proves the legal importation of the goods and what gets pulled during an audit.

What the DODA is

The DODA (Documento de Operación para Despacho Aduanero, customs clearance operation document) is an official form (model M1.7 of Mexico's foreign trade rules, set out in rule 3.1.33) that the broker transmits to the SAT and that is presented in a single copy at the automated selection module. It replaces the printed presentation of the pedimento, the simplified form, the consolidated notice, the document list and the Pedimento Part II.

The DODA does not declare goods; it presents them. Its fields are purely operational:

• The integration number the system assigns when the DODA is transmitted.
• The patente or authorization of the broker or legal representative (four characters).
• The customs office or section handling clearance, as a three-digit code.
• The total number of pedimentos or consolidated notices it covers.
• Containers, rail equipment or truck unit number, plus the seal numbers.
• The fiscal folio of the CFDI with Carta Porte complement (the Mexican e-waybill).
• A QR code, the original string, and the digital seals of both the issuer and the SAT.

Scanning that QR in the lane triggers the automated selection mechanism, which decides whether the shipment goes to customs inspection (article 43 of the Ley Aduanera). That is the moment of the green or red traffic light.

The differences, in short

• Nature: the pedimento is fiscal and declarative; the DODA is operational and about presentation.
• Content: the pedimento says what the goods are and what was paid; the DODA says which pedimentos are in which trailer, under which seals, through which port.
• Timing: the pedimento is validated and paid first; the DODA is generated afterwards, once the crossing is arranged.
• Identifier: 15 digits for the pedimento, an integration number for the DODA.
• Lifespan: the pedimento stays in your records for years; the DODA is spent at the crossing.

Why one DODA can cover several pedimentos

The form itself includes a field for the total number of pedimentos or consolidated notices in the operation, and the original string lists every one of those numbers separated by commas. The relationship is one-to-many by design: a single DODA covers everything moving in that crossing.

The classic case is a consolidated export: several invoices from different shippers, several pedimentos, one trailer, one driver. The operational consequence matters more than it sounds: the traffic light applies to the crossing, not to each pedimento individually. If it turns red, the whole trailer stops, and with it every customer's freight inside it.

It also works the other way around: one pedimento (especially a consolidated one shipped in partial loads) can be cleared across several crossings, each with its own DODA and its own traffic light result.

Where each one appears in the timeline

1. The broker classifies the goods and gathers the annex documents.
2. The pedimento is transmitted, validated and paid.
3. The crossing is arranged (carrier, trailer, seals) and the DODA is transmitted. The system returns the integration number and the PDF receipt with the QR code is issued.
4. The driver reaches the border and modulates: the QR is scanned.
5. The automated selection mechanism returns green or red.
6. Green and the load moves on. Red and the authority inspects the goods against exactly what the pedimento declared.

One practical note: the DODA is generated close to the crossing. If the shipment is rescheduled or moved to a different trailer, the broker can regenerate it, and the integration number changes. The pedimento number does not.

Mistakes that cost hours

• Entering the pedimento number into a DODA lookup. Different identifiers; the portal will simply return nothing.
• Trying to track by patente. That number identifies the broker, not the crossing.
• Assuming a paid pedimento means released cargo. A full day can pass between payment and the actual crossing.
• Asking the broker for status by phone when the data is on the SAT portal, reachable with a number you already have on the receipt.

Which one you need to track the shipment

To know whether the load has modulated and what it got, the DODA is the document and the integration number is the value. With it you can check the status on the SAT portal and see whether the crossing is still pending, cleared, or under inspection. The step-by-step is in how to check your DODA status with the SAT.

The pedimento number is for everything else: corrections, broker inquiries, invoicing imported product, and the documentary trail behind the shipment. Both matter; they just are not interchangeable.