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This is a test deployment and is not authoritative. The published site is at unvtd.unece.org.Under developmentThe UNVTD project is in development phase and is not yet ready for production implementation. The final approved and implementable standard is expected to be released before the end of December 2026.
GovernanceJoin & Contribute

Join & Contribute

UNVTD is an open UN/CEFACT project. Anyone can follow the work; contributing requires a GitLab account and, for formal membership, UN/CEFACT expert registration.

Stay Connected

The fastest way to get involved is to join the community channels:

GitLab Access

All specification work happens on the UNVTD GitLab repository .

  1. Register an account  on the UN’s GitLab instance
  2. Allow around three business days for UNICC approval — activate the link in the email promptly (it expires quickly)
  3. Set up mandatory two-factor authentication in your account settings
  4. You can now raise issues and comment on any discussion

To make edits directly, request edit access from a Working Group lead on Slack or via the mailing list.

Expert Registration

For formal contributing member status — required to vote on decisions and have contributions attributed under the UN/CEFACT IPR framework — complete the UN/CEFACT expert registration . This includes accepting the IPR policy; all contributions become UN intellectual property.

Raising an Issue

Issues are the primary way to propose changes, flag errors, or start a discussion.

  1. Go to Issues  in the repository
  2. Click New issue
  3. Write a clear title and description — include the affected document or section

Contributing an Edit

Quick edit — single file, no coding required

  1. Find the page you want to change in the repository 
  2. Click Edit → Edit single file
  3. Make your changes
  4. Choose Start a new merge request with these changes and submit
  5. A Working Group lead will review and merge

Multiple files — Web IDE

  1. Click Edit → Web IDE
  2. Navigate the app/ directory and edit as many files as needed
  3. Commit to a new branch and open a merge request

Local development

For larger contributions, clone the repository and run the site locally:

git clone https://opensource.unicc.org/un/unece/uncefact/spec-unvtd.git
cd spec-unvtd
npm install
npm run dev

The site opens at http://localhost:3000/. Pages live in the app/ directory as .mdx files.

Contributing a Document Schema

To add a new trade document to the specification, follow these steps in addition to the general edit workflow above.

  1. Raise an issue proposing the document — include its name, role in trade, and relevant KTDDE  UID(s). Discuss with the team before investing in a full implementation.
  2. Create the schema as public/<document-name>-schema.yaml, following the structure of an existing schema such as commercial-invoice-schema.yaml.
  3. Register it in scripts/generate-ktdde-compliance.mjs by adding an entry to the DOCUMENTS array.
  4. Add KTDDE mappings for each applicable UID in scripts/ktdde-manual-mappings.json. Use null for intentional gaps; every relevant UID needs an explicit entry.
  5. Regenerate the compliance data: npm run compliance
  6. Submit a merge request referencing the issue. It will be reviewed at the next bi-weekly meeting.
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