Sourcing wooden door frames from China

Duty depends on the timber species

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, wooden door frames within heading 4418 carried 0% to 2% duty on goods from China. Coniferous frames, other non-tropical wooden frames and the other tropical-wood line carried 0%. Frames of tropical wood specified in the chapter's additional note carried 2%. The heading covers builders' joinery and carpentry; this guide focuses on door frames.

The selected door-frame lines show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. They attach a DCMS Export Licence entry. Official guidance concerns exporting cultural objects from Great Britain outside the UK. Ask your customs broker to confirm the entry's relevance to your shipment, particularly for reclaimed frames.

Confirm the species, construction and supplied form against the commodity-code guide. Related joinery under the wider heading is covered in the timber window frames guide. Check whether the timber falls within CITES controls: importing CITES specimens requires an import permit. Check tax calculations separately in the import duty and VAT guide. For exterior shutters, see our wooden window shutter sourcing guide.

Specify the frame profile and matching doorset

Give the factory a section drawing showing jamb depth, rebate width and depth, stop position, head joint and finished opening. State whether frames arrive assembled or as components, and specify hinge and strike recesses, seal grooves, finish and fixing positions. Approve a sample fitted to the intended door leaf before releasing production.

Specify the species of the solid timber, core and veneers, any finger joints or laminations, and the agreed moisture range at packing and arrival. Confirm with the relevant timber regulator how Great Britain timber due-diligence requirements apply to the supplied builders' joinery. Obtain species, harvest-country and legality documents for every wood component before ordering, assess illegal-harvest risk and address identified risks.

Confirm the construction-product route for the actual item supplied. Ask the relevant construction-products authority whether a designated standard covers the product and whether the manufacturer needs to draw up a declaration of performance. For a frame intended for a fire doorset, obtain evidence covering the matching frame, leaf, hardware and seals together. Use testing and certification support to check that the documents match the proposed construction.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 50 coniferous wooden door-frame sets, illustrative only under 4418 29 50 00, invoiced at £3,500 free on board, with £1,530 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £5,030. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £5,030, so it is £1,006. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Geometry: measure jamb and head lengths, section dimensions, rebate depth, bow and twist against the drawing; assemble a sample and check squareness.

Moisture: record readings across sampled packs before dispatch and on arrival, using a calibrated meter and the agreed acceptance range.

Joints and machining: check finger joints, glue lines, hinge recesses, strike positions and seal grooves; trial-fit the intended leaf and hardware.

Finish and identification: check coating coverage, damaged edges, pack labels and matching component sets. Compare production samples with the approved sample during quality inspection.

What goes wrong

Wet jambs shrink or twist after delivery, while uneven machining leaves the rebate too tight or the stop out of position. Mixed head and jamb profiles prevent assembly; hinge recesses cut from the wrong reference edge misalign the leaf. Poor packing crushes corners or lets moisture reach unfinished end grain.

A frame described as suitable for a fire door may arrive with evidence for a different doorset construction. Timber documents may identify only the face veneer and leave the core untraceable. Resolve those gaps before shipment, and keep affected packs separate on arrival while dimensions, moisture and documents are checked.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.