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What is UCP 600 or UCPDC 600?

The 'Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, Version 600' - in short called the UCPDC 600 or UCP 600 is a set of 39 rules called 'Articles' that a documentary credit or a letter of credit may follow.

The rules were published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and it came into force in 1st July 2007.

The main purpose of UCP 600 is to provide a common and uniform set of rules that letters of credit issued across the globe can follow so that all the parties involved in the letter of credit transaction are on the same page about what is allowed and not allowed in the letter of credit, thus attempting to reduce disputes and ease the process of international trade.

Though following the UCP 600 while issuing a LC is optional, all most all the LCs issued around the world everyday are voluntarily issued under the UCP 600 rules. A letter of credit should explicitly mention in its wordings that it follows UCP 600 when it is issued. Once that is mentioned, it implies it follows all the 39 Articles of UCP 600 until and unless exclusion of any rule is separately mentioned.

Broad Categorisation of the UCP 600 Articles

Let us break down the 39 Articles of UCP 600 in groups or categories to easily remember to which aspect each Article is related to -

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