A preferential certificate of origin is a document attesting that goods in a particular shipment are of a certain origin under the definitions of a particular bilateral or multilateral free trade agreement. This certificate is usually required by the importing country's customs authority in deciding whether the imports should benefit from preferential treatment allowed under the applicable agreement. Unlike non-preferential certificate of origin which often indicates only the country of origin in its title, a preferential certificate will indicate at the top of the document under which trade agreement it is issued.