Bill of Lading (BOL)

What it means

The Federal Highway Administration's freight glossary defines a bill of lading as a transportation document that is the contract of carriage, containing the terms and conditions between shipper and carrier.^[1] Under the Carmack Amendment, an interstate motor carrier must issue a receipt or bill of lading for property it receives, and failing to issue one does not reduce the carrier's liability.^[2]

A bill of lading does three jobs. It is the carrier's receipt for what was tendered, it records the terms of carriage, and, when it is negotiable, it controls who can take delivery: a carrier may deliver to the holder of a negotiable bill made out to that holder's order or properly endorsed to them.^[6] That is why the details written on it, and any exceptions added at pickup or delivery, matter in every freight claim.

What does BOL mean in shipping?

BOL stands for bill of lading; it is also written B/L or BL. "Lading" is an old English word for the action of loading, and also for the cargo or freight itself, so a bill of lading is literally a document for the goods loaded.^[10] "Bill of loading" is a common misspelling of the same term.

The same name covers documents in different modes. A truck BOL is usually signed by the shipper and the driver at pickup. An ocean bill of lading is issued by the ocean carrier or an NVOCC for a container move and is the document an importer uses to show its right to the cargo at entry.

What a motor carrier bill of lading must show

For interstate or foreign moves, the receipt or bill of lading a motor carrier issues must contain:^[3]

• Names of the consignor (shipper) and consignee.
• Origin and destination points.
• Number of packages.
• Description of the freight.
• Weight, volume or measurement of the freight, where that affects how it is rated.

Those fields are the checklist at delivery. A receiver who counts short or finds damage writes the exception against them on the delivery receipt before signing; see overages, shortages and damages.

Negotiable vs. nonnegotiable bills of lading

Federal law at 49 U.S.C. chapter 801 governs bills of lading issued by a common carrier for transportation between states, through another state, or from a state to a foreign country.^[4] It sorts them into two kinds:^[5]

• Negotiable. The bill states that the goods are to be delivered to the order of a consignee, and does not say on its face that it is not negotiable.
• Nonnegotiable (straight). The bill states that the goods are to be delivered to a consignee. The carrier must mark it "nonnegotiable" or "not negotiable."

The difference decides who gets the freight. The carrier delivers to the consignee named in a nonnegotiable bill, but to the holder of a negotiable bill, who must offer to endorse and hand over the bill.^[6]

Notations that change liability

When the shipper loads the freight and the bill says so, with language such as "said to contain" or "shipper's weight, load, and count," the carrier is not liable for nonreceipt or misdescription of the goods, but only to the extent it does not know what was actually loaded.^[7] That is the legal basis of a shipper load and count notation, common on sealed containers and trailers the driver never sees loaded.

Why it matters

Nearly every freight dispute comes back to the bill of lading: what it says was tendered, who loaded and counted it, and what exceptions were written when it arrived. Check the BOL against the freight before signing, every time.

Bills of lading on ocean imports

• Right to make entry. CBP accepts a bill of lading, presented by its holder and endorsed where the law requires, as evidence of the right to make entry, along with alternatives such as a carrier's certificate.^[8]
• Master and house bills. The vessel operating carrier files master bills; automated NVOCCs may file their own house bills. Entries still require both the house bill number and the master bill number.^[9] The difference is explained in master vs. house bill of lading.
• Other import documents. The bill of lading is one of several documents an import needs; see what documents are needed to import a container.

Example

Illustrative only: a driver picks up 22 pallets from a distribution center. The straight bill of lading lists the shipper and consignee, origin and destination, 22 pallets of housewares, and the shipment weight. At delivery the receiver counts 22 pallets, finds one crushed, and writes "1 pallet crushed, contents damaged" next to the count on the delivery receipt before signing. That notation, tied to the BOL fields, is what supports the damage claim later.

Frequently asked questions