The Bill of Lading or BoL is an important part of the transportation industry and has been a vital piece of shipments and trade for a long time. This guide tells you everything you need to know about Bill of Lading documents.

What is Bill of Lading?

A bill of lading (BL or BoL) is a formal and legal form that a carrier gives to a shipper. It tells the shipper what kind, how many, and where the goods are going. It also serves as a shipping receipt when the carrier delivers the goods to a certain place. This document must be with the shipped goods, no matter how they are transported. It must be signed by an official from the carrier, the shipper, and the receiver.

Bill of Lading Template

What is the main purpose of the Bill of Lading?

As we know, the bill of lading serves the function of providing a legal receipt for a shipment; It also has more important purposes.

 Here are three important purposes of the Bill of Lading:

• The bill of lading is first and foremost a document of ownership of the goods included in the document
• It is a bill of receipt for the goods that are being shipped.
• The terms and conditions agreed upon for the transportation of the goods are stated in the bill of lading.

Why is Bill of Lading so important for a shipment?

A bill of lading is important because it’s a legally binding document that gives the carrier and the shipper all of the information, they need to properly process a shipment, which is why it’s so important. This means that it can be used in court if necessary and that all the people involved will take great care to make sure the document is correct.

Moreover, a bill of landing is proof that the goods were shipped. Further to that, a bill of lading enables the separation of duties that is a necessary part of a firm’s internal control structure to ensure safety and prevent theft.

Bill of Lading Template

Things to keep in mind while constituting a Bill of Lading:

There are a lot of things you can find on a BoL. Having a good understanding of these parts is very important. In this way, you can give out the right information and save yourself a lot of time.

Any BoL should have the following :

• Name and address of the person who sends the package
• The name and address of the sender
• Purchase order or number
• In this particular instance, the pick-up date
• In order to get a description of what the goods are, you need (number of units, dimension, nature of cargo, etc.)
• The gross/net/tare weight of the package
• Details about how the packaging was made and used (crates, pills, drums, etc.)
• Any kind of note or instruction.

It’s mostly done by the carrier. As a shipper, it is your job to give the carrier the most up-to-date information and make sure that every information on the Bill of Lading is correct.

What are the types of the Bill of Lading?

There are different types of Bill of lading which is categorized in Negotiable and non- Negotiable Bill of lading.

Negotiable Bill of Lading:

If a person has the original approved Negotiable Bill, he or she can get goods from the carrier. This is called a “Negotiable Bill of Lading.”

It’s called a “Negotiable Bill of Lading” when the buyer or consignee signs and signs off on the documents, then gives them to a new consignee or a third party. The consignor must sign and stamp the Bill of Lading in order for it to be changed into a new one. After signing the document, It’s time for the carrier to take all of the goods to their end destination. Then, a new Bill of Lading must be written and sent to the person who will be getting the goods.

Non-Negotiable Bill of lading:

A non-negotiable Bill of Lading is a document that specifies who must get the goods. It doesn’t say who else can get them. It doesn’t mean that you own the goods by themselves, so it needs to be backed by other documentary proof.

Now that the basic categories are clear let’s move forward towards other types of Bill of Lading.

Original Bill of lading:

In this case, the consignee must show the original BoL and pay the shipper the rest of what they owe before the carrier gives them the items. This type of BoL is used if the items haven’t been paid in full.

Straight Bill of Lading

This type of BoL is used when the goods are paid for in full before they are shipped and then delivered to their destination. It is non-negotiable and can’t be changed.

Ocean Bill of Lading

An Ocean BOL is needed if goods are going to be moved across international waters. Most often, it is used when the shipper wants to keep control of the payment so that they can make sure that all of the money has been paid before they give the goods to someone else.

House Bill of Lading

A House Bill of Lading acts as a contract between the shipper and the recipient. Its signed by the freight forwarder and given to them.

A freight forwarder is a person or company that specializes in a wide range of transportation services, such as the storage, organization, transportation, and logistics of the freight that a shipper needs to send to a certain place.

Air Waybill

An air waybill (AWB) is a document that comes with goods that are sent by an international air courier. It gives detailed information about the shipment and lets people track it.

Sea Waybill

A sea waybill is often used instead of an Ocean BoL if the shipper doesn’t need to be in charge of the goods’ release when they arrive at the port. It is only used for goods that are shipped by sea.

Clause Bill of Lading

Claused Bill of Lading are the opposite of a clean bill of ladings. They mean that the delivered cargo is damaged or that there is a shortage of a certain item.

Multimodal Bill of Lading

For items that are going to be moved by air, land, or sea, a multimodal BOL is issued to make sure that they don’t get lost.

Clean Bill of Lading

When goods are loaded onto a ship, a clean BoL is used to show that they are in good condition when they are loaded. This is the official certification from the carrier