Bills of Lading

In this page your will find information pertaining to the various types of Bills of Lading that you would generally come across in the course of business.. Bill of Lading (B/L) : A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company. It serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods.

• Amended B/L: B/L requiring updates that do not change financial status. this is slightly different from corrected B/L.
• B/L Terms & Conditions: the fine print on B/L. defines what the carrier can and cannot do, including the carrier's liabilities and contractual agreements.
• B/L's Status: represents whether the bill of lading has been input, rated, reconciled, printed, or released to the customer.
• B/L's Type: refers to the type of B/L being issued. Some examples are: a Memo (ME), Original (OBL), Non.negotiable, Corrected (CBL) or Amended (AM) B/L.
• Canceled B/L: B/L status. used to cancel a processed B/L. usually per shipper's request. different from voided B/L.
• Clean B/L: A B/L which bears no superimposed clause or notation which declares a defective condition of the goods and/or the packaging.
• Combined B/L: B/L that covers cargo moving over various transports.
• Consolidated B/L: B/L combined or consolidated from two or more B/L's.
• Corrected B/L: B/L requiring any update which results in money . or other financially related changes.
• Domestic B/L: Non-Negotiable B/L primarily containing routing details. usually used by truckers and freight forwarders.
• Duplicate B/L: Another original Bill of Lading set if first set is lost. also known as reissued B/L.
• Express B/L: Non-Negotiable B/L where there are no hard copies of originals printed.
• Freight B/L: A contract of carriage between a shipper and forwarder (who is usually a NVOCC). a Non-Negotiable document.
• Hitchment B/L: B/L covering parts of a shipment which are loaded at more than one location. Hitchment B/L usually consists of two parts, hitchment and hitchment memo. The hitchment portion usually covers the majority of a divided shipment and carries the entire revenue.
• House B/L: B/L issued by a freight forwarder or consolidator covering a single shipment containing the names, addresses and specific description of the goods shipped.
• Intermodal B/L: B/L covering cargo moving via multimodal means. Also known as Combined Transport B/L, or Multimodal B/L.
• Long Form B/L: B/L form with all Terms & Conditions written on it. Most B/L's are short form which incorporate the long form clauses by reference.
• Memo B/L: Unfreighted B/L with no charges listed.
• Negotiable B/L: The B/L is a title document to the goods, issued "to the order of" a party, usually the shipper, whose endorsement is required to effect is negotiation. Thus, a shipper's order (negotiable) B/L can be bought, sold, or traded while goods are in transit and is commonly used for letterofcredit transactions. The buyer must submit the original B/L to the carrier in order to take possession of the goods.
• Non-Negotiable B/L: See Straight B/L. Sometimes means a file copy of a B/L.
• "Onboard" B/L: B/L validated at the time of loading to transport. Onboard Air, Boxcar, Container, Rail, Truck and Vessel are the most common types.
• Optional Discharge B/L: B/L covering cargo with more than one discharge point option possibility.
• "Order" B/L: See Negotiable B/L.
• Original B/L: The part of the B/L set that has value, especially when negotiable. rest of set are only informational file copies. Abbreviated as OBL.
• Received for Shipment B/L: Validated at time cargo is received by ocean carrier to commence movement but before being validated as "Onboard".
• Reconciled B/L: B/L set which has completed a prescribed number of edits between the shippers instructions and the actual shipment received. This produces a very accurate B/L.
• Short Term B/L: Opposite of Long Form B/L, a B/L without the Terms & Conditions written on it. Also known as a Short Form B/L. The terms are incorporated by reference to the long form B/L.
• Split B/L: One of two or more B/L's which have been split from a single B/L.
• Stale B/L: A late B/L in banking, a B/L which has passed the time deadline of the L/C and is void.
• Straight (Consignment) B/L: Indicates the shipper will deliver the goods to the consignee. It does not convey title (Non-Negotiable). Most often used when the goods have been prepaid.
• "To Order" B/L: See Negotiable B/L.
• Voided B/L: Related to Consolidated B/L. those B/L's absorbed in the combining process. Different from Canceled B/L.

Negotiable Instruments : A document of title (such as a draft, promissory note, cheque, or bill of lading) transferable from one person to another in good faith for a consideration. Non-Negotiable bills of lading are known as "straight consignment." Negotiable bills are known as "order b/l's."