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."