Bill of lading generator

How to use it

1. Fill in the shipper, the consignee and the carrier.
2. Describe each line of goods: pieces, packaging type and weight.
3. Add any special instructions.
4. Press “Save as PDF” to open your browser’s print dialog, and choose Save as PDF there or print it.

What a bill of lading does

It does three jobs at once, which is why it has three signature blocks. It is a receipt — the carrier signs to say they took the goods, in the condition described. It is a contract of carriage — the terms on which they agreed to move them. And it is the document of title that travels with the shipment and is signed again on delivery.

That last signature is the one that matters when something goes wrong. A consignee who signs without noting visible damage has accepted the goods in apparent good order, and a claim afterwards is a much harder conversation. Note damage on the document, at the point of delivery, before signing it.

Straight, and non-negotiable

This produces a straight bill of lading: the goods are consigned to the named party and to nobody else. An order bill can be endorsed over to a different party while the shipment is in transit — which is what makes it a financial instrument, and what makes it something to have drawn up properly rather than generated from a free page. The document says which kind it is on its face, as the convention requires.

Describing the goods properly

Pieces, packaging type and weight per line, because those three are what a carrier checks at the dock and what a claim is settled against later. “12 cartons, 240 kg” is a description; “goods” is not. Hazardous materials carry their own declaration requirements — a proper shipping name, a class, a UN number — which are legal obligations in most of the world and are outside what a template can give you. Put them in the special instructions, and check the rules for what you are moving.