The Bill of Lading forms below are free to download, modify and print for your small business shipping needs.
What is a Bill of Lading?
A Bill of Lading is a document signed by a carrier (a transporter of goods) or the carrier’s representative and issued to a consignor (the shipper of goods) that indicates the receipt of goods for shipment to a specific designation and person.
Shippers using all types of transportation issue bills of lading when they accept the transportation of cargo. In addition to the receipt for the delivery of goods, the bill of lading is a contract of their shipping.
The abbreviations of a bill of lading are B/L or BOL. It is one of three important documents used in international trade to help ensure and guarantee that exporters receive payment and importers receive merchandise.
There are two types of a bill of lading which are the straight bill of lading and an order bill. The straight bill of lading is used when payment has been made before shipment and requires a carrier to deliver the goods to the appropriate party. The order bill of lading is used when shipping goods or merchandise before payment requiring a carrier to deliver the goods to the importer, and at the endorsement of the exporter the carrier may transfer title to the importer. An endorsed order bill of lading can be traded as a security or serve as collateral against debt obligations.
A carrier is any person who, through a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or procure the performance of carriage by rail, road, sea, air, inland waterway, or by a combination of modes.
There are three forms below that can be easily downloaded, converted and then modified and ready to print for your small business.
Click on the link(s) to download the file(s) below:
Sample Bill of Lading Form (PDF) Bill of Lading Delivery Receipt (PDF) Bill of Lading Delivery Record (PDF)