NexPCB Community Knowledge Base
Knowledge Base
See Our Capabilities

Bill of Lading

Table of Contents

What Is The Bill of Lading?

A Bill of Lading (B/L) is one of the legal documents used for shipping globally.

The B/L has 2 major functions:

  • As evidence for the contract of carriage
  • As a receipt of goods purchased or sold

Generally, for shipments through air and sea freight, draft documents are issued before the customs declaration. A formal bill of lading is issued in within a week after the ship sails.

Classifying Bill of Lading

1. Based on the goods' loading status

  1. Shipped B/L or on Board B/L
  2. Received for Shipment B/L

2. Based on who has control over the shipment

  1. Straight B/L, also known as the consignee's bill of lading.

    This means that the consignee has control over the shipment.

  2. Order B/L

    Order B/L means that the shipment is controlled by an appointed party.

  3. Blank B/L or Open B/L

    This means the document is left unfilled or partially empty and is available to be used by anyone else.

3. Based on the goods' condition upon shipping receipt

  1. Clean B/L

    A clean bill of lading is issued when the goods received upon shipment are in good condition and are expected to be received at the same conditions.

  2. Foul B/L

    A foul bill of lading is issued when the goods received have problems with their surface or packaging. Banks usually won't accept foul B/L when handling foreign settlements.

4. Based on the payment method

  1. Freight Prepaid B/L.
  2. Freight Collect B/L.

5. Based on the shipment operation modes

  1. Liner B/L
  2. Charter Party B/L

Bill of Lading Details

A Bill of Lading should include these details:

  • Shipper information
  • Consignee information
  • Notified Party
  • Loading Party
  • Place of Receipt
  • Ocean Vessel
  • Loading Port
  • Port of Discharge
  • Place of Delivery (Recipient Address)
  • Marks and numbers, container numbers, and seal numbers
  • Number of containers or P kgs
  • Type of packaging, description of goods
  • Gross Weight (kgs)
  • Volume
  • Freight and charges, where to pay, and how to pay
  • Bill of lading number and original bill of lading (B/L No., No. of Original B(s)/L)
  • Place and Date of Issue
  • Carrier signature

Difference between Bill of Landing (B/L) and Delivery Order (D/O)

B/L: BILL OF LADING is the document of title to the goods.

D/O: DELIVERY ORDER bill of lading, which is the document required when picking up the goods at the destination port, and cannot be transferred.

After the goods are on board, the shipping company issues B/L to SHIPPER, and SHIPPER transfers the B/L to CONSIGNEE. When the goods arrive at the port, CONSIGNEE goes to the shipping company for D/O with the B/L and picks up the goods at the port with the D/O.

One and only one of the two remains in the hands of the cargo owner before the cargo is picked up, but the D/O is no longer a document of title. After the cargo owner receives the D/O, it means that the shipping company has released the cargo to the cargo owner