Every truck shipment starts with one piece of paper, and it often gets filled out in a hurry while the driver waits. That page decides who pays the freight bill, what the carrier owes you if something breaks, and whether a surprise charge shows up two weeks later.
What is a bill of lading?
A BOL, short for bill of lading, is the document that travels with your freight. It's the carrier's receipt for the goods, the contract for moving them, and the record of who ships, who receives, and who pays. For US truck shipments you fill it out, the driver signs at pickup, and the consignee signs at delivery.
That's the short answer. The rest of this guide covers what goes in each field, what a mistake costs, and where to get a blank bill of lading you can fill in on screen.
The three jobs a bill of lading does
NMFTA, the trade group that publishes the National Motor Freight Classification, describes the BOL as a contract between shipper and carrier, a receipt for the goods, and in some cases a document of title. On a domestic truck move, the first two do nearly all the work. The title function matters mostly in international trade, where goods can be resold while they're still in transit.
In practice that means the bill of lading is your proof the carrier took the freight, in what condition, and on what terms. When a claim or a billing dispute starts, everyone reaches for it first.
Is a bill of lading required?
Yes. 49 CFR 373.101 says a for-hire motor carrier covered by the rule must give the shipper a receipt or bill of lading for interstate freight it takes on. The rule lists what the document has to contain: the names of the consignor and consignee, the origin and destination, the number of packages, a description of the freight, and the weight, volume or measurement when that affects the rate. The carrier has to keep a record of it. The Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 14706, repeats the duty to issue one.
NMFTA's own guidance goes further and calls the BOL legally required for interstate shipments. Whatever the exact wording, plan on having one ready for every pickup.
Straight bill of lading vs. order bill of lading
Most truck shipments use a straight bill of lading. NMFTA describes it as non-negotiable: the freight goes to the named consignee and can't be passed along to someone else by signing the paper over.
Federal law uses slightly different words. Under 49 U.S.C. 80103, a bill is negotiable when it says the goods go to the "order of a consignee," and nonnegotiable when it says they're delivered to a consignee. A common carrier issuing a nonnegotiable bill has to mark it "nonnegotiable" or "not negotiable." The statute's own notes say the old term "straight bill" is what the current text calls a nonnegotiable bill.
So if you're shipping pallets from your warehouse to a customer, you want a straight bill of lading. An order bill is a different tool for a different job.
Who prepares the bill of lading?
Usually you do. NMFTA's October 2025 guidance says the shipper creates or authorizes the BOL, the carrier accepts it, and a broker or 3PL may prepare it on the shipper's behalf. Old Dominion and XPO both let shippers build one in an online tool, and plenty of shippers use their own forms.
Carriers have their own rules about this. Old Dominion's BOL guide points to its tariffs for the full terms, and says it remains the shipper's responsibility to understand how the choices on the form affect the shipment. Ask your carrier or broker before the first pickup if your form works for them.
How to fill out a bill of lading, field by field
The layout below follows the federal list in 49 CFR 373.101 and the field order in Old Dominion's bill of lading guide. Your carrier's form may order things differently. The information is the same.
Shipper and consignee
Use full company names, street addresses and a real contact. The federal rule requires the names of the consignor and consignee and the origin and destination. Old Dominion also asks for a contact name and phone number at both the pickup and the delivery location. Pick someone who answers the phone, because that's who the driver will call if something goes wrong at the dock.
Add your reference numbers. A BOL number, load number and PO number are optional on Old Dominion's form, but they print on the freight invoice, which makes matching bills to orders much easier later.
Freight charges: prepaid, collect or third party
Pick who pays the carrier, on purpose. Old Dominion's form defaults to prepaid, which sends the freight invoice to the shipper. Collect sends it to the consignee. Third party names a different company, such as a broker or a parent company, as the bill-to.
This is also where a quiet trap lives. Old Dominion warns that when an agent is listed in those fields, it may still go after the actual shipper or consignee for the money. Carriers bill whoever the BOL names, whatever the purchase order says. Our guide to FOB and freight terms explains how those two documents should agree.
Handling units, pieces and packaging
Count the way the carrier counts. Old Dominion asks for the number of handling units, the number of individual pieces, and the piece type for each commodity. A handling unit is what the forklift moves, such as one pallet. Pieces are what's on it, such as 24 cartons.
If you're not sure how many units your freight will make, our posts on how many pallets fit on a 53 foot trailer and what it costs to ship a pallet walk through the math.
Commodity description
Say what the freight actually is. Old Dominion's instruction is to give a complete description for each item. "Boxed LED light fixtures" tells the carrier something. "Freight," "parts" or "general merchandise" doesn't, and a blank like that gives an inspector room to fill it in for you.
NMFC item and freight class
List the NMFC item number and the class together. Old Dominion asks for the NMFC number or the freight class, and NMFTA lists the NMFC item and class among the things a BOL should contain. Giving both is the stronger move. The item number shows the carrier why you chose the class. Our freight class and NMFC guide explains how to find yours.
Weight and dimensions
Weigh it, and include the packaging. Old Dominion wants a weight for each commodity with the packaging counted in, plus a total for the whole shipment. NMFTA also lists extreme dimensions as part of the contract details. Measure every handling unit at its widest point, including anything that hangs over the edge of the pallet.
Hazardous materials
If it's hazmat, treat this section as non-negotiable. Old Dominion's form has a hazmat checkbox, and when it's ticked you add the ID number, hazard class and packing group, plus an emergency contact name and phone number. NMFTA's hazmat guidance adds the proper shipping name, which has to match the federal Hazardous Materials Table, and says the emergency number should be staffed around the clock by someone who knows the material.
The shipper also signs a certification. Under 49 CFR 172.204, the certification goes on the shipping paper and has to be signed by a principal, officer, partner or employee of the shipper, or the shipper's agent. If you ship hazardous materials, your carrier and your training provider are the right people to confirm the details. A gap on this part of the form can get the shipment refused.
Services the delivery needs
Tell the carrier about anything beyond a dock-to-dock delivery. Old Dominion's form lists codes for services such as a hydraulic liftgate, inside delivery, residential delivery, call for appointment, arrival notification and protection from freezing. Skip one, and the driver can show up without the right truck, or the consignee can be caught off guard. NMFTA says missing accessorials can delay service and raise costs. Our guide to accessorial charges lists what each one tends to cost.
Special instructions and delivery date
Put handling notes where the driver will see them. Stacking limits, "do not tip," delivery hours and appointment details all go in the special instructions box. If the freight has to arrive by a certain date, there's a field for that as well.
Declared value and carrier liability
Write down the value, then read what it does. Old Dominion's form asks for the agreed or declared value of the freight, and notes that writing a value is not a request for additional cargo liability. That's bought separately under its tariff.
The reason this box matters: under 49 U.S.C. 14706(c)(1)(A), a carrier can limit its liability to a value set by the shipper's written or electronic declaration, or by written agreement, as long as that's reasonable. Old Dominion's BOL guide lists a default cap for new goods of $5.00 a pound, or $50,000 per occurrence. For used goods and household goods the cap drops to $0.10 a pound, or $10,000 per occurrence. A contract or tariff can change both. That guide is dated 2022 on the form and 2024 in the footer, so check the current tariff. Other carriers set their own limits. If your freight is worth more per pound than the default, ask about higher coverage before the truck leaves.
Loading, count and signatures
Know what each signature means. On Old Dominion's form, the person releasing the shipment signs for the shipper, and the driver completes a section with handling units received, date and trailer number. The shipper's signature is also your statement that the information above it is right.
If you load and seal a trailer yourself, you may see "shipper load and count" written on the bill. A 2004 column in 10-4 Magazine explains the idea this way: the shipper loads, counts and seals the trailer, and while the seal stays intact there's a presumption that any shortage found at delivery didn't happen in transit. If the carrier opens the trailer along the way without recounting, it can lose that presumption. That's industry commentary, not a statute, so ask your carrier how it treats the notation.
Finally, keep copies. NMFTA's guidance is to distribute copies to the shipper, the carrier and the consignee, and to keep one for your own records.
A made-up example
Here's how a clean set of lines looks for an invented shipment. The company, weights and sizes are illustrative only, so use your own measurements.
| Field | What to enter | Example (made-up shipment) |
|---|---|---|
| Handling units | Count and type | 2 pallets |
| Pieces | Count and type | 48 cartons |
| Description | What the product is | LED light fixtures, boxed |
| NMFC item and class | From your classification | Your NMFC item and sub, with its class |
| Weight | Includes packaging | 1,240 lb total (620 lb per pallet) |
| Dimensions | Each pallet, widest points | 48 x 40 x 52 in |
| Freight terms | Who pays the carrier | Prepaid |
| Services | Anything beyond dock to dock | Liftgate at delivery |
| Declared value | Value of the goods | Your invoice value |
If you'd rather have a second set of eyes on a bill of lading before the first pickup, request a freight quote and send your details. We're a licensed broker, MC 1631835, USDOT 4221571, and we'll tell you what the carrier will want to see.
What a mistake on the bill of lading costs you
NMFTA is blunt about this. Its position is that the shipper vouches for what's written on the form: the description, the weight, the piece count and the NMFC item. A misstated weight, class or count can change how a dispute or claim turns out. It also says errors are often caught only when the carrier tries to deliver.
A wrong weight, class or description
This is the expensive one. NMFTA says misclassified freight can lead to reweighs, reclasses and post-audit bills. When a terminal scale reads heavier than your BOL says, the invoice follows the scale. Our full breakdown of why an LTL invoice comes in higher than the quote covers those charges and how to dispute them.
Missing services
Leave off the liftgate and the driver can arrive without one. The delivery may get rescheduled, and a redelivery charge can follow. Residential and limited-access deliveries work the same way.
The wrong freight terms
Mark prepaid when you meant collect and the invoice goes to you. It's an easy mistake, and an annoying one to unwind.
A claim that gets complicated
At delivery, the consignee signs for the freight. NMFTA notes that whether that receipt is clean or notes exceptions can affect claims. Writing "damaged" on a delivery receipt isn't the same as filing a claim, though. Under 49 CFR 370.3, notations on delivery receipts and inspection reports don't satisfy the filing requirements on their own. A claim has to be in writing, identify the shipment, say the carrier is liable and demand a specific or determinable amount.
The clock matters too. Federal law sets floors here: a carrier can't shorten your window to file a claim below nine months, or your window to sue below two years. Under 49 CFR 370.9, a carrier has to pay, decline or make a firm written settlement offer within 120 days of receiving the claim. The BOL and the carrier's tariff set the filing window you actually have. Our guide to FOB and freight terms covers who files the claim and the Carmack deadlines in more detail.
Hazmat paperwork
NMFTA's hazmat guidance says carriers may reject noncompliant shipments and that paperwork errors can bring civil penalties from PHMSA. It says a shipment without the shipper's certification can be deemed invalid.
Free blank bill of lading template (fillable PDF)
We built a blank bill of lading template you can download and fill in on screen. It's a one-page PDF with fields for everything covered above: parties, freight terms, units and pieces, description, NMFC item and class, weight and dimensions, hazmat details, services, special instructions, declared value, and the shipper and driver signature blocks.
A few notes on using it. Many carriers have their own bill of lading and contract terms, so treat this sheet as a way to gather the right information, then follow your carrier's rules. Weigh and measure before you fill it in. Print a copy for the driver and keep a signed copy for yourself. This is a planning tool, not legal advice.
If your carrier offers an online BOL tool, use it. NMFTA's DSDC has built an eBOL API standard so the same fields populate across parties, though NMFTA stresses that every field still has to be right.
Bill of lading questions, answered
Who provides a bill of lading?
The carrier or the shipper can issue one, and a broker or 3PL can prepare it for the shipper. In practice, the shipper usually creates it and the carrier accepts it at pickup.
Can I create my own bill of lading?
Yes, many shippers do, using a carrier's online tool or their own form. Check with the carrier first, because carriers often apply their own terms and may want their own form.
Who gets the bill of lading?
The shipper, the carrier and the consignee each get a copy. Keep yours with the shipment records.
What is the purpose of a bill of lading?
It does three jobs: it's a receipt for the freight, evidence of the contract of carriage, and, in some trades, a document of title. It also records who pays and what the carrier is moving.
Bill of lading vs. freight bill: what's the difference?
The bill of lading is the shipment document you complete at pickup. The freight bill is the carrier's invoice. Under 49 CFR 373.103, a for-hire property carrier has to issue a freight or expense bill, and the payor receives it.
Do I need a bill of lading for every shipment?
For for-hire interstate truck freight, yes. The carrier has to hand over a receipt or bill of lading for the freight it takes, and the BOL is the paper trail from pickup to delivery.
The bottom line
A bill of lading takes a few minutes to complete correctly, and it can spare you a lot of billing and claims trouble later. Use full names and real contacts. Weigh and measure the freight. Describe it specifically, with the NMFC item and class. Pick the freight terms on purpose, and write down any service the delivery needs.
If you move freight out of the Chicago area or anywhere in the lower 48, we can help you get the paperwork right the first time. Get an LTL freight quote, look into our full truckload service, or learn more about working with a freight broker in Chicago. The American Truck Inc. is a licensed freight brokerage, MC 1631835, USDOT 4221571, at (630) 884-1125.
Sources: 49 CFR 373.101, 373.103, 370.3, 370.9 and 172.204 (eCFR); 49 U.S.C. 14706 and 80103 (Cornell LII); NMFTA's bill of lading glossary page, its October 16, 2025 guidance on bills of lading and its hazmat BOL page; Old Dominion's bill of lading guide (form dated 02/2022, footer 2024). Carrier figures change, so confirm them against your carrier's current tariff.
Cover photo: Gustavo Fring on Pexels.
