Free Bill of Lading Template

A bill of lading (BOL or B/L) is the document that travels with a freight shipment. The shipper prepares it, the carrier signs it when it picks the goods up, and the receiver signs it on delivery. It does three jobs at once:

• Receipt – the carrier confirms it received the listed goods, in the stated quantity and apparent condition.
• Contract of carriage – it records who is shipping what, where to, and on which terms, including who pays the freight.
• Document of title – for negotiable (order) bills of lading, whoever holds the endorsed original can claim the goods.

If goods arrive damaged or short, the signed BOL is your first piece of evidence in a freight claim, so it pays to fill it in carefully.

Carrier forms differ, but a standard bill of lading has the same core fields:

• BOL number and date – your own reference, often the order or shipment number, and the pickup date.
• Shipper – the name, address and phone number of the party sending the goods.
• Consignee – who receives the goods and where they are delivered.
• Carrier and PRO number – the trucking company and the tracking number it assigns to the shipment.
• Freight terms – prepaid (the shipper pays), collect (the consignee pays) or third party (someone else, such as a broker or the buyer's freight account, is billed).
• Item lines – a description, number of pieces or pallets, weight and dimensions for each item, plus the declared value where relevant.
• Special instructions – liftgate, appointment or residential delivery, “do not stack” and similar handling notes.
• Signatures – shipper and carrier at pickup, consignee at delivery.

For LTL freight in the US, carriers also expect the NMFC freight class of each item, which drives the rate. Hazardous materials need proper shipping-paper entries (UN number, shipping name, hazard class and an emergency contact) under the DOT's hazmat rules. This template has no dedicated fields for those, so add them to the item description or special instructions, or use the carrier's own hazmat BOL.

• Straight bill of lading – non-negotiable. The carrier delivers only to the named consignee. This is the usual BOL for domestic trucking and for goods that are already paid for.
• Order bill of lading – negotiable. It is made out “to order” and can be endorsed to a new owner while the cargo is in transit, which is why banks rely on it in letter-of-credit trades.
• Clean vs claused – a clean BOL means the carrier noted no damage at pickup; a claused (foul) BOL records a problem, such as a broken pallet or a short count.
• Master vs house – in ocean and air freight the carrier issues a master bill to the forwarder, and the forwarder issues house bills to each shipper whose goods it consolidated.

The template on this page produces a straight, domestic-style bill of lading.

1. Give the shipment a BOL number and confirm the pickup date.
2. Enter the shipper's and consignee's full addresses and a phone number for each.
3. Add the carrier name and, if you have it from the booking, the PRO number. Otherwise leave it blank for the driver.
4. Choose prepaid, collect or third-party freight terms, matching what you agreed with the carrier.
5. List each item or pallet with its description, quantity, weight and dimensions. Weigh the shipment rather than guessing: carriers reweigh freight and bill the difference.
6. Add special handling instructions, freight class or hazmat details if they apply.
7. Preview the document, print at least three copies (shipper, carrier and consignee) and have the driver sign at pickup.

Selling the goods online? Your Next Store keeps orders, shipments and tracking numbers together, and the free shipping label template covers parcels that don't need a BOL.