How to Fill Out a Bill of Lading (Step-by-Step Guide + Template)
Published on March 30, 2026 by CapyParse Team
If you've ever had a carrier re-bill you because of a wrong freight class, you know how painful a simple BOL mistake can be. A bill of lading isn't just a shipping form. It's a legally binding document that establishes carrier liability, serves as proof of shipment, and becomes the foundation for any freight claim you might need to file. Fill it out wrong and you're looking at re-bills, delayed deliveries, refused shipments at the dock, and a weaker position if cargo gets damaged. This guide walks through every field, step by step, so you get it right the first time.
What You'll Learn
- Every key field on a standard BOL, with what to enter and why it matters
- Step-by-step walkthrough from shipper info through signatures
- Common mistakes that trigger re-bills, delays, and claims disputes
- Straight BOL vs Order BOL -- when to use each type
- Digital vs paper BOLs -- the eBOL trend and what it means for your operation
- How to extract and organize BOL data automatically after the document is filled out
What Is a Bill of Lading?
A bill of lading (BOL) is a legal document issued when a carrier picks up freight from a shipper. It does three things at once: confirms the carrier received the described goods in the stated condition, establishes the terms of carriage, and (for negotiable BOLs) acts as a document of title that can transfer ownership during transit. Every domestic trucking shipment in the US requires one under the Carmack Amendment.
For a deeper dive into BOL types, legal framework, and how each field ties into freight billing, see our full guide: What Is a Bill of Lading?. Here we're focused on the practical part: filling one out correctly, field by field.
Key Fields on a Bill of Lading
A standard BOL has eight major sections. Here's what goes in each one, where errors happen, and what goes wrong downstream when a field is incorrect.
Step 1: Shipper Information
What to fill in:
- Company name -- the legal name of the business shipping the goods (not a trade name or DBA unless that's what's on file with the carrier)
- Street address -- the physical pickup location, including suite or dock number
- City, state, ZIP code
- Contact name and phone number -- critical for the driver to call when they arrive
- SID (Shipper ID) number -- if your facility uses one for dock scheduling
Why it matters: Wrong address means the driver goes to the wrong location. Missing contact info means the driver can't coordinate pickup, which leads to missed appointments and detention charges. The shipper info also shows up on the carrier's invoice and claims docs, so accuracy here affects billing and legal records.
Step 2: Consignee Information
What to fill in:
- Company name -- the legal name of the receiving party
- Delivery address -- the exact physical address, including dock or bay number
- City, state, ZIP code
- Contact name and phone number -- so the driver or carrier can schedule delivery
- CID (Consignee ID) number -- if the receiving facility uses appointment scheduling
Why it matters: Wrong consignee address means freight goes to the wrong place. Re-delivery charges apply, and sometimes goods sit at a terminal until the address gets corrected. For straight (non-negotiable) BOLs, the consignee is the only party authorized to receive the goods, so the name needs to match exactly what the receiving dock expects.
Step 3: Carrier Information
What to fill in:
- Carrier name -- the trucking company or LTL carrier transporting the freight
- SCAC code -- Standard Carrier Alpha Code, a 2-4 letter identifier assigned by NMFTA (e.g., FEDX for FedEx Freight, ODFL for Old Dominion)
- Trailer number -- the trailer or container number the freight is loaded onto
- PRO number -- the carrier's tracking number, often assigned at pickup
Why it matters: The carrier field identifies who has physical custody of the goods. Wrong carrier name or SCAC code means invoices won't match, and there may be confusion about who's liable in a damage claim. The PRO number is the carrier's primary reference for tracking the shipment through their network.
Step 4: Third-Party / Bill-To Information
What to fill in:
- Billing party name and address -- if someone other than the shipper or consignee is paying
- Freight charge terms -- select one: Prepaid (shipper pays), Collect (consignee pays), or Third Party (broker or other entity pays)
- Billing account number -- the payer's account number with the carrier, if applicable
Why it matters: Missing or incorrect bill-to info means the carrier doesn't know who to invoice. Payment delays follow, and sometimes the carrier holds freight at a terminal until billing is sorted out. Getting the charge terms wrong (marking "Prepaid" when it should be "Third Party") creates billing disputes that take weeks to resolve.
Step 5: Description of Goods
What to fill in:
- Number of handling units -- how many pallets, crates, or bundles (e.g., "4 pallets")
- Packaging type -- pallets, boxes, crates, drums, rolls, etc.
- Commodity description -- a specific description. "Auto parts" is too vague. "Steel brake rotors, uncoated, boxed" is correct.
- Weight -- total weight in pounds per line item. Use a calibrated scale. Don't estimate.
- Freight class -- the NMFC freight class (50 through 500), based on density, handling, stowability, and liability
- NMFC code -- the National Motor Freight Classification code. Look this up in the NMFC tariff or use the ClassIT tool from NMFTA.
- Dimensions -- length, width, and height of each handling unit. Required for density-based pricing and increasingly required by LTL carriers for all shipments.
Why it matters: This is where the most expensive mistakes happen. Wrong freight class triggers a carrier re-classification and re-bill, often 20-50% higher than the original quote. Underreporting weight means re-weigh surcharges. Vague descriptions like "FAK" or "general merchandise" weaken your position in a damage claim because the carrier can argue the goods weren't properly declared. Every line item should be specific enough that someone unfamiliar with your products can identify what's being shipped.
Step 6: Special Instructions and Declared Value
What to fill in:
- Special handling instructions -- liftgate required, inside delivery, limited access location, residential delivery, protect from freezing, etc.
- Declared value -- if you're declaring above the carrier's standard liability limit (usually $0.50/lb for LTL), enter the amount here. Declaring excess value usually adds a charge.
- Hazardous materials info -- if applicable: UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group, and emergency contact. Hazmat shipments need additional docs and placarding.
- Reference numbers -- PO numbers, customer reference numbers, appointment numbers, or any other identifiers the consignee needs for receiving
Why it matters: Forget to mark "liftgate required" and the driver shows up without one. Failed delivery, re-delivery charges, and a retroactive liftgate fee at a higher rate. Same story with "inside delivery." And if you don't declare excess value for high-value goods, the carrier's max liability is their released value rate, which is typically far below what your shipment is actually worth.
Step 7: BOL Number and Date
What to fill in:
- BOL number -- a unique identifier from the shipper. Most companies use sequential numbering or generate from their TMS/ERP. Each shipment gets a unique number.
- Date -- the pickup date. This becomes the "ship date" for transit time calculations and invoice matching.
- PO number(s) -- the buyer's purchase order numbers. Many consignees will refuse delivery if the PO on the BOL doesn't match their system.
Why it matters: The BOL number is your primary reference for tracking, invoicing, and auditing. Duplicates create confusion in your accounting system and make freight audits difficult. The date establishes when the carrier's transit obligation starts and is used to calculate on-time delivery. Wrong dates cause issues with PO matching at the consignee's dock.
Step 8: Signatures
What to fill in:
- Shipper signature -- an authorized rep signs to certify that the BOL info is accurate and the goods are properly classified, described, packaged, and labeled
- Driver/carrier signature -- the driver signs at pickup to acknowledge receipt of the goods in the described condition. Any visible damage or discrepancies should be noted before signing.
- Date and time of pickup -- when the driver actually picked up the freight. Important for detention tracking.
Why it matters: Signatures are the legal proof that custody transferred from shipper to carrier. Without the driver's signature, there's no evidence the carrier received the freight, which makes damage and loss claims nearly impossible to win. If the driver notices damage at pickup, those exceptions must be written on the BOL before signing. Otherwise, you can't later claim the damage happened in transit.
Common Mistakes When Filling Out a BOL
I've seen experienced shipping departments make every one of these. Each costs money, time, or both.
Wrong Freight Class
Freight class is determined by density, handling, stowability, and liability, not by what the product "looks like." Guessing instead of looking it up in the NMFC tariff is the number one cause of carrier re-bills. A single-class error can bump your freight cost 20-50%. Always verify with the NMFTA ClassIT tool or your TMS before writing it on the BOL.
Vague Commodity Description
Writing "merchandise" or "FAK" instead of a specific description is asking for trouble. Carriers may re-classify to a higher class, and damage claims are harder to support when the goods weren't properly identified. Be specific: instead of "electronics," write "consumer television sets, LCD, new, boxed, palletized." Anyone reading the BOL should be able to tell what was shipped.
Incorrect Weight
Estimating instead of using a calibrated scale leads to re-weigh surcharges. LTL carriers routinely weigh at their terminals, and if actual exceeds BOL weight, you get a re-bill plus a $25-75 re-weigh fee. For heavy shipments, even a 5% variance can bump you into a higher rate tier. Weigh each pallet before filling out the BOL, and include pallet weight in the total.
Forgetting Special Instructions
Liftgate, inside delivery, limited access, residential surcharges: all need to be on the BOL at shipment time. Forget "liftgate required" and the consignee has no dock? Driver can't deliver. You get a re-delivery charge, a retroactive liftgate fee, and a delayed shipment. Same with "protect from freeze" in winter. If it's not on the BOL and the goods freeze in the trailer, the carrier may not be liable.
Straight BOL vs Order BOL
These two types differ in one critical way: whether ownership can transfer during transit.
| Feature | Straight BOL | Order BOL |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiable? |
No, non-negotiable
|
Yes, negotiable
|
| Transfer of ownership | Goods can only go to the named consignee | Ownership can transfer by endorsing the document during transit |
| Common use case | Domestic trucking (LTL and FTL) where buyer and seller are known | International trade, commodity trading, letter-of-credit transactions |
| Document of title? | No, receipt and contract only | Yes, holder of the endorsed BOL has legal title |
| Delivery requirement | Carrier delivers to named consignee with proper ID | Carrier delivers to whoever presents the original endorsed BOL |
| Risk of fraud | Lower: goods go to a specific party | Higher: the document itself has value and can be stolen or forged |
| When to use | Most shipments where buyer is known and payment is arranged | When goods may be sold during transit or a bank needs title as collateral |
For the vast majority of domestic freight, you'll use a straight BOL. Order BOLs are primarily for international ocean freight, commodity trading, and letter-of-credit situations where the bank needs a negotiable document of title as security.
Digital vs Paper Bills of Lading
The freight industry is moving toward electronic bills of lading (eBOLs), and adoption is picking up fast. Under the ESIGN Act in the US and eIDAS in the EU, digital documents carry the same legal weight as paper. Major LTL carriers like Old Dominion, XPO, and Saia accept eBOLs, and many TMS platforms generate them natively.
The advantages are real. No printing, scanning, or filing paper. Fewer data entry errors because information flows digitally without re-keying. Automatic audit trail with timestamps. And they're harder to lose, which is a common problem when paper BOLs get passed between drivers, dock workers, and office staff.
That said, paper isn't going away overnight. Smaller carriers and owner-operators may not support electronic docs. Some consignees still want paper with wet signatures. And in some international trade scenarios, the original paper document is required for customs or LC presentation. Practical advice: check with your carrier and consignee before going fully digital, and keep a paper fallback in place.
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See Pricing →How to Organize and Extract BOL Data
Filling out a BOL correctly is half the challenge. Once the shipment is delivered, you need to get the data into your TMS, ERP, accounting system, or spreadsheet. For companies processing more than a handful of shipments per week, manual re-keying is slow, error-prone, and expensive: typically 15-30 minutes per document with a 1-4% error rate.
Modern OCR and AI extraction tools automate this. Upload the BOL PDF (scanned or digital) and the software extracts every field into structured columns: shipper name, consignee address, weight, freight class, NMFC code, PO numbers, and more. The best tools use AI rather than rigid templates, so they work across different carrier formats without setup. Confidence scoring flags uncertain extractions for human review instead of silently outputting bad data.
For a detailed comparison, see: Best Bill of Lading OCR Tools in 2026. For packing lists and rate confirmations, see Extract Data from Packing Lists.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a bill of lading is filled out incorrectly?
Incorrect BOL info can trigger freight re-bills (carrier re-classifies or re-weighs), delayed deliveries (wrong address or contact), refused shipments (PO numbers don't match), and weakened damage claims. The financial impact ranges from minor surcharges to thousands per shipment. Weight and freight class errors are the most costly; address errors cause the most operational disruption.
Is a bill of lading a legal document?
Yes. It's legally binding under the Carmack Amendment (domestic trucking), Hague-Visby Rules and Rotterdam Rules (ocean freight), and equivalent international conventions. It serves as a receipt, contract of carriage, and (for negotiable BOLs) document of title. Courts treat the info on a signed BOL as prima facie evidence of shipment condition at pickup.
Who is responsible for filling out the bill of lading?
The shipper (or their agent, like a freight broker or 3PL) prepares the BOL with accurate commodity descriptions, weights, classes, and addresses. The carrier's driver reviews and signs at pickup to acknowledge receipt. Both share responsibility, but commodity misclassification and weight errors typically fall on the shipper. The driver is responsible for noting visible damage or discrepancies at pickup.
What's the difference between a straight BOL and an order BOL?
A straight BOL is non-negotiable: it names a specific consignee and goods can only be delivered to them. An order BOL is negotiable, meaning ownership can transfer during transit by endorsing the document. Straight BOLs cover the vast majority of domestic trucking. Order BOLs are for international ocean freight, commodity trading, and LC transactions where a bank may hold title as collateral.
Can I use a digital bill of lading instead of paper?
Yes. eBOLs carry the same legal weight under the ESIGN Act (US) and eIDAS (EU). Major LTL carriers including Old Dominion, XPO, and Saia accept them, and many TMS platforms generate them natively. Benefits include fewer data entry errors, automatic audit trails, and no paper handling. But not all carriers support eBOLs yet, particularly smaller ones. Some consignees also still require paper with wet signatures. Check with your carrier and consignee first.
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