The bill of lading (in ocean transport), waybill or consignment note (in air, road, rail or sea transport), and receipt (in postal or courier delivery) are collectively known as the transport documents.

Please see the sample Ocean Bill of Lading below. The bill of lading (B/L) serves as a receipt for goods, an evidence of the contract of carriage, and a document of title to the goods. The carrier issues the B/L according to the information in a dock receipt, or in some cases according to a completed working copy of the B/L supplied by the customs broker.

The B/L must indicate that the goods have been loaded on board or shipped on a named vessel, and it must be signed or authenticated by the carrier or the master, or the agent on behalf of the carrier or the master. The signature or authentication must be identified as carrier or master, and in the case of agent signing or authenticating, the name and capacity of the carrier or the master on whose behalf such agent signs or authenticates must be indicated.

Unless otherwise stipulated in the letter of credit (L/C), a bill of lading containing an indication that it is subject to a charter party and/or that the vessel is propelled by sail only is not acceptable.

The Date of Shipment in Ocean Freight

In cases where the bill of lading (B/L) has pre-printed wording indicating that the goods have been loaded on board or shipped on a named vessel, the issuance date of such B/L is considered to be the date of loading on board or the date of shipment.

In cases where the B/L does not have pre-printed wording indicating that the goods have been loaded on board or shipped on a named vessel, the loading on board a named vessel is evidenced by the on board notation (e.g. "on board", "laden on board" or "shipped on board") on the B/L, which must be initialled and dated by the carrier or its agent. The date of the on board notation is considered to be the date of shipment.

Transhipment Clauses in Ocean Bills of Lading

If the bill of lading incorporates clauses stating that the carrier reserves the right to tranship, then the transhipment is allowed even if the letter of credit (L/C) prohibits transhipment.

Loading On Deck

Unless otherwise stipulated in the letter of credit (L/C), the bill of lading (B/L) must not indicate that the goods are or will be loaded on deck. Modern cellular container ships carry about one-third of the containers on deck. Consequently, the B/L may contain a provision that the goods may be carried on deck. If such provision is contained on the B/L, then the loading on deck is acceptable even if the L/C stipulates otherwise, provided that the B/L does not specifically state that the goods are or will be loaded on deck.

" Full Set ... " (as stipulated in the sample Letter of Credit)
and

" Number of Original B(s)/L "

Full set means all the originals as so issued by the carrier or its agent. A set contains at least two originals. In practice, a set of three originals is the most common.

The number of original bills of lading (Bs/L) may be expressed as 3/3 (read as 'three of three') or 2/2 (read as 'two of two'). In the sample Letter of Credit the L/C stipulates "Full set 3/3 ...", which means that DEF Imports requires a full set B/L containing three originals.

If the L/C did not contain the expression "Full set 3/3", then the number of original bills of lading required would depend on the number as so issued by the carrier. It can be a sole original B/L, that is, one original only.

The originals are marked as "original" on their face and all have equal value, that is, all have the same validity. The purpose of issuing more than one original is to ensure that the port of destination will receive the original when dispatched separately. The original Bs/L are proof of ownership of goods, one of which must be surrendered to the carrier at destination, duly endorsed by the title holder in the goods in exchange for the goods or the delivery order. When one of the originals being surrendered to the carrier, the others become invalid.

" ... two (2) non-negotiable copies "
(as stipulated in the sample Letter of Credit)

The non-negotiable copy of bill of lading (B/L) should not be confused with the non-negotiable bill of lading or straight bill of lading. The non-negotiable copy of B/L simply means the unsigned copy of the B/L, which is for information purposes. The copies are marked as "non-negotiable".

The copies of the B/L can be of any number. The number depends on the requirements of the importer, importing country, shipper, carrier, Chamber of Commerce (if the L/C calls for certification of the B/L), and Consulate (if the L/C calls for consular legalization of the B/L).

In the sample Letter of Credit DEF Imports requires two copies of the non-negotiable copy of bill of lading.

" Place of Receipt "

If the place of receipt (or taking in charge) is different from the port of loading, as in the case of multimodal transport, the on board notation or the pre-printed wording must include the letter of credit (L/C) stipulated port of loading and the name of vessel on which the goods have been loaded.

" Container No(s). " and " Seal No(s). "

Please refer to The Marking and Identification of Containers. The container number is entered on the dock receipt and the bill of lading (B/L).

Under the shipper's load and count arrangement, the shipper or its agent must seal the container before transferring it to the carrier. The container that originates from a bonded factory outside the EPZ (export processing zone) or from a factory inside the EPZ is sealed before leaving the bonded factory or the EPZ.

The metal seal for the container is provided by the carrier. The seal number is entered on the dock receipt and the B/L. If a seal is broken for customs purposes, a customs inspector must supervise the breaking of the seal and the resealing of the container. The new seal number replaces the previous number that was entered on the dock receipt.

" Shipper "

Unless otherwise stipulated in the letter of credit (L/C), the bill of lading may indicate as the shipper (the consignor) of the goods a party other than the beneficiary of the L/C.

" Notify Party " and

" Also Notify " or " Additional Notify Party "

The notify party is the party that the carrier must notify when the goods arrive at the port of destination. The carrier issues an Arrival Notice informing the notify party about the cargo discharge point, number of packages and other information. The letter of credit (L/C) may require that the carrier notifies a party in addition to the notify party, usually using the words "also notify".

The notify party depends on the L/C requirement, it can be the importer, freight forwarder or bank. In the sample Letter of Credit the L/C stipulated "notify the above accountee", in other words the notify party is DEF Imports, 7 Sunshine Street, Sunlight City, Import-Country.

If the notify party and the consignee are the same party, then enter the word "SAME" or "CONSIGNEE" in the 'Notify Party' field in the bill of lading (B/L).