Every load has one. It is the most ordinary document in trucking and the one most likely to cost you thousands if you treat it as a formality.
Three jobs, one document
The shipper issues the BOL and it does three things simultaneously:
- Receipt. Proof you picked up this cargo, in this condition, on this date.
- Contract of carriage. The agreement with the shipper about how the freight moves.
- Document of title. Sometimes. A negotiable BOL can transfer ownership to whoever holds it. A straight BOL, which is what you will see most days, is non-negotiable and just directs delivery to the named consignee.
BOL is not the rate confirmation. The rate confirmation is your deal with the broker about money. The BOL is your document with the shipper about the freight. Different parties, different jobs, both required.
What is on it
- Shipper name, address, contact
- Consignee name, address, contact
- Your carrier name and MC or DOT number
- Freight description: commodity, weight, pieces, dimensions
- Freight class for LTL. See freight classes and NMFC.
- Pickup and delivery dates
- Special instructions: temperature, hazmat, fragile
- Reference and purchase order numbers
At pickup
- Inspect before you sign. Not after. Not from the cab.
- Count the pieces against what the BOL claims.
- Write down anything that does not match, before signing. Literally on the document: "Received 48 skids, 2 with visible damage."
- Get the shipper's signature.
- Keep your copy. Never hand over your only one.
Never sign a clean BOL for damaged freight. A clean signature certifies the freight was fine when you took it. If the consignee reports damage later, the Carmack Amendment presumes you did it, and you are now defending a claim for something that was broken before you arrived. Thirty seconds of writing at the dock is the entire difference.
At delivery
- Present the BOL to the consignee
- Have them inspect before signing
- Get their signature as Proof of Delivery
- Note any delivery exceptions in writing
- Keep the signed POD, because it is what gets you paid
Photograph every BOL with your phone, at pickup and at delivery. Costs nothing, takes five seconds, and turns a lost paper copy from an unpaid load into a minor annoyance.
Getting paid with it
Signed BOL plus POD is what triggers payment on net 30 terms, and it is also what your factor needs to advance you. See freight factoring. No POD, no payment, regardless of how well the load went.
The BOL is one item on the full list of documents you need before your first load.
Before any of this, a broker needs your carrier packet. TruckerPacket builds it in under 10 minutes for $14.99.