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A real-world bill of lading example, filled in box by box, with the reasoning behind each field. See which BOL errors hold up your invoice and how carriers move from paper BOLs to eBOLs.
It's 4:45 on a Friday. Your driver texts a photo of the signed delivery paperwork, and your billing person spots the problem right away: the consignee signed, but the piece count says 6 pallets on the line items and 5 in the driver's count, with no note explaining why. The customer's AP team will hold that invoice until someone sorts it out. Most BOL problems look like this. They're small, they're made at the dock, and they cost you days of cash. This guide walks through a complete bill of lading example, field by field, so your drivers, dispatchers and shippers fill it out the same way every time. If you already know the basics and want to stop chasing paper altogether, see how eBOL software builds the BOL straight from the load.
If late or disputed BOLs are slowing down your invoicing, a 30-minute demo shows how a signed BOL can turn into an invoice the same day.
What a bill of lading has to include (the legal minimum)
A bill of lading (BOL) does three jobs at once. It is the receipt the carrier gives for the freight, the contract of carriage that sets the terms, and the document everyone checks when something goes wrong.
For for-hire, non-exempt motor carriers, federal rules set a short list of required content. Under 49 CFR 373.101, the carrier must issue a receipt or bill of lading for interstate freight that shows:
the names of the consignor (shipper) and consignee
the origin and destination points
the number of packages
a description of the freight
the weight, volume or measurement of the freight, if the rate depends on it
The carrier also has to keep a record of that information. That is the legal floor. In practice, a usable BOL carries much more: reference numbers, payment terms, freight class for LTL, special instructions, hazmat details when needed, and the signatures that prove who handed over what, and when.
Bill of lading example: a filled-in BOL, field by field
Here is a hypothetical shipment. The company names are invented for illustration: a food producer ships 6 pallets of canned goods by LTL from Ohio to a grocery distribution center in Indiana.
Header: date, BOL number and references
Date: 11/10/2026. The date the freight is picked up. Per carrier BOL instructions such as Estes', the shipper dates the BOL.
BOL number: EF-104577. The shipper's own number for this shipment, so every party can reference the same document.
PO number: PO 88213. The consignee's purchase order. Many receivers match the invoice to this number, so a missing PO is a common reason payment stalls.
PRO number: applied by the carrier, usually as a barcode sticker the driver puts on the BOL at pickup. It is the carrier's tracking number, not the shipper's.
Ship from (shipper or consignor)
Example Foods Co., 1200 Industrial Pkwy, Columbus, OH 43219. Shipping contact name and phone, dock hours 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Write the full street address with ZIP Code, not a P.O. box. The pickup location is what the driver needs, which is not always the billing address.
Ship to (consignee)
Example Grocery DC, Receiving Door 4, 500 Commerce Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46241. Receiving contact and phone, appointment number APT-55102, receiving hours 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
If the shipment is cash on delivery, "COD" goes before the consignee name and the amount to collect goes in the COD box.
Carrier information
Your company name, SCAC code if you have one, truck and trailer numbers, and the seal number if the trailer is sealed at the dock (for example, seal 0049812). A seal number written on the BOL at origin and checked at delivery is your best evidence that the load was not opened in transit.
Freight charge terms (who pays)
Prepaid: the shipper pays the freight charges.
Collect: the consignee pays.
Third party: someone else pays, often a 3PL or the buyer's freight payment company. The full name and address of the bill-to party must be filled in.
In the example, the box is marked Prepaid. Per Estes' instructions, if the shipper marks neither prepaid nor collect, the shipment moves as prepaid. Whatever the box says decides who receives your invoice, so a wrong checkbox means a rebill.
Special instructions
"Delivery appointment APT-55102, 8:00 a.m. Do not double stack. Call receiving 30 minutes before arrival."
Keep this box for handling and delivery requirements the driver must act on. Liftgate, inside delivery or appointment requirements written here also back up any accessorial charges you bill later.
The freight line items
In our example, the single line reads:
Handling units: 6 pallets
Packages: 216 cartons
Hazmat (X): blank
Description of articles: Canned vegetables, in cartons, on pallets
NMFC item and class: looked up in the current NMFC
Weight: 3,600 lb
A few rules from carrier BOL instructions and the NMFC system:
Handling units vs. packages. Handling units are what the driver counts and moves (6 pallets). Packages are the pieces inside (216 cartons). Both should be filled in.
Description. Use the description that matches the NMFC item, not a product or brand name. "Canned vegetables" works. "Product #A-77" does not.
NMFC item and class (LTL). Freight class drives LTL pricing. The NMFTA moved many commodities to density-based classification on July 19, 2025 (Docket 2025-1), with a new 13-tier density scale, and more updates are rolling out in 2026, per Old Dominion's summary of the NMFC changes. Look the class up in the current NMFC instead of copying last year's BOL. In this example, each pallet measures 48 x 40 x 60 inches and weighs 600 lb, so the density is 600 lb divided by 66.7 cubic feet, about 9 lb per cubic foot. That density is what the shipper checks against the scale.
Weight. Use the actual scale weight. Carriers can reweigh and correct it, and a correction usually means a corrected invoice.
For a full truckload, class is often left blank because the rate is per load or per mile, but the count, description and weight still matter.
Hazardous materials (when they apply)
Our example has no hazmat, so the HM column stays empty. When there is hazmat, the shipping paper must show the basic description in this order: identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division, and packing group (49 CFR 172.202), plus an emergency response phone number. Mark the HM column with an X on that line.
Declared value and liability
Most LTL BOLs include a box for the declared value when the rate depends on value. If it is left blank, the carrier's released liability limits in its tariff usually apply. Shippers with high-value freight should fill it in deliberately, not by accident.
Signatures at pickup and delivery
Shipper signature: confirms the freight is described, packaged and marked correctly.
Driver signature at pickup: the carrier's receipt. The driver writes the number of handling units counted. If the driver could not count the freight (a sealed trailer, a live load the driver didn't watch), write "SL&C" (shipper's load and count) next to the count.
Consignee signature at delivery: with the date and time, and any exception written on the BOL: "1 pallet short", "2 cartons crushed", "seal broken". An exception that is not written down at delivery is very hard to prove later.
Want to try this with your own shipment? Fill in the same fields in our free template.
The BOL mistakes that hold up your invoice
A BOL error rarely stops a truck. It stops the money. These are the ones billing teams see over and over:
Count mismatch with no exception noted. The line items say 6, the delivery receipt says 5, and nobody wrote why. The customer short-pays or disputes the whole invoice.
Missing or illegible consignee signature. No proof of delivery, no payment. Factoring companies typically want the signed BOL or POD with the invoice, so check your agreement for exactly what they need.
Wrong payment terms or bill-to. Prepaid marked when it should be third party, so the invoice goes to the wrong company.
Missing PO or reference numbers. The receiver's AP team cannot match your invoice to an order.
Weight or class corrected after pickup. Your rate changes, the invoice has to be rebuilt, and the customer questions it.
Accessorials not documented. If in and out times at the dock are not recorded, detention is hard to bill. Our guide on how to reduce truck detention time covers what proof to capture.
The BOL never reaches the office. It sits in the cab for a week, or the photo is too blurry to read. Lost paperwork is a cost of its own, as we showed in the cost of lost PODs.
A 60-second BOL check for drivers before leaving the dock
Print this on the back of your driver handbook, or read it out at the next safety meeting:
Is the date filled in, and is the BOL number or PO on it?
Do the handling units on the BOL match what I counted? If not, did I write the real count?
Is the seal number written down, and does it match the seal on the doors?
Are the special instructions clear (appointment, no double stack, liftgate)?
Did the shipper sign? Did I sign and write my count (or SL&C)?
Do I have a readable copy or photo for the office before I pull out?
At delivery, the same check in reverse: count, check the seal, get a legible consignee name, signature, date and time, and write any exception before the receiver signs.
From paper BOL to eBOL: what changes for a carrier
Paper works until the volume grows. Every BOL has to be printed, signed, photographed or scanned, carried back, typed into your system and filed. Each handoff is a chance for the problems above.
An electronic bill of lading (eBOL) holds the same fields and signatures, but it is created from the load data and signed on a phone or tablet. Electronic signatures and records are legally valid for most commercial transactions in the US under the federal ESIGN Act and state electronic transactions laws (UETA in 49 states and DC; New York has its own law). For the legal details and how to switch, read our electronic bill of lading guide for US carriers.
What actually changes day to day:
No retyping. Shipper, consignee, references and line items come from the order already in your system.
Signatures and proof captured on the spot. Photos, time stamps and GPS location are attached to the load, not stuck in a camera roll.
The office sees the signed document immediately. Billing doesn't wait for the driver to come back.
Every BOL is findable. When a retailer issues a chargeback months later, you search instead of digging through boxes.
Where Dashdoc fits
Dashdoc is a TMS built around the carrier's load, from order to invoice, and the BOL is part of that flow rather than a separate piece of paper:
eBOLs generated from each load. The eBOL is pre-filled from the transport you already created, so the driver doesn't rewrite shipper, consignee or references. See the eBOL feature page.
Signatures in the driver app. Drivers collect signatures at pickup and delivery in the Dashdoc driver app, with photos, time stamps and GPS location as proof. The app keeps working without a signal and syncs when the phone is back online.
Documents in one place. Signed documents are stored with the load and can be found by location, driver or reference.
Billing starts at delivery. Once delivery is confirmed, the signed documents are already attached, and the invoice can be built from the load and your tariff grids in Dashdoc invoicing, instead of waiting for paperwork at the end of the week.
Customers see their documents. Shippers can follow loads and access delivery documents in the customer portal, which cuts the "can you send me the POD?" emails.
For a small fleet where the owner also does the billing, this is the difference between invoicing on Friday for last week's loads and invoicing the day the freight is delivered. Our trucking invoice guide for small carriers walks through that full path from rate con to paid invoice.
Want to see a driver sign an eBOL on a phone and the invoice build itself from that load? Book a 30-minute demo and bring one of your own BOLs.
Key takeaways
The legal minimum on a motor carrier BOL is short: shipper and consignee, origin and destination, number of packages, description, and weight when it affects the rate. A BOL that gets you paid needs more: references, payment terms, class for LTL, instructions and clean signatures.
Most BOL problems are counts, signatures, payment terms and missing references, and each one delays an invoice.
Freight class rules changed in 2025 and keep changing in 2026. Look up the current NMFC item instead of copying old BOLs.
A quick driver check at pickup and delivery prevents most disputes.
An eBOL removes the retyping and the trip back to the office, so billing can start when the freight is delivered.
If paper BOLs are still the reason your invoices go out late, let's look at your workflow together. Book a demo and we'll show you how your loads, eBOLs and invoices connect in Dashdoc.
FAQ
Who fills out the bill of lading?
Usually the shipper prepares the BOL, because it knows what is being shipped, the count and the references. The carrier must issue a receipt or bill of lading for the freight it accepts, and the driver signs it at pickup with the count. Many shippers use the carrier's BOL form or a standard template, and many carriers now generate an eBOL from the load instead.
What is a bill of lading number, and how is it different from a PRO number?
The bill of lading number is the shipper's reference for the shipment. The PRO number is the carrier's tracking number, often applied as a sticker at pickup. Both should appear on the BOL and on your invoice so the shipper, the receiver and your billing team can match the documents.
Who is the consignee on a bill of lading?
The consignee is the party receiving the freight at destination, for example a customer's warehouse or distribution center. It is not always the party paying the freight: that depends on the payment terms (prepaid, collect or third party).
What date should be entered on the bill of lading?
The date the freight is tendered and picked up. If the pickup slips to the next day, the BOL date should reflect the actual pickup, since that date is used for transit times and claims.
Is an electronic bill of lading as valid as a paper one?
In most commercial cases, yes. The federal ESIGN Act and state laws (UETA in 49 states and DC, plus New York's own law) give electronic records and signatures the same legal effect as paper ones. Check any specific customer or industry requirements, and see our electronic bill of lading guide for details.
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