Bill of lading generator: fill it in, print it, hand it to the driver.
A straight, non-negotiable bill of lading with order lines, freight lines, live totals and the hazmat fields the rules ask for. It runs in your browser: no signup, and nothing you type is sent to us.
Just need an empty form for the driver to fill in by hand? Print a blank BOL (no typing, no email). Prefer a PDF you can type into? Get the fillable PDF template.
Fill in what you know. Blank fields print as lines you can write on, and the totals add up as you type. Press Print for three labelled copies (shipper, carrier, consignee) or a single copy on Letter paper, black on white. To get a file instead, pick "Save as PDF" as the printer.
What a bill of lading does
A bill of lading (BOL) does three jobs at once, and knowing which job a field serves tells you how careful to be with it.
- Receipt. When the driver signs, the carrier acknowledges taking the freight described: who shipped it, who gets it, how many pieces, what it is and what it weighs. For for-hire motor carriers those items are the minimum contents of the receipt or bill of lading under 49 CFR 373.101.
- Evidence of the contract. The bill ties the shipment to the carrier's rates, rules and terms, or to the written agreement between the carrier and whoever pays. A motor carrier is liable for actual loss or injury to the property to the person entitled to recover under the receipt or bill of lading, and failing to issue one does not remove that liability (49 U.S.C. 14706(a)(1)).
- Document of title, for order bills only. A negotiable order bill controls who may claim the goods, so it can be sold or pledged while the freight is moving. A straight bill, the kind most domestic truck freight moves on, names the consignee and gives nothing extra to whoever happens to hold the paper (49 U.S.C. 80103).
Straight vs. order bill of lading
| Straight bill | Order bill | |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered to | The consignee named on the bill | The order of a consignee, so the holder of the endorsed bill can claim the goods |
| Negotiable? | No; endorsing it does not make it negotiable (80103(b)(1)) | Yes, unless the bill says on its face that it is not (80103(a)(1)) |
| What the face must say | "Nonnegotiable" or "not negotiable" when a common carrier issues it (80103(b)(2)) | That the goods go to the order of a consignee |
| Typical use | Domestic truckload, LTL, hotshot; this generator | Export sales, letters of credit, goods sold while in transit |
The fields carriers and receivers check
| Field | Who checks it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ship-to name, address, location number | Driver, receiver | A wrong DC or store number sends the truck to the wrong door or gets it turned away at the gate. |
| Customer order and PO numbers | Receiver | Receiving matches the delivery to the appointment and to open purchase orders. A PO it cannot find is freight it may not accept. |
| Handling units and piece count | Driver at pickup, receiver at delivery | The count the driver signs for is the count the carrier answers for, and the count the receiver checks against. |
| Weight and description | Carrier | Rating, legal weight on the truck, and for LTL the freight class. A description that does not match the freight invites an inspection and a corrected bill. |
| Seal number | Receiver | An intact seal whose number matches the bill shows the doors stayed shut between pickup and delivery. |
| Carrier, SCAC, PRO and trailer number | Carrier, receiver | Tie the paper to the carrier's billing record and to the trailer at the door. |
| Freight terms and bill-to | Carrier billing | Decide who gets the freight bill. A wrong box sends the invoice to the wrong company. |
| HM lines, emergency number, certification | Driver, enforcement officers | Required on hazmat shipping papers (49 CFR 172.201, 172.204, 172.604). |
| Signatures, loaded-by and counted-by boxes | Anyone handling a claim | Show who loaded the trailer, who counted and what the carrier actually signed for. |
Four mistakes that hold up a delivery
- PO mismatch. A transposed digit, a PO missing from a multi-PO load or a PO from a cancelled order means receiving cannot match the freight to an order. Copy PO numbers from the order itself, list every PO on the trailer, and check them against the appointment. The retail DC delivery guide covers the receiving side.
- Missing seal number. If the seal on the doors is not written on the bill, the receiver cannot confirm the trailer arrived unopened, and some will not break a seal they cannot match. Write the number before the driver signs, and photograph the sealed doors.
- Wrong piece count. The receiver counts against the bill. If it says 14 pallets and 12 arrive, that is a shortage note at the dock and a claim to chase; if it says 12 and 14 arrive, another order is short. Count after the last pallet is on, not from the pick ticket.
- No hazmat emergency number. A hazmat line without a monitored emergency response number breaks 49 CFR 172.604 and can stop the load at pickup or at a roadside inspection. Use a line that is answered live at all hours, not an office number that closes at 5.
Who keeps which copy
Three copies is a working custom, not a number set in the regulations. What matters is that each party ends up holding a signed copy, and that the shipper's and the carrier's copies show the same counts.
Worked example (illustrative)
A household-products distributor ships three purchase orders to one retail DC on a sealed 53-foot van. Two orders are liquid laundry detergent; the third is two pallets of paint in 5-gallon pails. The DC appointment lists all three POs.
| Customer order | Packages | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| PO 45120, detergent | 240 cartons | 5,280 |
| PO 45121, detergent | 160 cartons | 3,520 |
| PO 45122, paint | 72 pails | 4,000 |
| Order totals | 472 | 12,800 |
| Freight line | Units | Packages | Weight (lb) | HM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid laundry detergent, not regulated | 10 pallets | 400 cartons | 8,800 | |
| UN1263, Paint, 3, PG III, 360 gal | 2 pallets | 72 pails | 4,000 | X |
| Freight totals | 12 | 472 | 12,800 |
The check: the detergent line is 240 + 160 = 400 cartons and 5,280 + 3,520 = 8,800 lb. Adding the paint line gives 400 + 72 = 472 packages and 8,800 + 4,000 = 12,800 lb, the same as the order totals, so the generator shows no mismatch. 72 pails × 5 gallons = 360 gallons, the total quantity with its unit that 49 CFR 172.202(a)(5) asks for. Because one line carries an X in the HM column, the sheet prints the emergency contact number once in a box and the shipper's certification above the shipper's signature. The driver counts 12 pallets, not the cartons and pails on them, so the shipper ticks "By driver: pallets said to contain", and the seal number goes on the bill before the driver signs. Placarding and loading rules for the paint are separate checks; the bill only records the description.
Hazardous materials on the bill
When regulated hazmat shares a bill with ordinary freight, the hazmat entries must be listed first, printed in a contrasting color, or marked with an "X" (or "RQ" where it applies) in a column headed "HM" (49 CFR 172.201(a)(1)). This generator uses the HM column. The basic description runs in a fixed order with nothing in between: identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group, followed by the total quantity and its unit (49 CFR 172.202). The shipper certifies the shipment by printing the wording of 49 CFR 172.204(a)(1) on the shipping paper, and a principal, officer, partner or employee of the shipper or its agent signs it (172.204(d)). The emergency response number goes either right after each hazmat description or, when one number covers every hazardous material on the bill, once in a prominent spot labelled as the emergency contact (49 CFR 172.604(a)(3)); this generator prints it once in a bold box. If a hazmat bill runs to a second page, number each page and show the total on the first ("Page 1 of 2"), as 172.201(c) requires; the printed sheet has blanks for that.
What the generator does and does not do
- It builds the bill in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to us. The draft button writes to this browser's local storage, and Clear form deletes it.
- It adds up the lines and warns when the customer-order totals and the freight-line totals disagree.
- It does not write contract terms. The printed receipt statement says the carrier's own tariff, rules and terms, or your written agreement with the carrier, govern the shipment. Ask the carrier for its rules if you need them; 49 U.S.C. 14706(c)(1)(B) entitles you to a copy on request.
- It does not check hazmat descriptions or tell you whether your freight is regulated. That decision belongs to the shipper and its hazmat-trained staff.
Bill of lading questions
Is a bill of lading from this generator valid?
The federal rule for motor carriers lists what a receipt or bill of lading must contain; it does not prescribe a particular form. Under 49 CFR 373.101 it must show the consignor and consignee, the origin and destination, the number of packages, a description of the freight, and the weight, volume or measurement when the rate depends on it. This form has room for all of that. Many carriers accept a bill the shipper prepares, while some require their own paper or electronic form, so ask the carrier before pickup. The document works as the carrier's receipt once the driver signs it.
Is Averstone Logistics part of my shipment if I use this form?
No. The generator is a free tool that runs in your browser. Averstone Logistics LLC is not a party to the shipment, is not named as shipper, consignee, carrier or bill-to party, and receives nothing you type; the printed sheet carries a small footer saying so. Your contract of carriage is with the carrier that signs the bill.
What is the difference between a straight and an order bill of lading?
A straight bill consigns the goods to a named consignee and cannot be negotiated; a carrier issuing one must mark it "nonnegotiable" or "not negotiable" (49 U.S.C. 80103(b)). An order bill states that the goods are to be delivered to the order of a consignee, which makes it negotiable (49 U.S.C. 80103(a)): the bill itself controls who may claim the goods, so it works as a document of title, mostly in export and letter-of-credit trade. This tool prints straight bills only.
When does the bill of lading need an emergency response phone number?
When any line is a hazardous material that needs a shipping description, unless an exception applies. 49 CFR 172.604 requires a numeric number with the area code, monitored at all times while the material is in transportation, answered by someone who knows the material or has immediate access to someone who does. An answering service, answering machine or any number that needs a call-back does not meet the rule. Limited and excepted quantities, and a short list of named items such as dry ice and internal combustion engines, are exempt (172.604(d)). Marking HM on any line opens the field, and the sheet prints the number once, labelled EMERGENCY CONTACT.
What do "trailer loaded by" and "freight counted by" mean?
They record who loaded the trailer and who counted the freight. "By shipper" means the count on the bill is the shipper's statement, which is common with sealed trailers and drop loads. "By driver, pallets said to contain" means the driver counted the pallets but not what is inside them. "By driver, pieces" means the driver counted every piece. If a shortage turns up at delivery, these boxes are among the first things anyone handling the claim reads.
How long should I keep my copy?
At least until any claim window has closed. A carrier may not give you less than 9 months to file a loss or damage claim, or less than 2 years to sue after it disallows a claim in writing (49 U.S.C. 14706(e)). For hazardous materials the shipper must keep a copy of the shipping paper for 2 years after the first carrier accepts it, or 3 years for hazardous waste, and the copy must show the date the first carrier accepted it (49 CFR 172.201(e)). Motor carriers keep their copies of bills of lading for at least 1 year (49 CFR part 379, appendix A).
Do I need an NMFC item number and freight class?
Usually only for LTL. Less-than-truckload carriers price by freight class from the National Motor Freight Classification, so a missing or wrong class can lead to a re-class and a corrected bill after pickup. Truckload and hotshot moves are normally priced per load, and those two columns can stay blank.
Does anything I type get sent to Averstone Logistics?
No. The form, the totals and the printable sheet are built in your browser. "Save draft on this device" stores the entries in this browser's local storage only, and "Clear form" deletes them. When you press Print, our analytics receives one value: whether any line was marked hazmat or the bill was standard. No names, addresses, reference numbers, counts or descriptions. The one exception on your side: letters typed in an address box go to the Photon address-suggestion service (OpenStreetMap data) so it can suggest matches; type the address in full if you would rather not use suggestions.
Fillable Bill of Lading Template (PDF)
A one-page straight bill of lading you can type into on screen or print, with hazmat fields and a field guide on page two.
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