# What Is a Bill of Lading (B/L)? Types, Fields and Checklist

> What a bill of lading does, the difference between original, telex release and seaway bill, house and master B/L, mandatory fields and a pre-shipment checklist.

- URL: https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/what-is-a-bill-of-lading
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-10-03
- Publisher: FCRSOFT (https://fcrsoft.com)

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# What Is a Bill of Lading?

A bill of lading is a receipt showing the carrier has taken the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and, in most cases, a document of title to the goods. An incorrect B/L can stop both delivery and payment.
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## The three functions of a bill of lading

- Receipt: the carrier has received the goods in the stated condition.

- Evidence of contract: carriage terms are set by the conditions on the reverse.

- Document of title: an original B/L made out to order is transferred by endorsement.

## House and master B/L

The forwarder issues a house B/L in the name of the actual shipper and consignee; the carrier issues a master B/L to the forwarder. In consolidations several house B/Ls sit under one master B/L.
[Free tool House B/L Generator](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/house-bill-of-lading-generator) **Generate Documents from Data, Catch Mismatches Early**FCRSOFT generates the bill of lading, invoice and packing list from file data and flags inconsistencies between documents before they are sent.
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## Mandatory and critical fields

- Shipper, consignee and notify party

- Vessel, voyage, port of loading and port of discharge

- Container and seal numbers

- Number of packages, description of goods, gross weight and volume

- Freight clause (prepaid / collect)

- Shipped on board date and number of originals

[Free tool Bill of Lading Generator](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/bill-of-lading-generator)

## Check before sending

Packages, weights and party details on the B/L must match the invoice and packing list exactly. Under a letter of credit even the smallest discrepancy can get documents rejected.
[Free tool Document Consistency Checker](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/bl-consistency-checker) FCRSOFT

## FCRSOFT does this for you automatically

You don’t need to do the calculations and checks on this page by hand every day. FCRSOFT derives them all automatically from the records entered in the field.

- Bill of lading, invoice and packing list are generated from file data.

- Quantity, weight and party mismatches between documents are flagged.

- All documents are archived in the shipment file.

[Open the live demo](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/login.php?package=importexport) [Explore the Import & Export package](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/demo/importexport?hl=en)

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## Frequently asked questions

What is a telex release?
The original bills of lading are surrendered to the carrier at the port of loading, and an instruction is sent to the destination to release the goods without the original documents.

What is a clean bill of lading?
It is a B/L without remarks that the goods or packaging are damaged; letters of credit usually require a clean B/L.

Last updated: 10/3/2026

## Related tools and guides

[Free tool ### Bill of Lading Generator Create a printable bill of lading draft with shipper, consignee, notify party, vessel and voyage, ports, container and cargo details. Open the tool](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/bill-of-lading-generator) [Free tool ### Bill of Lading Checker Check bill of lading fields against rules: mandatory fields, container check digit, weight and volume logic, freight clause. Open the tool](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/bill-of-lading-checker) [Free tool ### Document Consistency Checker Compare parties, quantities, weights, packages and amounts on the bill of lading, commercial invoice and packing list to find mismatches. Open the tool](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/bl-consistency-checker) [Free tool ### Bill of Lading Checklist Tick off, item by item, the fields to check before approving a bill of lading draft. Open the tool](https://demo.fcrsoft.com/en/documents/bill-of-lading-checklist)