Bill of Lading Explained

What is the Bill of Lading (BL or BoL) Explained?

Perhaps the most important document that accompanies the transportation process during shipping your automobile from a legal perspective is the Bill. The reason why it is so important is because it is:

• A terms and conditions document
• A receipt of the transportation
• A dispatch report
• An inspection report

Due to its very important, you must understand the protections that it does and does not provide you with. Since there isn't a universal format for a Bill of Lading, the following guide might not be exact in terms of the order in which the information is presented. However, since a Bill will contain the following information, it is still extremely useful in explaining what everything means.

Header

The header is usually always at the top of the Bill of Lading. It provides information about the shipping company, including its name, and includes the relevant dates of the hauling, the order #, and the driver's name.

Pickup and Delivery

This section of your Bill will contain both the pickup address and the delivery address. It is useful information to have, as oftentimes, the delivery contacts will also be present there.

The Vehicle Information

This section will include all of the information about the vehicle itself, such as the model and make, license plate number, vehicle identification number, odometer reading, color, accessories, and so forth. You need to make sure that the company takes as much of this information down as possible, even if you have to insist on doing so. It's for your protection so that you can feel confident that the vehicle that is delivered is in the exact condition as when it departed.

The Condition of the Vehicle

This is an extremely important part of the Bill of Lading, especially for insurance purposes. In this section, the state of the vehicle, namely in terms of any damages that may be present, is noted during the pickup inspection. Once the vehicle is delivered, an additional inspection, known as the delivery inspection, takes place to see if there is any new damage.

Federal law dictates that drivers are required to perform both inspections, but you should not just rely on them to do so. You should also inspect it yourself and take plenty of pictures to make sure that everything is documented.

Terms and Conditions

In the Terms and Conditions portion, it will depend on the particular company. However, you should always read through this section thoroughly, as you will need to make sure that there are no surprises or things that you aren't aware of. This section will contain all of the legalities.

Signatures

This is the last section of a Bill of Lading in most cases. It's as it sounds - both you and the driver will need to sign it, usually at both the pickup and delivery point. If someone else is picking up the vehicle beside you, then that person should sign it. However, you or the authorized person should not sign it if you are not happy with the overall Bill, including the condition of the vehicle.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides a list of the requirements on their website at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/part/373

A-1 Auto Transport can answer all of your questions and concerns regarding a Bill. Contact us today!

Related Information

• Auto Hauling Bill of Landing free