How to read a Bill of Lading (BOL)

The Bill of Lading is the single most important document in freight. It is three things at once: a receipt for the goods, a contract of carriage, and a document of title. Get a field wrong and your freight can be delayed, misdelivered, or held.

The key fields

• Shipper (consignor) — who is sending the freight. Must match the pickup.
• Consignee — who receives it. "To Order" here makes it a negotiable BOL (title can transfer).
• Notify party — who the carrier alerts on arrival (often a broker).
• Carrier / SCAC — the transport company and its standard carrier code.
• Description of goods — plain-language contents, piece count, packaging type.
• NMFC + freight class — for LTL, drives the price. Wrong class = re-bill.
• Weight — gross weight; must match the scale or you get re-weighed and re-billed.
• Declared value — caps the carrier's liability unless you buy extra coverage.
• Special instructions — liftgate, residential, appointment, hazmat.

Straight vs. order BOL

• Straight BOL — non-negotiable, goods go to the named consignee. Common for prepaid B2B.
• Order BOL — negotiable, title transfers by endorsement. Used when payment is tied to documents (letters of credit).

Common mistakes

1. Under-declaring weight or class — the carrier re-weighs/re-classes and bills the difference plus a fee.
2. Vague descriptions — "parts" invites inspection and reclassification.
3. Missing accessorials — forgetting "residential" or "liftgate" triggers surprise charges.
4. No declared value — default liability is pennies per pound; declare and insure high-value freight.

How Atlas helps

Atlas generates a clean, compliant BOL for every LTL and freight booking — with the NMFC class, accessorials, and hazmat fields filled in correctly. Get a freight quote.