Officially, the bill of lading (BOL) is the title to the goods which you are shipping, but it has many other functions. The bill of lading is a legally binding document listing the details of the shipment.

It not only lets your carrier know any pertinent delivery details (address, contact information, services required), it also determines who the carrier will invoice and at what weight, class, and dimensions.

uShip asks our booking customers to make sure that someone at the pickup location has a copy of the bill of lading. If you’re at the pickup location, you’ll want to print out two copies- one to attach to the freight and one to hand to the driver. If you’re at the delivery location, please be sure to email or fax a copy of the bill of lading to someone at the pickup location.

If the bill of lading isn’t available at pickup, the driver will either refuse to pick it up or they’ll present their own bill of lading that doesn't have uShip as the bill-to party. That can lead to a messy billing situation with someone being asked for money at delivery even though payment was already processed in full through uShip.

If you do not use the uShip BOL it's very likely that you or the person on the other end of the shipment will be billed directly by the carrier. uShip is not obligated to change the bill-to party on a shipment if the uShip bill of lading isn't used.

Everything selected and entered within your uShip quote form is printed on the bill of lading. Please keep in mind that the carrier will take whatever freight and BOL is handed to them upon pickup. It is not the responsibility of the driver to ensure they are being handed the correct freight or paperwork.

In short, the bill of lading is important for a successful shipment. Make sure it's on-site at the pickup location and ready to hand to the carrier.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to continue perusing our Help Center or contact our Commercial Support team by clicking here.