Considerations

The Bill of Lading documents vehicle condition, delivery terms, and liability—required for all FMCSA-compliant auto transport carriers.
Carriers and customers must sign the Bill of Lading at pickup and delivery to confirm damage inspection and service completion.
Disputes over damage claims rely on Bill of Lading documentation, making accurate inspection notes critical for insurance coverage validation

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

The Bill may be the most important document accompanying the transportation process while shipping your automobile from a legal perspective. 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 importance, you must understand the protections it does and does not provide. Since there isn't a universal format for a Bill of Lading, the following guide might not be exact regarding the order in which the information is presented. However, since a bill contains the following information, it is still instrumental in explaining everything.

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Header

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

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Pickup and Delivery

This section of your Bill will contain both the pickup and delivery addresses. It is valuable information, as the delivery contacts will often be present there.

The Vehicle Information

This section will include all the information about the vehicle, such as the model and make, license plate number, vehicle identification number, odometer reading, color, accessories, etc. 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 delivered vehicle is in the exact condition it was when it departed.

The Condition of the Vehicle

This is a crucial part of the Bill of Lading, especially for insurance purposes. In this section, the vehicle's state, namely in terms of any damages present, is noted during the pickup inspection. Once the car is delivered, an additional inspection, known as the delivery inspection, occurs to see if there is any new damage.

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

Terms and Conditions

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

Signatures

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