Bill of Lading (B/L)
A carrier's receipt, a contract of carriage, and a document of title. No other shipping document does all three.
A bill of lading does three jobs at once. It is the carrier's receipt for the goods. It is evidence of the contract with the carrier. And when it is negotiable, it represents ownership: whoever holds an original can claim the cargo. Doing three jobs is why it causes more problems than any other document in the set.
The consignee box controls that third job. If you name a company, the bill is a straight bill and the goods can only be delivered to them. If you make it out “to order”, the bill is negotiable and can be transferred by endorsement. That is what lets a bank hold the cargo as security while a letter of credit is settled.
Negotiable bills are usually issued as a set of three originals. Handing over any one of them collects the goods. That is why the set travels by courier, and why losing it is a serious and expensive problem.
Also called: ocean bill of lading, B/L, BOL.