How to fill out a packing list
A packing list answers one question: if this consignment is opened, what should be inside it? Customs uses it to decide whether to inspect, the carrier uses it to plan stowage, and the consignee uses it to check the delivery. It carries no prices — that is the invoice's job — and adding them is the most common way to turn a packing list into a second, contradictory invoice.
The 17 fields on a packing list — detailed
Taken from the document itself, in the order it prints them.
- Document No.
- Date
- PO Reference
- Invoice No.
The commercial invoice this list belongs to. It is what lets an officer put the two documents side by side, and a packing list that does not name its invoice will be treated as an orphan.
- Incoterms
- B/L / AWB No.
The bill of lading or air waybill number, once it exists. Often blank when the list is first written and filled in later — that is normal, but it should be there by the time the documents are presented to a bank.
- Shipper / Exporter
- Consignee
- Notify Party
- Vessel / Voyage
- Port of Loading
- Port of Discharge
- Country of Origin
- Container No.
Four letters then seven digits, as printed on the box itself. The last digit is a check digit, so a transposed number is detectable and will be caught — copy it, do not retype it from memory.
- Seal No.
The number on the seal fitted after loading. If customs finds a seal number that does not match the paperwork, the container is opened, and everything after that is delay and cost.
- Method of Dispatch
- Notes
Where to record anything that affects handling: stacking limits, temperature, which pallets carry the heavy items. Not a place for commercial terms.
The line-item columns
One row per product. Columns can be hidden, renamed or added in the generator.
- Item #
- Description
The same wording as the commercial invoice, exactly. Two different descriptions of the same goods across two documents is the discrepancy officers look for first, because it is what deliberate misdeclaration looks like.
- Qty
- Unit
- Net Wt
The goods alone, without packaging. Net below gross on every line, and if they are equal you have almost certainly entered the same figure twice.
- Gross Wt
Goods plus packaging plus pallet. The total of this column has to agree with the weight declared to the carrier, and on a sea shipment with the verified gross mass.
- Dims
Length by width by height per package. What the forwarder uses to work out whether the consignment fits, and to calculate volumetric weight on an air shipment.
- Pkgs
How many physical pieces, not how many units of product. Six hundred tiles in twenty cartons is twenty packages. The total across this column is the number the carrier signs for.
- HS Code
- Marks & Numbers
What is actually stencilled or labelled on the outside of the packages, so a specific carton can be found without unloading the container. “As addressed” is acceptable only when the packages genuinely carry the consignee's address.
- Pkg Type
Carton, pallet, crate, drum. Says what an officer will see when the doors open, and whether the packaging itself needs a treatment certificate — anything on solid timber usually does.
- Tare Wt
The packaging by itself. Gross minus net. Worth stating separately where the packing is heavy — timber crates, steel frames — because it explains a gross weight that would otherwise look wrong.
- Vol
Cubic metres. On LCL sea freight you are charged on whichever is greater, weight or volume, so this column is what decides the bill.
A working packing list — detailed, prefilled with a sample shipment. Every field above is editable here, and it downloads as a PDF.
| Item # | Description | Qty | Unit | Net Wt (KG) | Gross Wt (KG) | Dims (CM) | Pkgs | HS Code | Marks & Numbers | Pkg Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Your entries are kept as you move between documents: the parties, ports, container and line items all carry across.
It has to reconcile with the invoice
Three numbers must agree across the two documents: the total number of packages, the total gross weight, and the goods descriptions. Customs compares them mechanically, and a mismatch is the single most common reason a clean shipment gets held. If the invoice says forty cartons and the packing list says forty-two, expect an inspection regardless of which one is right.
No prices, ever
A packing list with values on it becomes a second invoice, and where the two disagree the officer has to decide which is the real transaction value. That decision will not go your way. Quantities, weights, dimensions and marks only.
Detailed, simple, container or consolidated
Four versions exist because four situations do. Detailed is the default and carries HS codes and per-item dimensions. Simple drops both, for shipments where nobody needs them. Container breaks the list down per container, which an FCL shipment of several boxes needs so each line can be traced to a seal. Consolidated covers several orders or invoices moving as one consignment.
+Is a packing list legally required?
It is not a statutory document in most countries, but in practice it is unavoidable: customs asks for it on inspection, carriers require the weights, and letters of credit almost always list it among the documents to be presented.
+Should the packing list show prices?
No. Prices belong on the commercial invoice. A packing list carrying values reads as a competing declaration of transaction value.
+What if one carton holds several different products?
List each product as its own line and repeat the carton's marks and numbers on each. The package count is then recorded once, against the first line, so the total still adds up.
+Does the packing list need signing?
Usually not. Some letters of credit require it, and where the packing declaration for timber is combined with the list, the declaration part does.
Judge it by the document, not the feature list.
Everything above is already on the form. Fill it in and download the PDF — no account needed.
Open the packing list — detailed generator