How to fill out a shipper's letter of instruction
A shipper's letter of instruction is what you hand your freight forwarder so they can act for you. It does two separate things: it tells them how you want the shipment handled, and it authorises them to complete customs formalities in your name. That second part is why it deserves more care than a booking email — you are appointing an agent, and what they declare on your behalf remains your responsibility.
The 22 fields on a shipper's letter of instruction
Taken from the document itself, in the order it prints them.
- Document No.
- Date
- PO Reference
- Shipper / Exporter
You, as the party whose export this is. In the United States this is normally the party filing electronic export information, which is a legal duty rather than a clerical one.
- Consignee
Who receives the goods abroad. The forwarder uses this to draft the transport document, so an error here propagates onto a bill of lading that is expensive to amend.
- Freight Forwarder
The company being instructed and, by this document, authorised to act as your agent. Name the legal entity, not the branch contact.
- Notify Party
Who gets the arrival notice, usually the consignee's customs broker. Say explicitly if it is the same as the consignee, rather than leaving it blank and hoping.
- Method of Dispatch
- Port of Loading
- Port of Discharge
- Place of Receipt
Where the forwarder collects, if they are collecting. Include access constraints — tail lift, forklift, opening hours — because a failed collection is charged for.
- Final Destination
The end of the journey, which may be well inland of the discharge port. Distinguishing the two is what decides whether you are buying port-to-port or door delivery.
- Incoterms
Tells the forwarder which legs and charges are yours and which are the buyer's. Getting this wrong is how you end up paying destination charges you never agreed to.
- Invoice No.
Ties the instruction to the commercial invoice the forwarder will present to customs on your behalf.
- Country of Origin
- Date of Departure
The sailing or flight you need to make, or the date the goods will be ready. It is what the forwarder books against, and it sets the deadline for the VGM and the shipping instructions.
- Special Instructions
The field that earns its place. Insurance required and to what value, hazardous classification, temperature control, whether partial shipment is acceptable, which documents to release and to whom. Anything not written here was not instructed.
- Name
- Title
- Company
- Place
- Date
The line-item columns
One row per product. Columns can be hidden, renamed or added in the generator.
- Item #
- Description
- HS Code
The classification the forwarder will declare for you. Providing it is how you keep control of a declaration you remain answerable for — leave it out and somebody else guesses.
- Qty
- Unit
- Pkgs
- Pkg Type
- Gross Wt
What the booking is made on. It should agree with the packing list and, for a sea shipment, with the verified gross mass you will separately have to certify.
- Vol
Decides whether the consignment is chargeable by weight or by measure, and therefore what the freight actually costs.
A working shipper's letter of instruction, prefilled with a sample shipment. Every field above is editable here, and it downloads as a PDF.
| Item # | Description | HS Code | Qty | Unit | Pkgs | Pkg Type | Gross Wt (KG) | Vol (CBM) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The undersigned authorises to act as forwarding agent for export control and customs purposes, to prepare and file any export declaration required, and to sign any document relating to this consignment on our behalf. We certify that the particulars given above are true and complete.
Your entries are kept as you move between documents: the parties, ports, container and line items all carry across.
It is a power of attorney in miniature
The authorisation clause lets the forwarder sign customs declarations in your name. That convenience is exactly why the shipment details need to be right: an incorrect classification or value filed by your agent is treated as filed by you, and penalties follow the exporter, not the forwarder. Read what you are authorising before signing it.
What people leave out and later regret
Insurance instructions, above all — a forwarder will not arrange cover you did not ask for, and discovering that after a loss is the worst way to find out. After that: whether partial shipment is acceptable, who receives the original transport documents, any letter of credit deadline the shipment has to meet, and the fact that the packaging is solid timber and needs a treatment certificate.
SLI against shipping instructions
They are often conflated. The letter of instruction is addressed to your forwarder and covers the whole job, including the authority to act. Shipping instructions are the narrower document telling the carrier how the bill of lading should read. The forwarder usually produces the second from the first, which is why an ambiguity in the SLI reappears on the bill.
+Is an SLI legally required?
No statute demands one, but no forwarder will proceed without written instructions, and the authorisation it carries is what allows them to file customs declarations for you.
+Who signs it?
Somebody at the exporter with authority to appoint an agent. It is not a shipping-desk formality — it commits the company to declarations made in its name.
+Do I need a new one for every shipment?
Yes for the shipment details. The authority to act is often held separately as a standing power of attorney, so the per-shipment document is instructions, not appointment.
+What if the details change after I send it?
Tell the forwarder in writing immediately and reissue. Amending after the carrier has been instructed costs money; amending after the bill of lading is issued costs considerably more.
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 shipper's letter of instruction generator