Incoterms 2020, in one chart
Eleven rules, each answering three questions: who pays for what, where the risk passes, and who handles customs. Everything below is on one table so you can read down a column rather than through an article.
| Rule | Mode | Main carriage | Risk passes | Export clearance | Import clearance | Seller insures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group E — DepartureThe seller does the least. Goods are made available at their own premises and everything after that is the buyer's. | ||||||
| EXWEx Works | Any mode | buyer | Seller's premises, not loaded | buyer | buyer | None required |
| Group F — Main carriage unpaidThe seller hands the goods to a carrier the buyer chose and paid. Risk passes at origin. | ||||||
| FCAFree Carrier | Any mode | buyer | Delivery to the buyer's carrier | seller | buyer | None required |
| FASFree Alongside Ship | Sea only | buyer | Alongside the vessel | seller | buyer | None required |
| FOBFree on Board | Sea only | buyer | On board the vessel | seller | buyer | None required |
| Group C — Main carriage paidThe seller books and pays the main carriage — but risk still passes at origin. Paying for the voyage is not carrying it. | ||||||
| CFRCost and Freight | Sea only | seller | On board at the origin port | seller | buyer | None required |
| CIFCost, Insurance and Freight | Sea only | seller | On board at the origin port | seller | buyer | Minimum Institute Cargo Clauses (C) |
| CPTCarriage Paid To | Any mode | seller | Delivery to the first carrier | seller | buyer | None required |
| CIPCarriage and Insurance Paid To | Any mode | seller | Delivery to the first carrier | seller | buyer | Institute Cargo Clauses (A), all risks |
| Group D — ArrivalThe seller carries risk all the way to the named destination. | ||||||
| DAPDelivered at Place | Any mode | seller | At destination, ready for unloading | seller | buyer | None required |
| DPUDelivered at Place Unloaded | Any mode | seller | At destination, once unloaded | seller | buyer | None required |
| DDPDelivered Duty Paid | Any mode | seller | At destination, cleared, ready for unloading | seller | seller | None required |
Every rule takes a named place — DAP Rotterdam, not DAP. None of the eleven says anything about when ownership transfers; that is for your sales contract.
They do not transfer ownership
Incoterms allocate cost, risk and clearance. They say nothing about title. It is entirely normal to carry the risk of goods you do not own — and title passes when your sales contract says it does, commonly on full payment. Leave it unstated and it falls to whichever law ends up governing the deal.
A rule without a place is incomplete
DAP is not a delivery term. DAP Rotterdam is. The named place is where the obligation ends, so the same three letters describe two different deals depending on what follows. Write the rule, the place and the version:
DAP Rotterdam, Incoterms 2020
Four of them are sea freight only
FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF apply to sea and inland waterway carriage, with delivery measured against a vessel. Using one for a container handed over at an inland depot is the most common error in trade — the delivery point they describe never occurs. For containers the rule is FCA.
- DAT became DPU. The destination widened from “terminal” to any named place, so a delivery unloaded at the buyer’s own warehouse is now a standard rule rather than an amended one.
- CIP’s insurance rose to all risks; CIF’s did not. CIP now requires Institute Cargo Clauses (A), CIF still requires only (C). The two are quoted as though interchangeable and are no longer close.
- FCA gained an on-board bill option. The parties can agree the buyer instructs the carrier to issue an on-board bill of lading to the seller — which is what previously pushed people into misusing FOB to satisfy a letter of credit.
The seller's minimum obligation: goods are made available at their own premises, not loaded, not cleared for export.
The seller clears for export and hands the goods to a carrier the buyer nominated. The workhorse rule for containers.
The seller delivers the goods alongside the ship at the named port. Risk passes on the quay, before loading.
The seller loads the goods on board the vessel at the named port. The most used and most misused rule in trade.
The seller pays the freight to the destination port, but risk passes on board at origin. There is no insurance obligation.
CFR plus a minimum insurance policy the seller buys for the buyer's benefit. Risk still passes at origin.
The any-mode equivalent of CFR: the seller pays carriage to the destination, risk passes to the first carrier at origin.
CPT plus all-risks insurance. The 2020 revision raised its cover to ICC (A), and left CIF's alone.
The seller carries cost and risk to the named destination, and delivers the goods ready for unloading but not unloaded.
The only rule that obliges the seller to unload. Renamed from DAT in 2020 and widened beyond terminals.
The seller's maximum obligation: delivered to the destination with import clearance done and duties paid.
Judge it by the document, not the feature list.
The Incoterm and its named place belong on your quotation, purchase order, sales confirmation and commercial invoice. Enter the consignment once and every one of them is filled in.
Create a commercial invoice