Example Bill of Ladings

There is no standard format for a Bill of Lading (BOL) document, and the required information can be presented in various ways.The actual Bill of Lading document is not required for ISF filing, but the AMS House Bill of Lading (HBL#) number, which is derived from the Bill of Lading, must be included in the ISF submission. We recommend proving a copy of the BOL if available. Below are examples of some common formats.

Regardless of the format, the key information remains consistent.

Key Information:

Bill of Lading Number: A unique identifier assigned to the shipment, used for tracking and verification purposes.Note that the Bill of Lading number may sometimes be the same as the AMS number reported on the ISF data sheet, but often it is not or is not the complete AMS number.

Shipper's Information: The name and address of the party shipping the goods.

Consignee's Information: The name and address of the party receiving the goods.

Notify Party: The name and address of a third party to be notified upon arrival of the goods, usually involved in the logistics chain. We can be reported as the Notify Party, but we typically suggest being added as a secondary Notify Party. Ultimately, this shipment is the importer’s responsibility, and they should be the first notified of any issues.

Port of Loading: The port where the goods were loaded onto the vessel.

Port of Discharge: The port where the goods will be unloaded from the vessel.

Vessel/Voyage Information: Details about the vessel and voyage, including the name of the vessel and the voyage number or date.

Description of Goods: A detailed description of the goods being shipped, including quantities and any relevant details.