Moving industry know-how
The bill of lading
What a bill of lading is, what an interstate household-goods bill must contain under 49 CFR 375.505, and how MoveBoard produces it.
- 2 min read
- Checked against MoveBoard
- For owners & admins, dispatchers, foremen
The bill of lading (BOL) is the most important paper in a move. It is at the same time the contract between the customer and the mover and the receipt for the goods. The crew fills it in on the day, the customer signs it, and the mover keeps a copy.
What it does
- Lists the services ordered and the price terms.
- Records the customer's valuation choice.
- Records times, weights, materials and extra services, and the final charges.
- Carries the customer's signatures — before the work and at the end.
- Travels with the shipment: on a long-distance move the driver carries it (49 CFR 375.505(c)).
What an interstate bill must contain
For an interstate household-goods move, 49 CFR 375.505 lists what the bill must show, including:
- The mover's name, address and USDOT number, and any other carriers that take part.
- The customer's name and the origin and destination addresses.
- The agreed pickup and delivery dates or periods.
- The truck and trailer numbers.
- The services ordered, the estimate and the payment terms, including what may be collected at delivery.
- The customer's valuation choice, signed.
- The weights, once known: tare, gross and net from a certified scale, with the weight ticket — and the customer's right to a re-weigh.
- The signatures at pickup and at delivery.
On a non-binding estimate, the bill also shows the most the customer has to pay at delivery (110% of the estimate). See Binding, non-binding and not-to-exceed estimates.
Local moves
For local and intrastate moves, your state decides what the bill must say. Most local bills record start and end times, breaks, travel time, materials, the hourly rate and the signatures.
In MoveBoard
- Your bill of lading templates are designed in Settings › Documents & bill of lading › Bill of lading, block by block. See Bill of lading templates.
- The crew fills the bill on the phone and the customer signs on the phone — see Submit the bill of lading.
- For long-distance jobs, choose your own bill or MoveBoard's federal long-distance bill, and check your own against the federal checklist — see Which bill of lading long distance uses.
- Your US DOT license and MC license (Settings › Company & branches › Company info) print on the bill.
- The signed bill is kept on the order as a PDF.
Related guides
- Long distanceWhich bill of lading long distance usesChoose whether long-distance jobs use your own bill of lading templates or MoveBoard's federal long-distance bill — and read the federal checklist for your own.
- Mover's PortalSubmit the bill of ladingFinish the job — the last signatures, then submit. The bill locks, the job is Completed, and the customer gets their signed copy.
- Mover's PortalLong-distance bill of ladingOn a long-distance job, fill in the bill at pickup — services, valuation, weights from the scale ticket, signatures — and at delivery, then submit each leg.
- SettingsBill of lading templatesDesign the bill of lading your crews have signed — block by block, for each service, move type and estimate type — and choose which bill long-distance jobs use.
- Moving industry know-howThe order for serviceWhat an order for service is, why movers have the customer sign one before the move day, and how it relates to the estimate and the bill of lading.
- Moving industry know-howWeighing and charges (375.521, 375.607)How interstate shipments are weighed — certified scales, tare and gross weights, the right to watch and to a re-weigh — and the notice of weight and charges before delivery.
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