Bill of lading error: request and verify a correction

When you find a bill of lading error, tell the issuer exactly what appears now and what should replace it. Provide the basis and ask about the manifest, customs and release consequences.

Sending a request is not confirmation that the document changed. Obtain acceptance of the amendment and a new version to verify.

Establish the document stage

Are you looking at a draft or an issued document? Have originals been released or sent to a bank? Have the details already entered a manifest or an authority filing?

The answers affect the correction process. Editing a local PDF does not change the issuer's document or information already submitted elsewhere.

For house and master documents, identify the affected level and whether the other needs updating. Do not assume automatic synchronisation between issuers.

Compare confirmed information

Use the current draft, last approved Shipping Instructions, invoice, packing list and relevant party agreements. Documents serve different purposes, so a difference between invoice and bill is not always an error.

Check parties, ports and places, description, package count, weights, container numbers, seals, document type and freight wording as appropriate to the shipment.

If quantity or product changes, establish the actual cargo facts. Do not alter one document merely to match another when both may be wrong.

Use an amendment table

This fictional example assumes a confirmed packing list of 50 cartons while the draft says 5. It is not a real shipment.

Replace the examples with actual document details, including number, date and version. A marked screenshot can help, but the replacement text must remain unambiguous.

Confirm the issuer's requirements

Ask whether the change is possible at this stage, what approvals or documents are required, the fee and expected processing time. There is no single correction deadline or charge across carriers and ports.

Maersk's help describes account-based amendment requests and rechecking the new version. Its guidance on changing parties after issue also addresses the old document set. This is a carrier example, not an instruction to destroy originals yourself.

Where originals circulate, agree return, invalidation or replacement with the issuer and relevant holders. Do not dispose of documents based on a general article or leave two sets presented as current.

Check manifest and customs separately

Ask whether changing the bill requires amendments to data already filed in the relevant country and who makes them. A revised draft does not prove that customs or security filings were updated.

Obtain confirmation of completed scope and any collection restrictions. Local procedures and deadlines depend on the shipment; document or article language does not determine them.

Close after reviewing the new version

Compare the corrected field with the request and check the rest of the document for unintended changes. Retain the previous version as clearly superseded history.

Send the correct version through the agreed document chain, which may involve buyer, customs agent or bank. Do not distribute confidential information more widely than necessary.

Record who approved it, when and which linked filings were confirmed. Keep unfinished updates on an open-action list.

Amendment request

Document [type/number/version], booking [number]. Please amend [field] from [current text] to [correct text]. Basis: [confirmed document/version]. Stage: [draft/issued; originals and filing status if known]. Confirm feasibility, approvals, cost, processing time and effect on manifest, customs and release. Send the revised document for review and state how the old set must be handled.