Documentation
House Bill of Lading (HBL)
A bill of lading issued by a freight forwarder or NVOCC to the shipper. Used when cargo is consolidated or when the forwarder acts as intermediary between shipper and main carrier.
In depth
When you ship LCL or use a forwarder, you often receive a house B/L (HBL) from the forwarder while the line issues a master B/L (MBL) to the forwarder. The HBL is your contract with the forwarder; the MBL covers the consolidated movement with the ocean carrier.
Key points
- Issued by NVOCC or freight forwarder to the actual shipper
- Used in consolidations and many door-to-door bookings
- Release procedures follow forwarder rules, not only the line
- Should align with commercial invoice and packing list data