How to fill in a CMR note, box by box

What the CMR note is for and how many copies it has

The CMR consignment note confirms a contract for the international carriage of goods by road. Unless the contrary is proved, it is evidence of the contract, its terms and the carrier's receipt of the goods (Article 9 of the CMR Convention). A missing or incomplete note does not invalidate the contract of carriage itself (Article 4), but it makes claims harder to pursue and raises questions at roadside checks.

The Convention provides for three original copies signed by the sender and the carrier (Article 5):

• the first goes to the sender,
• the second travels with the goods and goes to the consignee,
• the third is kept by the carrier.

In practice, printed CMR pads often have a fourth or fifth copy for internal use. The box numbers below follow the most widely used form and the PDF layout of the free CMR generator.

Parties to the carriage: boxes 1–4

Box 1: Sender

Full company name, address and country. Add the VAT number if your client requires it. The sender is the party to the contract of carriage, which is not always the warehouse the goods physically leave from.

Box 2: Consignee

Name, address and country of the company the goods are to be delivered to. The consignee later signs box 24.

Box 3: Place of delivery

Town and country of unloading. If the goods are unloaded somewhere other than the consignee's registered address, enter the address of the destination warehouse.

Box 4: Place and date of taking over the goods

Town, country and date on which the carrier took over the goods. The date in box 4 is the reference point for calculating the delivery time and for claims.

Goods: boxes 5–12

This part describes the consignment. The Convention requires a description of the goods, the method of packing, the number of packages, their marks and numbers, and the gross weight (Article 6(1)). The sender is responsible for the accuracy of this information (Article 7).

• Box 5, documents attached: invoice, packing list, certificates and customs documents handed to the driver.
• Box 6, marks and numbers: markings on pallets or cartons, order numbers, serial numbers.
• Box 7, number of packages: number of pallets, cartons or other units. The carrier checks it at loading (Article 8).
• Box 8, method of packing: pallets, crates, sacks, loose.
• Box 9, nature of the goods: the usual trade name. For dangerous goods, add the UN number, class and packing group in line with ADR.
• Box 10, statistical number: the customs tariff code, if required.
• Box 11, gross weight in kg: including packaging.
• Box 12, volume in m³: where it matters for the rate or for loading.

Instructions and payment: boxes 13–15

Box 13: Sender's instructions

Customs formalities and other instructions for the carrier, such as the required temperature, no transhipment or a call before delivery. Instructions on customs formalities are among the particulars the Convention lists explicitly.

Box 14: Instructions as to payment for carriage

Who pays for the carriage: the sender (carriage paid) or the consignee (carriage forward). A mismatch between this box and the transport order is a common cause of invoice disputes.

Box 15: Cash on delivery

The amount and currency the carrier is to collect from the consignee on delivery. If there is no cash on delivery, leave the box blank.

Carrier: boxes 16–19

• Box 16, carrier: name, address, country and, in practice, the registration numbers of the truck and trailer.
• Box 17, successive carriers: completed when several carriers perform the carriage one after another.
• Box 18, carrier's reservations and observations: this is where the driver notes the condition of the goods and packaging or a discrepancy in the number of packages. Reservations must state the grounds on which they are made (Article 8(2)).
• Box 19, special agreements: arrangements between the parties, such as a delivery deadline or a declared value of the goods.

Box 18 matters most to the driver. If pallets are damaged at loading or their number does not match box 7 and the driver does not record it, it will be hard to prove later that the damage happened before the carrier took over the goods.

Charges and issue: boxes 20–21

Box 20 is the charges table: carriage charges, deductions, supplements, other charges and insurance, split between what the sender and what the consignee pays. Many companies enter only the total or leave the box blank, because the rate is set in the transport order.

Box 21 is the place and date the note was made out. The Convention requires both on every consignment note (Article 6(1)(a)).

Signatures: boxes 22, 23 and 24

1. Box 22: the sender's signature and stamp at loading.
2. Box 23: the signature and stamp of the carrier, usually the driver, on taking over the goods.
3. Box 24: the consignee confirms receipt of the consignment with a date and signature, and also notes any apparent shortage or damage here.

The consignee's signature in box 24 closes the carriage and is the basis for invoicing. The consignee must give notice of apparent damage on delivery, and of damage that is not apparent within seven days, Sundays and public holidays excepted (Article 30).

On paper, each party signs the printout in person. With an electronic note, signatures can be collected remotely: we explain how in our guide Signing a CMR without an app.

Who fills in which boxes

The form is usually completed in several places by several people. Agree on this in advance, because a blank box discovered only at unloading is hard to fix.

• Sender or client: boxes 1–15, 19 and 21, plus the signature in box 22. Often a freight forwarder or the carrier's office does this based on the transport order, and the sender only checks the details and signs.
• Carrier, i.e. the driver: boxes 16–18 and the signature in box 23. The driver checks the number of packages, the marks and the condition of the packaging, and enters any reservations.
• Consignee: box 24, i.e. the date, signature and any remarks about the condition of the goods.

If the carrier's office prepares the note on the sender's behalf, print it or send it for checking before the truck arrives. A driver at the loading dock has little time for corrections.

Most common mistakes

• A different number of packages in boxes 7 and 24 with no remark in box 18.
• No date in box 4 or 21.
• The warehouse entered as the sender instead of the contracting party.
• Box 14 contradicting the transport order.
• Illegible handwriting on carbon copies, so the consignee's copy differs from the original.
• A missing signature in box 22 or 23 when the truck leaves the loading point.

Filling in the note on a computer from saved data prevents most of these mistakes. You will also find a description of every box below the generator form.

Paper or electronic consignment note

The boxes are the same in both formats. The electronic consignment note is provided for by the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention. The difference is how the document is created and how signatures are collected: instead of three carbon copies there is one document that all parties can see. We compare the two approaches in Paper CMR vs e-CMR.

Fill in a CMR online

The CMR generator guides you through every box and creates a PDF in the form layout, with no account needed. If you issue consignment notes regularly, eCMR One remembers your business partners, vehicles and templates, and collects the parties' signatures by link.