Rules for filling out the CMR: Features and advice

A CMR consignment note records what the carrier received, who handed it over, where it must be delivered and the instructions agreed by the parties. For international road freight, its entries should match the actual load, and everyone involved should work from a consistent version of the document.

This guide follows a box-by-box approach to the paper CMR. It also explains package counts, weight, carrier reservations and evidence of delivery. A worked example at the end shows how the entries fit together.

Choosing the CMR form and preparing the information

The CMR Convention specifies the information required in the note, but it does not prescribe one numbering system for every printed form. This guide uses the layout with the carrier in box 16, reservations in box 18, charges in box 19, special agreements in box 20 and the place of issue in box 21. That follows the main field arrangement of the form illustrated in this article. The IRU 2007 model, for example, puts the carrier in box 6 and reservations in box 8. Always read the printed label as well as the number.

Before completing the note, collect the parties’ details, transport order, invoice, packing list, actual collection and delivery addresses, customs instructions and vehicle details. The sender supplies consignment information; the carrier performs the checks required of it and records reservations. An intermediary does not automatically become the carrier merely by typing or printing the note.

Article 5 provides for three original copies signed by the sender and carrier: one for the sender, one accompanying the goods and one retained by the carrier. Additional copies may support other procedures. Printed signatures or stamps in place of signatures are permitted where the law of the country of issue allows them. There is no universal requirement for a round company stamp in every box.

Under Article 4, absence, irregularity or loss of the note does not invalidate the carriage contract. That provision does not remove documentation requirements for customs or roadside controls. Preparing a properly completed note before departure remains an essential operational task.

Completing the CMR boxes

Box 1 Sender

Enter the sender’s full name, address and country for the carriage contract. A contact person and telephone number help resolve loading questions but do not replace the company details. If collection takes place at another site, record the actual place of taking over the goods separately in box 4.

Box 2 Consignee

Enter the consignee’s name, full address and country. Reconcile that role with the invoice and transport order: the buyer, consignee and warehouse operator may be different entities. Do not substitute the customs terminal for the consignee just because the vehicle must visit the terminal first.

Box 3 Place of delivery

Give the actual delivery address, including country, city, street and warehouse or building number. Add a loading-bay reference and arrival contact where useful. The consignee’s registered address in box 2 may differ from its receiving warehouse; the customs-clearance location may be a third address.

Box 4 Place and date of taking over the goods

Record where and when the carrier actually took over the goods. This may differ from the invoice date or the date the draft CMR was prepared. Arrival and handling times can usefully be recorded in the relevant spaces or an agreed attachment. Do not retain a planned collection date as the actual date after loading has been postponed.

Box 5 Attached documents

List documents actually handed to or made available to the carrier, with references and dates: the invoice, packing list, customs-procedure documents and product certificates where required. Do not reuse the previous shipment’s list without checking it. Listing a customs declaration does not itself prove that the customs procedure has been completed.

Box 6 Marks and numbers

Enter identifiers that can be matched to the goods, such as PAL-01–PAL-10, crate numbers or other package marks. Identify any attached detailed schedule by reference and number of pages. The marks should allow a particular package to be identified if it is damaged or a discrepancy arises.

Box 7 Number of packages

State the count with an unambiguous unit. For 10 pallets containing 200 cartons, show both levels of packaging rather than leaving the reader to infer the relationship. With groupage shipments, distinguish this consignment’s figures from the total load on the vehicle.

Box 8 Method of packing

Describe the packaging: cartons on pallets, wooden crates, drums, sacks or IBCs. Reconcile the description with box 7 and the packing list. If cartons are consolidated on pallets, do not use cartons in one document and pallets in another without explaining how the two counts relate.

Box 9 Nature of the goods

Describe the goods so they can be matched to the invoice, for example steel fasteners rather than merely goods or equipment. For dangerous goods transport, check the transport particulars required by ADR. Writing chemicals or ADR alone is insufficient.

Box 10 Statistical number

Where the form includes this field, enter a confirmed commodity code in the format required for the relevant documents. Agree classification with the party responsible for product and customs data. Do not choose a code from a short product description or copy it from another consignment. The label CMR does not establish a universal number of digits for this field.

Box 11 Gross weight in kilograms

Enter the gross weight of the consignment actually taken over, including the relevant packaging and tare. Establish how pallets are accounted for in the source figures. Do not substitute net product weight or the weight of the loaded vehicle. Check totals and units if several goods lines are listed.

Box 12 Volume in cubic metres

State the packed volume calculated from the outside dimensions of the packages. For example, 10 units measuring 1.20 × 0.80 × 1.50 m each occupy 14.40 m³. This does not establish stackability or a particular loading arrangement; height, support and stowage restrictions require separate agreement.

Box 13 Sender instructions

Record the instructions needed for customs and other formalities, including the procedure location, order of stops, responsible contact and agreed document references. For customs brokerage, resolve these details before departure. The field is not universally optional simply because a particular journey needs no additional instructions.

Box 14 Purpose according to the printed form

Some versions use this box for Remboursement or Cash on delivery: an amount the carrier must collect when releasing the goods, if that arrangement has been agreed. Other versions put instructions for payment of carriage here. If the label is missing or illegible, check a complete version of the form before filling it in. Cash on delivery does not mean pallet return.

Box 15 Delivery or payment terms according to the label

The form illustrated in this article labels this box as delivery terms. An agreed Incoterms rule may be recorded with its precise named place and edition. If your form instead says instructions for payment of carriage, identify the freight payer; if it says cash on delivery, enter the agreed collection amount and currency. Incoterms does not replace the payment agreement with the carrier.

Box 16 Carrier

Enter the carrier’s name, address and country. Add tractor and trailer registration numbers in the appropriate space, but do not use them instead of company details. A logo or stamp without sufficient identifying information is also inadequate. Reconcile the entry with the transport order and the carrier actually engaged.

Box 17 Successive carrier

Use this field where a subsequent carrier takes over the goods and note under the relevant successive-carriage arrangement. Record its details and the handover. A change of driver or tractor within the same company does not by itself create a successive carrier. Do not invent entries to fill unused space.

Box 18 Carrier reservations and observations

Record visible damage, discrepancies in packages and justified limits on inspection. Explain, for example, why cartons beneath opaque wrapping could not be counted. Reservations should state observable facts; examples appear below. A driver’s signature is not a laboratory confirmation of product quality.

Box 19 Charges relating to the carriage

This layout places the charges table here. Record the agreed freight, applicable additional charges, currency and payer in the appropriate rows, consistently with the transport order. Do not substitute the invoice value of the goods for the freight charge or enter zero merely because an amount has not yet been established.

Box 20 Special agreements

Record relevant arrangements such as a ban on transshipment, an agreed delivery time, allocation of loading operations and other instructions. For temperature-controlled cargo, state the specific agreed regime with units. An entry in the CMR does not make a term enforceable if it conflicts with mandatory provisions of the Convention.

Box 21 Place and date of issue

Enter the place and actual date the consignment note was made out. In this layout that is box 21, not box 20. The issue date and the taking-over date in box 4 can differ; each should reflect the event it describes.

Box 22 Sender signature

The sender or its authorised representative signs the properly completed note. It is useful to make the signatory identifiable. Do not sign an otherwise blank form. Apply any stamp requirements under the relevant rules rather than assuming a warehouse practice is universally mandatory.

Box 23 Carrier signature

The carrier acknowledges taking over the goods subject to recorded reservations. Before signing, check the packages, marks and apparent packaging condition that can reasonably be inspected. If agreed weighing or an examination of contents has been performed, record its results appropriately.

Box 24 Acknowledgement of delivery

The consignee or authorised recipient completes this part at actual delivery, entering the date, signature and receiving details required by the form. Record specific apparent damage or shortage and refer to any accompanying report. Do not sign this field in advance or give an unqualified receipt before checking the accessible condition of the goods.

A worked CMR example for one shipment

This teaching example concerns ordinary non-dangerous steel components moving from Warsaw to Lviv. All companies, addresses, references and events are fictional. The table shows consistent entries for the main boxes, not an executed transport document. The hypothetical freight charge is included only to illustrate box 19.

Obtain box 10’s code from the confirmed classification of the actual goods; do not invent it for a generic description such as components. Complete a cash-on-delivery field only where that arrangement applies and the printed label supports it. No cash on delivery applies in this example. The working note must also retain the Convention’s required statement that carriage is subject to CMR and contain all information needed for the actual shipment.

Reconciling weight and package counts before signature

Check the relationship: 10 pallets × 20 cartons = 200 cartons. If each pallet, including goods and all packaging, weighs 840 kg, total gross weight is 8,400 kg. Calculate volume separately: 10 × 1.20 × 0.80 × 1.50 = 14.40 m³. These are packing figures in the example; entering them on the CMR does not establish that the carrier weighed the consignment.

If the warehouse presents nine pallets, first establish whether the tenth remains behind or the goods have been repacked. Once confirmed, update packages, marks, weight and volume and reconcile the changes with the packing list, invoice and customs data. The separate guide to weight discrepancies in invoices, packing lists and CMR notes explains that investigation. Do not force net and gross figures to match.

Specific reservations that describe what was observed

Article 8 requires the carrier to check package counts, marks and numbers and the apparent condition of the goods and packaging. Where reasonable means of verification are unavailable, state the grounds for the reservation. Reservations do not bind the sender unless expressly accepted in the consignment note. Recording a reservation does not automatically relieve the carrier of liability.

Rather than packaging damaged, record the observation: wrapping torn on the right side of PAL-07; condition of the cartons inside not established. Instead of a blanket goods not checked statement, explain what was inspected and what was inaccessible. Associate photographs with the shipment reference and package marks so they support the written record.

Loading reservations and delivery observations concern different points in the journey. Newly observed damage to PAL-03 should not be concealed behind the earlier reservation about PAL-07. For loss or damage that is not apparent at delivery, Article 30 provides for written reservations within seven days, excluding Sundays and public holidays; the delivery day is excluded from the calculation. This is a notification rule, not a universal deadline for every possible claim.

Checking the CMR before departure

1. The parties’ names and addresses match their roles, and the delivery warehouse is distinguished from the customs location.

2. Boxes 6–12 describe the consignment actually handed over, with clear units and reconciled totals.

3. Documents listed in box 5 have actually been handed over or made available; customs and special instructions are agreed.

4. The carrier field contains company details, while reservations identify observations and the reasons for any inspection limits.

5. Dates reflect the events, copies are consistent, and the sender and carrier have signed. The consignee’s field remains for actual delivery.

Agree corrections with the relevant parties, keeping original information legible and the copies consistent. A change of delivery address after departure requires proper instructions from the party entitled to give them; a message to the driver does not replace the formal handling of that change.

Electronic notes have separate requirements for creation, authentication and retention. These are explained in the guide to e-CMR in international transport. A scan of a paper note is not, by itself, a compliant electronic CMR.

When arranging freight delivery from Europe to Ukraine, send Save Pro Solutions the route, consignment details, invoice, packing list and draft CMR. These inputs allow the transport, documentation and cargo handover arrangements to be coordinated before the vehicle is positioned.