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Origin and trade agreements

Air waybill vs bill of lading

An air waybill covers air cargo for a named consignee; a bill of lading covers sea freight and, made out to order, is negotiable. Rules, house bills, fields.

Updated · 10 official sources

An air waybill is the contract of carriage and receipt for goods sent by air, made out to a named consignee who can take delivery when the goods arrive. A bill of lading does the same job for goods sent by sea, and when it's made out "to order" it's also negotiable, so whoever holds the endorsed original can claim the goods.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

A bill of lading is the carrier's receipt for goods shipped by sea and evidence of the contract of carriage. Under the Hague-Visby Rules it shows the leading marks, the number of packages or the quantity or weight, and the apparent order and condition of the goods (Article III(3)).

What is the difference between an air waybill and a bill of lading?#

An air waybill and a bill of lading both record the contract of carriage and the carrier's receipt for the goods. The difference is control: an air waybill names a consignee who collects on arrival, while a negotiable bill of lading lets whoever holds the original take delivery, so goods at sea can be sold by passing it on.

Air waybill Bill of lading
Mode Air Sea
Main rules Montreal Convention 1999, Articles 4 to 16 Hague-Visby Rules, enacted in the UK by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971; national law such as the US Federal Bills of Lading Act (49 USC chapter 801)
Negotiable No: the consignee named on it is entitled to the goods on arrival (Montreal Convention, Article 13) Yes when made out to order; no for a straight bill or a sea waybill
Originals Three: for the carrier, for the consignee and for the shipper (Article 7) Issued by the carrier; a negotiable original is handed over to take delivery
Who collects the goods The named consignee, after paying the charges due The named consignee of a straight bill, or the holder of the endorsed negotiable original
When it's issued The carrier signs the shipper's original once it has accepted the cargo (Article 7) On the shipper's demand once the carrier has the goods, as a "received for shipment" bill, or after loading, as a "shipped" bill (Hague-Visby, Article III(3) and (7))
Liability limit with no value declared 26 SDR per kg since 28 December 2024 (Article 22, as revised by ICAO) 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kg, whichever is higher, where Hague-Visby applies (Article IV(5))
Electronic version The e-AWB under IATA's Multilateral e-AWB Agreement (Resolution 672) removes the paper air waybill In the UK, an electronic bill of lading controlled through a reliable system has the same effect as paper (Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023)

SDR is the special drawing right, the IMF's unit of account. The Montreal Convention also allows any other means that preserves a record of the carriage to replace the air waybill document (Article 4(2)).

What does negotiable mean on a bill of lading?#

A negotiable bill of lading is one made out "to order", so the right to the goods passes to whoever it's endorsed to and holds it. US law defines it as a bill stating that the goods go to the order of a consignee, with no agreement on its face that it isn't negotiable (49 USC 80103(a)).

  • A straight bill says the goods go to a named consignee. It's nonnegotiable, endorsing it doesn't change that, and the carrier must mark it "nonnegotiable" or "not negotiable" (49 USC 80103(b)).
  • Naming a person to be notified of arrival on a negotiable bill doesn't limit its negotiability (80103(a)(2)).
  • To take delivery under a negotiable bill, the holder offers to endorse and hand the bill to the carrier (49 USC 80110(a)). Under a straight bill, the carrier may deliver to the named consignee (80110(b)).
  • UK law counts a document as a bill of lading only if it can be transferred by endorsement or, as a bearer bill, by delivery. A sea waybill is a receipt that contains or evidences the contract and identifies who the carrier delivers to (Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, section 1).

An air waybill works differently. The shipper can stop or redirect the goods until the consignee's right begins on arrival (Montreal Convention, Articles 12 and 13), and the convention has no mechanism for passing the goods to someone else by endorsing the document. For a seller the practical point is simple: whoever is named as consignee on the air waybill gets the goods.

What is the difference between a master and a house air waybill?#

A master air waybill is issued by or for the airline for a whole consignment, with the airline's 11-digit number, and a house air waybill is issued by a forwarder to each shipper it consolidates under that master. Ocean freight works the same way, with a master bill of lading and house bills from the forwarder.

US customs want both levels. For a consolidation, the airline sends master-level data, and the master number and house number (up to 12 characters) are sent for every house air waybill under it, with each house shipment's real foreign shipper, its consignee and a precise description; a forwarder's name isn't accepted as the shipper at house level (19 CFR 122.48a). For a consolidated ocean shipment, the forwarder or NVOCC can appear as shipper and consignee on the master bill, but each house bill must name the real foreign seller and the party the goods are delivered to; for a bill made out "to order of" a named party, that party is reported as the consignee (19 CFR 4.7a).

For a seller shipping through a forwarder, the house document is the one with your name on it, so keep its number with the commercial invoice.

What goes on an air waybill and a bill of lading?#

Both documents carry the parties, the route, a description of the goods and the charges, but they're built around different facts. The air waybill centers on weight and rating for each piece, because air cargo is charged by weight, while the bill of lading centers on marks, package counts and the condition the carrier found the goods in.

Field Air waybill Bill of lading
Parties Shipper and consignee by name and address Shipper and consignee, or "to order" of a named party, often with a notify party
Route Places of departure and destination, which the convention requires (Article 5), with airports and flights Ports of loading and discharge; a "shipped" bill also notes the ship's name and date of shipment (Hague-Visby, Article III(7))
Goods Weight, which the convention requires (Article 5), with the number of pieces, dimensions and the nature and quantity of the goods Leading marks, number of packages or quantity or weight, apparent order and condition (Article III(3))
Value Declared value for carriage and for customs Value declared by the shipper and inserted in the bill lifts the carrier's limit (Article IV(5)(a))
Who answers for the particulars The shipper is responsible for their correctness and indemnifies the carrier (Montreal Convention, Article 10) The shipper guarantees the marks, number, quantity and weight it supplied (Hague-Visby, Article III(5))

The air waybill's statements about weight, dimensions, packing and the number of packages are prima facie evidence of those facts (Montreal Convention, Article 11). Check them against the commercial invoice before you sign, because customs and the carrier will both rely on them.

border.bot's free air waybill generator fills a master or house air waybill from your details and checks the AWB number's check digit; the issuing carrier or its agent still has to accept the goods and sign it.

Worked example: what the carrier pays if goods are lost#

Carrier liability limits show the practical gap between the two documents, because air limits run per kilogram while sea limits also run per package. Two cartons of camera lenses, 12 kg each and worth $3,000 together, are lost, and no value was declared on either document, so the standard limits apply.

By air (Montreal Convention) By sea (Hague-Visby)
Rule 26 SDR per kg 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kg, whichever is higher
Working 26 × 24 kg 666.67 × 2 packages = 1,333.34; 2 × 24 kg = 48
Limit 624 SDR 1,333.34 SDR

For light, valuable goods the per-package limit at sea is higher than the per-kilogram limit in the air. Declaring a value on the bill of lading lifts the sea limit (Article IV(5)(a)), and the Montreal Convention lets carriers agree to higher limits (Article 25). For damaged air cargo, the consignee must complain to the carrier in writing within 14 days of receipt, and within 21 days for delay (Article 31). How these documents fit into clearance is in customs clearance for ecommerce parcels, and how the kinds of carrier differ is in choosing a carrier.

Common questions#

Is an air waybill a document of title?#

No. It names a consignee who can claim the goods on arrival (Montreal Convention, Article 13), and the convention provides no way to transfer them by endorsing the document. A negotiable bill of lading is the document that does that.

Do I need the original bill of lading to collect goods?#

For a negotiable bill, yes: the carrier delivers to the holder who offers to endorse and hand over the original (49 USC 80110). Under a straight bill or a sea waybill, the carrier delivers to the consignee it names.

Can an air waybill be electronic?#

Yes. IATA's Multilateral e-AWB Agreement (Resolution 672) removes the paper air waybill between airlines and forwarders that sign it, and the Montreal Convention accepts any record that preserves the details of the carriage (Article 4(2)).

What is a house air waybill?#

The waybill a forwarder issues to each shipper whose goods it consolidates under one airline master air waybill. US customs receive data for both, with each house shipment's own parties and description (19 CFR 122.48a).

Sources#