Road freight consignment note template
Consignment note template for road freight: sender, carrier and consignee, packages and gross weight per line, and signatures at loading and on delivery.
Templates by industry
- Pallets of bottled sauces
- Cartons of glass jars
- Drums of cooking oil, 200 l
Preparation guide
Example workflow
Pick and pack
Example: count "Pallets of bottled sauces" and the other lines against the order, and note anything that ships later.
Ship with the note
Put the note in or on the shipment with the tracking number and package count, and check "Drums of cooking oil, 200 l" is listed.
Get it signed
Ask the recipient to sign and date the received-by line, and keep the signed copy as proof of delivery.
A consignment note travels in the cab with the load and is signed twice: by the driver when the goods are loaded and by the consignee when they are unloaded. The two signatures mark when the carrier took charge of the goods and when it handed them over, which is what any later claim about count or condition turns on. This template describes the goods by package type, count and weight rather than by price, with room for the vehicle, the seal number and remarks.
Fields to prepare
- Deliverables and line items
- Pallets of bottled sauces, Cartons of glass jars, Drums of cooking oil, 200 l: record the quantity actually shipped for each line; prices stay off the note.
- Pallets of bottled sauces
- Give pallets by type and count, and say whether they are stackable; a driver plans the load from this line.
- Cartons of glass jars
- Glass needs a handling remark such as this way up or do not stack, written on the line as well as on the cartons.
- Drums of cooking oil, 200 l
- For drums, state the volume and the gross weight per drum; if a load counts as dangerous goods, the carrier needs its own paperwork as well.
- Order and delivery
- Quote the order or invoice number the delivery belongs to, the delivery date and the address the goods go to.
- Shipment
- Give the number of packages, the carrier or shipping method and the tracking number.
- Scope to agree
- Name the sender, the carrier and the consignee, give the number of packages and the gross weight, and leave room for signatures at loading and at delivery.
Before sending
- Was “Pallets of bottled sauces” counted when it was packed, and does the count match the order?
- If “Cartons of glass jars” ships short, does the note say how many follow and when?
- Will the receiver be able to check “Drums of cooking oil, 200 l” against this note on arrival?
Show 3 more
- Check the delivery address, the number of packages and the order or invoice number the delivery belongs to.
- Count each line against the order, and list anything that ships later rather than leaving it off.
- Leave prices off the note unless the customer asks for them; they belong on the invoice.
Worked example with sample figures
The quantities below are invented to show how the template is filled in: 3 lines, counted in units, with no prices.
| Item | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Pallets of bottled sauces | 8 |
| Cartons of glass jars | 40 |
| Drums of cooking oil, 200 l | 4 |
| Total | 52 |
52 units in 3 lines.
- The goods ship against sales order SO-RF-3307.
- Packages: 52.
What the document must show
These details make a delivery note easier to approve and to file.
- Your company name and address
- The customer's name and delivery address
- Note number and delivery date
- The order or invoice it belongs to
- Each item with the quantity delivered
- Packages and carrier or tracking number
- A line for the recipient's signature and date
This document prints quantities without prices, so no tax appears on it unless you switch its line columns to prices and totals.
Frequently asked questions
Does the carrier’s own consignment note replace this one?
If the haulier issues its own form, use that for the journey and keep this note as your dispatch record with the same package count and weight. Two papers that disagree cause more trouble than one.
What should the consignee do if a pallet arrives damaged?
Write the damage on the note before signing, with the pallet number, and ask the driver to countersign. A clean signature makes a later claim much harder to support.
Does this delivery note show prices or tax?
This document prints quantities without prices, so no tax appears on it unless you switch its line columns to prices and totals. The worked example above counts 52 units and nothing else.
Is this template free?
Yes. You can fill in this template and print it or save it as a PDF without an account, and there is no payment step and no watermark on the document. Saving it to your account and downloading Excel or Word files need a free account.
Can I change the layout and colour?
Yes. The editor offers other layouts and a document colour for the printed page. Changing them moves no figure: the lines and totals stay as they are, and the PDF, Word and Excel files follow the layout you pick.
Read next
Reading for the Road freight consignment note template: Quote, proforma, invoice, receipt, credit note: which to use and How to write an invoice: a step-by-step example. The order this delivery answers is written on the Purchase order template.