A Dock Receipt is a document issued at the origin marine terminal acknowledging that cargo has been physically delivered to the carrier and is in the terminal's custody pending vessel loading. It is the operational precursor to the bill of lading.
The dock receipt is typically prepared by the shipper or its freight forwarder using carrier-provided booking data and is presented when cargo is dropped at the Container Yard (CY) or Container Freight Station (CFS). The terminal operator signs to acknowledge receipt and notes any apparent damage or shortage.
Information on the dock receipt includes:
- Booking number
- Shipper, consignee, and notify party
- Vessel name and voyage
- Container number and seal numbers
- Marks and numbers
- Package count and type
- Weight and measurements
- Description of goods
Once the cargo is loaded onto the vessel, the carrier converts the dock receipt into a bill of lading. Any "clean" notation on the dock receipt (no apparent damage) flows into the BOL — a "clean on board" notation is critical for letter-of-credit transactions, since banks will reject documents that show damaged or short-shipped cargo.
For LCL shipments, the cargo first goes to a CFS where it is consolidated with other shippers' cargo before container stuffing — the dock receipt is issued at the CFS rather than at the marine terminal directly.