CMR Consignment Note: Road Transport Document Explained

The CMR consignment note explained: when the CMR Convention applies, mandatory fields, the three copies, reservations, right of disposal, liability and e-CMR.

When goods cross borders by truck — Algeria to Tunisia, Morocco to Spain, Spain to Germany, or a trailer shipped by ferry from Algiers and driven on to Lyon — the transport document is almost always a CMR consignment note. It looks like a simple form with 24 numbered boxes, but behind it is an international convention that fixes who is liable for what, how much the carrier pays when goods are lost, how quickly the consignee must complain and who can redirect a truck on the road.

This lesson explains when the CMR Convention applies, what the CMR note must contain, how its three originals are used, what carrier reservations mean, who has the right of disposal, how liability and claims work, how the note is checked under a letter of credit and how electronic CMR is changing practice.

What is the CMR consignment note?

The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, signed in Geneva on 19 May 1956 (CMR), sets uniform rules for international road haulage. The consignment note is the document that confirms the contract of carriage. Its absence or irregularity does not affect the validity of the contract, which remains subject to the Convention, but without a proper note you lose the evidence you need in a dispute.

The note serves as:

• evidence of the contract of carriage and its conditions;
• evidence of taking over: unless the carrier enters reservations, it is presumed that the goods and packaging were in apparent good condition and that the number of packages, marks and numbers matched the note;
• the instrument of the right of disposal, through the sender's copy;
• the delivery receipt, when the consignee signs its copy.

It is not a document of title and cannot be endorsed. The carrier delivers to the consignee named on the note.

When does the CMR Convention apply?

The Convention applies to every contract for the carriage of goods by road in vehicles for reward when the place of taking over and the place designated for delivery are in two different countries, at least one of which is a contracting country — whatever the parties' nationality. Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and several North African countries, including Morocco and Tunisia, are contracting parties; check the current list on the UNECE website for the countries on your route.

When a loaded trailer travels part of the way by ferry or rail without the goods being unloaded, CMR still governs the whole carriage. The exception: if loss or damage was caused during the sea or rail leg by an event that could only occur in that mode, and not by the road carrier, the liability is determined by the rules of that other mode.

The three originals and who keeps what

Under article 5, the note is made out in three original copies signed by the sender and the carrier:

Additional copies are often printed for the forwarder, customs or the buyer. The copies are usually colour-coded on printed forms, but what matters is the copy's function, printed on it.

What must a CMR note contain?

Article 6 lists the particulars.

Worked example: PET preforms from Sétif to Lyon

An Algerian plastics company sells 676,000 PET preforms to a French water bottler, DAP Lyon, Incoterms® 2020, for EUR 39,208.00. Payment: 30% in advance, 70% on open account at 45 days. A road haulier collects a semi-trailer in Sétif, takes it to Algiers, ships it by ro-ro ferry to Marseille and delivers it to Lyon.

Because the place of delivery is in France, a contracting state, the Convention governs the contract, including the ferry leg in the trailer. At delivery the bottler finds one octabin torn by forklift damage and writes the reservation on the consignee's copy with a photograph reference; the exporter's insurer, under DAP where the risk was the seller's until delivery, recovers from the carrier up to the CMR limit.

Reservations, right of disposal and liability

Reservations and evidence

When taking over the goods, the carrier must check the number of packages, their marks and numbers and the apparent condition of the goods and packaging (article 8). If it cannot check, or finds problems, it enters reasoned reservations on the note. Without reservations, the note is prima facie evidence that the goods were in good condition and matched the note at taking over (article 9).

At delivery, the consignee should check before signing. For apparent loss or damage, reservations must be made at delivery; for non-apparent loss or damage, written reservations within 7 days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays excepted; for delay, within 21 days of the goods being placed at its disposal (article 30). Legal action is time-barred after one year, or three years for wilful misconduct (article 32).

The right of disposal

The sender can stop the goods in transit, change the place of delivery or the consignee (article 12). To do so, it must produce the first copy of the consignment note. The right passes to the consignee when the second copy is handed to it, or from the start if the sender wrote this on the note. This gives the sender's copy a practical security function: a buyer who pays against presentation of the sender's copy knows the seller can no longer redirect the goods, provided the carrier applies the rule. It does not give the seller any control after delivery, so road sales on credit need other protection (see open account).

Liability, limits and insurance

The carrier is liable for loss, damage and delay between taking over and delivery, except for listed causes such as the sender's fault, inherent vice or insufficient packing. Compensation for loss is capped at 8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight short (under the 1978 Protocol), plus carriage charges and duties refunded, unless a higher value or special interest was declared on the note. For high-value goods, the cap is far below their worth: insure them under a cargo policy (see cargo insurance).

Letters of credit and the electronic CMR

The CMR note under a letter of credit

UCP 600 article 24 accepts a road transport document that indicates the carrier and is signed by it or a named agent (or shows receipt by its signature, stamp or notation), shows the date of shipment or of receipt for carriage at the place stated in the credit, and shows the places of shipment and destination. It must appear to be the original for consignor or shipper, or bear no marking showing for whom it was prepared. As with air waybills, the CMR note is not a document of title, so the credit should name the consignee in a way that protects the bank.

The electronic CMR (e-CMR)

An Additional Protocol to the CMR, adopted in 2008 and in force since 2011, allows an electronic consignment note with the same legal value as paper, provided the procedures for authentication and integrity are agreed. A growing number of countries apply it. Before using e-CMR, check that both countries on your route, your carrier and the customs offices accept it.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the gross weight or number of packages blank, or different from the packing list.
• Letting the driver sign without checking the load, so that no reservation is possible later.
• Consignee signing for 26 packages when 25 arrived.
• Missing the 7-day deadline for hidden damage.
• Assuming the note gives you control over the goods as a bill of lading would.
• Losing the sender's copy, which you may need to redirect the goods.

Putting it into practice

On Incoforms, the CMR consignment note is generated from the shipment: sender, carrier, consignee, places of taking over and delivery, packages, marks, gross weights and charges come from the same data as the invoice and packing list. It prints in the three copies — sender, carrier and consignee — numbered from the shipment reference, with your stamp and signature, and can be merged with the other documents into one PDF for the driver and the buyer.