How to Fill Out and Submit the Estes Bill of Lading (BOL)

An Estes bill of lading is the shipping contract you create with Estes Express Lines that identifies the freight, the shipper and consignee, the payment terms, and the handling instructions for the move. You can produce one two ways: build it inside the MyEstes online portal, or download the Estes BOL PDF and fill it in by hand. Either route works, but the details you enter — weights, NMFC class, hazmat notations, accessorial requests, declared value — control what you pay and what you can recover if something goes wrong.

What to Gather Before You Start

Opening the form before you have the facts in front of you is how errors end up on the final invoice. Pull these together first:

  • Shipper and consignee details. Full name, street address, city, state, and ZIP for both ends. The Estes form also has fields for the consignee’s phone number and email.
  • Piece count and packaging. Total units and how they’re packed — pallets, drums, crates, cartons.
  • Accurate weight. Weigh the full pallet footprint, not just the boxes on top. Estes reserves the right to reweigh your freight and correct the BOL if the number doesn’t match.1Estes Express Lines. How To Complete Your Bill Of Lading
  • NMFC item number and freight class. Every LTL commodity has a National Motor Freight Classification item number mapped to a class between 50 and 500, determined by density, handling, stowability, and liability risk. Look yours up through the NMFTA’s ClassIT tool or ask your Estes representative. If your description doesn’t match the actual freight, Estes can change the class after pickup.2National Motor Freight Traffic Association. NMFC1Estes Express Lines. How To Complete Your Bill Of Lading
  • Hazmat information, if any item qualifies. You’ll need the UN identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group, quantity, package types, an emergency response phone number, and a shipper’s certification.3U.S. Department of Transportation. Check the Box – Getting Started with Shipping Hazmat

Where to Create the BOL

The MyEstes online portal builds the BOL digitally and keeps a saved address book, a commodity library that auto-calculates cube and density, and the option to generate a new BOL from a past shipment or an existing rate quote.4Estes Express Lines. Enhanced Bill of Lading Tool If you ship often, the portal pays for itself quickly by eliminating repeat entry. You can sign up for an account on the Estes site.

If you’d rather work on paper, download the blank BOL PDF directly from Estes.5Estes Express Lines. Estes Express Bill of Lading

Filling Out the Numbered Fields

The standard Estes BOL is a numbered form. Here’s what belongs in each slot, following the carrier’s own instructions:1Estes Express Lines. How To Complete Your Bill Of Lading

  • Field 1 — Date you prepare the shipment.
  • Field 2 — To (Consignee): receiver name and full address. For cash-on-delivery shipments, write “COD” before the consignee name.
  • Field 3 — Shipper’s Number: your internal BOL or reference number. Optional, useful for your own records.
  • Field 4 — P.O. Number: purchase order or internal tracking number. Optional.
  • Field 5 — Route: consignee phone and email.
  • Field 6 — Bill To: a third party’s name and address, if a party other than shipper or consignee is paying.
  • Field 7 — From (Shipper): your origin address, with a complete ZIP.
  • Field 8 — Special Instructions: handling requirements such as appointment delivery, inside delivery, or notify-before-delivery.
  • Field 9 — Hazmat Emergency Phone: required for hazardous materials only.
  • Field 10 — Number of Packages: total count of pallets, boxes, drums, or other units.
  • Field 11 — Hazmat Checkbox: mark with an “X” if any line is hazmat.
  • Field 12 — Description of Articles: describe each commodity specifically and use the NMFC description, not a brand or trade name.
  • Field 13 — Weight: accurate weight per commodity line.
  • Field 14 — Class/Rate: NMFC freight class for each item.

Leave Field 15 blank — that column is for carrier use. Field 16 handles COD collections: enter the dollar amount and check details to be collected on delivery. The fields that follow cover payment terms, declared value, and shipper certifications.

Who Pays: Prepaid, Collect, or Third Party

Field 17 sets the payment term, and the choice decides who gets Estes’s invoice. Three options:

  • Prepaid. The shipper pays. This is the default; if nothing is marked, the shipment moves as prepaid.1Estes Express Lines. How To Complete Your Bill Of Lading
  • Collect. The consignee pays on delivery.
  • Third Party. Someone other than shipper or consignee pays. If you pick this, enter that party’s name and address in Field 6.

Mark it wrong and the invoice lands with the wrong company, which turns into a billing dispute that holds up payment and can delay future pickups.

Liftgate, Residential, and Other Accessorials

Anything beyond standard dock-to-dock service goes in Field 8. Liftgate service and residential pickup or delivery are the two most common add-ons, and both carry fees.

As of November 2025, Estes charges $4.95 per 100 pounds for liftgate service, with a $75 minimum and $350 maximum per shipment. Residential pickup or delivery is $8.50 per hundredweight, with a $75 minimum and $550 maximum per shipment.6Estes Express Lines. Accessorial Charges Leaving the request off the BOL doesn’t make the service free. If the driver has to use a liftgate or delivers to a residence, Estes will add the charge afterward, and a corrected invoice is more work than ticking the box upfront.

Declaring Shipment Value

Under Estes’s standard limited liability, your recovery for lost or damaged freight is capped by the Rules Tariff (Item 350, Section 3), and that cap can sit far below the actual value of your goods.

To protect the full value, use Estes’s Full Value Coverage program. Write the total declared value in the designated field on the BOL — the form reads “the value of this shipment does not exceed $___” — and request the coverage before the freight ships.5Estes Express Lines. Estes Express Bill of Lading Shipments valued above $150,000 need advance approval before Estes will extend the coverage.7Estes Express Lines. Full Value Coverage Skip the field and you’re left with the standard limited liability amount if anything happens in transit.

Scheduling Pickup and Handing Off the Freight

With the BOL complete, request a pickup. The MyEstes portal sends the request straight into Estes’s dispatch system, or you can call Customer Care at 1-866-378-3748.8Estes Express Lines. Contact Information

If you’re using a paper BOL, print it before the driver arrives. The driver signs when they accept the freight, which acknowledges transfer of custody. Under 49 U.S.C. 14706, a carrier is liable for actual loss or injury to property it receives for transportation, and that liability attaches when the carrier takes possession. The statute specifies that failure to issue a receipt or bill of lading does not affect liability.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 U.S. Code 14706 – Liability of Carriers Under Receipts and Bills of Lading Even so, a properly completed BOL is your best evidence of what was tendered, in what condition, and under what terms, so it’s worth doing well the first time.

PRO Numbers and Tracking

At pickup, the driver assigns a PRO number — a 10-digit freight bill number that serves as the primary tracking identifier for the life of the shipment.10Estes Express Lines. Freight Shipping FAQs Track freight on the Estes homepage by entering the PRO, or search by BOL number, pickup request number, or purchase order number if the PRO isn’t handy.11Estes Express Lines. LTL Freight Shipping – America’s Top Private Freight Carrier Keep the PRO on file. You’ll need it to file a damage or loss claim later.

If Freight Arrives Damaged or Missing

Inspect the freight at delivery. If you see damage, note it on the delivery receipt before signing. For concealed damage you discover after the driver leaves, notify the local Estes terminal within five days of receipt and request an inspection. Estes treats this five-day notice as a condition you must meet before recovering on the claim.12Estes Express Lines. Claims Information

Formal claims for loss or damage must be filed within nine months of the delivery date. For shipments that never arrive, the deadline runs from a reasonable time after the shipment date.12Estes Express Lines. Claims Information Hold onto the original cartons, packaging materials, and any other evidence tied to the damaged shipment; Estes will want to see them during the inspection. The BOL anchors the claim file because it documents what shipped, in what quantity, and at what declared value. A vague description or a missing weight on the form makes the claim much harder to recover on.