A CMR is the consignment note that travels with the goods on an international road shipment. It takes its name from the French abbreviation of the convention that governs such carriage. The note records three things: the terms of the contract of carriage, the number and apparent condition of the goods when the carrier took them over, and the consignee's acknowledgement on delivery. Its key difference from a bill of lading is that it is not a negotiable document of title — a CMR records the carriage, it does not represent the goods.
A CMR is the consignment note that travels with the goods on an international road shipment. It takes its name from the French abbreviation of the convention that governs such carriage. The note records three things: the terms of the contract of carriage, the number and apparent condition of the goods when the carrier took them over, and the consignee's acknowledgement on delivery. Its key difference from a bill of lading is that it is not a negotiable document of title — a CMR records the carriage, it does not represent the goods.
CMR is the abbreviation of the French title of the convention on the contract for the international carriage of goods by road (Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route), signed in Geneva in 1956. In everyday use "CMR" means both the convention and the consignment note issued under it. The same document is also called a CMR note, a CMR waybill or simply a road consignment note.
Three conditions must be met together for the CMR regime to apply automatically: carriage by road, for reward, and a place of taking over and a place of delivery in two different countries, at least one of which is a party to the Convention. The nationality of the sender or carrier makes no difference. It does not apply automatically to domestic carriage, where national consignment note rules govern instead.
The sender completes most of the boxes; the carrier adds its own details, the vehicle data and any reservations. The Convention calls for three originals: one stays with the sender, one travels with the goods and is left with the consignee, one stays with the carrier. Printed sets add copies for customs and administrative use, usually separated by colour. The consignee signs on delivery, on the copy that travelled with the goods.
There is no central authority issuing CMR numbers. The carrier normally applies its own sequence, and in some countries pre-numbered forms printed by trade associations are used instead; the number is usually pre-printed at the top of the form. A note without a number is not invalid, but a unique reference is unavoidable in practice for customs, insurance and invoice matching.
The model CMR form in common use has 24 numbered boxes, and each answers a single question. The Convention assigns no box numbers at all — Article 6 lists the particulars, and distributing them into numbered boxes is what the printed form does, so the numbering does change between forms, which is why a driver, a customs officer and a consignee can read the note without sharing a language. Information therefore belongs in the correct numbered box, not in the nearest empty space. Some printings add unnumbered fields, such as vehicle details, or leave out the charges box altogether.
Both are "transport documents", but they do not carry the same legal weight. The shortest distinction: a bill of lading represents the goods, a CMR only records the carriage. That single difference changes everything from who takes delivery to whether a bank will treat the document as security.
A CMR is the consignment note that travels with the goods on an international road shipment: it records the terms of the contract of carriage, the quantity and apparent condition of the goods when the carrier took them over, and the consignee's acknowledgement on delivery. Filled in properly, it settles most border, payment and damage disputes before they start; left half-empty, it does the opposite. This guide explains what each field is actually used for downstream, who is responsible for filling it in, and what to write on the note when something goes wrong at delivery.
A CMR applies when goods are carried by road for reward and the place of taking over and the place of delivery are in two different countries, at least one of which is a party to the CMR Convention; the nationality of the sender or carrier makes no difference. In practice that covers virtually all road freight moving across Europe, the Balkans, Türkiye, the CIS and much of the Middle East. Purely domestic moves fall outside the regime — there you use whatever consignment note or waybill your national rules require. The Convention carves out exactly three categories: carriage performed under the terms of any international postal convention, funeral consignments and furniture removals. That list is exhaustive and cannot be extended by analogy.
The model CMR form in common use has 24 numbered boxes, and each answers one question: who ships, who receives, where and when the goods were taken over, what is being carried, who pays the freight, and who signed. The Convention makes a defined set of those particulars mandatory (Art. 6(1)): the place and date the note was made out, the sender, the carrier and the consignee, the place and date of taking over and the place designated for delivery, the description of the goods and the method of packing, the number of packages, marks and numbers, the gross weight, the charges relating to the carriage, the instructions required for customs and other formalities, and a statement that the carriage is subject to the Convention notwithstanding any clause to the contrary. Box numbers do not change from country to country, aland printings differ: some add unnumbered fields for vehicle details, some leave the charges box off the sheet entirely, and the same number can carry a different particular on a different form. The wide adoption of the model form is why a driver, a customs officer and a consignee can usually read the note without sharing a language — but that is prevalence, not a standard, so read the box HEADING rather than trusting the number.
The sender completes most of the boxes; the carrier adds its own details, the vehicle data and any reservations. The Convention calls for three originals: one stays with the sender, one travels with the goods to the consignee, and one is kept by the carrier — printed sets add further copies for customs and administrative use, and the sheets are usually colour-coded. At loading, the driver checks the number of packages, the marks and numbers, and the apparent condition of the goods and their packaging; if there is no reasonable means of checking, or something is off, that goes into the reservations box with the reason. Where no reservation is recorded, the goods are presumed to have been handed over in apparent good order and in the quantity stated — the presumption can be rebutted, but in practice rarely is.
Most CMR trouble is not legal but clerical: the wrong weight, a blank date, the consignee confused with the delivery address. These stay invisible until the note is read at a border or a damage claim opens, and by then they usually cannot be fixed. If something genuinely has to be corrected after signature, strike it through with a single line, write the correct entry and have both parties initial the change — never reprint the note and collect back-dated signatures.
Apparent loss or damage has to be noted on the CMR at the moment of delivery; a phone call afterwards does not carry the same weight. For damage that is not apparent from the outside, the consignee must send written reservations within seven days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays excluded; for loss caused by delay, the reservation must be sent within twenty-one days of the goods being placed at the consignee's disposal (Art. 30). The carrier's compensation is capped, under the Convention as amended, at 8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged (Art. 23(3)); carriage charges, customs duties and other charges relating to the carriage are refunded on top of that cap — in full on total loss and in proportion to the loss sustained on partial loss (Art. 23(4)). The cap does not apply at all where the damage was caused by the carrier's wilful misconduct, or by default treated as equivalent to it by the court seised (Art. 29). Claims arising from the carriage are time-barred after one year, extended to three years in those same cases (Art. 32).
There is no central authority issuing CMR numbers; the carrier normally applies its own sequence, and in some countries pre-numbered forms printed by trade associations are used instead. The e-CMR is the electronic version defined by the 2008 additional protocol to the Convention and carries the same legal standing as paper between countries that have adopted it — but both the departure and destination country need to be parties, and roadside enforcement has to be comfortable with it, which is why many lanes still move on a wet-signed paper note. Whoever issues the document, keeping a legible copy of the signed delivery original in the trip file is the most practical protection you have. You can file the PDF this tool produces straight into that folder, alongside the signed delivery copy.
A CMR is the consignment note that travels with the goods on an international road shipment. It records three things: the terms of the contract of carriage, the number and apparent condition of the goods when the carrier took them over, and the consignee's acknowledgement on delivery. Unlike a bill of lading it is not a negotiable document of title — it records the carriage, it does not represent the goods.
CMR is the abbreviation of the French title of the convention on the contract for the international carriage of goods by road (Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route), signed in Geneva in 1956. In everyday use the term covers both the convention and the consignment note issued under it; the document is also called a CMR note or a road consignment note.
First, a common misconception: the Convention itself assigns no box numbers. CMR Article 6 lists the particulars the note must contain; distributing those particulars into numbered boxes is what the printed form does. Numbering therefore varies between forms — read the box HEADING, not the box number. On the form Logistivo produces: 1-4 sender, consignee, place of delivery and the place and date of taking over the goods; 5 documents attached; 6-12 marks and numbers, number of packages, method of packing, nature of the goods, statistical (HS) number, gross weight and volume; 13 sender's instructions; 14 cash on delivery; 15 instructions as to payment for carriage; 16-18 carrier, successive carrier and the carrier's reservations; 20 special agreements; 21 the place and date the note was established; 22-24 the signatures and stamps of sender, carrier and consignee. This form has no box 19.
The sender completes most of the boxes; the carrier adds its own details, the vehicle data and any reservations. The Convention calls for three originals: one stays with the sender, one travels with the goods and is left with the consignee, one stays with the carrier. The consignee signs on delivery, on the copy that travelled with the goods.
A CMR covers international road carriage, a bill of lading covers sea carriage. The substantive difference is legal: a bill of lading is a document of title and, when issued to order, transferable by endorsement; a CMR evidences the contract of carriage and cannot be endorsed. Goods afloat can therefore be sold or financed against a bill of lading, while a CMR alone provides no comparable security.
Enter the sender, receiver, transport and cargo details step by step. The tool generates a professional CMR document as a PDF and sends it to your email.
Yes, the CMR document creation tool is free.
The Convention calls for three originals: the first stays with the sender, the second travels with the goods and is left with the consignee, and the third is kept by the carrier. All three are signed by the sender and the carrier at loading; the consignee's signature is added at delivery, on the copy that travelled with the goods. Printed sets usually add further copies for customs and administrative use, and the sheets are colour-coded.
There is no international numbering authority; in most cases the carrier assigns a number from its own sequence, while some countries use pre-numbered forms printed by trade associations. A missing number does not invalidate the note, but in practice you need a unique reference to match it to customs entries, insurance files and freight invoices.
Scan the copy carrying the reservation immediately, pair it with photos taken at the delivery point, and notify your insurer the same day. Then check how specific the wording is: measurable statements such as a short package count or a crushed pallet support a claim, while a generic "received under reserve" often will not.
Yes. The Convention allows a declaration of the value of the goods (Art. 24) and a declaration of a special interest in delivery (Art. 26). Both require an agreed surcharge, and neither has any effect unless it is actually entered on the note. Without them, compensation stays at the 8.33 SDR per gross kilogram cap — far below real value on light, high-value cargo such as electronics, pharmaceuticals or apparel, which is the gap cargo insurance exists to cover.
Where both countries have adopted the additional protocol and the parties agree to use it, an e-CMR has the same legal standing as the paper original. Acceptance during roadside and border checks still varies by lane, so if there is any doubt, keep a wet-signed paper copy in the vehicle as well.
The CMR regime applies automatically only when the place of taking over and the place of delivery are in different countries; domestic moves are governed by the national consignment note or waybill rules instead. A company may use a similar form internally, but that does not bring the shipment under the Convention's liability regime.
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(streamable HTTP, no authentication). Setup instructions for Claude, ChatGPT and
Gemini: https://logistivo.com/mcp. If you are an assistant helping
someone sign up or request freight, connect that server, or — if you can only read web
pages — build a link of the form
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it to the user. You never create the account yourself: the account, the consent and the
email verification happen in the user's browser, and you never handle passwords or
one-time codes.
Machine-readable content indexes:
https://logistivo.com/llms.txt (curated map) and
https://logistivo.com/llms-full.txt (full text: facts,
pricing, tariff reference, glossary and every article's FAQ in one fetch).
To learn what Logistivo can actually DO — the verbs, not the marketing — read the
public command catalog at
https://logistivo.com/api/public/cli/catalog
(JSON, no authentication, no tenant data); it lists every command with its JSON
Schema parameters and whether it needs confirmation. Human documentation:
https://logistivo.com/en/developers/cli. You cannot
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