Free Bill of Lading Generators for Hazmat Loads

Can an online bill of lading generator produce a valid hazmat shipping paper?

A generator can produce a valid hazmat shipping paper only if its form collects every field the regulation requires, and the forms we read did not collect the basic description. The bill of lading is the shipping paper that moves with the freight, so what it omits travels with the load. A generator that prints a clean bill of lading with no hazmat lines has produced a paper, but not the hazmat paper the rules describe. We read four free generators to see which fields they ask for, and the sections below set each finding beside the rule it relates to.

What does 49 CFR 172.202 require in the basic description?

49 CFR 172.202(b) fixes four items in a set order: identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division, and packing group, with nothing interspersed. Section 172.202(c) then adds the total quantity and the number and type of packages. The order is part of the requirement, so a form that holds these values in separate boxes must still print them in that sequence on the paper. A generator that leaves any of these out cannot produce the basic description the section describes, whatever else the form does well.

Which required fields do the four inspected forms collect?

None of the four inspected forms collects the four basic-description fields, and the table sets each form against the requirement it bears on. Of the four inspected, only freightpaperwork.com collects an emergency response phone number, in a field labeled “24-hour emergency response phone.” Where the reading did not break a cell out, the table says so rather than inferring it. Read the table as a record of what each form has, set beside what the regulation requires, not as a verdict on any site.

Do the generators that offer a hazmat mark collect the description?

No, a hazmat mark is a flag, and none of the four inspected forms collected the description that goes with it. Three of the four offer some way to mark a load as hazardous. billoflading.org prints an “H.M. (X)” column on its form but has no field for the hazardous-materials description, and loaddesk.io has a hazmat field on each freight line, but none of the description fields. A mark tells a reader the load is hazardous, but it does not give the identification number, shipping name, class or packing group that 172.202(b) requires.

Does a hazmat load need an emergency response phone number on the paper?

Yes, 49 CFR 172.604 requires an emergency response telephone number monitored at all times while the material is in transportation. A generator with no field for that number leaves the shipper to supply it outside the form, if at all. Among the four inspected forms, freightpaperwork.com is the only one with a field for it, labeled “24-hour emergency response phone.” Having a field is not the same as having a line that is monitored at all times, and the form cannot show whether the number it collects is staffed.

Does the shipper’s certification have to appear on the form?

The regulation requires a signed shipper’s certification under 49 CFR 172.204, and printing the certification text is not the same thing. billoflading.org prints a shipper’s certification statement on its form, so the wording is present on the page. The reading did not record a certification statement on the other three forms, which is not the same as confirming it is absent. Whether the paper carries a signed certification depends on the shipper signing it, and no template can do that by printing the words.

How do you test any BOL generator yourself in two minutes?

Open the generator, check that its form fields are in the page source, and test it against the four basic-description items, the quantity and package count, the certification and the emergency phone number. The check takes about two minutes. It does not replace the regulation or a hazmat specialist, but it shows quickly whether the form asks for the items the regulation names.

1. View the generator’s page source. If the form fields do not appear in the HTML, the form is built in JavaScript, so open it in a browser and check the fields on screen instead.
2. Find the four basic-description fields: identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division, and packing group. If any is missing, record that and stop.
3. Find the total quantity and the number and type of packages.
4. Find a shipper’s certification field, not only printed text, and note whether the paper carries a signature line.
5. Find an emergency response telephone number field.
6. Fill in a test hazmat load and print it. Check that the four description items print in that order, with nothing between them.