Glossary

Proof of delivery (POD)

Proof of delivery is the signed confirmation that a shipment arrived. Usually it is the delivery copy of the bill of lading, signed and dated by the consignee, sometimes with a printed name and notes about the condition of the freight at the door.

What it settles

The POD closes the loop on the carrier's custody. A clean POD, signed without exception, is evidence the freight arrived as expected. A POD marked with a shortage, an overage, or damage is the starting point for a cargo claim, read together with what the bill of lading noted at pickup. Because the condition notes on both ends define the carrier's window of responsibility, the POD is often the single most important piece of paper when a claim is disputed.

Paperwork and payment

In most broker-carrier arrangements the signed POD is what the carrier submits to get paid, and, when invoices are factored, what the factor needs to collect. A delivery that cannot produce a POD, or produces one that does not match the load, is a paperwork gap worth resolving before payment. Like the bill of lading, the POD is a commercial document between the shipment's parties, distinct from the federal record used to vet the carrier.

A concrete case

A load of 20 pallets is tendered, and the receiver signs the delivery copy noting 19 received. That single notation on the POD, set against the 20 recorded on the bill of lading at pickup, is what turns a vague "short shipment" complaint into a documented one-pallet shortage with a time and place attached. Without a signed POD, or with one that does not match the load, the same dispute has no anchor. The POD closes the carrier's custody and starts the paper trail for payment and for any claim, which is why carriers and factors treat it as the document that has to be in hand before an invoice moves.

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