CMR Consignment Note: What It Proves And What It Does Not

A CMR consignment note is the standard transport document for international road freight. It evidences the contract of carriage between sender, carrier and consignee, records the condition of the goods at takeover, and brings the shipment under the liability rules of the 1956 CMR Convention. It is not a document of title.

This article describes the CMR Convention as it operates across its contracting states. The instrument is the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, signed at Geneva on 19 May 1956. In the United Kingdom it is given force by the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965.

What does a CMR consignment note actually do?

The CMR consignment note performs three legally distinct jobs.

• It evidences the contract of carriage. Article 4 of the CMR Convention says the contract is confirmed by the making out of a note, and that the absence, irregularity or loss of the note does not affect the contract’s validity.
• It is a receipt. The consignee’s dated signature in the final box records that the goods were handed over, when and where.
• It creates a presumption. Article 9 makes the note prima facie evidence of the contract, its conditions, and the carrier’s receipt of the goods.

The third job is where money changes hands, because the presumption decides who proves what. A carrier that signs a clean note and later says the pallets were already crushed argues against its own signature. The same logic sits behind other transport documents used in international trade.

When is a CMR note compulsory?

Article 1 of the CMR Convention sets the test. It applies to every contract for the carriage of goods by road in vehicles for reward where the place of taking over and the place designated for delivery are in two different countries, and at least one is a contracting party. Neither party chooses CMR. Several points follow that practitioners get wrong.

• Only one of the two countries has to be a contracting party, so a movement into a non-contracting state is still governed by CMR.
• The nationality and residence of the parties are irrelevant. Article 1(1) says so expressly.
• Article 1(4) excludes carriage under international postal conventions, funeral consignments and furniture removals.
• Article 2 keeps CMR in force where the loaded vehicle is carried by sea, rail or air without the goods being unloaded, so roll-on roll-off ferry legs do not break the chain.
• Article 41 voids any stipulation that derogates from the Convention, so you cannot contract out through your haulage terms.
• Purely domestic movements fall outside CMR, and a haulier issuing a CMR-style note on domestic work does not make the Convention apply.

What must the CMR note contain, box by box?

Article 6(1) of the CMR Convention lists the particulars the note must contain, and Article 6(2) adds more for specific situations, including a statement that transhipment is not allowed. The familiar 24 box form is the model consignment note published by the International Road Transport Union, not a schedule to the Convention. Printings vary in how the middle payment boxes are numbered, so read the captions in front of you.

Box group	What it records	Answerable party	Consequence if wrong
1 to 5	Sender, consignee, place of delivery, date of taking over, documents attached	Sender	A wrong delivery place can put the shipment outside CMR, or move the forum under Article 31
6 to 12	Marks and numbers, package count, packing method, nature of goods, statistical number, gross weight, volume	Sender, under Article 7	Understated gross weight lowers the ceiling, since the Article 23 cap runs per kilogram
13 to 15	Sender’s instructions, customs formalities, carriage charges, cash on delivery	Sender	Article 11 makes the sender liable for loss caused by missing customs documents
16 to 18	Carrier, successive carriers, reservations and observations	Carrier	An empty reservations box creates the Article 9 presumption of apparent good order
19 to 21	Special agreements, allocation of charges, place and date of issue	Both, by agreement	Agreements below Convention liability are void under Article 41
22 to 24	Signature of sender, signature of carrier, consignee’s dated receipt	Each signs its own	An unsigned consignee box leaves delivery unproven and the limitation clock unfixed

Article 6(1)(k) requires a statement that the carriage is subject, notwithstanding any clause to the contrary, to the Convention. Article 7(3) makes the carrier liable for expenses and damage if it is omitted. Pre-printed CMR stationery carries it. Notes improvised in a spreadsheet often do not. Settle the distinction between gross weight and net weight with your warehouse staff before it reaches a claim.

Who signs the CMR note and when?

Article 5(1) of the CMR Convention requires the note to be made out in three original copies signed by the sender and by the carrier. The first goes to the sender, the second travels with the goods, the third is retained by the carrier. Article 5(2) lets either party require a separate note for each vehicle, kind of goods or separate lot.

1. The sender completes the goods and instruction boxes before the vehicle arrives. Article 7(1) makes the sender liable for loss the carrier suffers because those particulars are inadequate or incorrect.
2. The driver checks the marks, numbers, package count and apparent condition. Article 8(1) imposes that duty on the carrier at takeover.
3. The driver enters any reservation with reasons. Article 8(2) says reservations do not bind the sender unless the sender expressly agreed to them in the note.
4. Sender and carrier sign. The driver takes two copies and leaves one.
5. At destination the consignee checks the goods and signs the receipt box with the date, entering any delivery reservation.

Article 13(1) lets the named consignee require the carrier to hand over the second copy and the goods against a receipt on arrival. That gives what the term consignee means on a transport document enforceable consequences.

Why do the carrier’s reservations decide most CMR claims?

Because of the burden of proof. Article 9(2) of the CMR Convention provides that if the note contains no specific reservations by the carrier, the goods and packaging are presumed to have appeared in good condition at takeover, with package count, marks and numbers matching the note. Rebutting that in court costs more than writing one line on a form.

Reservations must be specific and reasoned. Blanket entries such as “subject to inspection” or “said to contain”, stamped across every load, record nothing observed. A usable reservation names the unit and the defect: three of twelve cartons on pallet 4 with crushed corners and tape resealed. Article 8(3) gives the sender the right to require the carrier to check gross weight, quantity or package contents, with the carrier entitled to claim the cost of checking.

How much can you recover from the carrier under CMR?

Article 23 of the CMR Convention sets the measure. Compensation for loss is calculated on the value of the goods at the place and time they were accepted for carriage, fixed by the commodity exchange price, failing that the market price, failing that the normal value of goods of the same kind. Article 23(3) caps it at 8.33 units of account per kilogram of gross weight short. The unit of account is the Special Drawing Right, published daily by the International Monetary Fund. Article 23(4) refunds carriage charges and customs duties on top.

• Delay. Article 23(5) limits compensation to the carriage charges, and only where the claimant proves damage resulted from the delay.
• Declared value. Article 24 lets the sender declare in the note a value above the Article 23(3) limit against a surcharge, and the declared amount replaces the limit.
• Special interest in delivery. Article 26 lets the sender fix an amount for special interest, again against a surcharge recorded in the note.
• Wilful misconduct. Article 29 removes the limits where the carrier’s wilful misconduct caused the damage, or default treated as equivalent by the court seised.

For dense, low-value freight the weight-based ceiling usually exceeds cargo value. For electronics or pharmaceuticals it sits far below invoice value. That gap is the bargain the Convention strikes, and cargo insurance in transportation closes it.

What are the notice and time limits for a CMR claim?

Article 30 of the CMR Convention sets the notice regime and Article 32 sets the limitation period. They are separate deadlines and missing either damages the claim differently.

• Apparent damage. Under Article 30(1), a consignee who takes delivery without duly checking condition with the carrier, or without sending reservations at the time of delivery, is presumed to have received the goods as described in the note.
• Non-apparent damage. Reservations must be sent to the carrier in writing within seven days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays excepted.
• Delay. Article 30(3) pays no compensation for delay unless a reservation is sent in writing within twenty one days from the goods being placed at the consignee’s disposal.
• Limitation. Article 32(1) sets one year, extended to three years for wilful misconduct, running from delivery for partial loss, damage or delay.
• Suspension. Article 32(2) suspends that period while a written claim is pending, until the carrier rejects it in writing and returns the attached documents.

Article 31(1) sets where you can sue: a court designated by agreement, a court of the defendant’s residence or principal place of business, or a court of the country where the goods were taken over or where delivery was designated. Keep the signed note, the delivery reservation and the dated written claim together as one file.

Is a CMR note a document of title, and how does e-CMR change it?

No. A CMR consignment note is not a document of title and it is not negotiable. Possession of a copy does not entitle the holder to the goods, and endorsing it transfers nothing. Control comes from the right of disposal instead. Article 12(1) lets the sender stop the goods in transit, change the place of delivery or nominate a different consignee. Article 12(2) ends that right when the second copy is handed to the consignee, and Article 12(5) requires whoever exercises it to produce a copy of the note with the new instructions entered on it.

Because there is no title document, a CMR note cannot withhold delivery pending payment the way a negotiable bill of lading can. Banks treat road consignment notes as non-negotiable transport documents, so the goods can reach the buyer whether or not the documents have been taken up. The comparison of a sea waybill against a bill of lading describes the same exposure on the water.

Where the electronic consignment note stands

The Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention concerning the electronic consignment note was adopted in 2008 and entered into force in 2011. It gives an electronic note the same legal effect as paper, provided authentication uses a reliable electronic signature method. The Protocol is a separate instrument, so a state can be party to CMR without being party to e-CMR, and paper stays necessary where any state on the route has not ratified. The ratification list is published by the United Nations Treaty Collection. The European Union Regulation on electronic freight transport information, known as eFTI, separately obliges competent authorities to accept electronic freight information, which is a different question from validity between the parties.

If your notes are completed differently at every loading site, that inconsistency is the exposure. Get in touch with Globalior for a second pair of eyes.

Key takeaways

• The CMR Convention applies automatically where the places of taking over and delivery sit in two different countries and at least one is a contracting party.
• Article 41 voids any contractual term that derogates from the Convention.
• Article 5 requires three signed originals, one for the sender, one travelling with the goods, one held by the carrier.
• A note signed without reservations creates an Article 9 presumption of apparent good condition and matching package count.
• Article 23 caps compensation for loss at 8.33 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram of gross weight short.
• Article 30 requires written reservations within seven days of delivery for non-apparent damage and twenty one days for delay, and Article 32 sets a one year limitation period.
• A CMR consignment note is not a document of title, so control rests on the right of disposal in Article 12.

Frequently asked questions

What does CMR stand for?

CMR abbreviates the French title, Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route, in English the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road. It was signed at Geneva on 19 May 1956 under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The consignment note takes its name from it.

Who is responsible for completing a CMR consignment note?

The sender supplies the particulars about the goods, the parties, the delivery place and the instructions. Article 7 of the CMR Convention makes the sender liable to the carrier for loss caused by inadequate or incorrect particulars. The carrier completes its own identity and reservations boxes. A forwarder often types the form, but the sender stays answerable for the goods data.

Is a CMR note the same as a bill of lading?

No. A negotiable bill of lading is a document of title that can be endorsed, and the carrier delivers against surrender of an original. A CMR consignment note is neither negotiable nor a document of title, and the carrier delivers to the consignee named in it. Control in transit comes from the right of disposal under Article 12 of the CMR Convention.

Does CMR still apply if the truck crosses on a ferry?

Yes, provided the goods are not unloaded from the vehicle. Article 2 of the CMR Convention keeps the Convention in force where the loaded vehicle is carried over part of the journey by sea, rail, inland waterway or air without the goods being removed. Roll-on roll-off sailings stay under CMR. Unload and ship separately, and that leg falls outside.

What happens if there is no CMR note at all?

The contract of carriage survives. Article 4 of the CMR Convention states that the absence, irregularity or loss of the note does not affect the validity of the contract, which stays subject to the Convention. What is lost is evidence. Without a signed note there is no presumption about the condition of the goods at takeover, and both sides argue from other records.