House Bill of Lading

A house bill of lading is issued by a freight forwarder or NVOCC to its shipper customer, while the forwarder takes a master bill from the actual ocean carrier. The forwarder is the contracting carrier under the house bill and the shipper under the master bill, so it sits in the middle of two carriage contracts with different terms, limits, and time bars. Banks scrutinize house bills under documentary credits because the issuer is not the performing carrier and the document’s title function depends on the forwarder’s standing.