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What is a Switch Bill of Lading?


A Switch Bill of Lading is the second set of Bill of Lading issued by the carrier or its carrier agent. It is issued to replace the Original Bill of Lading issued at the time of shipment. It is frequently used to replace the Shipper and Consignee information from the Original Bill of Lading. Because the seller or trading company (the "middleman") does not want their end buyer to know who the original supplier or factory of the goods is.

Other reasons for requesting a Switch Bill of Lading (BoL) can be:

  • Changes have been made since the original trading conditions were agreed upon.

  • If the cargo has been resold to another buyer and the destination of the cargo must be changed to a different port and receiver of the products.

  • The trading agent uses the Switch Bill of Lading option to initially receive the payment from the cargo buyer before paying the shipper or the original manufacturer of the goods.


Only the cargo owner who has the ownership of the cargo can request the Switch Bill of Lading. This means either the trading Company that is buying the goods from the origin or the ultimate consignee can request for a Switch Bill of Lading.


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