Title 49, TransportationRelease 119-110

§80103 Negotiable and Nonnegotiable Bills

Title 49 › SUBTITLE X — MISCELLANEOUS › CHAPTER 801 — BILLS OF LADING › § 80103

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines when a bill of lading can be transferred to someone else and when it cannot. A bill is transferable (negotiable) if it says the goods must be delivered under the named consignee’s instructions and it does not say on the face of the bill that it is not negotiable. Adding a name to be told when the goods arrive does not stop the bill from being transferable and does not give that named person rights to the goods. A bill that just names a consignee to receive the goods is not transferable. Signing or handing over a non‑transferable bill does not make it transferable or give the new holder extra rights. A carrier that issues a non‑transferable bill must clearly mark it as nonnegotiable or not negotiable, except for informal notes or simple acknowledgments.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §80103

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Negotiable Bills.—
(1)A bill of lading is negotiable if the bill—
(A)states that the goods are to be delivered to the order of a consignee; and
(B)does not contain on its face an agreement with the shipper that the bill is not negotiable.
(2)Inserting in a negotiable bill of lading the name of a person to be notified of the arrival of the goods—
(A)does not limit its negotiability; and
(B)is not notice to the purchaser of the goods of a right the named person has to the goods.
(b)Nonnegotiable Bills.—
(1)A bill of lading is nonnegotiable if the bill states that the goods are to be delivered to a consignee. The indorsement of a nonnegotiable bill does not—
(A)make the bill negotiable; or
(B)give the transferee any additional right.
(2)A common carrier issuing a nonnegotiable bill of lading must put “nonnegotiable” or “not negotiable” on the bill. This paragraph does not apply to an informal memorandum or acknowledgment.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 80103(a)(1)49 App.:83.Aug. 29, 1916, ch. 415, §§ 2, 3, 6, 7, 29 (last sentence), 39 Stat. 539, 543. 80103(a)(2)49 App.:87. 80103(b)(1)49 App.:82. 49 App.:109 (last sentence). 80103(b)(2)49 App.:86. In subsection (a)(1), the words “A bill of lading is negotiable if . . . states that the goods are to be delivered to the order of a consignee” are substituted for “A bill in which it is stated that the goods are consigned or destined to the order of any person named in such bill is an order bill” for clarity and consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. The words “does not contain on its face an agreement with the shipper that the bill is not negotiable” are substituted for 49 App.:83 (last sentence) for clarity and to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (a)(2)(B), the words “right the named person has” are substituted for “rights or equities of such person” for clarity. In subsection (b)(1), before clause (A), the words “A bill of lading is nonnegotiable if” are substituted for “A bill in which . . . is a straight bill” in 49 App.:82 for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. The words “free from existing equities” in 49 App.:109 (last sentence) are omitted as surplus.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 80103

Title 49, Transportation

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110