What is Delivery Order?
A delivery order (DO) is an instruction issued by a carrier or its agent, or by a forwarder or NVOCC for its own house shipments, authorising a terminal, warehouse or CFS to release specified cargo to a named party. At destination it is normally issued once the consignee has surrendered an original bill of lading, or the carrier has confirmed a telex release, sea waybill or electronic bill of lading, and freight and local charges have been paid. It identifies the consignee, bill of lading number, container and seal numbers and cargo description, and the terminal releases the goods only against it or its electronic equivalent. In English law, a ship's delivery order is a document, neither a bill of lading nor a sea waybill, containing the carrier's undertaking to deliver the goods to the person identified in it (Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, section 1(4)). In US inland practice the term also covers the forwarder's or broker's dispatch instruction to a drayage carrier.
Why it matters for forwarders
The DO is the gate between arrival and pickup, so any delay in issuing it consumes free time and can lead to demurrage. Common causes are originals not surrendered, unpaid freight or local charges, a missing telex release, or a mismatch between the consignee on the bill of lading and the party requesting release. Forwarders should check both levels of the release chain early: a consignee may have paid the forwarder, but the destination agent still needs the carrier's release on the master bill before cargo can move. Releasing cargo without the original bill or proper authority exposes the carrier or forwarder to misdelivery claims, which can be costly and may fall outside liability insurance. Electronic DOs and release PINs speed up collection but should be shared only with the authorised trucker to prevent fraudulent pickup.