A report that describes the state of the vehicle being carried is known as a vehicle condition report. In the end, it is employed to ascertain whether the car was harmed during transportation. The bill of lading serves as the shipment's receipt or invoice.

An outline of the role the vehicle condition report plays during a car transfer is provided below:

1. Driver inspects the exterior of the vehicle
2. Driver generates a vehicle condition report (paper or digital)
3. Driver and pick-up person sign the report
4. Pick up the person given a copy of the report (if digital, a copy is emailed)
5. Driver loads the vehicle

1. Driver unloads the vehicle
2. Delivery person reviews the report & inspects the vehicle
3. Delivery person notes any damage on the report
4. Driver and delivery person sign the report
5. Delivery person is given a copy of the report (if digital, a copy is emailed)

A driver will do an exterior examination of your automobile when he arrives to pick it up for travel. Any prior dings, scrapes, or damage will be noted on the car condition report by him. Typically, the driver will also snap pictures of the car for the report.

The driver should also record the odometer reading on the report. If he doesn’t, we highly recommend you tell the driver to put it on the report!

After the driver’s inspection and report are completed, he will sign it and so will the pickup person.

The pickup person should receive a copy of the report. If one isn’t automatically provided, the pickup person should request a copy from the driver. If it’s a digital report, a copy will be sent via email.

After all that is done, the driver will load the vehicle and be on his way.

When the driver delivers the vehicle, he’ll unload it and then give the vehicle condition report to the delivery person. The delivery person will then have time to review the report and inspect the vehicle.

The delivery person is inspecting the vehicle to ensure the condition of the exterior of the vehicle matches what’s on the report. If there is any damage to the vehicle not indicated on the vehicle condition report, then we know the vehicle was damaged during the transport. If there is damage, it is noted on the vehicle condition report.

Once the inspection is completed, the driver and the delivery person sign the report. The delivery person will then retain a copy of the signed vehicle condition report. If it’s a digital report, a copy will be sent via email.

If there is damage done to the vehicle during transport, then a damage claim will be filed by the customer as per our damage claim policy.

As you can see, the vehicle condition report is a critical document when shipping a car. Without it, we’d never be able to determine if damage was pre-existing, or if it occurred during the transport.

Up until recently, all vehicle condition reports were written manually on paper. Today, most reports are digital only, but many carriers still use old-school paper reports. When you ship a car today, you’ll see either a paper or digital report.

A bill of lading (or BOL) is a receipt, or invoice, used when shipping freight. Sometimes carriers use two separate documents. They’ll have a separate vehicle condition report and a separate bill of lading. When they are separate documents, the customer will usually get a copy of the vehicle condition report and the auto transport broker will get a copy of the bill of lading.

You’ll note this report can be titled different names including:

• Vehicle Condition Report
• Condition Report
• Vehicle Inspection Report
• Bill of Lading
• Bill of Lading/Vehicle Inspection Report

Regardless of how the report is titled, the important thing to remember is that when a car is shipped, the condition of the vehicle is noted on a report, and both the pickup and delivery person will sign the report and get a copy. The report is what you get as a receipt for the transport and it’s what we use to determine if damage occurred during the transport.