Bill of lading number formatting

Difference between valid and invalid master bill of lading numbers.

Master bill of lading numbers for most international shipping companies follow the same format of SCAC + master bill of lading number. If your bill of lading number does not follow this format, it may be a house bill of lading number which is not currently supported by the Vizion API.

Otherwise, no additional formatting is required when passing a master bill of lading number to the API via Create Reference via Bill of Lading or optionally via Create Reference via Carrier Code. 

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We highly recommend providing the bill of lading number to the Vizion API exactly as it is provided to you.

Below, you can find generic examples of each supported carrier's known master bill of lading format as of January 2024 based on what is acceptable via that carrier's own tracking webpage. This may not be the source of truth indefinitely, but these are the trends that we have observed based on the month and year previously mentioned.

CarrierCarrier CodeMBL FormattingExample
Australia National LineANNU3 letters + 7 numbersABC1234567
APLAPLU3 letters + 7 numbersABC1234567
CMA CGMCMDU3 letters + 7 numbersABC1234567
COSCOCOSU10 numbers1234567890
EvergreenEGLV12 numbers123456789012
Hamburg SuudSUDU12 alphanumeric charactersA1B2C3D4E5F6
Hapag-LloydHLCUHLCU + 2 letters + (1 letter or 1 number) + 9 alphanumeric charactersHLCUABC1A2B3C4D5
HyundaiHDMU4 letters + 8 numbersABCD12345678
Korea Marine TransportKMTU10 characters (3 letters + 7 numbers, or 4 letters + 6 numbers)ABC1234567, or ABCD123456
MaerskMAEU9 numbers123456789
MatsonMATS10 numbers1234567890
MSCMSCUMEDU + 2 alphanumeric characters + 6 numbersMEDUA1234567, or MEDUAB123456
ONE LineONEY12 characters (6 alphanumeric characters + 6 numbers)A1B2C3123456
OOCLOOCL10 numbers1234567890
Pacific International LinePCIU12 characters (3 letters + 9 numbers, or 4 letters + 8 numbers)ABC123456789, or ABCD12345678
SinokorSNKOSNKO + 12 numbersSNKO123456789012
SM LinesSMLM12 characters (3 letters + 9 numbers, or 4 letters + 8 numbers)ABC123456789, or ABCD12345678
TS LineTSTU4 letters and 12 numbers or 12 numbersABCD123456789101 or 123456789101
Wan HaiWHLC3 numbers + 2 letters + 5 numbers123AB12345
Yang MingYMLU1 letter + 9 numbersA123456789
ZIMZIMU3 letters + 4 to 7 numbersABC1234, ABC12345, ABC123456, or ABC1234567