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Freight Cargo Claim Letter Generator

Upload the bill of lading, invoice, and damage photos, and get a claim or appeal letter to the trucking carrier with one exact amount.

Freight Cargo Claim Letter Template

[Your company name]
[Street address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Phone] | [Email]

[Date]

Sent by [email to the carrier's claims address / certified mail, return receipt requested / the carrier's online claim form]

[Carrier's legal name]
Attn: Claims Department
[Claims mailing address or email]

Re: Claim for [loss / damage / shortage] of cargo, PRO [number]

Shipment	Details
Carrier PRO or tracking number	[PRO number]
Bill of lading number	[BOL number]
Picked up	[Date], [City, State]
Delivered	[Date], [City, State] [or "Not delivered"]
Shipper	[Name and address]
Consignee	[Name and address]
Broker, if one arranged the load	[Broker name and load number, or "None"]
Pieces and weight on the bill of lading	[e.g., 6 pallets, 2,400 lb]
Amount claimed	$[Total from the Claim Amount Worksheet]

Dear Claims Department:

[Your company name] files this claim against [carrier's legal name] for the [loss of / damage to / shortage in] the shipment identified above. This letter identifies the shipment, states that the carrier is liable for the loss, and claims payment of a specific amount, as described in 49 C.F.R. § 370.3(b).

What happened

[In three to five plain sentences, say what was shipped, how it was packed, and what arrived or did not arrive.]

Condition at pickup: [e.g., Received in apparent good order, as shown on the signed bill of lading]
Condition at delivery: [The driver's exact words on the delivery receipt, or "No exception noted"]
When the loss was found: [At delivery / On unpacking on [date]]
When the carrier was told: [Date, person, and method] [If the damage was found after delivery, report it in writing right away]
Inspection: [Date and inspector, or the date you asked the carrier to inspect]

Carrier's liability

The goods were in good condition when [carrier's legal name] received them and were [lost / damaged / short] when [delivered / due for delivery]. Under the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706(a)(1), the receiving carrier and the delivering carrier on an interstate shipment are liable for the actual loss or injury to the property. [Carrier's legal name] was the [receiving / delivering] carrier on this shipment. [If the bill of lading shows a declared value or limit of liability, state it here.]

Amount claimed

Item	Amount
Invoice value of the lost or damaged goods	$[Amount]
Freight charges paid on the lost or damaged goods	$[Amount] [Only if paid]
Less salvage value of goods kept or sold	-$[Amount]
Less any amount the carrier has already paid	-$[Amount]
Total claimed	$[Total]

These figures come from the enclosed Claim Amount Worksheet and match the commercial invoice. [If the goods were not invoiced to the consignee, or the invoice does not show a price, explain how the value was set.]

Documents enclosed

Bill of lading, signed at pickup
Delivery receipt showing the driver's notes [or proof the shipment was not delivered]
Commercial invoice for the goods [or a copy you certify as true and correct]
Freight bill or other proof of the freight charges
Photographs of the goods and packaging, taken [date]
Inspection report [if any]
Repair estimate, replacement quote, or salvage record [if any]
Claim Amount Worksheet
Emails and letters with the carrier or broker about this shipment

[Remove anything you do not have. Keep the originals.]

The damaged goods and packaging are being held at [address] for inspection until [date]. To arrange access, contact [name] at [phone or email]. [Do not discard anything before the carrier inspects it or declines to.]

Request for payment

We ask [carrier's legal name] to pay $[Total] to [your company name] by [check to the address above / ACH transfer]. Please acknowledge this claim in writing and send us your claim number. Federal rules require a carrier to acknowledge a claim in writing within 30 days of receiving it, unless it has already paid or declined it, and to pay, decline, or make a firm settlement offer in writing within 120 days (49 C.F.R. §§ 370.5 and 370.9).

Please send questions and your written decision to [name, title, phone, email].

Sincerely,

[Signature]

[Name]
[Title]
[Your company name]

cc: [Broker, if one arranged the load] [Your cargo insurer, if you have one]

Enclosures: [Number]

Before you send: File within the claim period in your bill of lading or the carrier's rules. A carrier cannot set that period shorter than nine months (49 U.S.C. § 14706(e)(1)). This template is for interstate shipments by truck within the United States. Shipments within one state, ocean, air, international, and household-goods moves can follow different rules. This is a drafting aid, not legal advice.

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See the full Freight Cargo Claim Letter Template template

River drafts the written claim a trucking carrier has to process when your freight arrives damaged, short, or not at all. Upload the bill of lading, delivery receipt, invoice, and photos. River fills the freight cargo claim letter with the shipment details, what happened, and one exact amount built from the invoice, freight charges, and salvage. If the carrier has already declined or underpaid, pick the freight claim appeal letter instead, and River answers the reason it gave.

The letter follows the federal rule for what counts as a claim. Under 49 C.F.R. § 370.3, a written claim must identify the shipment, say the carrier is liable, and ask for a specified or determinable amount of money. A damage note on the delivery receipt does not count on its own. River reads your papers for each of those pieces, quotes the driver's notes exactly, and marks anything missing for you to confirm instead of guessing.

It is built for shippers and small businesses moving goods by truck between states: a wholesaler with a crushed pallet, a maker whose order vanished at a terminal, a shop whose delivery came up three cartons short of the order. Ocean, air, international, and household-goods moves follow different rules, and River says so rather than forcing them into this letter. Online sellers handling the buyer's side of a damaged order can use the returns and chargeback pack.

How freight claims are won and lost

Most freight claims fail on timing or paperwork rather than on the facts. The first clock is yours. The period to file comes from your bill of lading or the carrier's rules, and under the Carmack Amendment a carrier cannot make it shorter than nine months. The second clock belongs to the carrier. It must acknowledge your claim in writing within 30 days, unless it pays or declines first, and pay, decline, or make a firm offer within 120 days.

The amount is where claims stall. Take a fictional tile distributor that shipped 120 cartons at $42.50 each and received 38 broken. The invoice value of the damage is $1,615.00. It paid $1,380.00 freight for the load, so the share for the broken cartons is $437.00. A salvage buyer offers $120.00, which brings the claim to $1,932.00. The carrier can ask for the bill of lading, proof of freight, and the invoice or a certified copy, so every figure should trace to one of them.

If the carrier declines, the date on its written decision matters most. The time to sue cannot be shorter than two years from written notice that the claim was disallowed, and a settlement offer alone does not start it unless the carrier says so in writing with reasons. Brokers are different. A broker arranges transportation by a motor carrier rather than hauling it, so send the claim to the carrier and copy the broker. River drafts the letter. It is not a lawyer, and it never sends anything.

How it works

Upload your papers
Add the bill of lading, delivery receipt, invoice, freight bill, photos, and any carrier emails. Phone photos work fine.
Pick the letter
Choose a first claim for new damage or loss, or an appeal after the carrier declined or underpaid.
Review the draft
River fills the letter and its worksheet or deadline log, and marks anything it could not confirm from your papers.
Finish it in chat
Ask River to change the amount, add evidence, or tighten the wording, then send the letter yourself.

What you get

A claim letter with the shipment table, what happened, carrier liability, amount, enclosures, and payment request
A claim amount worksheet showing invoice value, freight paid, salvage, and earlier payments, line by line
The driver's delivery notes quoted word for word, because the exact exception is often your strongest evidence
An appeal letter that quotes the carrier's stated reason and answers each one with a specific exhibit
A deadline log with filing, acknowledgment, decision, and time to sue dates, each tied to its rule
Every missing fact marked for you to confirm, with nothing invented and nothing sent for you

Common questions

What is the difference between a freight claim and an appeal?

A claim is your first written demand to the carrier, naming the shipment, the loss, and the amount. An appeal comes after the carrier declines or pays less than you asked. It quotes the reason the carrier gave and answers it with evidence. Pick the one that matches where you are, and River starts from that template.

How long do I have to file a freight claim?

Look at your bill of lading or the carrier's published rules, because that is where the claim period is set. Federal law does not let a carrier set it below nine months. River uses the period from your papers when it can find it, and otherwise marks the deadline for you to confirm rather than guessing a date.

Can I claim for damage I found after delivery?

Yes. The federal claim rules do not require a note on the delivery receipt before you file. Report the damage to the carrier in writing as soon as you find it, photograph it before unpacking further, and keep the packaging. Check the carrier's rules for any deadline to report damage found after delivery.

Should I send the claim to the broker or the carrier?

Send it to the motor carrier that hauled the load, and copy the broker. Brokers arrange the trip but do not haul it, so the carrier is the one the federal claim rules are written for. If you do not know which carrier hauled it, ask the broker for the carrier's name and its PRO number.

Does River send the letter for me?

No. River drafts the letter and the supporting sheet in your workspace, and you review and send it yourself. Send it to the carrier's claims address by a method that shows when it arrived, because the carrier's 120 days to decide run from the date it receives the claim.

Does this work for air, ocean, or international freight?

Not as written. These templates follow the federal rules for truck shipments between states within the United States. Air, ocean, and international shipments, household moves, and shipments within one state follow different rules and deadlines. River will point that out and mark the legal references for you to confirm instead of applying the wrong rules.

Is this legal advice?

No. River is a drafting aid, not a lawyer. It fills the template from your papers, cites the federal rules it relies on, and marks anything it could not confirm. For a large claim, a claim close to its deadline, or a carrier that refuses to budge, have a transportation lawyer review the letter before you send it.

Sources

Built by

Chandler Supple

Co-founder & CEO, River

Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.

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Reviewed by

Brian Joseff, Co-founder, River

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