What is Notify Party?

Notify Party is the name, address, and contact information of the person or company who should be notified prior to or upon the arrival of the cargo. Depending on the type of bill of lading that is issued, the notify might be the actual buyer or consignee that is receiving the cargo, or the notify could be the customs broker or forwarding agent. In some cases the notify party may be a trader or commodities broker.

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Key takeaways:

Whether you are moving overseas or shipping commercial merchandise with FCL or LCL shipping, there are many parties involved in the entire ocean freight process with very different responsibilities.

One can find four different parties mentioned on these bills. They are the consignor, the carrier, the consignee, and the notify party. The notify party can be either the buyer, the buyer’s agent, or a third party.

In most instances, a customs broker, freight forwarder, or intermediary is shown as the notify party in order to facilitate prompt customs clearance and cargo delivery.

The notify party is the contact person to be notified when the shipment arrives at destination. This field is usually only required if it’s different from the party listed in the consignee field. The notify party can be the buyer himself, the shipping agent, or any other entity. The notify party is usually also responsible for arranging customs clearance at destination.

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The Responsibilities of the Notify Party:

All formalities that would help with the timely clearance of the cargo upon its arrival at the destination port.

Normally the shipper or ocean carrier or their agent will inform the consignee and the notify party of the location of the shipment, its ETA, and other relevant details.

However, one point to be noted here is that the ocean carrier, in most cases, will not accept responsibility for this though it is done by them usually in good faith.

This cannot mean that the notify party can wait complacently without following up with the carrier. It is one of its main duties to follow-up on the arrival, check on the release of clearance documents from the bank if terms of trade are by letter of credit, etc.

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The difference between consignee and notify party:

Consignee is a key entity in the shipping chain and is the person or company that is legally allowed to receive the cargo covered in the bill of lading.

Notify party is the name and address details of the person who should be notified of the arrival of the cargo.