Free Simple Packing List Template

When the shipment is uniform enough that group-level description is complete rather than abbreviated: identical cartons of a single SKU, small consignments, samples and courier shipments. If contents vary between packages, the shipment spans multiple containers, the value is high or a documentary credit governs payment, use the full case-level format.

Terminology varies by market. A packing slip is generally an internal or domestic document accompanying a delivery, confirming what was sent against an order. A packing list in international trade is a formal shipping document used by customs, carriers and consignees, and it carries weights, dimensions and marks that a domestic packing slip usually omits.

It is inadvisable. Dimensions support volume verification, freight rating and stow planning, and their absence will generate a request from the forwarder if not from customs. On genuinely uniform cargo you only need one set of dimensions for the whole group, which is very little work for a field several parties will need.

Yes. Net weight is what many customs administrations use where duty is weight-based, and gross weight is what carriers rate on and what feeds the Verified Gross Mass declaration on containerised cargo. Providing only one of the two forces someone downstream to estimate the other.

You can, but it defeats the purpose. The packing list exists so that someone holding the cargo can verify it without holding the commercial documents. A reference back to the invoice forces every checker to obtain a second document, and where the invoice is not travelling with the cargo — which is common — it leaves them with nothing.

Generally yes, provided it contains the information customs needs: parties, references, package counts, contents description, net and gross weight and marks. What customs will not accept is a list too vague to verify the shipment against. Requirements vary by destination, so confirm with your broker for lanes where examination rates are high.

Not universally, but sign it where the buyer, a documentary credit or the destination requires it, and always identify who prepared it. A named preparer means a query goes to a person rather than into a shared mailbox, which materially shortens resolution time.

Yes, and you must make the partial nature explicit — state what is shipping now and reference the total order quantity. A list that shows only the shipped quantity without indicating it is partial will not reconcile against an invoice or purchase order covering the full order, and generates exactly the query you were trying to avoid.

Move to the full case-level format. A simple list describing groups that are not genuinely uniform is worse than either alternative, because it presents itself as complete while being unverifiable. The point at which a group needs a footnote to explain its contents is the point at which it needed its own rows.

Yes, always. State the case number range each group covers — cases 1 to 20, 21 to 34 — and make sure the marks printed on the cartons follow that sequence exactly. Case numbering is what makes a short shipment provable, and it costs nothing to maintain even on a simplified document.

Only if the credit permits it. Credits frequently prescribe what the packing list must show, and a simplified document that omits a required element is a discrepancy that holds payment. Read the credit before choosing the format — this is one of the few situations where the extra detail is not optional.

Yes. Group-level packing lists extract into the same structured package rows as case-level documents, with counts, contents, weights and any stated dimensions captured and the printed totals recomputed against the lines. Where the document is too summarised to reconcile against the invoice, that is reported rather than silently accepted.

You can complete the browser form and download a generated PDF. Editable XLSX and DOCX starter files are also available for offline work.

The template form is designed to keep entries in the browser while you prepare the document. Review the finished file before sharing it with a carrier, customer, broker or authority.

No. Use the detailed or container packing list when customs, the buyer, warehouse or carrier requires case-level dimensions, marks, serials or container allocation.