The Bill of Lading is combined of 3 details -


1. Types of the BL :


  • Master BL (MBL)  


  • House BL (HBL)  


2. SCAC (Standard Carrier Alpha Code)  -  2 to 4 letters carrier code from BOL or AMS Arrival Notice


3. Bill of Lading number - an alphanumeric unique identifier of the carrier/ shipping line assigned to your shipment.




For ISF filing:


One Master Bill of Lading can include Multiple House Bills of Lading. That is why in ISF you need to file the lowest Bill of Lading possible that identifies your shipment - the House.

In case your shipping documents state an HBL AMS number - this is the number to use for your filing.


For Entry filing:


If both the Master Bill of Lading and House Bill of Lading are available, they should both be used in the Entry filing.
Make sure to enter the numbers correctly and to the full, including the SCAC and BL numbers for both.. 




One of the main goals of ISF or Entry filing is to get the Bill of Lading matched with "AMS" - Carrier filing system.


If you receive an error of No Bill on File - that means the Bill of Lading doesn't match.

There may be several reasons for the error No Bill on File:


  • The vessel has not yet departed, and AMS was not filed by the carrier (if this is a transshipment AMS is filed in transshipment port); As soon as the AMS is filed by the carrier, you will get an automatic response from Customs with Accepted/Approved message for your ISF/ Entry Summary, as long as the Bill of lading details in the ISF and the AMS match. 
  • The bill has been filed in AMS by the carrier, but it has different information them the information provided by you as the importer.


Confirming the BL with Carrier:

The importer can reach the carrier and ask to provide the "AMS Approval notice" of the filing, including the SCAC and Bill Of Lading number, and compare it with the details that were filed at the ISF or Entry Summary.

After correcting the information, you can resend your filing.


The ISF or Entry should always get to the point of Accepted/ Approved message, otherwise it may be detained as well as get penalties for not filing on time.


Our support team will gladly assist in such cases, but in order to do so, you will be asked to upload your shipping documents.

Carrier can and should provide the AMS details for you to know your MBL AMS and HBL AMS.