What is a consignee?
What is a consignee? The consignee is the party receiving the freight, and the party whose dock rules quietly decide how the delivery goes.
What is a consignee responsible for
The consignee accepts the freight and signs the delivery receipt. That signature is the moment the carrier's liability ends and the claim window opens, which is why what gets written on the receipt matters more than anything else that happens that day.
They also control the conditions. Dock or no dock, forklift or no forklift, appointment or first come, receiving hours, and whether the driver can get a trailer down the street at all.
Why the consignee decides the accessorials
Almost every accessorial on an LTL invoice is a fact about the delivery end. No dock means a liftgate. A house or a street address means residential. A campus, a mall or a military base means limited access. A big distribution center means an appointment.
None of that is a surprise to the consignee, so ask them before you quote rather than after. A liftgate declared up front is priced. A liftgate discovered by the driver is a rebill.
Related terms
Quick answers
Does the consignee have to sign for the freight?
Someone at the delivery point does. That signed delivery receipt is the proof of delivery, and any damage or shortage noted on it is the foundation of a claim.
Can a consignee refuse a shipment?
Yes. Refusal is usually about damage, a wrong item, or a delivery outside an agreed window, and the freight then goes back or into storage at cost. Call before refusing anything.
Know the delivery end?
Once you know what is a consignee going to need, a liftgate, an appointment, a residential address, tell us and it goes in the quote instead of the invoice.