Consignee

The consignee is the party a shipment is consigned to: the name in the consignee box of the bill of lading, sea waybill or air waybill. The carrier delivers to the consignee, or on a negotiable bill to whoever the consignee's endorsement passes it to. The shipper (consignor) sends; the consignee receives.

Straight, to-order and waybill consignees

• Named consignee (straight bill): a bill that states the goods are to be delivered to a named consignee is nonnegotiable and cannot be made negotiable by endorsement (49 U.S.C. 80103(b))
• "To order" or "to order of" a bank or shipper: a bill that says the goods are to be delivered to the order of a consignee is negotiable (49 U.S.C. 80103(a)). The holder of the endorsed original controls the cargo, which is why a letter of credit usually asks for the bill consigned to the order of the issuing bank
• Waybills: on a sea waybill or air waybill the consignee is always named, and the carrier releases to it on identification. Some carriers, Hapag-Lloyd among them, won't telex release a to-order bill

Consignee vs notify party vs importer of record

• Notify party: the party the carrier tells about the arrival, often the importer or its customs broker. Naming a notify party does not limit negotiability or give that party any rights to the goods (49 U.S.C. 80103(a)). The arrival notice goes to it
• Importer of record: the party that makes the customs entry and is liable for the duties. The entry may be filed by the owner or purchaser, or by a licensed customs broker designated by the owner, purchaser or consignee (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)(2)(B)). It is often, but not always, the consignee
• Consignee number on the ISF: the Importer Security Filing asks separately for the IRS, EIN, SSN or CBP-assigned number of the party "in the United States on whose account the merchandise is shipped" (19 CFR 149.3). On a to-order bill that is the real buyer, not the bank

Common mistakes

• Naming a consignee different from the importer on the entry without telling the broker, which confuses the ISF and entry records
• A to-order bill when no bank is involved: nobody can collect until an original is endorsed and surrendered
• Missing phone or email for the consignee on air cargo, which CBP's ACAS data requires

On an NVOCC booking, the master bill names the NVOCC's destination agent as consignee and the house bill names the real buyer. See customs clearance for how the entry is filed through a licensed broker.