Free inspection template
Inbound Freight Damage & Discrepancy Report — Free Template
Run this Inbound Freight Damage & Discrepancy Report from your phone — online or offline — and get a finished PDF report when you're done.
Overview
What is An Inbound Freight Damage & Discrepancy Report?
An Inbound Freight Damage & Discrepancy Report is a structured checklist that helps inspectors systematically verify compliance with the relevant standards or operational requirements. Completing the inspection on mobile produces a timestamped PDF that can be shared immediately with clients or management.
The checklist
Every checkpoint, in full
A read-only preview of the live template. Clone it to run the inspection on mobile, where each item records Pass, Fail or N·A with optional photos and notes.
Receiving Details
10 checksNOTENote on Usage
This record is based on the federal freight-claim rules (49 CFR Part 370) and the Carmack Amendment (49 USC 14706). Completing it documents evidence — it is not the same as filing a claim and does not guarantee recovery. The business remains responsible for filing a written claim with the carrier, meeting the carrier's requirements and filing deadline (often 9 months from delivery), and preserving the damaged goods and packaging for the carrier's inspection.
Date received
Received by
Carrier
PRO / tracking / BOL number
The carrier's shipment number — PRO number for LTL freight, tracking number for parcel, or the Bill of Lading number. This is the key identifier that ties the claim to the shipment.
Purchase order (PO) number
Supplier / shipper
Pallets / cartons expected
Pallets / cartons received
Photo — Bill of Lading (BOL)
Photograph the BOL or delivery receipt, including any damage/exception notes written on it at delivery.
Photo — shipping / tracking label
Condition on Arrival
4 checksTrailer / container seal intact and matched the BOL
Mark N/A for parcel shipments with no seal.
Damage or shortage noted on the delivery receipt at the time of delivery
Pass = the exception was written on the carrier's delivery receipt / BOL before the driver left. Fail = the shipment was signed for clean. This strongly affects the claim.
Driver present when the problem was identified?
Photo — shipment as received (on the truck / pallet still wrapped)
What Went Wrong
4 checksDamaged goods?
Shortage — items missing?
Overage — extra items received?
Wrong item received?
Damage Detail
7 checksDescription of damage
What is damaged and how — e.g., 'forklift puncture through the side of the pallet, 6 cartons crushed.'
Item(s) affected — name / SKU
Quantity damaged
Estimated value of damaged goods
Your cost or invoice value of the damaged items — part of the determinable dollar amount a freight claim requires.
Concealed damage — not visible until the cartons were opened?
Concealed damage usually must be reported to the carrier promptly (often within a few days of delivery). Note when it was discovered.
Photo — damaged pallet / cartons
Photo — close-up of product damage
Shortage / Overage Detail
5 checksItem(s) and SKU affected by the count discrepancy
Quantity expected
Quantity received
Estimated value of the shortage
Leave blank for an overage.
Photo — packing slip / manifest vs. goods received
Wrong-Item Detail
4 checksItem ordered — name / SKU
Item actually received — name / SKU
Quantity of the wrong item received
Photo — wrong item received (with its label)
Claim Information
5 checksEstimated total claim amount
A freight claim must state a specific, determinable dollar amount (49 CFR §370.3). Sum the damaged, short, and wrong-item values here.
Carrier / parcel company notified of the issue
How and when the carrier was notified
Date, method (phone, portal, email), and any reference / claim number you were given.
Disposition of the affected goods
Notes / additional context
Sign-off
3 checksRecorded by
Reviewed by a manager / supervisor?
Manager / supervisor signature
Yours to edit
Not quite how your site runs?
Clone it and the checklist becomes yours in seconds. Reword a checkpoint, drop in a whole new section, flag what's critical, and add photo or signature fields wherever proof matters. No code, no form-building.
Field procedure
How to run this inspection
Walk the site area by area. Mark each checkpoint Pass, Fail or N·A as you go, and add a photo on any Fail to document it for the report.
STEP 01
Receiving Details
Check all items in the Receiving Details area and record Pass, Fail or N·A for each.
STEP 02
Condition on Arrival
Record the state of the shipment as it arrived, before unloading. Whether damage or a shortage was noted on the delivery receipt at the time of delivery is the single most important fact for a carrier evaluating the claim.
STEP 03
What Went Wrong
Flag every issue that applies — a single shipment can be both short and damaged. Each flag reveals a detail block below.
STEP 04
Damage Detail
Check all items in the Damage Detail area and record Pass, Fail or N·A for each.
STEP 05
Shortage / Overage Detail
Check all items in the Shortage / Overage Detail area and record Pass, Fail or N·A for each.
STEP 06
Wrong-Item Detail
Check all items in the Wrong-Item Detail area and record Pass, Fail or N·A for each.
Run your first Inbound Freight Damage & Discrepancy Report today
Clone the template, inspect from your phone, and hand over a finished PDF report before you leave the floor.