Shipping Instructions Letter Mexico (Carta de Instrucciones de Carga)

A Shipping Instructions Letter Mexico (Carta de Instrucciones de Carga) is a formal written document issued by an exporter (exportador) or freight forwarder (agente de carga or freight forwarder) to a shipping line (naviera or línea naviera), non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC or consolidador), or domestic carrier instructing them on all operational details required to prepare the bill of lading (conocimiento de embarque or B/L), make the cargo booking, arrange transport documentation, and execute the export shipment from a Mexican sea port, land border crossing, or international airport in accordance with the Ley de Navegación y Comercio Marítimos (LNCM) and international maritime and trade practice.

The Ley de Navegación y Comercio Marítimos (LNCM, DOF 1 June 2006 as amended) Article 149 is the primary Mexican statutory provision governing the legal relationship between shippers and carriers in maritime transport. Article 149 LNCM establishes the content requirements for the conocimiento de embarque (bill of lading) — the fundamental document of maritime trade that serves simultaneously as a receipt for the cargo, evidence of the contract of carriage, and a negotiable title document for the goods. The Secretaría de Marina (SEMAR) and the Administración Portuaria Integral (API) system oversee Mexican port operations at the country's 117 ports and coastal facilities, with major container terminals at the Puertos of Manzanillo (Pacific), Lázaro Cárdenas (Pacific), Veracruz (Gulf of Mexico), and Altamira (Gulf of Mexico).

The Shipping Instructions Letter is a pre-shipment document that bridges the commercial sale transaction (governed by the commercial invoice and the applicable Incoterm agreed between buyer and seller under Incoterms 2020 published by the International Chamber of Commerce) and the transport documentation issued by the carrier. The exporter or freight forwarder submits the Carta de Instrucciones de Carga to the shipping line's documentation department typically 24 to 48 hours before the vessel departure cut-off (corte de documentos) to ensure that the bill of lading is prepared correctly and released to the shipper before vessel departure.

For export shipments from Mexico, the Shipping Instructions Letter must be coordinated with the SAT export pedimento (pedimento de exportación) filed through the VUCEM (Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior Mexicano) by the customs broker (agente aduanal) — the cargo cannot legally depart Mexico without a validated export pedimento under the Ley Aduanera, and the information in the Shipping Instructions Letter (commercial value, cargo description, Harmonised System codes, destination country) must be consistent with the information in the export pedimento to avoid ANAM discrepancies.

For air freight exports from Mexico, the equivalent document is the Air Waybill Instructions (instrucciones de guía aérea) submitted to the airline or air freight forwarder — governed by the Ley de Aviación Civil and the Montreal Convention 1999 (Convenio de Montreal para la Unificación de Ciertas Reglas para el Transporte Aéreo Internacional, ratified by Mexico) rather than the LNCM. For land freight exports to the United States under USMCA (T-MEC), the Shipping Instructions Letter coordinates with the CFDI Carta Porte and the SAT export pedimento for the Mexican domestic segment, and with the US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) Automated Export System (AES) filing for the cross-border segment.

Mexico is a signatory to the Hague-Visby Rules (Reglas de La Haya-Visby — Convenio Internacional para la Unificación de Ciertas Reglas en Materia de Conocimiento de Embarque, Brussels 1924 as amended by Protocols 1968 and 1979) through the LNCM, which establishes the minimum legal framework for carrier liability in maritime transport — the Shipping Instructions Letter and the resulting bill of lading operate within this international framework.

A Shipping Instructions Letter Mexico is required for every export shipment by sea, air, or land in which the Mexican exporter or its freight forwarder must communicate specific cargo details, routing preferences, documentation requirements, and bill of lading instructions to the transport carrier before the shipment departs.

The letter is needed by Mexican manufacturers (fabricantes) and exporters shipping finished goods — automotive parts, electronics, textiles, food and agricultural products, chemicals, medical devices — from Mexican factories or distribution centres to international buyers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, or Latin America. The Carta de Instrucciones de Carga tells the freight forwarder or shipping line exactly how to prepare the bill of lading (consignee name, notify party, port of discharge, freight collect or prepaid, number of originals) and what special handling instructions apply.

The document is needed by IMMEX Programme (maquiladora) operators exporting finished goods after transformation of temporarily imported materials under the Decreto IMMEX (DOF 1 November 2006) — the export pedimento filed by the customs broker and the bill of lading issued by the carrier must match exactly on cargo description, quantity, and value. The Shipping Instructions Letter bridges the IMMEX operator's internal logistics planning with the carrier's document preparation.

A Carta de Instrucciones de Carga is required when the exporter's sale is under a letter of credit (carta de crédito or crédito documentario) issued by the buyer's bank under UCP 600 (Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, ICC Publication 600) — the bill of lading produced from the shipping instructions must comply exactly with the letter of credit requirements on consignee, notify party, ports, freight terms, and container type to enable the bank to accept the documents and release payment.

The letter is needed for consolidated shipments (grupaje or LCL — Less than Container Load) where the freight forwarder or consolidator must know precisely how to label, mark, and describe each shipper's cargo within a shared container, and how to prepare individual house bills of lading (HBL) for each exporter.

Under Ley de Navegación art. 149, Ley Aduanera, and SAT VUCEM requirements, the Shipping Instructions Letter should be prepared with precision — errors in the B/L or transport documents arising from incorrect shipping instructions can delay release of payment under letters of credit, cause discrepancies with export pedimentos triggering ANAM holds, and result in cargo being cleared to the wrong consignee at the port of destination.

A complete Shipping Instructions Letter Mexico under the Ley de Navegación y Comercio Marítimos Article 149 and international maritime documentation practice must contain the following essential elements: Shipper Details (Embarcador/Exportador): Full legal name, RFC, domicilio fiscal, and contact information of the exporter (shipper of record on the bill of lading). The shipper name must match the name on the commercial invoice and the export pedimento filed through VUCEM to avoid ANAM discrepancies. For letter of credit transactions, the consignee field must match the LC terms exactly. Notify Party (Parte a Notificar): Name and contact information of the party to be notified upon arrival of the cargo at the port of destination — typically the buyer's customs broker or freight agent at the destination port. Cargo Description (Descripción de la Carga): Precise description of the goods including: full commodity description as it appears on the commercial invoice; number and type of packages (cajas, pallets, contenedores); total gross weight (peso bruto) in kilograms; total volume (volumen) in cubic metres; Harmonised System code (fracción arancelaria TIGIE); SAT product/service code for CFDI purposes; special marks and numbers (marcas y números); and temperature requirements if applicable. Container and Equipment Instructions: Container type requested (20' dry, 40' dry, 40' high cube, 20' reefer, 40' reefer, flat rack, open top); whether the container is shipper-packed (FCL — Full Container Load) or carrier-packed (LCL consolidation); ventilation requirements; and container seal requirements. Port and Routing Instructions: Port of loading (puerto de carga) in Mexico; requested vessel departure date (fecha de salida); port of discharge (puerto de descarga) at destination; transshipment ports if applicable; preferred shipping line or vessel if any; and Incoterm applicable to the sale (e.g., FOB Manzanillo, CIF Rotterdam, DAP Chicago). Freight Terms and Bill of Lading Type: Whether freight is prepaid (flete pagado — collect paid by the exporter) or collect (flete por cobrar — paid by the consignee at destination); number of original bills of lading to be issued (typically three originals); type of B/L (master bill of lading or MBL issued by the shipping line vs. house bill of lading or HBL issued by the freight forwarder); and whether a sea waybill (guía marítima) is acceptable in lieu of a negotiable B/L. Special Instructions: Dangerous goods declaration (declaración de mercancías peligrosas) with UN number and hazmat class under IMDG Code (International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code); temperature control settings and pre-trip inspection requirements for reefer containers; stowage instructions (above deck prohibited, upright position only); and any phytosanitary or fumigation certificates required at the destination country. SAT Export Pedimento Reference: Reference number of the export pedimento validated through VUCEM by the customs broker — the pedimento number must be included in the shipping instructions so the carrier can confirm that the export pedimento covers the cargo being shipped and that the customs clearance is complete before vessel departure. Forms-legal.com provides this Shipping Instructions Letter Mexico template as a practical starting point. Exporters engaged in high-frequency international trade, letter of credit transactions, or shipments of dangerous goods or temperature-sensitive cargo should have their standard Carta de Instrucciones de Carga reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specialised in derecho marítimo and comercio exterior, and by their freight forwarder or customs broker.