What is a CMR Document? How is a CMR Prepared?

The CMR document is issued to fully establish trust between companies in road transport. In order to issue the CMR, which stands for Convention Marchandise Routière, as a document, various conditions must be met.

Additionally, depending on international agreements, the carrier company is required to carry the document during the period in question. You can find the answers to all the questions you have about the CMR document in our article.

What is a CMR Document?

The CMR document is the document that individuals who will carry out road transportation must possess in international road transport standards. In this way, the safety of products in road transport is largely ensured.

Thanks to this document, mutual satisfaction between export companies is ensured. This term, used by logistics or shipping managers, is also referred to as a consignment note or waybill.

The best definition for what CMR means can be explained as, "It is a type of agreement signed internationally among European countries concerning road transport."

What is the Purpose of the CMR Document?

The CMR document is a type of security document signed between countries that accept the provisions. In road transportation, it is the legal indication that the loaded cargo is transported in compliance with the conditions and that the cargo is in good condition at the time of loading. It is highly important in terms of trade chain regulations.

In the CMR consignment note, it provides certainty regarding information such as the sender, recipient, the carrier of the goods, the number of packages sent, and special instructions. This ensures that mutual question marks between import and export companies are eliminated.

How to Prepare a CMR Document?

There is no specific template for the CMR document. Firms and companies need to create their own CMR documents. Although each company prepares its own template, there is some definite information that must be included in the document. The following points should be considered when preparing a CMR document:

• The most important point when writing a CMR document is that the address and contact information of the importer and exporter companies must be fully included in the document. The carrier company cannot be held responsible for errors in the information of the senders and receivers of the goods, nor for any negative consequences arising therefrom.

• Following the complete and accurate entry of the importer and exporter companies' details, the next most important point is the complete entry of the information of the transported products. In addition, a detailed list of the products to be transported must be created. The products added to the list must be thoroughly inspected in an unpackaged state.

• All details of the product or products to be transported, such as their weight, total number of boxes, total number of pieces, and packaging types, must be explained. Including all details of the products to be transported in the CMR document prevents potential negative outcomes for both the importer and the exporter.

What Information Does the CMR Document Contain?

In addition to the importer and exporter company information, the information that the CMR document must contain is as follows:

• Name of the importer company

• Address of the importer company

• Name of the exporter company

• Address of the exporter company

• Place and date where the cargo will be delivered

• Place and date where the cargo will be received

• Name and address of the consignee

• Type of the transported cargo

• Type and quantity of the packaging

• Gross weight and quantity of the cargo

• Terms of delivery

In addition to the above items, other information that may be included in the document is as follows:

• Document showing that the product is not allowed to be reloaded

• Charges which the sender undertakes to pay

• Value to be paid upon delivery

• Specification of dangerous or fragile products with documents

• Instructions given by the sender to the consignee for insuring the transported product

• Document specifying the dates between which the product to be transported must be delivered

• List containing all the documents handed over to the carrier who will transport the products

How Many Copies of the CMR Document Are Made?

The CMR document is prepared in 3 original copies. One of the prepared 3 copies is kept by the exporting company, another by the importing company, and the other is sent to the intermediary carrier company that will perform the transport.

Since it serves as proof of the transported goods and the service provided, it is accepted as a legal document. It must be kept for at least 1 year after the transport operation is completed. This ensures a guarantee for the carrier company by preventing potential complications that may arise.

What the carrier company carrying out the transport should check when taking over the goods is as follows:

• Checking that the details in the CMR consignment note match the number of boxes and marks

• Explicitly checking the packaging to be transported before the shipment takes place, matching the products listed in the CMR document.

Where to Obtain the CMR Document?

The CMR document is not issued by any organization. Because even though preparing the document is mandatory, there is no higher institution that prepares it. For this reason, sending and receiving companies that want to ship goods by road must prepare the CMR document themselves to ensure the safety of their products.

This prepared CMR document must be signed and approved by the import and export companies. The safety of the products is guaranteed by the signed CMR document.

Sample Turkish CMR Document

The CMR document is a type of contract made between European countries that accept the provisions of this agreement. Turkey is also among the European countries that accept the CMR provisions, making this agreement mandatory. For this reason, in Turkey as well, individuals must create the CMR document themselves on behalf of the import and export companies.

Based on the sample CMR documents above, you should prepare your own template, indicating details such as product information, sender and recipient details, and place and time of delivery in a complete and detailed manner in the document you create.

What is the CMR Road Consignment Note?

In cross-border road transport, the CMR road consignment note is the written declaration of the carriage contract. This contract is internationally valid and is one of the types of CMR contracts.

Carriers who transport products in return for payment are penalized with a fine if they do not have a CMR consignment note with them. To avoid being victimized in such cases, the CMR consignment note must accompany the carrier transporting the product throughout the duration of the shipment. 

Which Countries are Members of the CMR Agreement?

The CMR agreement is an agreement made between European countries. It is a mandatory security document to be prepared in road transport to ensure the safety of the goods, to safeguard the exporting and importing companies, and to prevent being victimized in case of adverse situations. The countries that are parties to the CMR agreement can be listed as follows;

• Uzbekistan, Albania, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Armenia, Morocco, Lebanon, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Belarus, Great Britain, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Macedonia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Syria, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland.