Your freight claim dies at 9 months, and the quick note your dock writes on a delivery receipt does not count as a real claim [1][2]. A simple mark of damage on a freight bill fails to meet the basic rules to file a claim [1]. A true claim is a written demand that blames the carrier and asks for a specific dollar amount [1].

The big picture:

Federal cargo rules in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) do not care who crushed the pallet [1][5]. They only care about the paperwork.

A carrier does not have to pay a claim if you never properly file one. The CFR says a real claim needs three parts: facts that name the shipment, a plain statement that the carrier is at fault, and a request for an exact amount of money [1].

A dock note only checks the first box. A signed receipt proves the shipment arrived short, but it does nothing to get your money back.

In return, the same rules tell a carrier what it owes the shipper. It must acknowledge a proper claim in writing within 30 days, and it must pay, deny, or make a firm offer within 120 days. Rail carriers are allowed to send both by email [1][5].

The filing procedure has stood since June 1997. Its most recent change, in February 2026, only struck obsolete references to water carriers, so the dates a shipper works with today are the dates it worked with a decade ago [1].

My read: This rule is much simpler than most supply chain teams think. It does not decide who is at fault. It just decides if a real demand exists at all.

By the numbers

  • 9 months — Filing floor: Federal law stops truck and rail carriers from setting a claim window shorter than 9 months, and gives you at least 2 years to sue after a written denial [2][3].
  • 1 year — Ocean suit deadline: At sea, the ship and the carrier are released from liability unless a lawsuit is filed within one year of delivery, or of the date delivery should have happened [4].
  • 30 days — Required reply: Carriers must reply in writing to a proper claim within 30 days, unless they pay or deny it first [1][5].
  • 120 days — Final answer: Carriers must pay, deny, or offer a deal within 120 days, or send a status note every 60 days after that [1][5].

What I’d watch:

What I am watching next is the handoff inside the building, where a dock note either becomes a real demand or gets lost in a file.

  • The damage report: A bad delivery either ends in a written demand with a dollar figure attached, or in a folder of photos nobody looks at again [1].
  • The proof bundle: A real claim needs the bill of lading, proof of freight charges, and an invoice or signed note proving what the goods cost [1]. Teams that scan these papers at the dock can build a claim in an hour.
  • The carrier clocks: The 30-day reply and 120-day decision windows give shippers strict dates to chase [1][5]. I would want to know how many claims sit in a system past 120 days without a written answer.
  • The different speeds: Ocean freight needs hidden-loss notices within three days, while road freight allows 9 months [1][4]. That is a scheduling problem before it is a legal one, and I am curious whose job it is to track it.

The catch

The 9-month and 2-year timers act as floors, not ceilings. Contracts can extend these windows, so the bill of lading still sets the true timeline for each shipper [2][3].

The three-day ocean notice is softer than it sounds. The law states clearly that missing this quick notice does not kill your right to sue within the one-year window [4].

None of this paperwork decides fault. The rules just say what a carrier must answer and when, while arguments about bad packaging or missing boxes still stand on their own merits [1].

The practical limit is the file, not the calendar. A claim that arrives without the bill of lading, the proof of freight charges, and a signed statement of what the goods were worth gives the carrier an easy reason to sit on it [1].

The part I keep circling: The signed receipt feels final to the workers on the dock, but the rule flatly refuses to treat it as a claim. The only demand that counts is one somebody takes the time to write, price, and file.

At a glance

  • The Big Shift: Federal cargo rules require a written demand for a set amount of money, clearly rejecting simple dock notes as real claims [1].
  • Why It Matters: Carriers cannot shrink the claim window below 9 months or the lawsuit window below 2 years, but a claim that is never filed gets no legal cover [2][3].
  • What I’d Watch: How teams handle the first two weeks after delivery while papers are still easy to find.
  • Priced demands: Turning a dock note into a written request for a hard dollar amount to meet the federal rule [1].
  • Proof bundles: Keeping the bill of lading, freight proof, and an invoice together in the shipment file [1].
  • Carrier response dates: Tracking the 30-day reply and 120-day decision clocks to hold carriers to their word [1][5].
  • The Catch: These federal rules govern the process, not the fault, and they act as minimums that your own contracts can extend [2][3][4].

Related reading

Sources

[1] U.S. Code of Federal Regulations — 49 CFR Part 370, “Principles and Practices for the Investigation and Voluntary Disposition of Loss and Damage Claims and Processing Salvage” (§ 370.3 filing, § 370.5 acknowledgment, § 370.7 investigation, § 370.9 disposition), current eCFR text, as amended at 91 FR 7859, February 19, 2026 — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-370 [2] U.S. Code — 49 U.S.C. 14706(e), “Minimum Period for Filing Claims,” 2023 edition via govinfo.gov — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title49/html/USCODE-2023-title49-subtitleIV-partB-chap147-sec14706.htm [3] U.S. Code — 49 U.S.C. 11706(e), the same floors for rail carriers, 2023 edition via govinfo.gov — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title49/html/USCODE-2023-title49-subtitleIV-partA-chap117-sec11706.htm [4] U.S. Code — 46 U.S.C. 30701, the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act’s notice and suit provisions, text via the Cornell Legal Information Institute — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/30701 [5] U.S. Code of Federal Regulations — 49 CFR Part 1005, the parallel railroad claim rules (§ 1005.3 acknowledgment, § 1005.5 disposition), current eCFR text — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-X/subchapter-A/part-1005