EDI 304 Shipping Instructions: Ocean SI Guide

The EDI 304 is what the carrier prints on your bill of lading. Once the containers are loaded and on their way to the terminal, the carrier needs to know exactly who the shipper and consignee are, who to notify, which containers and seals belong to the booking, and how to describe the cargo. The 304 sends all of that before the documentation cutoff. The carrier answers with a 310 showing the bill of lading data and the charges.

This guide covers what the 304 carries, where it sits in the ocean flow, every segment you will map, a live sample for two loaded 40-foot high cubes on freight collect terms, how it differs from the 310 and the motor-carrier 211, and the errors that turn into bill of lading amendments.

What Is an EDI 304?

An EDI 304 is the Shipping Instructions transaction set defined by ASC X12, used to give an ocean carrier the information it needs to issue a bill of lading for a shipment. The standard allows far more than most carriers use: letters of credit, insurance, export and import licences, certifications and clauses, hazardous material detail and item-level physical details all have segments. The 304 travels in functional group SO (the GS01 value).

Authoritative references for 304 work:

• The X12 transaction set catalog defines the 304 structure, segment order and loops
• Stedi's X12 004010 reference for the 304 lists the segments, elements and code values for release 004010
• The BIC container prefix register governs the four-letter owner codes used in ISO 6346 container numbers, which the 304 carries in N7
• For cargo bound for the United States, CBP's Importer Security Filing FAQ explains the Importer Security Filing: most of its data elements are due no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel, and it needs the bill of lading number to match the carrier's manifest
• Each ocean carrier publishes its own 304 implementation guide, which sets the segments it reads, the documentation cutoff and how amendments are handled

Who sends it? The booking party: an exporter, an importer on a buyer-controlled move, or a forwarder or NVOCC.

Who receives it? The ocean carrier, directly or through a portal or network.

When is it sent? After the containers are loaded and sealed, before the carrier's documentation cutoff for the sailing. Corrections and amendments go as further 304s.

Why does it matter? The bill of lading controls release of the cargo at destination, and its data feeds the carrier's customs manifest. A misspelled consignee, a wrong container number or a missing seal on the 304 becomes a wrong B/L, and a B/L amendment after the fact costs time and can carry a charge under the carrier's tariff.

The Ocean Document Flow: 300 to 322

The 304 is the only document in the chain where the shipper side states the bill of lading content. Everything the carrier sends after it, the 310 in particular, should agree with it. Treat the 304 as the record you will check the 310 against.

Interactive Example: 304 for Two Loaded 40-Foot High Cubes, Freight Collect

The importer sends shipping instructions for booking BK7730412 two weeks after it was confirmed. B2 names the carrier (SCAC BLUQ), repeats the importer's shipment reference, sets kilograms as the weight unit and states freight collect. B2A marks the 304 as an original. N9 carries the booking and purchase order numbers, and V1 the vessel and voyage. Three N1 loops give the shipper, consignee and notify party with full addresses, exactly as they should print on the B/L. The R4 loops give the route. Inside the LX loop, each container has an N7 with its check digit and type and an M7 with its seal, then L0 and L5 describe the cargo. L3 closes with total weight, volume and pieces. All names, numbers and codes are fictional, and the same containers, seals and parties appear in the 310 sample the carrier sends back.

Use the Plain English tab for a readable summary, or click any segment to break it down element by element.

304 Structure at a Glance

The table follows X12 release 004010. The 304 is one of the longest transportation sets in the standard; this table lists the parts most carriers read.

Key Segments Explained

B2: Beginning Segment for Shipment Information Transaction

B2**BLUQ**CHI2610160412*K*CC~

Carriers differ on where they want the booking number. Some read it from B204, others from N9*BN, and some ask for both. The guide decides, and getting it wrong means the 304 does not attach to the booking.

B2A: Set Purpose

B2A*00~

B2A01 is the purpose: 00 original, 04 change, 05 replace and 01 cancellation are the common values. Many carriers treat any 304 after the first as a replacement of the whole set of instructions, not a change to one field, so send the complete 304 each time unless the guide says otherwise.

N9: Reference Identification

N9*BN*BK7730412~
N9*PO*4500918832~

Purchase order numbers you put on the 304 are the ones most likely to come back on the 310 and the 315. Send every PO in the containers.

N1 Loop: Bill of Lading Parties

N1*SH*LINHAI WOODCRAFT CO LTD~
N3*88 HARBOUR INDUSTRIAL RD~
N4*SHANGHAI**201800*CN~
N1*CN*CASCADE HOME IMPORTS LLC~
N3*2200 COMMERCE WAY~
N4*ONTARIO*CA*91761*US~
N1*N1*PACIFIC GATEWAY CUSTOMS BROKERS~
N3*400 OCEAN BLVD STE 210~
N4*LONG BEACH*CA*90802*US~

N101 gives the role: SH shipper, CN consignee, N1 notify party, N2 second notify party, and others such as forwarder where the carrier accepts them. What you send here is what the carrier prints. On a negotiable bill of lading the consignee may be "TO ORDER" or "TO ORDER OF" a bank; that text goes in the name exactly as the letter of credit or your instructions require. Names longer than the N102 field continue in N2.

R4 Loop: Route

R4*R*UN*CNSHA*SHANGHAI*CN~
R4*L*UN*CNSHA*SHANGHAI*CN~
R4*D*UN*USLAX*LOS ANGELES*US~
R4*E*UN*USONT*ONTARIO*US~

R401 gives the role: R place of receipt, L port of loading, D port of discharge, E place of delivery. These should match the booking. A place of delivery on the 304 that differs from the 301 is a routing change, and most carriers will want it handled as a booking amendment rather than a documentation change.

N7 and M7: Containers and Seals

N7*QXZU*412873*9210*G*******CN******K*2****45G1~
M7*CN4417203~
N7*QXZU*530916*9210*G*******CN******K*5****45G1~
M7*CN4417219~

In the 304 the N7 opens its own loop inside LX, so each container carries its seals, temperature (W09) and any container-level references with it. Validate every container number with the ISO 6346 check digit before you send: QXZU412873 with check digit 2 gives QXZU4128732. The seal must be the one physically on the door; a seal that does not match at the terminal or at a customs exam causes a hold.

L0 and L5: Cargo

L0*1***18420*G*58.4*X*1240*CTN**K~
L5*1*WOODEN FURNITURE PARTS~

L0 gives the line number, gross weight (L004, L005), volume (L006, L007), piece count and package type (L008, L009) and weight unit (L011). L502 is the cargo description as it should print. L5 can also carry a commodity code with its qualifier and marks and numbers in L506. Use the description and commodity codes your customs broker files with, so the B/L, the manifest and your customs filings say the same thing.

L3: Total Weight and Charges

L3*18420*G*******58.4*X*1240*K~

The L3 loop is mandatory in the 304 even though a shipper rarely sends charges. Check that the container weights in N703 add up to L301 (9,210 + 9,210 = 18,420 here) and that the L0 pieces add up to L311.

EDI 304 vs 310, 211 and 856

The 304 and the 211 both send bill of lading details from shipper to carrier, one for ocean and one for truck. The 304 and the 310 are a pair: one is the request, the other is the carrier's version of it. The 856 goes in a different direction altogether, from supplier to buyer, but it often describes the same cartons. When the same purchase orders appear on a 304 and an 856, their piece counts and weights should agree.

Common 304 Errors and How to Prevent Them

304 Implementation Checklist

Before your first live 304 to an ocean carrier:

• Get the carrier's 304 implementation guide and confirm the X12 version in GS08 (004010 is common) and the SO functional group
• Confirm where the booking number goes and which N9 qualifiers it reads
• Confirm how it handles amendments: B2A values, full replacement or field changes, and any cutoff for changes
• Agree which parties it accepts in N1 and how it wants "to order" consignees
• Agree how it wants container weights, verified gross mass and tare, and whether VGM goes on the 304 or separately
• Load the commodity codes and descriptions your customs broker uses
• Check every 304 against the 310 that comes back, field by field
• Confirm the 997 the carrier returns for each 304
• Test an original, a replacement, a multi-container shipment, a "to order" B/L and a reefer shipment if you ship refrigerated cargo

Our EDI document types reference shows where ocean sets sit beside the 850 purchase order and the 810 invoice. For background on the document the 304 produces, see our bill of lading glossary entry.

Where OrderSync Fits

Most of what goes on a 304 is already in your orders: the consignee, the purchase order numbers, the items and their quantities. When those orders come in as EDI 850s, PDFs, emails and spreadsheets, they have to be captured accurately before anyone can build shipping instructions from them.

OrderSync reads inbound orders in any format, matches customers, items and units to your catalog, and outputs clean ERP data or valid X12. Paste any 304 into the free EDI inspector to see it parsed segment by segment with a plain-English summary and any structural errors explained, or book a 15-minute walkthrough to see your own orders processed.

Frequently Asked Questions