Delivery Order Format

A delivery order format tells someone who holds your goods to hand them over to a named person. It shows up in two places: a seller's order instructing its warehouse to release stock to a customer, and a shipping line's DO that lets an importer collect cargo from the port. Both need the same core details: who releases, who collects, exactly what, against which reference, and until when the order is valid.

This guide covers both types, lists the fields you need, gives a filled-in sample for each, and explains how the delivery order fits with sales orders, gate passes, delivery notes and invoices.

What is a delivery order?

A delivery order (DO) is a release instruction. The person who controls the goods (a warehouse keeper, depot or carrier) will not hand them over on someone's word alone; they need a signed, numbered document from the owner or the party with the right to release. The DO is that document.

The two common meanings:

• Commercial or warehouse delivery order. Issued by a seller or distributor after a sale is confirmed. It instructs the warehouse to release specific goods to the customer or the customer's transporter.
• Shipping (import) delivery order. Issued by the shipping line or its agent to the consignee once the bill of lading has been surrendered and freight and local charges are settled. The consignee presents it to the terminal to collect the cargo. Our explainers on the bill of lading vs commercial invoice and waybill vs bill of lading cover the documents that come before the DO.

Where the delivery order sits in a sale

1. The customer places an order, and you confirm it with a sales order.
2. You issue a delivery order to the warehouse.
3. The warehouse picks the goods, and security checks them out against a gate pass.
4. Goods travel with a delivery note or, in India and Pakistan, a delivery challan.
5. The customer signs for receipt and records a goods received note on their side.
6. You send the invoice.

Smaller businesses often merge steps 2 and 4 into a single delivery note. Once you use an outside warehouse, or have several branches, a separate DO becomes useful because it creates an auditable release instruction before anything moves.

Delivery order format: warehouse version

Field	Example
Issuer name and address	Seller or distributor
DO number	DO-2026-0577 (own sequential series)
Date of issue	12 Nov 2026
Valid until	19 Nov 2026
To (warehouse)	Warehouse name, address, contact
Release to (party)	Customer name, or named transporter
Authorised collector	Driver name, ID, vehicle number if known
Delivery address	If the warehouse arranges transport
Reference	Sales order, customer PO, invoice (if issued)
Item code, description, unit	One line per product
Quantity to release	Exact quantity, in words too for high-value goods
Batch, lot or serial	Where traceability matters
Special instructions	Loading, packaging, partial release allowed or not
Authorised signature	Name, designation, stamp
Released by / received by	Completed by warehouse and collector at release

Delivery order example (warehouse)

A building materials distributor sells cement and steel to a contractor. The goods sit in a third-party warehouse.

Line	Item	Unit	Qty to release	Notes
1	Ordinary Portland cement, 50 kg bag	Bag	200	Batch dated Oct 2026 or later
2	Deformed steel bar, 12 mm	Tonne	1.5	Weigh on release, attach weighbridge slip
3	Binding wire, 25 kg coil	Coil	4

Header: DO-2026-0577, issued 12 Nov 2026, valid until 19 Nov 2026, to Eastside Logistics Warehouse, release to Rafiq Builders or its transporter. Reference sales order SO-2026-0912. Partial release allowed. Signed by the sales manager.

Check the weight: 200 bags x 50 kg = 10,000 kg (10 tonnes) of cement plus 1.5 tonnes of steel and 4 x 25 kg = 100 kg of wire, about 11.6 tonnes in total. That tells the customer whether one truck is enough, which is exactly the kind of detail that prevents a wasted trip.

If the contractor collects only 120 bags on the first trip, the warehouse records the partial release on the DO and the remaining 80 bags stay authorised until the expiry date. Each trip gets its own delivery note.

Shipping delivery order: fields

A carrier's delivery order typically includes:

• Shipping line or agent name and DO number
• Bill of lading number and date
• Vessel name and voyage number, port of loading and discharge
• Consignee name and notify party
• Container numbers, seal numbers, size and type
• Number of packages, description and gross weight
• Validity date and free time for container return
• Name of clearing agent authorised to collect, if any

The importer usually needs customs clearance as well as the DO before the terminal releases cargo. Check charges and free days with the shipping line before the vessel arrives, because detention and demurrage can build up quickly once free time runs out.

Shipping delivery order example

Here is how a carrier's DO for an imported container might read. All names and numbers are illustrative.

Field	Entry
DO number / date	DO/IMP/26/08841, 12 Nov 2026
Bill of lading	B/L no. as issued at origin, dated 18 Oct 2026
Vessel / voyage	Vessel name and voyage number from the B/L
Port of loading / discharge	Origin port / destination port
Consignee	Importer's legal name and address
Authorised to collect	Named customs clearing agent
Container / seal	1 x 40ft high cube, container and seal numbers
Cargo	860 cartons, ceramic tiles, gross weight 24,500 kg
Valid until	19 Nov 2026
Free time	Container return deadline stated by the carrier

The consignee's team should check every line against the bill of lading and the supplier's packing list before the agent goes to the terminal. A misspelled consignee name or a wrong container number can mean the cargo is not released, and every extra day may add storage or detention charges.

Controls that make delivery orders safe

A delivery order is effectively permission to take goods, so treat it like a cheque:

• Limit who can sign. Keep a list of authorised signatories and share specimen signatures with your warehouses.
• Send it directly. Email the DO from a known address to the warehouse, and give the customer a copy only for reference. A warehouse should not release goods against a DO presented only by the collector.
• Verify the collector. Ask the warehouse to record the driver's ID and vehicle number on the released copy.
• Keep one DO per sales order, or clearly link multiple DOs to the same order, so total releases never exceed the quantity sold.
• Review open DOs weekly. Cancel expired ones in writing so they cannot be reused.

Delivery order in Excel or Word

For a small distributor, a delivery order template in Word or Excel is enough. Put your business details and the title "DELIVERY ORDER" at the top, then a header block (DO number, date, valid until, warehouse, release to, collector, reference). Below it, add an item table with code, description, unit, quantity, and a "released" column for the warehouse to fill in. Finish with signature boxes for the authorised signatory, the warehouse and the collector. Number DOs from a log sheet so no number is used twice, and save each issued DO as a PDF with its number in the file name so you can find it when the customer queries a delivery.

How to issue a delivery order step by step

1. Confirm the sale or payment terms. Many sellers issue the DO only after payment or credit approval, because the DO is the point where control of the goods is handed over.
2. Check stock availability at the named warehouse.
3. Fill in the DO with exact descriptions and quantities copied from the sales order.
4. Name the collector. Releasing to "bearer" invites fraud. Name the company and, ideally, the driver or vehicle.
5. Set a validity date. Old DOs should not be usable months later.
6. Sign and send it directly to the warehouse, not only to the customer.
7. Close it. When goods are released, file the signed copy and update your stock records.

Common mistakes

• No expiry date, leaving open release authority on old paperwork.
• Quantities in the wrong unit, such as cartons instead of pieces.
• DOs issued before credit checks, so goods leave before payment is secure.
• Not recording partial releases, which leads to over-release.
• Confusing the DO with an invoice. A DO is not a demand for payment and should not be treated as one.

After the goods are released, the customer needs a proper invoice that matches what they collected. You can create one free in our invoice generator, quote the DO and sales order numbers in the reference field, and download it as a PDF without signing up.