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REST API · BOL to JSON · 100 free pages/mo

Bill of Lading Extraction API

Convert bills of lading into structured JSON. BOL number, carrier, shipper and consignee, origin and destination ports, container and cargo details - typed and ready for your TMS or freight-audit workflow. Handles scanned and emailed BOLs.

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Containers and Cargo as Structured Lines

Send the BOL and a schema. The routing, the parties, and every container and cargo line come back typed, ready for a TMS import or a customs filing.

request.sh
curl -X POST \
  https://api-parse.conversiontools.io/v1/extract \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@bol.pdf" \
  -F 'schema={
    "bol_number": "string",
    "booking_number": "string",
    "carrier": "string",
    "vessel": "string",
    "voyage": "string",
    "shipper": { "name": "string", "address": "string" },
    "consignee": { "name": "string", "address": "string" },
    "notify_party": "string",
    "port_of_loading": "string",
    "port_of_discharge": "string",
    "freight_terms": "string",
    "containers": [{
      "number": "string",
      "seal": "string",
      "type": "string",
      "weight_kg": "number"
    }],
    "cargo": [{
      "description": "string",
      "packages": "number",
      "weight_kg": "number",
      "volume_cbm": "number"
    }]
  }'
response.json
{
  "status": "completed",
  "pages": 1,
  "data": {
    "bol_number": "MAEU-583920147",
    "booking_number": "BK-2026-44102",
    "carrier": "Maersk Line",
    "vessel": "Maersk Sentosa",
    "voyage": "612W",
    "shipper": {
      "name": "Northwind Supplies",
      "address": "55 Dock St, Portland, OR"
    },
    "consignee": {
      "name": "Globex Inc",
      "address": "200 Harbor Rd, Rotterdam"
    },
    "notify_party": "Globex Customs Broker",
    "port_of_loading": "Portland, OR",
    "port_of_discharge": "Rotterdam, NL",
    "freight_terms": "Prepaid",
    "containers": [
      {
        "number": "MSKU7843219",
        "seal": "SL884201",
        "type": "40HC",
        "weight_kg": 18250.0
      }
    ],
    "cargo": [
      {
        "description": "Steel brackets",
        "packages": 240,
        "weight_kg": 18250.0,
        "volume_cbm": 58.4
      }
    ]
  }
}

Built for Freight & Logistics

A BOL packs routing, parties, and cargo onto one dense page. The schema unpacks it.

Container and cargo line detail

Each container and cargo line comes back as its own object with number, seal, and weight, ready for a TMS or a customs filing.

Both parties and the routing

Shipper, consignee, notify party, and the load and discharge ports are all captured structurally, not just as a block of address text.

Scanned and emailed BOLs

Reads photographed, scanned, and emailed bills of lading with OCR applied automatically. No per-carrier template.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it handle ocean, air, and truck bills of lading?

Yes. The API is schema-driven, so it works across ocean BOLs, air waybills, and inland BOLs - you describe the fields you need.

Can it extract multi-container shipments?

Yes. Define containers as an array in your schema and each container comes back as a separate object with its number, seal, type, and weight.

What about low-quality scans or photos?

OCR is applied automatically, so scanned, faxed, and photographed BOLs are read without a separate pre-processing step.

Can I push the output into my TMS?

Yes. The response is typed JSON that maps directly onto a TMS import or a freight-audit record, with no parsing layer in between.

How is shipment data handled?

Uploaded documents are deleted automatically within 24 hours. Extracted data is encrypted in transit and at rest and is never used to train models.

More document extraction use cases

The same schema-driven API works across every document type. Define a schema once, extract from thousands of files.

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  • Bill of lading extraction

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