A negotiable document issued by a forwarder which will satisfy legal requirements for a letter-of-credit. Since a forwarder is not an NVOCC it cannot issue actual Bills of Lading. The FCR is a legally binding substitute for the B/L which was pioneered by Sea-Land and is now an industry standard. FCR functions as a receipt for the cargo. It does not functions as evidence of contract of carriage, document of title, and receipt of cargo.
