If you have ever sent goods by road in India, someone has handed you a slip with an "LR number" on it. That number is the key to your shipment: it identifies the consignment, proves the transporter accepted it, and is what you quote whenever you want to know where your goods are. Here is what it is and how to use it.
What LR stands for
LR is short for lorry receipt. It is the document a transporter issues when it accepts goods for carriage by road. Depending on the region and the company, you will also hear it called a consignment note, bilty, goods receipt (GR) or docket. They all mean broadly the same thing. Rail has its equivalent in the railway receipt (RR), and air cargo in the air waybill (AWB).
What a lorry receipt usually contains
- A unique LR number and the date of issue.
- Consignor (sender) and consignee (receiver) names and addresses, with GSTINs where they are registered.
- Origin and destination.
- A description of the goods, the number of packages and the weight.
- The declared value of the goods.
- The freight amount and who pays it — paid at booking, to-pay at delivery, or billed to an account.
- The transporter’s details and, often, the vehicle number.
Paper LRs are typically issued in several copies: one for the sender, one that travels with the goods for the receiver, and one the transporter keeps.
Why the LR matters
- Proof of handover: it records what the transporter accepted, in what quantity and condition, and when.
- GST: under GST law, a Goods Transport Agency is a transporter that issues a consignment note. Whether a consignment note was issued affects how GST applies to the freight.
- E-way bills: when an e-way bill is generated for goods moving by road, it has a field for the transport document number — for road movement that is typically the LR number.
- Claims: if goods are damaged or short-delivered, the LR is the starting point for any claim, because it shows what was handed over.
- Collection: in traditional transport, the receiver often presents their copy of the LR to collect the goods.
Check the LR at handover
Most LR problems start at pickup. Before the goods leave, check the number of packages, the weight, the declared value and both addresses. Take a photo of the LR (or a screenshot of the booking) and write the LR number on every piece. If something is wrong on the LR, fix it before the vehicle leaves; it is far harder afterwards.
How tracking by LR number works
Most transporters let you check the status of a consignment by entering the LR number on their website or by calling a branch. The quality varies widely: some show live status, others only update when the goods reach a branch.
Tracking a Bookroket delivery by LR number
Every Bookroket booking gets an LR number as soon as it is confirmed. To see where it is, go to bookroket.com/tracking/ and enter the LR number. There is no login and no app needed, so you can share the number with your receiver, a colleague or a customer and they can check the status themselves.
Keep the LR number and the OTPs separate in your head. The LR number is safe to share — it is how people follow the delivery. The pickup and delivery OTPs are for the handover only, and should be shared in person with the driver at that moment, never with anyone else.
If tracking shows nothing
- Check the number for typos: a missing or swapped character is the most common cause.
- Make sure you are using the LR number, not an invoice number or an e-way bill number.
- Confirm the booking was actually completed. A booking that was not confirmed will not have a live LR.
- If it still does not show, contact the transporter with the LR number and booking details ready.
LR, invoice and e-way bill: not the same thing
The tax invoice is issued by the seller for the sale of goods. The e-way bill is a GST compliance document generated on the government portal for the movement of goods. The LR is issued by the transporter for the carriage of goods. A business shipment often needs all three, and each carries a different number.
Bookroket is starting with same-day within-city deliveries in Hyderabad, and every booking comes with an LR number you can track without logging in. Outstation shipping is coming soon.
