Legal status tracker
Where electronic bills of lading are legally recognised
Each colour shows whether a jurisdiction has a law giving electronic bills of lading or electronic transferable records the same effect as paper, whether such a law is enacted but not yet in force, or whether reform is under way. Every status links to the record and its primary sources.
- Law in force
- Enacted, not yet in force
- Bill or consultation
- No specific framework
- Not yet tracked
- Point: small or sub-national jurisdiction
15 of 15 tracked jurisdictions are shown; hover or tap a country for its status and instrument, and open it for the sources. Shown as points: Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Bahrain, Singapore. A sub-national jurisdiction's status applies only within that jurisdiction, never to the surrounding country. Grey countries are not yet tracked, which says nothing about their law; see coverage.
By status
In force (12): the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) (Electronic Transactions Regulations 2021, in force 28 Feb 2021), Bahrain (Decree-Law No. (55) of 2018 with respect to Electronic Transferable Records), Belize (Electronic Transactions Act, 2021 (Act No. 25 of 2021), in force 5 Oct 2021), China (Maritime Code of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国海商法), as revised on 28 October 2025 (Presidential Order No. 58), in force 1 May 2026), France (Loi n° 2024-537 du 13 juin 2024 visant à accroître le financement des entreprises et l'attractivité de la France (Titre II, articles 14 à 17), in force 14 Mar 2025), Germany (Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB), § 516 Abs. 2 (elektronisches Konnossement), inserted by the Gesetz zur Reform des Seehandelsrechts vom 20. April 2013 (BGBl. I S. 831), in force 25 Apr 2013), the Netherlands (Wet van 1 april 2026 tot wijziging van Boek 8 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek in verband met de invoering van het elektronisch cognossement (Wet invoering elektronisch cognossement), Stb. 2026, 86, in force 1 Jul 2026), Paraguay (Ley N° 6822 de los servicios de confianza para las transacciones electrónicas, del documento electrónico y los documentos transmisibles electrónicos, in force 1 May 2022), Singapore (Electronic Transactions Act 2010 (as amended by the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Act 2021), in force 19 Mar 2021), Spain (Ley 14/2014, de 24 de julio, de Navegación Marítima, in force 25 Sept 2014), the United Kingdom (Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, in force 20 Sept 2023), the United States (Uniform Commercial Code Article 7 (Documents of Title), 2003 revision, as enacted by the states).
Consultation (2): India (The Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026 (draft)), Japan (商法（船荷証券等関係）等の改正に関する要綱 (Outline for Amendment of the Commercial Code (Bills of Lading, etc.) and Related Laws), adopted by the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice).
No framework (1): Morocco (Loi n° 43-20 relative aux services de confiance pour les transactions électroniques (promulgated by Dahir n° 1-20-100 of 31 December 2020)).
The map is generated from the same records as the legal tracker and the JSON endpoint, under the CC BY 4.0 licence described on open data. Recognition in one jurisdiction does not guarantee recognition at the port of discharge or under a contract's governing law.