Digital trade
The Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023
For centuries, whoever held the paper bill of lading controlled the goods. The Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 lets an electronic document do the same job under English law, provided the system behind it meets the Act's criteria.
Not legal advice. The Act's application to a particular document or system is a legal question. Take advice before replacing paper in a live trade flow.
What the Act does
The Act came into force on 20 September 2023, following work by the Law Commission. It allows a document in electronic form to be a "trade document" with the same legal effect as its paper equivalent. In particular, it can be possessed, indorsed and transferred, provided it qualifies as an electronic trade document under the Act.
Which documents it covers
The Act lists the kinds of documents it applies to. They include documents commonly used in trade and trade finance, such as:
- bills of lading
- bills of exchange and promissory notes
- ship's delivery orders and warehouse receipts
- mate's receipts
- marine insurance policies and cargo insurance certificates
Check the Act for the full description, including the general category of documents that, by custom, a person in possession of the document is entitled to require performance of the obligations it contains.
What makes an electronic document qualify
Information in electronic form must be of a kind that would be a trade document on paper, and a reliable system must be used to:
- Identify the document so that it can be distinguished from any copies.
- Protect it against unauthorised alteration.
- Secure it so that only one person (or persons acting jointly) can exercise control of it at any time.
- Allow the person in control to show that they are in control.
- Ensure that a transfer of the document means the transferor no longer has control.
The Act sets out factors a court may consider when judging whether a system is reliable, including the rules of the system, security measures, independent assessment and the system's track record.
Practical questions before you switch
- Do all parties accept it? Carriers, banks, insurers and buyers each need to work with the chosen platform.
- Which law governs the contract? Cross-border trade may involve jurisdictions with different rules on electronic documents.
- How is control shown and transferred? Understand the platform's rules and how a court would see them.
- What happens if the platform fails? Look for provisions to convert between electronic and paper form.
- Who has the audit trail? Disputes will turn on records of who controlled the document, and when.
The records around the document
An electronic bill of lading proves who controls the right to the goods. It doesn't, by itself, record what happened to the goods: who physically held them, their condition at each handover, and the evidence collected along the way. Operators increasingly keep both. Cargovate keeps that operational custody record for goods in transit.
Last reviewed 2026-09-17