What Is a Delivery Note? Meaning, Purpose and Contents

A delivery note is the document that travels with goods to list what was sent, and the customer signs it on arrival to confirm what they actually received. It shows items and quantities but no prices, because its job is to confirm the delivery, not to bill for it. The invoice follows separately. If you ship or drop off physical goods, a signed delivery note is your proof that the order arrived complete.

What a Delivery Note Confirms

A delivery note lists exactly what was shipped or dropped off, with quantities, but deliberately leaves out prices. It travels with the goods themselves, so the person receiving them can check the contents match the order and sign to confirm receipt, all before an invoice or price ever enters the conversation.

That signature is the purpose of the document. Without it, "I never got the second box" is your word against the customer's. With it, you have a dated record of what arrived, signed by the person who received it.

Why Leave Out the Prices

Pricing on a delivery note is often unnecessary and sometimes unwelcome: a warehouse worker checking a delivery against the order doesn't need to see what each item cost, and in multi-department businesses, the person receiving goods often isn't the person who approved the price at all. Gifts and drop-shipped orders are another reason: the recipient shouldn't see what the sender paid.

What goes on a delivery note

• Delivery note number and date: a unique reference and the date the goods left.
• Your business details: name, address and a contact number for delivery questions.
• Delivery address and contact: where the goods are going and who will receive them.
• Order reference: the customer's purchase order number or your order number, so the delivery can be matched to the order.
• Items and quantities: each item with its description or code and the quantity sent. If an order ships in parts, show the quantity ordered, sent now and still to follow.
• Carrier and tracking: if a courier delivers it, the courier name and tracking number.
• Signature block: space for the recipient's name, signature, date, and any notes on condition.

Our delivery note generator has a field for each of these and leaves the prices off, so you can print a copy to send with the goods and keep one for your records.

What to do if goods arrive short or damaged

The moment of signing is when a problem is easiest to prove, so the delivery note is where it should be recorded. Whether you are the one delivering or the one receiving, the steps are the same:

1. Check before signing: count the boxes or items against the delivery note, and look for visible damage.
2. Write it on the note: "2 of 10 cartons missing" or "1 box crushed, contents not checked". Both people initial it.
3. Take photos of any damage and of the signed note.
4. Tell the supplier the same day, quoting the delivery note number. If you are the buyer, record the shortfall on your own goods received note with our goods received note generator.
5. Fix the paperwork: the supplier invoices only what arrived, or issues a credit note if the invoice already went out.

Other names for a delivery note

The same document goes by several names. A dispatch note is the term many warehouses and manufacturers use, since it is produced when goods are dispatched. A delivery slip is a shorter, often simpler version used by couriers and shops. In the US and Canada, the closest equivalent is usually called a packing slip. The content is the same either way: what was sent, how many, and a place to confirm it arrived. Our guide to delivery note vs packing slip covers where each name is used and how a packing list differs.

Who Actually Needs One

If your business ships or hand-delivers physical goods, a delivery note is worth the extra minute it takes to produce. Wholesalers, online sellers, caterers, furniture makers and contractors delivering materials to site all use them. If you sell services with nothing to physically deliver, you can skip it entirely: there's nothing for the client to sign as "received."