X12 210 — Motor Carrier Freight Details and Invoice

Itemised invoice issued by a motor carrier (LTL or FTL) to its shipper, line by line, with accessorials and rating bases.

Purpose

The 210 is the carrier's EDI invoice. Where the 204 (Motor Carrier Load Tender) booked the capacity and the 214 traced shipment progress, the 210 closes the loop by costing the move: billed weight, NMFC class, distance, base linehaul, and accessorials (fuel surcharge, detention, residential delivery, lift gate, reconsignment…). The shipper matches it against its outbound 204 and inbound 214 to reconcile three flows: what was ordered, what was performed and what is billed.

Envelope and structure

Like every X12 transaction, a 210 lives in the triple ISA / GS / ST envelope. The functional group identifier IM (in GS01) bundles motor-carrier freight invoices specifically. A minimal 210 covering one LTL shipment with one line and a fuel-surcharge accessorial:

ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*ACMECARRIER    *ZZ*BIGSHIPPER     *260513*1430*U*00501*000000210*0*P*>~
GS*IM*ACMECARRIER*BIGSHIPPER*20260513*1430*1*X*005010~
ST*210*0001~
B3**INV-77821*BOL-554433*PP*S*20260513*1250.00*L*HQ*20260512~
N1*BT*BIG SHIPPER INC*25*BSH-001~
N3*100 WAREHOUSE WAY~
N4*MEMPHIS*TN*38101*US~
N1*SH*ATLANTA FACTORY*25*ATL-7~
N1*CN*DALLAS DC*25*DAL-3~
LX*1~
L5*1*GENERAL FREIGHT*150~
L0*1*1250**5000*N*1*PLT~
L1*1*1250*PM**500.00***FSC*150.00~
L3*5000*N***1250.00***1*PLT~
SE*14*0001~
GE*1*1~
IEA*1*000000210~

Common segments (concept)

Conceptually the 210 body splits into three zones:

• Header — B3 Beginning Segment for Carrier's Invoice (invoice number, BOL reference, freight charge terms, total amount), followed by an N1 loop to identify the shipper, the consignee, the carrier, and optionally a separate bill-to party.
• Detail — an LX opens each rating line. L5 describes the commodity (NMFC, class), L0 carries the weights and piece counts, L1 details the charges (rate, basis, amount) with a charge code (FSC for Fuel Surcharge, DET Detention, RES Residential, LIF Lift gate…).
• Summary — L3 Total Weight and Charges sums the billed weight, piece count, currency and total invoice amount. The SE trailer closes the transaction and declares the segment count.

In LTL it is common to see multiple LX per shipment when the carrier rates by NMFC class; in FTL you usually see one LX with a linehaul charge and several L1 for accessorials.

When you'll see it

The 210 is ubiquitous in US retail (Walmart, Target, Home Depot), 3PL e-commerce and industrial shipping: any shipper paying North American motor carriers receives 210s, typically batched weekly via a VAN or AS2. Modern TMS platforms (MercuryGate, Oracle TMS, Blue Yonder, e2open, Project44) consume 210s to feed their freight audit and pay workflows, where 5 to 15% variance versus contract rates is routinely flagged.

Related transactions

• 204 — Motor Carrier Load Tender (the transport order).
• 214 — Transportation Carrier Shipment Status (in-transit milestones). See 214 page →
• 990 — Response to a Load Tender (accept/decline of the 204). See 990 page →
• 820 — Payment Order/Remittance Advice (settling the 210).
• 997 or 999 — Functional acknowledgment of the received 210. 997 · 999

Documentation

• x12.org/products/transaction-sets — public index, name and code 210.
• stedi.com/edi/x12/transaction-set/210 — public editorial reference, examples.
• Implementation Guide (TR3) — available for purchase on x12.org or via DISA. ediverse.io never redistributes the normative content.