The CMR consignment note is the contract of carriage for international road freight under the CMR Convention (Geneva, 19 May 1956). It records the sender, consignee, carrier and goods and governs the carrier's liability.
When does CMR apply? To carriage of goods by road for reward when the places of taking over and delivery are in two different countries, at least one of which is a contracting state.
Liability: compensation for loss or damage is capped at 8.33 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per kilogram of gross weight short (Art. 23(3)). The cap does not apply in case of wilful misconduct or equivalent default (Art. 29).
e-CMR: an electronic consignment note has been possible since the additional protocol of 27 May 2008.