A warehouse receipt is a document that provides proof of ownership of commodities (e.g., bars of copper) that are stored in a warehouse, vault, or depository for safekeeping.
Warehouse receipts may be negotiable or non-negotiable. Negotiable warehouse receipts allow transfer of ownership of that commodity without having to deliver the physical commodity. See
Delivery order
A delivery order (abbreviated D/O"小提," MSN Encarta World English Dictionary orth American Edition 2007. Microsoft Corporation. Accessed 5 July 2007Archived 2009-10-31.) is a document from a consignee, or an owner or his agent of freight car ...
.
Most warehouse receipts are issued in negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral for loans. Non-negotiable receipts must be endorsed upon transfer.
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, warehouse receipts are generally regulated by Article 7 of the
Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...
as
adopted by the various jurisdictions.
Warehouse receipts also guarantee existence and availability of a commodity of a particular quantity, type, and quality in a named storage facility.
It may also show transfer of ownership for immediate delivery or for delivery at a future date. Rather than delivering the actual commodity, negotiable warehouse receipts are used to settle expiring futures contracts.
Warehouse receipts may also indicate ownership of inventory goods and/or unfinished goods stored in a warehouse by a manufacturer or distributor.
See also
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Bailment
Bailment is a legal relationship in common law, where the owner transfers physical possession of personal property ("chattel") for a time, but retains ownership. The owner who surrenders custody to a property is called the "bailor" and the ind ...
*
Delivery order
A delivery order (abbreviated D/O"小提," MSN Encarta World English Dictionary orth American Edition 2007. Microsoft Corporation. Accessed 5 July 2007Archived 2009-10-31.) is a document from a consignee, or an owner or his agent of freight car ...
*
Title (property)
In property law, title is an intangible construct representing a bundle of rights in (to) a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by differe ...
*
Document automation
Document automation (also known as document assembly or document management) is the design of systems and workflows that assist in the creation of electronic documents. These include logic-based systems that use segments of pre-existing text and/or ...
References
External links
Dictionaries - Warehouse receipt
{{Authority control
Legal documents
Contract law
Freight transport
Warehouses