Steplane › Guides › CMR claim time limits
Updated 19 October 2026 · Written by Paul, founder of Steplane, a logistics process specialist with over 13 years in logistics, including at some of the biggest freight forwarders in the world.
In short: CMR claim time limits are: a reservation at delivery for visible loss or damage, a written reservation within 7 days for hidden damage (Sundays and public holidays not counted), a written reservation within 21 days for delay, and legal action within 1 year, or 3 years for wilful misconduct. Compensation for loss is capped at 8.33 SDR per kg, about €10 per kg.
Example: a 1,000 kg pallet worth €15,000 is lost. The limit is 1,000 × 8.33 × €1.20 = €9,996. The carrier owes the lower of the value and the limit, so €9,996, plus a refund of the carriage charges for that pallet and 5% interest from the written claim.
All rules below are checked against the CMR Convention text. General information, not legal advice.
| What happened | Time limit | What happens if you miss it | CMR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visible (apparent) loss or damage | Reservation at the time of delivery, giving a general indication of the loss or damage | Taking delivery counts as prima facie evidence that the goods arrived as described in the consignment note | Art. 30(1) |
| Hidden (not apparent) loss or damage | Written reservation within 7 days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays not counted | Same: you then have to prove the damage happened in transit | Art. 30(1) |
| Goods checked jointly with the carrier at delivery | Evidence against that check only for hidden damage, with a written reservation within 7 days of the check (Sundays and public holidays not counted) | The result of the joint check stands | Art. 30(2) |
| Delay in delivery | Written reservation within 21 days from when the goods were placed at the consignee's disposal | No compensation for delay is payable | Art. 30(3) |
| Goods not delivered at all | Treated as lost 30 days after the agreed delivery time, or 60 days after the carrier took over the goods if no time was agreed | You can claim for total loss from then | Art. 20(1) |
| Legal action (time bar) | 1 year | The claim is time-barred | Art. 32(1) |
| Legal action, wilful misconduct | 3 years | The claim is time-barred | Art. 32(1) |
| Written claim to the carrier | Suspends the 1-year period until the carrier rejects the claim in writing | Without a written claim, the clock keeps running | Art. 32(2) |
| Interest | 5% a year, from the date the written claim was sent (or legal action started) | No written claim, no interest until proceedings | Art. 27(1) |
The day of delivery (or of checking, or when goods were placed at the consignee's disposal) is not counted (Art. 30(4)). The 1-year period runs from delivery for partial loss, damage or delay; for total loss from the 30th day after the agreed delivery time, or the 60th day after the carrier took over the goods; in other cases from 3 months after the contract was made (Art. 32(1)).
The 7-day date skips Sundays only. CMR Art. 30 also excludes public holidays, so add one day for each public holiday in the period where the goods were delivered. The 1-year and 3-year dates are for partial loss, damage or delay, and assume no written claim has suspended the period. The court's national law governs the exact counting, so do not wait for the last day.
For visible damage, write the reservation on the consignment note (the CMR) at delivery, before the driver leaves, and have the driver sign or note it. For hidden damage found after unpacking, send it in writing to the carrier within 7 days. Art. 30 asks for "a general indication of the loss or damage": you do not need the amount yet, but you need to say what is wrong.
What to include:
Example notice you can copy and adapt:
Subject: Reservation under Art. 30 CMR, CMR no. [number], delivered [date] To: [carrier name] On [date] you delivered [number] packages of [goods] to [address] under CMR no. [number], vehicle [registration]. On [date of discovery] we found the following loss or damage: [description, e.g. 3 cartons crushed and wet, contents broken]. The seal was [intact / broken / missing]. We hold you liable under the CMR Convention and reserve all rights. The amount of the claim will follow. The goods are available for inspection at [address] until [date]. Photos and a copy of the CMR are attached. [Name, company, date, signature]Send it in a way you can prove: email with read receipt, registered letter or the carrier's claims address. Keep the proof of sending in the claim file.
CMR Art. 23(3) caps compensation for loss at 8.33 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per kilogram of gross weight short. The SDR is the unit of account of the International Monetary Fund and its value changes daily. For damage, Art. 25 caps compensation at the same amount for the weight of the part affected.
The default SDR value is approximate: on 16 October 2026 the IMF valued 1 SDR at about €1.20 and £1.02. A court converts at the rate on the date of judgment or a date the parties agree (Art. 23(7)). Interest at 5% a year can come on top (Art. 27). General information, not legal advice.
Delay under CMR means the goods were not delivered within the agreed time, or, with no agreed time, took longer than a diligent carrier would reasonably need (Art. 19). Three rules decide a delay claim:
If the goods never arrive, the claim becomes a loss claim: 30 days after the agreed delivery time, or 60 days after the carrier took over the goods if no time was agreed, the goods count as lost (Art. 20(1)).
| Situation | Effect | CMR |
|---|---|---|
| Wilful misconduct by the carrier, or default the court's law treats as equal to it | The carrier cannot rely on the limits or exclusions. Time bar becomes 3 years. | Art. 29, Art. 32(1) |
| Higher value declared on the consignment note, against an agreed surcharge | The declared value replaces the 8.33 SDR limit | Art. 24 |
| Special interest in delivery declared on the consignment note, against an agreed surcharge | Further proven loss can be claimed up to the declared amount | Art. 26 |
| Contract terms that lower the carrier's CMR liability | Null and void; the rest of the contract stays valid | Art. 41(1) |
What counts as wilful misconduct depends on the court and its national law, so outcomes differ between countries. If the goods are worth more than about €10 per kg, the practical fix is cargo insurance or a declared value, agreed before the transport.
CMR applies to paid road carriage where the place of taking over and the place of delivery are in two different countries, at least one of them a CMR country (Art. 1(1)). In the UK it has force of law through the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965.
A damage report form for drivers and warehouse staff, a CMR Art. 30 reservation letter and a formal claim letter, letters to your customer, and a claims log in Excel that calculates the 7-day, 21-day and 1-year limits. EU and US versions.
€49 (about $55) per kit, one-time. EU and US versions. Any 3 kits €99, all 6 kits €199. 14-day money-back guarantee.
Legal action must start within 1 year, or 3 years for wilful misconduct (Art. 32). For partial loss, damage or delay the year runs from delivery. A written claim to the carrier suspends the period until the carrier rejects it in writing.
About €10 or £8.50 per kg at mid-October 2026 rates, when the IMF valued 1 SDR at about €1.20 and £1.02. The rate changes daily, and a court converts at the rate on the date of judgment or a date the parties agree.
The claim is not automatically lost. Taking delivery without a reservation counts as prima facie evidence that the goods arrived in good condition, so you then have to prove the damage happened during the transport.
No compensation for delay is payable (Art. 30(3)). Loss or damage claims are not affected by this rule.
No. It is the gross weight, including packaging, of the goods lost. For damage, it is the weight of the damaged part, or of the whole consignment if all of it lost value (Art. 25).
Yes: if a higher value or a special interest in delivery was declared on the consignment note against a surcharge (Art. 24 and 26), or if the damage was caused by wilful misconduct or equivalent default (Art. 29).
Yes. The Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965 gives the CMR Convention force of law in the UK for international road carriage.
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