How to fill the railway parcel form: the forwarding note, field by field
The railway parcel form is called the forwarding note. It asks who is sending, who is receiving, what is in the packages, how many there are, what they weigh and what you declare them to be worth. Fill it before you reach the counter: everything on it is copied onto the receipt the receiver will need at the other end.
Get the form from the parcel office or download it from the railway's parcel website, fill it in ink before you join the queue, and bring a photocopy of your ID. For a bike, add a copy of the registration certificate. The clerk checks the form against the packages, weighs them, and prints the receipt from what you wrote.
What the form is for
A parcel travels in the luggage van of a passenger train, and the forwarding note is the contract for that journey. The railway copies it onto the parcel way bill, the receipt you get after paying, which carries the PRR number used to track the consignment and which the receiver surrenders to collect it. A mistake on the form is a mistake on the receipt, and a receipt that does not match the receiver's ID is the usual reason a parcel sits uncollected at the destination.
The fields, in the order they appear
| Field | What to write | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Originating and destination station | The station names as the railway spells them: where the parcel is handed in and where it is collected | A city has several stations, and the parcel goes to the one you wrote, not the one the receiver expected |
| Consignor (sender) | Your full name, a postal address and a phone number | No phone number, so nobody can call you when there is a problem |
| Consignee (receiver) | The name exactly as it appears on the ID the receiver will show at collection, plus address and phone | A nickname or a relative's name, and the receiver's ID no longer matches the receipt |
| Description of contents | Plainly what is inside: household goods, books, a motorcycle with its make and registration number | A vague entry invites the clerk to open and check every package |
| Number of packages | Count them twice | The receipt says six, the van has five, and nobody can say where the sixth went |
| Packing | How each package is packed: carton, gunny, wooden crate, or a vehicle wrapped in jute and cardboard | 'Unpacked' or 'defective packing' goes on the receipt, and damage on arrival is then yours |
| Weight | Your estimate; the office weighs it and charges on its own figure | Guessing low does not reduce the bill, it only slows the counter |
| Declared value | What you say the goods are worth | It sets the ceiling of any claim; leave it blank and the claim is limited to the railway's own ceiling, declare high and a percentage charge is added |
| Paid or To-pay | Whether the sender pays now or the receiver pays at delivery | To-pay needs the receiver ready with the money as well as the receipt |
| Signature and date | Yours, after reading what the clerk has added | A remark about packing or condition is binding once you sign under it |
For a motorcycle or scooter
The same form, with the vehicle in the contents box: make, model, registration number and the value you declare. Bring a photocopy of the registration certificate and a government photo ID. The fuel tank must be empty, the vehicle has to be packed, which the office or the packers outside it will do for a charge, and the railway's own two-wheeler rules ask for a piece of cardboard with the originating and destination stations written large and tied to the bike. The condition of the bike as presented is written on the receipt; read that line before you sign.
So the figure at the counter is no surprise. The calculator page also links the official forwarding note PDF and the two-wheeler rules.
Filling it online: the e-forwarding note
The railway's parcel website lets you fill the same form in advance. Register and log in, enter the two stations, pick a train from the list it offers, and complete the forwarding note on screen; it prints an e-forwarding note with an approximate charge. You still take the packages, and that printout, to the parcel office: the office weighs them, works out the actual charge, and issues the railway receipt against payment. The online step saves the handwriting and the first queue. It does not skip the counter.
After the form: the receipt, the PRR and collection
Pay, and you are handed the receipt, the parcel way bill, with a PRR number on it. Photograph it at once and send the picture to the receiver. The number tracks the consignment on the railway's portal, and the original receipt, with an ID that matches the consignee name you wrote, is what the destination office releases the goods against. If the receiver cannot be there in person, the receipt can go to someone else with an authority letter and a copy of the receiver's ID, but it is simpler to write on the form the name of the person who will actually turn up.
The PRR is on the receipt. The tracking page routes to the railway's own portal and estimates transit days.
Household goods, boxes and a car
For boxes, write the count and the packing in detail, and label each package on the outside with the sender, the receiver and the destination, because the form is matched to the labels at both ends. A car goes as parcel too, on the same form, with the registration number and the declared value. The general calculator covers parcel, car and luggage, and its checklist of documents and packing applies to the form as well.
Railway parcel form kaise bharein
Form ka naam forwarding note hai. Isme bhejne wale aur paane wale ka naam, pata aur phone number, saman ka vivaran, packet kitne hain, vajan aur aapki ghoshit keemat (declared value) likhni hoti hai. Paane wale ka naam wahi likhiye jo uske ID card par hai, kyunki delivery usi se milti hai. Bike ke liye RC ki photocopy aur apna ID saath le jaiye, aur tank khaali rakhiye. Form counter par milta hai ya railway ki parcel website se download kar sakte hain.
Questions people ask
- Is the forwarding note the same as the way bill? No. You fill the forwarding note; the railway issues the way bill from it after weighing and payment.
- Can I send without the receiver's ID details? You can, but the name you write must match the ID the receiver shows, or the parcel is not released.
- Does the online form book the parcel? It prepares it. Booking happens when the office accepts the packages and issues the receipt.
- Is IRCTC involved? No. IRCTC sells passenger tickets. Parcels are the railway's parcel office and its parcel portal.
- What if the receipt is lost? Delivery is against the original. Tell the booking office at once, and expect an indemnity form and a delay.
The honest part
The form takes five minutes and the counter takes an hour, and nothing on this page shortens the hour. What it shortens is the second visit: the receipt that reaches the receiver with the right name, the right count and the right station is the one that is collected without a phone call to you.
Waiting on a waitlist? Find out where you stand.
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