Commercial Transactions; Bills of Lading

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 34, ch. 16

in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-16-101 Order bill of lading.

(a) Whenever any common carrier, railroad or transportation company (hereinafter termed carrier), shall issue a bill of lading for the transportation of property from one (1) place to another within this state, or between places one (1) of which is within this state, which bill shall be, or purport to be drawn to the order of the shipper or other specified person, or which shall contain any statement or representation that the property described therein is, or may be deliverable upon the order of any person therein mentioned, such bill shall be known as an "order bill of lading" and shall conform to the following requirements: (i) In connection with the name of the person to whose order the property is deliverable, the words "order of" shall prominently appear in print on the face of the bill thus: "Consigned to order of ...."; (ii) The bill shall be printed on yellow paper eight and one-half (8 1/2) inches by eleven (11) inches long; (iii) It shall contain on its face the following provision: "The surrender of this original order bill of lading properly endorsed shall be required before delivery of the property"; (iv) It shall not contain the words: "Not negotiable", or words of similar import. If such words are placed on an order bill of lading, they shall be void and of no effect; (v) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the insertion in an order bill of lading of other terms or conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, but it shall be unlawful to insert in such bill any terms or conditions contrary to, or inconsistent with such provisions.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-16-102 Straight bill of lading.

(a) Whenever a bill of lading is issued by a carrier for the transportation of property from one (1) place to another within this state, or between places one (1) of which is within this state, in which the property described therein is stated to be consigned or deliverable to a specified person, without any statement or representation that such property is consigned or deliverable to the order of any person, such bill shall be known as a "straight bill of lading", and shall contain the following requirements: (i) The bill shall be printed on white paper eight and one-half (8 1/2) inches wide by eleven (11) inches long; (ii) The bill shall have prominently stamped upon its face the words, "not negotiable"; (iii) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the insertion in a straight bill of lading of other terms or conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act; but it shall be unlawful to insert in such bill any term or conditions contrary to or inconsistent with such provisions.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-16-103 Penalty for violation of W.S. 34-16-101 and 34-16-102.

Every carrier or officer, agent or servant of a carrier, who shall knowingly violate any of the requirements stated in W.S. 34-16-101(a)(i) through (v) and 34-16-102(a)(i) through (iii), shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment not more than one (1) year, or both.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-16-104 Issuance by carrier before receipt of goods prohibited; duplicates.

It shall be unlawful for any carrier, or for any officer, agent or servant of a carrier, to issue an order bill of lading or a straight bill of lading, as defined by this act, until the whole of the property as described therein shall have been actually received and is at the time under the actual control of such carrier, to be transported; or to issue a second or duplicate order bill of lading or straight bill of lading for the same property, in whole or in part, for which a former bill of lading has been issued, and remains outstanding and uncancelled, without prominently marking across the face of the same the word "duplicate".

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-16-105 Prohibited acts; penalty for violation of W.S. 34-16-104.

Every carrier, or officer, agent or servant of a carrier, who knowingly violates the provisions of W.S. 34-16-104, and every person who negotiates or transfers for value a bill of lading known by him to have been issued in violation of section 4 shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) or imprisonment not exceeding five (5) years, or both. And every carrier, who himself, or by his officer, agent or servant authorized to issue bills of lading, issues a false or duplicate bill of lading in violation of the provisions of section 4, shall be estopped, as against all and every person or persons injured thereby who shall acquire any such false or duplicate bill of lading in good faith and for value, to deny the receipt of the property as described therein, or to assert that a former bill of lading has been issued and remains outstanding and uncancelled for the same property, as the case may be; and the issuing carrier shall be liable to any and every such person for all damages, immediate or consequential, which he or they may have sustained because of reliance upon the bill, whether the person or persons guilty of issuing or negotiating the bill shall have been convicted under this section or not.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-16-106 Penalty for fraudulent negotiations.

Every person who receives from a carrier and fraudulently negotiates for value an order or straight bill of lading representing property to which he had no, or encumbered, title at the time of the negotiation of such bill, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisonment not exceeding five (5) years, or both.

Source: Public.Resource.Org WY StatutesURL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-wy/transforms/wy/ocwy/r78/gov.wy.code.title.34.htmlFetched: 6/28/2026