Shipping and receiving clerk screening questions: paperwork, discrepancies, freight class and hazmat
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Shipping and receiving clerk screening questions should find out whether the candidate did shipping, receiving or both; which documents they worked from (purchase orders, advance ship notices, bills of lading, packing lists, delivery receipts); which systems they used; and, above all, what they do when the count or the condition does not match the paperwork. Then check freight knowledge (parcel, LTL or truckload, and freight class, which changed on July 19, 2025) and, if the site ships hazardous materials, whether they hold DOT hazmat training under 49 CFR 172.704, as of October 2026. Equipment and lifting come last, because the paperwork is where clerks differ.
This page is for dock-side clerks. For the office role that books carriers and manages exceptions across many shipments, use logistics coordinator screening questions; for floor roles, warehouse associate screening questions; and if the clerk also drives a forklift, add forklift operator screening questions.
Which clerk does the order need?
| Role | What the work usually looks like | Ask the client |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving clerk | Checks in inbound loads against the purchase order or advance ship notice, inspects, records receipts, labels for putaway | How many receipts a day? Blind counts or counts against the ASN? |
| Shipping clerk | Builds shipments, prints labels and bills of lading, checks loads, books or meets carrier pickups | Parcel, LTL, truckload or all three? Which carrier systems? |
| Combined shipping and receiving | Both sides in a smaller plant or branch, often with a forklift and parcel station | Forklift required? Who backs up the clerk on days off? |
| Parcel shipping station | High-volume parcel labels, manifests and end-of-day close-out | Which shipping software? Daily cut-off time? |
Which rules and changes should a clerk know about?
As of October 2026:
- DOT hazmat training. Under 49 CFR 171.8, a hazmat employee includes anyone who loads, unloads or handles hazardous materials, or prepares them for transportation. 49 CFR 172.704 requires general awareness, function-specific, safety and security awareness training. A new hazmat employee may perform those functions before training only under the direct supervision of a trained employee, with training completed within 90 days; recurrent training is due at least once every three years; and training from a previous employer counts only with a current record of it.
- Freight classification. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association says its 2025 NMFC changes took effect on July 19, 2025, reclassifying more than 2,000 items and replacing the 11-sub density scale with a 13-sub scale. More items are now classed by density, so clerks who build LTL bills of lading need accurate weights and dimensions.
- Food traceability. For foods on FDA's Food Traceability List, the FSMA traceability rule requires records of key data elements at critical tracking events, including shipping and receiving, tied to a traceability lot code. FDA's page says Congress directed it not to enforce the rule before July 20, 2028. Food distributors may already ask clerks to capture lot codes at receipt.
- Minimum age. Under 29 CFR 570.33, 14- and 15-year-olds may not work in warehousing and storage, and the Department of Labor's child labor fact sheet bars workers under 18 from operating forklifts (Hazardous Occupations Order 7).
Knockout questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The site uses [WMS or ERP] and [parcel software or carrier portals]. Which systems have you used to receive or ship? | Names them and what they did in each: "Received against POs in the ERP, printed labels in the carrier's software." | "All of them." Cannot name a screen or transaction. |
| 2. (If required.) The job includes [unloading with a sit-down forklift / an electric pallet jack]. When did you last use one at work? | A site, a date and a span. | Only ever used a manual pallet jack. |
| 3. (If the site ships hazmat.) Have you had DOT hazmat training, and can you get a record of it from your last employer? | Yes, with the date and the functions covered, and a record they can request. | "I'm hazmat certified" with no date, employer or record. |
| 4. The shift is [hours], and you stay until the last carrier pickup, which can run late. Can you work that? | Yes, or a stated limit. | Must leave at a fixed time every day, on a dock with late pickups. |
| 5. The job involves lifting cartons up to [weight] pounds, standing on the dock in [heat, cold], and climbing into trailers to check loads. Can you perform that, with or without accommodation? | Yes. | None from the answer. Do not ask medical follow-ups. |
Receiving questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Walk me through receiving one truck, from the driver at the door to stock in the system. | Checks the appointment and seal, counts and inspects before signing, compares to the PO or ASN, notes exceptions, receives in the system the same day, labels for putaway. | Signs first, counts later. |
| 7. The ASN says 20 cartons, the bill of lading says 20, and you count 18, one crushed. The driver wants a signature. What do you do? | Writes "short 2, 1 carton crushed" on the delivery receipt before signing, takes photos if allowed, records it in the system and tells purchasing. | Signs clean because the driver is in a hurry. |
| 8. You open a carton after the driver leaves and find damage inside. What then? | Reports concealed damage right away, keeps the packaging, follows the site's claim process and deadlines. | Throws the packaging away. |
| 9. A part arrives that is not on any open purchase order. What do you do? | Holds it in a marked area, contacts purchasing, does not receive it to stock. | Puts it on a shelf "somewhere it fits". |
Shipping questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 10. What goes on a bill of lading for an LTL shipment? | Shipper and consignee, piece count and packaging type, weight, NMFC item and class or the description the carrier uses, special instructions, and hazmat details when relevant. | Has only printed parcel labels, for an LTL order. |
| 11. How did you get weights and dimensions, and why do they matter? | Weighs and measures each pallet, knows that wrong numbers bring reclassification or billing adjustments from the carrier. | Guesses the weight. |
| 12. How did you check a load before the trailer left? | Counts against the pick or load sheet, checks labels, loads in stop order, secures with straps or load bars, records the seal number. | "The driver checks it." |
| 13. It is ten minutes to the carrier cut-off and an order is still on the pack line. What do you do? | Tells the lead, asks the carrier about a late pickup or next service, does not skip the checks to make the truck. | Ships it unchecked. |
A quick arithmetic check shows whether a candidate understands density. As an example with invented numbers: a pallet measures 48 by 40 by 50 inches and weighs 400 pounds. That is 96,000 cubic inches, or about 55.6 cubic feet, so its density is about 7.2 pounds per cubic foot. Ask the candidate how they would work that out and where they would look up the class (the classification tool or the carrier's guidance the client uses). You are testing the method, not asking them to memorize class tables.
Hazmat and food questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 14. A package with a hazard label arrives leaking, or with a damaged label. What do you do? | Isolates it, keeps people away, reports it, follows the emergency response information, does not reship it. | Tapes it up and sends it on. |
| 15. (Food distribution.) What did you record at receiving for lot-coded food? | Lot codes, dates, quantities and the supplier, captured in the system at receipt. | Never recorded a lot code. |
How shipping and receiving experience gets overstated
- Packing as shipping. Taped and labeled boxes at a pack station, never built a shipment or a bill of lading.
- Parcel only, for freight. Parcel labels presented as LTL and truckload experience.
- "Hazmat certified." No date, no employer and no record, which DOT's rule requires before prior training counts.
- System by name. Lists an ERP but cannot describe the receipt or shipment screen.
- Receiving without exceptions. Years of receiving and not one short or damage noted.
Scoring and the note to the client
Pass or fail: has used a receiving or shipping system at work; meets any equipment requirement; holds or can document hazmat training if the site needs it; can work the shift including late pickups; can do the physical work, with or without accommodation.
Scored 0 to 2 each (10 possible):
- Role match: shipping, receiving or both, at a similar volume.
- Discrepancy habits: counts before signing, notes exceptions, records them.
- Freight knowledge: parcel and LTL, weights, dimensions, bills of lading.
- Load checks: counts, stop order, securing, seal numbers.
- System fluency: describes the transactions, not just the names.
Clerk: [name]
Role: [receiving / shipping / both], [site], [months], [loads or receipts per day]
Systems: [WMS/ERP], [parcel software or carrier portals]
Freight: [parcel / LTL / truckload]
Hazmat training: [date, employer, functions] or [none]
Equipment: [forklift type / pallet jack / none]
Candidate's own gap: [e.g. "no international paperwork"]For the counting side of the same building, see inventory clerk screening questions, and for the people who move material from the dock to the line, material handler screening questions.
Legal cautions
General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Child labor, drug testing and criminal history rules vary by state and city.
The EEOC's pre-employment guidance allows you to ask about required certifications and work history and to state physical requirements, but not to ask about injuries or workers' compensation history. Leave out age beyond the legal minimum, family and national origin; see illegal interview questions.
Questions people ask
Does a shipping clerk need hazmat training?
Yes, if they load, unload, handle or prepare hazardous materials for transportation. DOT's hazardous materials regulations treat that person as a hazmat employee who needs general awareness, function-specific, safety and security awareness training under 49 CFR 172.704. A new hazmat employee may do the work under the direct supervision of a trained employee for up to 90 days while the training is completed, and recurrent training is due at least every three years.
What should a receiving clerk do when a delivery is short or damaged?
Count and inspect before signing, then write the exception on the carrier's delivery receipt, for example the number of cartons short or a description of the damage, take photos if the site allows, and report it in the receiving system so the purchase order and inventory stay accurate. Signing a clean receipt for a short or damaged load makes a later claim harder.
Did freight classes change in 2025?
Yes. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association says its classification changes took effect on July 19, 2025, reclassifying more than 2,000 NMFC items and replacing the 11-sub density scale with a 13-sub density scale. Shipping clerks who build LTL bills of lading now need accurate weights and dimensions more often, because density drives the class for more items.
What is a good test question for a shipping and receiving clerk?
Ask them to walk through a receipt where the advance ship notice says 20 cartons, the driver hands over a bill of lading for 20, and they count 18 with one crushed. Strong clerks count before signing, note the exception on the delivery receipt, record it in the system and tell purchasing. Weak ones sign first and sort it out later.