Cargo & Freight · Driver Training VideoSeal Integrity & Chain of Custody

A security seal is not a formality. It is the only proof that exists that your trailer went from the shipper to the receiver without anyone opening those doors in between. If you cannot prove that, the load is legally "compromised" — even if nothing is missing.

Here is the rule: you never leave a shipper with a loaded, sealed trailer until you have physically checked that seal and written its number on your paperwork. Not glanced at it. Checked it.

Use the same four-step check every time — view it, verify the number against the bill of lading, twist it, tug on it. View: is it the correct high-security type, and is it free of cracks, cuts, or re-gluing?

Your seal number goes on the paperwork before you pull out of the shipper's yard. That number is your alibi. If a claim ever comes in, that number is what proves the load left intact under your custody.

Chain of custody means every hand-off gets checked — at the shipper, at any drop yard, at a relay, and again at the receiver before you break the seal yourself. Each check gets a number, a time, and your initials. A gap anywhere in that chain is a gap in your defense.

If a seal doesn't match, looks re-applied, or is simply missing when it shouldn't be — stop. Do not break it yourself, do not guess, do not keep driving.

Your company standard: check every seal with the full four-step method, record the number before you leave the shipper, verify it at every hand-off, and report anything broken, missing, or mismatched immediately — before you move another mile.