UCC Article 7

Article 7 requires a warehouse to use the care a reasonably careful person would use under similar circumstances, allows liability to be limited by a stated value per article or unit of weight, and gives warehouses a lien on stored goods for storage and handling charges, enforceable by public or private sale after notice. It governs negotiable and nonnegotiable documents of title and delivery obligations. The 2003 revision added electronic documents of title. Federal law, such as the Pomerene Act, governs interstate carrier bills.

Article 7 is the default law behind 3PL warehousing agreements, so it shapes liability and collections. A 3PL's warehouse receipt or storage contract can limit damages to a stated value, often per pound, and its warehouse lien lets it hold or sell goods for unpaid fees. For example, if a brand stops paying storage invoices, a 3PL that preserved its lien in the warehouse receipt can refuse to release inventory and eventually sell it after statutory notice. Brands should check the liability limit and buy their own inventory insurance.

• Third-Party Logistics3PLAn outside warehouse that ships your orders
• Long-Term Storage FeeExtra charge for stock stored too long
• Bonded WarehouseStorage where duty waits until withdrawal

• Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act1906 · Early uniform state law on warehouse receipts
• Federal Bills of Lading Act (Pomerene Act)1916, recodified 1994 · US federal law on bills of lading in interstate trade
• CISG1980, in force 1988 · UN treaty on international sale of goods contracts

1. UCC Article 7, Documents of Title, Cornell LII law.cornell.edu