Incoterms Checker
Type the term as it appears in your contract, then pick how the goods actually travel. The verdict changes — and that change is the whole point.
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FOB on a container is the expensive mistake
FAS, FOB, CFR and CIF are rules for
sea and inland waterway transport. Their risk transfer happens when the goods
are on board the vessel.
For a container, that moment does not happen the way anyone imagines: the box is handed over at a terminal days earlier, and under FOB the seller is still carrying risk for it while the buyer believes they have taken it. For air freight the moment does not exist at all. Both sides believe they agreed a transfer point, and they did not agree the same one — which is a dispute rather than a wording preference.
The rule for containers is FCA, or CPT/CIP if the seller
is paying the carriage.
Two terms that hand someone a job they may not be able to do
Under EXW the buyer files the export declaration in the seller's country — and a foreign buyer often has no entity there to do it with. Under DDP the seller clears the goods for import and pays the duty in the destination country, which a seller with no registration there cannot do. Both stop at a customs desk while everyone discovers it.
The eleven rules, and what each takes after it
What is not on this page
The text of the Incoterms® rules and the allocation of obligations between buyer and seller are ICC copyright. This page does not reproduce them and does not offer a who-pays-what table. It checks how a term is written and whether it fits the mode — which is a different question, and one that can be answered from published facts. For the rules themselves, go to ICC.
Every check this tool runs (9 rules)
INC-M01 A maritime-only rule used for containers or air
FAS, FOB, CFR and CIF are rules for sea and inland waterway transport. Their risk transfer happens when the goods are on board the vessel — a moment that does not exist for a container handed over at a terminal, or for air freight at all. The parties believe they have agreed a transfer point, and in practice the seller is still carrying risk while the buyer thinks they have taken it. That is a dispute, not a wording preference.
Fix: For containers use FCA (or CPT/CIP for carriage paid); for air use FCA, CPT, CIP or a delivered term.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-P01 No named place
Every Incoterms rule is written to be followed by a place — a port of loading, a place of destination. Without it the term is incomplete: "FOB" alone does not say where risk passes, and "DDP" alone does not say where the seller must deliver to.
Fix: State the place, e.g. "FOB Shanghai" or "DAP Manchester".
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-V01 No Incoterms version stated
The rules are revised, and the revisions change meaning — DAT became DPU, and the insurance level under CIP changed in 2020. A contract that says only "FOB Shanghai" leaves which edition applies to be argued about later.
Fix: Write the edition: "FOB Shanghai Incoterms 2020".
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-R01 A rule that no longer exists
The term was in an earlier edition and has been removed or renamed. Contracts still using it are pointing at a definition that the current rules do not contain.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-C01 Not an Incoterms rule
The three letters do not match any Incoterms rule from the current or recent editions. Terms like "CIF landed" or "FOB destination" look official and are not — US domestic practice in particular uses "FOB" with a meaning that has nothing to do with the international rule.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-E01 EXW puts export clearance on a party who may not be able to do it
Under EXW the buyer handles export formalities in the seller’s country. A foreign buyer frequently cannot — they may not be able to file the export declaration or obtain the documents that need a local entity. FCA achieves nearly the same commercial split with the seller handling export.
Fix: Consider FCA at the seller’s premises instead.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-D01 DDP puts import clearance and duty on the seller
Under DDP the seller clears the goods for import and pays the duty and, in most places, the import taxes. A seller without a presence or a tax registration in the destination country often cannot do that, and the shipment stops at customs while both sides discover it.
Fix: Consider DAP, which leaves import clearance with the buyer.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-N01 The rules themselves are ICC’s, and are not reproduced here
The text of the Incoterms® rules and the allocation of obligations between the parties are ICC copyright. This tool checks how a term is written and used — which mode it is valid for, whether a place and edition are stated — and does not reproduce the rules or a who-pays-what table. For the rules themselves, go to ICC.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
INC-V02 Well-formed term
A current rule, valid for the stated mode, with a named place and an edition.
Source: International Trade Administration — Know Your Incoterms
Usage and completeness only. The Incoterms® rules themselves are ICC copyright and are not reproduced here.