All Incoterms 2020 rules

FCA Free Carrier

The seller hands the export-cleared goods to a carrier the buyer names, and is done.

Any mode of transport

FCA is the general-purpose rule for the seller’s end of the journey and works for any mode, containers included. The seller packs the goods, clears them for export and delivers them to the carrier the buyer nominated at the named place. Where that place is the seller’s own premises, delivery happens when the goods are loaded onto the buyer’s collecting vehicle; anywhere else, when they arrive ready for unloading.

Track a shipment
Risk passes at
Handover to the carrier
Export clearance
Seller
Import duty & taxes
Buyer
Cargo insurance
Not required

The journey, stage by stage

Every stage of the shipment in order, and who pays for it.

  1. 1 Packing the goods for export Seller pays
  2. 2 Loading onto the collecting vehicle Seller pays
  3. 3 Inland carriage to the port or terminal Seller pays
  4. 4 Export customs formalities Seller pays
  5. Risk passes to the buyer The moment the export-cleared goods are handed to the carrier the buyer nominated at the named place.
  6. 5 Terminal handling at origin Terminal handling at origin follows the named place: whatever is incurred before delivery is the seller’s, whatever comes after it is the buyer’s. Published charts split on the default, so name the place and the charge in the contract. Per contract
  7. 6 Loading onto the main carrier Buyer pays
  8. 7 The international freight Buyer pays
  9. 8 Terminal handling at destination Buyer pays
  10. 9 Import customs, duty and taxes Buyer pays
  11. 10 Inland carriage to the final destination Buyer pays
  12. 11 Unloading at the final destination Buyer pays

What the seller does

  • Pack the goods and clear them for export.
  • Deliver to the carrier the buyer named, at the named place and on the agreed date.
  • Load onto the collecting vehicle when the named place is the seller’s own premises.
  • Hand over the usual proof of delivery.

What the buyer does

  • Name the carrier and contract the main carriage.
  • Pay terminal handling at origin and the freight.
  • Carry the risk from the moment the goods reach that carrier.
  • Clear the goods for import and pay duty and taxes.

Use it when

  • Containerised cargo, where the seller loses control at the terminal rather than at the ship’s rail.
  • Any buyer with its own freight contract or a nominated forwarder.
  • Air, road and rail shipments, where FOB has no meaning at all.

Watch out for

  • The named place is what decides who loads and where risk passes — write it out in full: “FCA Ust-Luga terminal, Incoterms® 2020”, not just “FCA”.
  • Under a letter of credit the seller may need an on-board bill of lading it will never see, because it delivered before loading. Incoterms 2020 added an option for exactly this: the parties can agree that the buyer instructs the carrier to issue one to the seller.

FCA is the rule the ICC points sellers to whenever EXW or FOB is being used out of habit. It is the only origin rule that fits a container properly.

Compare with

EXW Ex Works FOB Free On Board CPT Carriage Paid To

Sources for this page

Every payer cell on these pages was checked against several published references, and the two cells those references disagree on are drawn as “per contract” rather than resolved by picking a side. This is a summary for orientation, not legal advice — the contract and the ICC text govern.

  1. Incoterms® 2020 International Chamber of Commerce

    The rules themselves. The authoritative text is ICC publication no. 723E, which is not free — this page is a summary of it, not a copy.

  2. Incoterms Wikipedia

    Risk transfer point, export and import clearance and the insurance clauses for each of the eleven rules; the 2010 to 2020 changes; what the rules do not cover.

Selling or buying on FCA terms? Follow the shipment from handover to arrival — whoever holds the number can track it.

Track a shipment

FCA FAQ

FCA is the general-purpose rule for the seller’s end of the journey and works for any mode, containers included. The seller packs the goods, clears them for export and delivers them to the carrier the buyer nominated at the named place. Where that place is the seller’s own premises, delivery happens when the goods are loaded onto the buyer’s collecting vehicle; anywhere else, when they arrive ready for unloading.

Risk passes to the buyer the moment the export-cleared goods are handed to the carrier the buyer nominated at the named place.

The seller pays through export clearance and delivery to the named place; the freight contract and everything after it is the buyer’s. Export clearance is the seller’s and import duty and taxes are the buyer’s. Neither side is obliged to insure the cargo.

Whoever contracted the carriage holds the transport document, and its number is what a lookup needs. Enter a bill of lading, booking or container number in the container tracking app, an air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or make the same lookup one REST call with the API reference.

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