装船通知是出口商在货物装船后给进口方的通知。其目的是让进口商了解货物已经装船发运，可准备付款接货了。在FOB、CFR等条件下成交的合同，需进口方自行办理货物保险的凭证，装船通知书应在装船后立即发出，以便进口商办理投保手续。
装船通知也可使CIF、CIP价格成交买方了解货物装运情况、准备接货或筹措资金。买方为了避免因疏忽未及时通知，所以在信用证中明确规定，卖方必须按时发出装船通知，并规定通知的内容，而且在议付时必须提供该装船通知的副本，与其他单据一起向银行议付。因而装船通知也是提交银行结汇的单据之一，但是装船通知书并无统一格式，但其内容一定要符合信用证的规定。
一、装船通知的主要内容
1、 收件人名称和地址；2、合同号或信用证号；3、货名；4、数量；5、金额；6、船名；7、开航日期；8、提单号码；9、发电日期等。发电日期不能超过信用证规定的日期，如装船内二天（WITHIN TWO DAYS AFTER SHIPMENT DATE）。如果信用证规定 IMMEDIATELY AFTER SHIPMENT（装船后立即通知），应掌握在提单后三天之内。
二、信用证中有关装船通知条款举例
1、ORIGINAL FAX FROM BENEFICIARY TO OUR APPLICANT EVIDENCINGB/L NO。NAME OF SHIP，SHIPMENT DATE、QUANTITY AND VALUE OF GOODS。
2、INSURANCE EFFECTED IN IRAN BY IRAN INSURANCE CO。THE NAME OF INSURANCE CO。AND THE POLICY NO。XXXDD。--- HAVE TO BE MENTIONED ON B/L SHIPMENT ADVICE TO BE MADE TO SAID INSURANCE CO。VIA TLX NO。XXX INDICATING POLICY NO。AND DETAILS OF SHIPMENT，A COPY OF WHICH IS TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE ORIGINAL DOCS。
3、BENEFICIARY’S CERTIFICATE CERTIFYING THAT SHIPMENT ADVISE AND A。M DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN FAXED TO APPLICANT FOR INSURANCE PURPOSE BEFORE SHIPMENT，FAX COPY WITH TRANSMISSION REPORT IS REQUIRED。
4、SHIPMENT ADVICE WITH FULL DETAILS INCLUDING SHIPPING MARKS，CTN NUMBERS，VESSEL’S NAME，B/L NUMBER，VALUE AND QUANTITY OF GOODS MUST BE SENT ON THE DATE OF SHIPMENT TO US。
5、BENEFICIARY MUST CABLE ADVISE THE APPLICANT FOR THE PARTICULARS BEFORE SHIPMENT EFFECTED AND A COPY OF THE ADVICE SHOULD BE PRESENTED FOR NEGOTIATION。
6、A CERTIFICATE FROM THE BENEFICIARY STATING THAT THEY HAVE ADVISED THE APPLICANT BY TLX THE DATE OF SHIPMENT，NUMBERJ OF PACKAGES，NAME OF COMMODITY，TOTAL NET AND GROSS WEIGHT，NAME OF VESSEL AND NUMBER OF VOYAGE WITHIN 2 DAYS AFTER SHIPMENT EFFECTED。
BENEFICIARY’S CERTIFIED COPY OF FAX SENT TO APPLICANT WITHIN 48 HOURS AFTER SHIPMENT INDICATING CONTRACT NO。L/C NO。GOODS NAME，QUANTITY，INVOICE VALUE，VESSEL’S NAME，PACKAGE/CONTAINER NO。LOADING PORT ，SHIPPING DATE AND ETA。