Incoterms 2020 Chart: All 11 Terms at a Glance
A side-by-side chart of all 11 Incoterms 2020 rules — who pays for freight, where risk transfers, which transport modes work — with one-paragraph explainers and a quick decision flow.
Short version. Incoterms are the 11 three-letter codes that define, for every international sale, who pays for freight, who pays for insurance, where risk transfers from seller to buyer, and who clears the goods through customs. Incoterms 2020 is the current revision (published by the International Chamber of Commerce, effective 1 January 2020). The chart below summarises all 11 rules at a glance.
The chart
| Term | Name | Modes | Who pays freight | Where risk transfers | Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Ex Works | Any | Buyer, from seller’s door | At seller’s premises | Not obligatory |
| FCA | Free Carrier | Any | Buyer, after handover to carrier | When goods reach buyer’s carrier at named place | Not obligatory |
| CPT | Carriage Paid To | Any | Seller, to named destination | At first carrier (origin) | Not obligatory |
| CIP | Carriage & Insurance Paid To | Any | Seller, to named destination | At first carrier (origin) | Seller, all-risks (ICC A) |
| DAP | Delivered at Place | Any | Seller, to destination (ready to unload) | At destination, before unloading | Not obligatory (seller usually carries) |
| DPU | Delivered at Place Unloaded | Any | Seller, to destination, unloaded | After unloading at destination | Not obligatory |
| DDP | Delivered Duty Paid | Any | Seller, everything (incl. duties) | At buyer’s door | Not obligatory |
| FAS | Free Alongside Ship | Sea only | Buyer, from alongside vessel | Alongside the vessel at origin port | Not obligatory |
| FOB | Free on Board | Sea only | Buyer, from on-board at origin port | When goods are on board vessel at origin port | Not obligatory |
| CFR | Cost & Freight | Sea only | Seller, to destination port | When goods are on board vessel at origin port | Not obligatory (buyer arranges) |
| CIF | Cost, Insurance & Freight | Sea only | Seller, to destination port | When goods are on board vessel at origin port | Seller, minimum cover (ICC C) |
How to read the chart
Every Incoterm is answering four questions at once:
- Who pays for what? Freight, insurance, and import duties can each be on the seller or buyer independently.
- Where does risk transfer? This is the point at which, if the shipment is damaged or lost, the cost falls on the buyer instead of the seller. It is not always the same place as where the cost transfers — especially under CPT, CIP, CFR, and CIF, where the seller pays carriage to destination but risk transfers at origin.
- Which transport mode? Four terms are sea-only (FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF). The other seven work for any mode. Using a sea-only term on a containerised shipment is the most common Incoterm mistake — use FCA or CPT instead.
- Who clears customs?The named place in the term tells you who is the “exporter of record” and who is the “importer of record” for each leg.
The 11 terms, one paragraph each
EXW — Ex Works
Seller makes goods available at their own premises. Buyer arranges pickup, export clearance, main carriage, import clearance, everything. Maximum effort on buyer. Often a bad choice for international sales because export clearance in the seller’s country is usually the seller’s responsibility in practice. Prefer FCA for cross-border. Full explainer.
FCA — Free Carrier
Seller delivers goods, cleared for export, to a carrier nominated by the buyer. Flexible for any mode. Under Incoterms 2020, if the buyer requests, the carrier may issue an on-board bill of lading to the seller — a boon for letter-of-credit transactions. Full explainer.
CPT — Carriage Paid To
Seller contracts and pays for carriage to the named destination. Risk transfers to the buyer at the first carrier — the split between cost and risk is the catch. Full explainer.
CIP — Carriage and Insurance Paid To
Like CPT, plus the seller buys all-risks insurance (ICC Clauses A) for the main carriage. Incoterms 2020 tightened this from minimum cover (which is what CIF still uses). CIP is the multimodal sibling of CIF and the right choice for containerised / air freight when you want cover. Full explainer.
DAP — Delivered at Place
Seller delivers to the named destination ready for unloading. Buyer unloads and clears imports. Very common for door-to-door B2B. Full explainer.
DPU — Delivered at Place Unloaded
The only Incoterm that puts the obligation to unload on the seller. Replaces DAT (Delivered at Terminal) from Incoterms 2010. Full explainer.
DDP — Delivered Duty Paid
Maximum seller burden. Seller pays every cost to buyer’s door, including import duties and VAT. Great for cross-border e-commerce where buyers want a single landed price; tricky for sellers because the seller may need to register for VAT in the destination country. Full explainer.
FAS — Free Alongside Ship
Sea-only. Seller places goods alongside the vessel; buyer handles loading. Typical for bulk and break-bulk. Don’t use for containers. Full explainer.
FOB — Free on Board
Sea-only. Seller loads goods on the vessel; risk transfers once the goods are on board. The most abused Incoterm — misused on containers constantly, where FCA is correct because containers are handed over at the terminal, not loaded on the vessel by the shipper. Full explainer.
CFR — Cost and Freight
Sea-only. Seller pays freight to destination port; risk transfers on board at origin. Like CPT but sea-only. Full explainer.
CIF — Cost, Insurance and Freight
Sea-only. Like CFR plus seller buys minimum insurance (ICC Clauses C). Minimum cover is rarely enough for finished goods; if your cargo is valuable, negotiate higher cover or use CIP. Full explainer.
What changed in Incoterms 2020 vs 2010
Five material changes to know:
- DAT renamed to DPU.The scope widened from “delivered at terminal” to “delivered at place unloaded” — the unload can now be at any named place, not just a terminal.
- CIP now requires all-risks cover (ICC A). CIF still requires only minimum cover (ICC C), deliberately, because bulk commodities trading uses CIF and the trade has its own cover conventions.
- FCA allows the buyer to instruct the carrier to issue an on-board bill of lading. A fix for letter-of-credit trades that historically pushed people toward FOB even for containers.
- Security-related carriage cost allocation clarified. Who pays security-related expenses now matches freight allocation.
- Transport by own means allowed. Sellers (on D terms) and buyers (on FCA) can now use their own transport rather than contracting a third-party carrier — reflects the reality of shippers with in-house fleets.
Quick decision flow
- Sea bulk or break-bulk? FAS / FOB / CFR / CIF are on the table.
- Containers, air, road, or rail? Use FCA / CPT / CIP / DAP / DPU / DDP. Not FAS / FOB / CFR / CIF.
- Who controls carriage? Buyer → E or F terms; seller → C or D terms.
- Who assumes risk on the main carriage? Buyer → E or F or C terms; seller → D terms.
- Does the buyer want landed pricing? Use DDP (seller pays import duties) or DAP (buyer pays duties, seller pays everything else).
What to do next
Pick the term that matches your transport mode and your risk appetite, then generate the invoice. Our wizard validates Incoterms against transport mode automatically — no more FOB-on-containers mistakes. For country-specific guidance on what Incoterms work well into particular destinations, see our country template index.
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