NMFC lookup and freight class: how to find the right classification

To find your product’s NMFC code, look up its commodity description in the National Motor Freight Classification, which the National Motor Freight Traffic Association publishes and licenses through its ClassIT+ service. The NMFC item number identifies the commodity; the freight class is the rating that item assigns. They are not the same thing, and density alone cannot stand in for the item: density tells you which band a shipment falls in, but only the item says whether the commodity is rated by density at all, or by a specified class because of how it handles, how it stows or what it is worth.

NMFC code vs freight class: what each one is

The National Motor Freight Classification is a tariff of commodity descriptions. Each entry is an item with a number of up to six digits, and many items are split into subs, numbered provisions under the item that refine the description or set the class for a particular form, packaging or density. Written down, the pair looks like “item 12345, sub 6”. The item and sub together are what people mean by an NMFC code or NMFC number.

The freight class is the rating the item assigns: a number from 50 to 400 on the density scale that the carrier’s tariff turns into a rate per hundred pounds. Three kinds of item assign it in different ways:

• Fixed class. The item, or a sub of it, specifies a class that applies when the shipment meets the item’s description, its packaging requirements and any other provisions attached to it.
• Density-based. The item’s subs are density bands, and the shipment’s measured density picks the sub and so the class. After the July 19, 2025 changes this is the common case.
• Other characteristics. Some commodities are classed on handling, stowability or liability, because their density does not reflect what they cost to carry.

So the answer to “is an NMFC number the same as freight class?” is no, and for density-based items the gap matters most. Knowing the item number tells you the commodity is density-rated. It does not tell you the class until you have measured the shipment.

Where to look up an NMFC code

ClassIT+, the NMFTA’s own lookup

The only complete, current source is ClassIT+, the NMFTA’s subscription service for the classification. It searches commodity descriptions and returns the item, its subs and their classes, and NMFTA updates it as each docket of changes takes effect: Docket 2026-1, for example, was issued on February 6, 2026 and took effect, with ClassIT+ updated, on May 23, 2026. A single seat costs $371 a year, or $321 for an NMFTA member, billed annually, with a lower price per seat for larger teams. NMFTA’s pricing page has the current figures; these are as published on October 16, 2026.

Can you look up an NMFC code for free?

Not the full classification. NMFTA’s pricing page answers “is there a free version?” with “No.” The free tool NMFTA launched on April 22, 2025 only reported whether an item number you already had was changing in the July 2025 update, was offered for a limited time, and its address now redirects to ClassIT+. Sites that publish lists of “common NMFC codes” are copying a licensed work that changes several times a year, so treat any such list as a lead to check, not an answer.

Without a subscription, these are the realistic routes:

• Your own past bills of lading. If the product has shipped before, the item and sub are probably on file. Check that the description still matches the product and that the item was not changed by a docket since.
• The manufacturer or supplier. Whoever ships the product to you usually classes it on their own bill of lading.
• Your carrier or broker. Carriers and freight brokers work from the classification every day and will often confirm an item for an account. The class they give is their reading of it, so ask which item and sub they used.

A shipper that moves a steady range of products on LTL usually finds one seat cheaper than a single reclassification dispute. A shipper with three products that never change may not need one at all.

How to find the right NMFC item and class, step by step

1. Describe the product as it ships. Material, what it is used for, whether it is assembled or knocked down, and how it is packed. The NMFC describes commodities in those terms, and the packaging often decides the sub.
2. Find the item. Search ClassIT+ for the description, or start from an item a supplier or past bill of lading gives you and read it. Choose the most specific description that fits. A general “not otherwise indicated” item applies only when nothing more specific does.
3. Read how the item assigns class. A fixed class, density bands, or another characteristic. If the item is density-based, go to step 4. If it names a class, that is the class.
4. Measure and weigh the shipment as tendered. Length, width and height in inches at the extremes, pallet and overhang included, and the gross weight including the pallet. Cubic feet is length × width × height ÷ 1,728, and density is weight ÷ cubic feet.
5. Read the density against the item’s bands. For most density-based items these are the standard 13 bands from class 400 below one pound per cubic foot to class 50 at 50 or more. Our freight class calculator does the arithmetic and shows the bands either side. It calculates density and an indicative class on the standard scale; it does not identify the NMFC item number or confirm that your item uses that scale.
6. Put all of it on the bill of lading. The item and sub, the class, the piece count, the weight, the dimensions and, for a density-based item, the density. The numbers are what protects the class if the freight is inspected.

For the density method in detail, the full scale and a worked pallet, see how LTL freight class is determined.

How density changes the class on one item

An illustrative commodity on an item that uses the standard 13-band density scale, shipped on a 48 by 40 inch pallet. The item number is the same on every row; only the shipment changes.

Shipment as tendered	Cubic feet	Density, lb per cubic foot	Class
48 × 40 × 48 in, 400 lb	53.33	7.50	125
48 × 40 × 40 in, 400 lb	44.44	9.00	100
48 × 40 × 48 in, 600 lb	53.33	11.25	92.5
48 × 40 × 60 in, 400 lb	66.67	6.00	125
48 × 40 × 62 in, 400 lb	68.89	5.81	175

Illustrative commodity using the standard 13-band density scale, effective July 19, 2025, which FedEx Freight also reproduces in item 640 of its 100-Y Rules Tariff. Calculated by ebb Logistics. An item with handling, stowability or liability provisions may not use this scale.

The last two rows are the ones that cause reclassifications. At 60 inches the pallet is exactly 6.0 pounds per cubic foot and stays in class 125; two more inches of height take it to 5.81, into the 4 to 6 band, and class 175. A bill of lading written from the product specification, before the pallet was built and wrapped, misses that.

What happens if you use the wrong NMFC code

Usually nothing at pickup. The driver signs for what the bill of lading says. The correction comes later, when the freight crosses a terminal dimensioner or scale, or a dock worker inspects it, and the invoice arrives at a different total from the quote. FedEx Freight’s 100-Y Rules Tariff sets out what it can do and charge, and it is a useful model of how LTL carriers handle it:

• Inspection. If the description, weight or other information on the bill of lading is incomplete or believed to be incorrect, the carrier may open packages to check the classification, verify the weight, verify actual or declared density, and collect other evidence (item 980).
• Rebilling. When the information is wrong, the freight bill is corrected to the proper description and weight. Increased weight is charged at the highest-rated commodity in the shipment (item 980).
• A fee on top. A $40 validation fee applies to any freight bill adjusted after an inspection, and to a reweigh that finds 50 lb or more over the bill of lading. Only one fee applies per shipment (item 981).
• The lowest density when none is given. On an item classed by density where the bill of lading gives no density and the item says nothing else, FedEx Freight initially rates the shipment at the class for the lowest density in that item, and adjusts it when the shipper proves a higher one (item 170).
• Mixed pallets rated by density. A handling unit of differently classed articles that inspection finds was described inaccurately is rated on the standard density scale using the measured weight and dimensions (item 640).

The lowest-density rule is the one that turns a missing number into the most expensive possible class: on the standard scale that is class 400. Writing the density on the bill of lading costs nothing.

The opposite error is quieter. A shipper that classes too high, often on an item number set years ago, before the 2025 changes or a packaging change, can pay the higher class for years. An overstated class can persist across shipments if nobody checks it, so do not rely on the carrier to identify overpayments.

Why carriers reclassify freight

The reasons we see behind a reclassification fall into a short list, and each has a fix at the dock rather than on the invoice:

• Dimensions from the product, not the pallet. The carton sizes were added up and the pallet, the overhang or the wrap were not. Measure the finished unit.
• Estimated weight. A round number on the bill of lading that the terminal scale does not agree with. Weigh it.
• An item number that changed. The 2025 changes moved many items to density and consolidated others, and dockets have continued since. An item that was right in 2024 may not be now.
• A description that fits a different item. A general description where a specific one exists, or the wrong packaging sub.
• No density on a density-based item. Rated at the lowest density until proven otherwise, as above.

How to dispute a freight reclassification charge

1. Ask for the inspection record. FedEx Freight will provide a copy of the written or electronic weight verification on request (item 980), and ask for the dimensioner reading and any images if the freight was measured at a terminal. You need to know the dimensions, weight and item the carrier used before you can say which is wrong.
2. Compare it with your own record. Your measurements, a scale ticket, and a photograph of the pallet on the dock with a tape measure against it. A dimension the carrier read inches larger than your photograph shows is the strongest dispute there is.
3. Check the classification argument separately from the measurement. If the carrier changed the item, not the density, the question is which description fits. FedEx Freight requires a request to change the commodity description to be supported by written documentation such as the original invoice or descriptive advertising copy (item 360). Product sheets and photographs of the goods do the same job.
4. File in writing, with the evidence, inside the deadline. Under 49 U.S.C. § 13710(a)(3)(B), a shipper must contest the original bill, or a bill issued later, within 180 days of receiving that bill to keep the right to contest it. A reclassification billed on a corrected or supplemental invoice therefore runs from receipt of that invoice. FedEx Freight’s item 438 says an action to recover overcharges must be “commenced not more than 180 days from the receipt of the original invoice plus 7 days”. The tariff does not say what the seven days represent, so count from the day the invoice arrived and do not rely on the extra week. Item 438 takes disputes by email to [email protected] or by phone at 1-866-FXF-4LTL. An invoice not disputed through those channels is due on the normal terms. Separately, 49 U.S.C. § 14705(b) gives 18 months from when the claim accrues to bring a civil action to recover overcharges.
5. Fix the cause. One reclassification is an invoice to dispute. Several on the same product is a bill of lading to rewrite: new measurements, the right item and sub, and the density stated every time.

Your agreement can change the answer. Many LTL agreements rate mixed freight at a single class under a freight-all-kinds provision, or set a class floor or ceiling, and a reclassification that ignores one of those terms is a billing error, not a classification question. Read the agreement before the tariff.

Our LTL freight audit checks every reweigh, reclassification and inspection fee against the shipment record and the agreement and disputes the ones that do not hold, and our LTL contract negotiation work covers freight-all-kinds terms and class floors.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find my product’s NMFC code?

Search the product’s description, as it ships, in ClassIT+, the NMFTA’s licensed lookup for the National Motor Freight Classification, and choose the most specific item and sub that fits. Without a subscription, start from a previous bill of lading, the supplier’s classification, or your carrier or broker, and confirm the item description matches the product.

Is an NMFC number the same as freight class?

No. The NMFC item number identifies the commodity, and the freight class is the rating that item assigns. For a density-based item the class depends on the measured density of each shipment, so the same item number can ship at several classes.

Can I look up an NMFC code for free?

Not in full. ClassIT+ has no free version and costs from $371 per seat per year for a non-member, or $321 for an NMFTA member. The free tool NMFTA offered in 2025 only checked whether an item was changing and has since closed. A past bill of lading, the supplier, or your carrier can usually give you an item to check.

How do I determine the freight class of a shipment?

Find the NMFC item for the commodity. If the item names a class, that is the class. If it is density-based, divide the shipment’s weight in pounds by its volume in cubic feet, measured as tendered with the pallet, and read the result against the item’s density bands.

How does shipment density affect freight class?

For density-based items, the higher the density the lower the class. On the standard scale, a pallet at 7.5 pounds per cubic foot is class 125, at 9.0 it is class 100, and from 4 to less than 6 it is class 175, assuming the item uses the standard scale. A few inches of pallet height can move a shipment across a band.

What happens if I use the wrong NMFC code?

The carrier can inspect the freight and rebill it at the correct item and class. At FedEx Freight that comes with a $40 validation fee, and a density-based item shipped without a density can be rated at the item’s lowest density until you prove otherwise. An overstated class can persist across shipments if nobody checks it, so do not rely on the carrier to identify overpayments.

Why did my carrier reclassify my freight?

Usually because the measured dimensions or weight gave a lower density than the bill of lading, or because the carrier read the commodity as a different NMFC item. Dimensions taken from the product rather than the finished pallet, estimated weights and item numbers changed by the 2025 updates are the common causes.

How can I dispute a freight reclassification charge?

Ask the carrier for its inspection and weight record, compare it with your own measurements, scale ticket and photographs, and file the dispute in writing with that evidence. Federal law gives you 180 days from receiving a bill, original or corrected, to contest it, and the carrier’s rules tariff may set its own channel and limit, as FedEx Freight’s item 438 does.

Sources

• National Motor Freight Traffic Association: ClassIT+ pricing, including the answer that no free version is available, as published on October 16, 2026; NMFTA Launches Free NMFC Item Lookup Tool to Help Industry Navigate 2025 Classification Updates, April 22, 2025; Docket 2026-1, issued February 6, 2026, for the May 23, 2026 effective date; and the National Motor Freight Classification density scale effective July 19, 2025. Our coverage of the 2025 change was published the day it took effect.
• FedEx Freight, 100-Y Rules Tariff, effective January 5, 2026 with revisions to October 1, 2026: item 170 (density-rated shipments without a density), item 360 (changes to the bill of lading), item 438 (overcharges and disputed invoices), item 640 (mixed shipments), items 980 and 981 (weighing, inspection and the validation fee).
• United States Code: 49 U.S.C. § 13710, billing disputes, and 49 U.S.C. § 14705, limitation on actions to recover overcharges.
• The example pallets are illustrative and can be checked in our freight class calculator.