What Is an AWB Number? Prefixes, Check Digits and House AWBs

2026-10-06 · HS Code Atlas

AWB stands for air waybill. In airline cargo, the air waybill is a transport document associated with carriage between the shipper and airline. Its number is used to find the airline-level shipment record. The IATA e-AWB overview explains the document’s role in the contract of carriage.

Couriers and forwarders also use AWB terminology, so first establish which document you have. A package waybill and a forwarder’s house air waybill do not necessarily use the airline master-AWB format.

How to read an airline master AWB

Take the illustrative number 176-12345675:

• 176 is the airline prefix used for Emirates SkyCargo.
• 1234567 is the seven-digit serial.
• 5 is the check digit.

There are 11 digits in total; the dash is a display separator. Keep leading zeros, especially for prefixes such as 020. Removing them changes the identifier.

Common prefixes recognised by the universal tool include 157 for Qatar Airways Cargo, 098 for Air India Cargo, 020 for Lufthansa Cargo, and 057 or 074 for Air France KLM Cargo. The air cargo carrier directory shows the supported formats. A prefix identifies the issuing airline; it does not encode the destination, flight number or delivery date.

What the check digit checks

For the standard master-AWB serial, divide the seven-digit serial by seven and take the remainder. That remainder should match the last digit. Here, 1234567 divided by seven leaves five. IATA’s document check-digit glossary describes the modulo-seven method.

A mismatch suggests that you should recheck the transcription or document type. A match only verifies the arithmetic. It does not prove the shipment exists, has been accepted, or is travelling on a particular flight.

Master AWB versus house AWB

A master AWB identifies the airline-level shipment. A freight forwarder can issue house AWBs for individual consignments consolidated under that master shipment. The house identifier may only work in the forwarder’s system.

If an airline tracker rejects your reference, ask the forwarder: “Is this the house AWB, and what is the corresponding master AWB?” Also ask whether the master record contains other consignments. Its overall event history may not settle the delivery status of your individual house shipment.

How to use the number

Paste the master AWB into universal AWB tracking, preferably with the dash between prefix and serial. Confirm the airline and open the official portal. On portals with separate fields, enter the first three digits as the prefix and the remaining eight as the document number.

Try the dedicated Emirates SkyCargo tracking or Qatar Airways Cargo tracking page for those airlines. If you need help interpreting the journey rather than the number, read how to track air cargo.