The Five Types of EDI in Trucking: 204, 990, 214, 210 and 997

The main types of EDI in trucking are five transaction codes: EDI 204 (load tender), EDI 990 (tender response), EDI 214 (shipment status), EDI 210 (freight invoice), and EDI 997 (functional acknowledgment). Together they carry a load from offer to payment, and many large shippers and brokers require carriers to run them. TransPlus runs EDI for trucking as a managed service inside its TMS.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the computer-to-computer exchange of standard business documents between trading partners: shippers, carriers, brokers, and 3PLs. Instead of a rate confirmation by email and a status update by phone, the documents move system to system in a standardized format defined by ANSI X12. Each three-digit transaction code is one document type, so your customer's system and your TMS read the same load the same way, with nothing re-keyed by a dispatcher.

The 5 Most Common EDI Transaction Codes in Trucking

Hundreds of EDI codes exist across industries. Day-to-day trucking runs on a short list, and the five below cover the full life of a load.

1. EDI 204: Motor Carrier Load Tender

The load offer. A shipper or broker sends the EDI 204 to offer you freight, with pickup and delivery locations, requested dates and times, equipment requirements, commodity details, and contacts. Everything you need to price and accept the load arrives in one structured document.

2. EDI 990: Response to a Load Tender

Your answer. The EDI 990 accepts or declines the 204, so the shipper knows quickly whether the load is covered. Shippers track how fast and how reliably carriers respond to tenders, so a clean 990 process protects your standing with the customers who send the freight.

3. EDI 214: Shipment Status Message

The tracking feed. The EDI 214 carries status updates from you to the shipper or receiver: pickup confirmed, departed origin, estimated arrival, delivered, plus delay or exception notices. A steady stream of 214s is what keeps customers from calling your dispatch desk for check calls.

4. EDI 210: Motor Carrier Freight Details and Invoice

The electronic invoice. The EDI 210 lists the services rendered and the charges: line items, accessorial fees, mileage, weight, and the total due. Because it flows straight into the customer's payables system, a clean 210 beats a PDF invoice sitting in somebody's inbox.

5. EDI 997: Functional Acknowledgment

The receipt. The EDI 997 confirms that a transaction like a 204 or 210 arrived and was readable. It does not mean the load was accepted or the invoice approved; it only confirms the document got through. That removes the "did you get it?" phone call from every exchange.

Other EDI Codes You Will See in a Routing Guide

A shipper's routing guide may name a few more X12 transaction sets. One line each:

• EDI 211, Motor Carrier Bill of Lading: the shipper's electronic BOL, sent to the carrier in place of the paper copy.
• EDI 212, Motor Carrier Delivery Trailer Manifest: the list of shipments on a trailer, sent ahead of delivery to a terminal or consignee.
• EDI 216, Motor Carrier Shipment Pickup Notification: the shipper's notice that a shipment is ready for pickup, without the full tender detail of a 204.
• EDI 820, Payment Order and Remittance Advice: the customer's notice of what it paid and which invoices the payment covers.
• EDI 824, Application Advice: the customer's report that a document was received but rejected or flagged, with the reason.

How Carriers Run EDI Without Hiring for It

Every trading partner connection has to be built, tested, and maintained, and shippers change their requirements over time. That work is why some carriers stall on EDI even when a customer requires it. TransPlus handles it as a managed EDI service for trucking: a dedicated EDI team, which does nothing but EDI, sets up your trading-partner connections and supports them after launch. The 204, 990, 214, 210, and 997 all run inside TransPlus TMS, next to dispatch and invoicing. Pricing follows your freight: a one-time setup fee, a module fee, and per-transaction fees, so after setup the cost follows the loads you actually move.

Related: How to Integrate EDI With Your TMS, Step by Step

A dedicated in-house TransPlus EDI team sets up and manages each trading-partner connection end to end, so a fleet does not need an EDI specialist on staff. If a customer is asking for EDI, or you are tired of check calls and re-keyed invoices, see how EDI compares with API connections, or get a demo and watch live EDI transactions running in TransPlus.

Frequently asked questions

What is an EDI 204?

The motor carrier load tender: the shipper or broker's offer of a load, with stops, dates, equipment, commodity and rate, delivered into your TMS as an order instead of an email. You answer it with a 990 to accept or decline, and shippers track how fast and how reliably carriers respond, so a clean 204-to-990 loop protects your standing with the customers who send the freight.

What is the difference between EDI 214 and EDI 210?

The 214 is the status message: picked up, in transit, delivered, plus delay or exception notices. The 210 is the invoice: line items, accessorials, mileage, weight and the total due, flowing straight into the customer's payables system. One keeps the customer informed while the load moves, the other gets you paid after it delivers.

Do I need all five codes?

Most shippers require the 204, 990 and 214 to tender and track freight, and the 210 to pay electronically; the 997 acknowledgment runs behind all of them and confirms each document arrived. A routing guide will tell you which sets a customer requires and in what timing, and a trading-partner setup builds only the ones that customer uses.

Who sets up EDI for a small carrier?

With TransPlus, a dedicated in-house EDI team builds and tests each trading-partner connection with your shipper and manages it after go-live, so nobody on your staff has to learn X12. EDI is an add-on module priced as a setup fee, a module fee and per-transaction fees; see EDI for trucking for how the service runs.