A short guide
What is a delivery note?
A delivery note travels with the goods. It lists what was sent and how many, where it went and when, so the person receiving can check it all off and sign. That signature is your proof the goods arrived, and the note is what you both check against if something is missing or damaged.
What should a delivery note show?
No rule sets out what one must carry. What makes it useful at the door is what the tool asks for:
- Your business name, and who the goods are for.
- The delivery address, when it is not your customer's own.
- A delivery note number and the date.
- Each item and how many, with what it is counted in.
- Your customer's order number and your invoice number, when there are any.
- Room for the person receiving to print their name, sign and date.
Is a delivery note an invoice?
No. It carries no prices and asks for no money, and your customer cannot use it to reclaim VAT: gov.uk names the delivery note, with the proforma and the statement, as documents VAT cannot be reclaimed on. Send the invoice as well, or make it from the same lines in the free invoice generator.
Source: gov.uk, Charge, reclaim and record VAT: keeping VAT records, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.
Do I need to keep delivery notes?
If you are VAT registered, yes. HMRC's view of business records is wide, and it names orders and delivery notes among the records VAT law asks you to keep, generally for at least 6 years.
Source: HMRC, Record keeping, VAT Notice 700/21, sections 2.3 and 2.4, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.