Guide
Detention pay: document it at the dock, bill it with the invoice
Detention is pay for waiting past free time. Most of it is lost in the first hour of the wait, when nobody writes down a time. This guide covers what to record, where each timestamp comes from and how to put the charge on the invoice.
In short
- Read the rate con first. It sets free time, the hourly rate, any cap and any notice rule.
- You need two timed records per stop: when the wait started and when the truck left.
- Send notice when free time runs out, then bill detention on the same invoice as the freight.
- No terms in the rate con usually means no claim. Ask your broker, but expect nothing.
Four times, four sources
A detention claim is a short timeline. Each line on it needs a record that someone other than your driver created, or at least a record the other side cannot easily dispute.
The picture shows the card to fill in at every stop. If one row is empty, you have a weak spot in the claim. Fix it before the driver pulls out, because it is hard to rebuild a gate time a month later.
For the full list of reasons claims get denied, see detention evidence brokers accept.
Step by step
Read the detention clause before dispatch
Find the free hours, when the clock starts, the hourly rate, any cap, any rounding rule and any notice or billing deadline. Write the free time and the rate in the load notes so the driver sees them.
Have the driver message the times as they happen
One text to dispatch on arrival and one on departure. The message carries its own timestamp and costs the driver ten seconds.
Get a third-party time
Ask the guard or clerk to write the in time on the BOL or a check-in slip. A photo of that paper is enough. Do the same for the out time before the driver leaves the lot.
Send notice when free time is gone
If the rate con asks for it, tell the broker the truck is still waiting and give the arrival time. Use the channel the rate con names, and save the message.
Bill it on the invoice
Put detention on its own invoice line with hours, rate and amount. Attach the rate con page, the BOL with times and the notice. One packet, not three emails.
Follow up on a date
Put a reminder in the calendar for the day the invoice is due. If detention is the only unpaid line, say so and ask for the reason in writing.
Which record proves which time
| Time | Stronger record | Weaker record |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Gate or guard log, check-in slip, ELD location stamp | Driver's memory, a text sent hours later |
| Start of the wait | Appointment time on the rate con or a written change | A verbal appointment |
| Departure | Out time written on the signed BOL, receiver's release | A signature with no time |
| Notice | Message to the contact named in the rate con, with its timestamp | A phone call nobody logged |
Which records a given broker accepts varies. Ask once, then keep what they name.
Worked example EXAMPLE VALUES
All numbers are invented. Terms from a made-up rate con with Broker A: the clock starts at the appointment, 2 free hours, $60 an hour, billed in half-hour steps.
- Appointment: 09:00. Arrived: 08:30. Checked in at the guard shack: 08:45.
- Free time ends: 09:00 + 2 h = 11:00.
- Out time on the BOL: 14:30.
- Time past free time: 11:00 to 14:30 = 3.5 hours.
- Detention: 3.5 h x $60 = $210.
The early arrival at 08:30 adds nothing under these terms. A claim for 6 hours (08:30 to 14:30) would be wrong and would hand the broker a reason to deny the whole line. Check your own case in the detention calculator.
Message to send with the invoice
Keep it factual. State times you can prove, do not blame the receiver and do not threaten. If a time is missing, say so and bill only what you can support.
Do not double-bill the same hours
Detention, layover and TONU can cover overlapping time. If the broker pays layover for a night, detention for those same hours will bounce. Check the layover calculator and your terms, then bill each hour once.
Questions
How soon should I bill detention?
With the freight invoice. Your rate con may set a deadline measured from delivery, so check it. Late detention lines are easy to deny and easy to forget.
What if the driver has no written out time?
Use the strongest supporting records you have, such as an ELD location stamp and the driver's message, and say plainly which record each time comes from. The claim is weaker, and the broker can still say no.
Does early arrival count?
Under many terms the clock starts at the appointment, not at arrival. Some terms differ, so read yours. The detention calculator lets you set the start point.
Can I bill detention if the rate con is silent?
That depends on your agreement with the broker, and we are not lawyers. You can ask for it. Be ready for a no, and add the clause to your terms for next time.
The broker paid half. What now?
Record the amount, the reason given and the date. Ask which term they applied. The reason tells you how that broker reads its own rate con.
Related: detention evidence, accessorial recovery, detention calculator, layover pay, TONU, detention vs layover vs TONU vs lumper, what a waiting hour costs by state.
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