Guide
Detention evidence: what actually gets paid
Detention is pay for waiting past free time. Brokers deny it for the same few reasons again and again, and most of them come down to a missing document. Here is the proof, in the order a broker's accounts payable team looks for it.
One stop, drawn out
Most detention disputes are an argument about two times: when the clock started and when it stopped. The picture shows both on one line.
Early arrival starts nothing under these invented terms. Free time runs from the appointment. Only the stretch after it is billable, and each end of it needs a record: a gate time, a signed in and out, or an ELD stamp.
Run your own numbers in the detention calculator.
Five things the claim must show
The terms
The rate confirmation says whether detention applies, how many free hours, the hourly rate, any cap and any notice rule. No terms, no claim. Check revisions as well as the original.
The appointment
The appointment time, and the time you actually arrived. Many terms start the clock at the later of the two. Arriving early often starts nothing.
Arrival proof
A check-in time from the gate or guard, a time on the receiver's sheet or an ELD record of arrival at the location. Your own message sent on arrival counts as supporting evidence.
Departure proof
The out time on the signed BOL or the receiver's release. The out time is the one drivers most often forget to get.
Notice
If the terms ask you to tell the broker when the wait passes free time, the time you did so. Keep the message.
Why claims get denied
- No written times. The BOL has a date and a signature only.
- Arrived outside the appointment. Late arrivals usually reset the clock.
- No notice. The rate con required it and nobody sent it.
- Billed too late. The terms had a deadline measured from delivery.
- Not in the rate con. A verbal promise of detention does not survive a signed rate confirmation that says nothing.
- Overlap. Detention and layover claimed for the same hours.
Work it out first
billable hours = max(0, hours on site - free hours) amount = billable hours x agreed hourly rate
Use the detention calculator with the exact terms, including any rounding increment or cap. Free time applies at each stop separately.
Waiting also eats the driver's day. Under federal hours-of-service rules the 14-hour window keeps running while the truck waits, so a long dock delay can cost a second day. That cost is real, but it is only recoverable if your terms say so, for example as layover.
A plain message to send with the invoice
Keep it factual. Do not threaten, do not argue about the receiver, and never claim times you cannot support.
Habits that win claims
- Ask the driver to message arrival and departure times to the dispatcher as they happen.
- Photograph the BOL with times before leaving.
- Send the notice as soon as free time is used up.
- Put detention on the invoice the day you invoice, not later.
- Save the broker's answer, including a denial and its reason.
Questions
Is an ELD record enough?
It can support arrival and departure at a location, and some brokers accept it. It is stronger together with a signed BOL time or a check-in sheet. Ask what the broker needs, then keep that.
What if the broker pays part of it?
Record the part that was paid and the reason given. A partial payment with a stated reason tells you how that broker reads its own terms.
Is detention owed even if the rate con is silent?
That depends on your agreement with the broker. We are not lawyers. If it is silent, you can ask, but there may be nothing you are owed.
See also: accessorial recovery, layover calculator.
Related: detention pay guide.
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