How to actually collect detention

Detention is the most commonly earned and least commonly paid accessorial in trucking. It is lost for three reasons: no timestamps, late notice, and the wrong wording. Fix those three and most detention gets paid.

Before the load: read the detention clause

• Free time: usually two or three hours before the clock starts.
• Rate: typically $50 to $75 an hour, sometimes capped.
• Notice window: often 24 hours after delivery to claim. Miss it and the claim is dead.
• Proof: in and out times on the BOL, signed or stamped by the facility. If the clause says detention needs prior approval, get the approval in writing before the truck sits.

At the facility: the clock starts on arrival

1. 01Driver records the arrival time on arrival, not when loading starts. A photo of the gate clock or the ELD log works.
2. 02Driver tells dispatch on arrival. At the end of free time, dispatch emails the broker: driver arrived 06:05, free time ends 08:05, detention accrues at $75/h per rate confirmation.
3. 03Driver records the departure time and gets in and out times written on the BOL by the facility.

The email that gets paid

Send it inside the window. Bill exact hours, never rounded up. Attach the BOL with times, the ELD screenshot and the photos.

If they refuse

• Reply with the clause and the timestamps and ask for the specific reason.
• Escalate to the broker's carrier relations or accounts payable, in writing.
• Do not threaten and never withhold the POD. That stops all payment, including the linehaul.
• "The shipper won't pay it" is not your problem. Your contract is with the broker.

What people get wrong