Skip to content
RescueLoad

    Detention pay calculator: what your time at the dock is worth

    Enter your times and the terms on your rate con. The calculator shows when the clock started, how much time is billable after free time, and the detention owed.

    hrs
    $/hr
    How partial hours are counted
    Your stopExample defaults
    1. APPOINTMENT08:00
    2. ARRIVED07:40
    3. CLOCK STARTS08:00
    4. FREE TIME ENDS10:00
    5. RELEASED12:25

    Detention owed at your terms

    $125

    4 h 25 m on the clock, 2 h 00 m free, 2 h 30 m billable at $50/hr.

    That stop is worth $125 if the terms were on the rate con and the times are documented. Our dispatchers put the terms in before you accept and file the claim for you.

    Get my detention billed

    This detention pay calculator works out billable detention from your own times and your own terms. It doesn't assume a typical rate or a standard free time, because there isn't one: both come from the rate confirmation you signed. Change any input and the result updates. Your inputs stay in this browser, and the "Copy result link" button saves them in a link you can send to a broker or keep with the load.

    How it is calculated

    The math follows how most rate cons describe detention:

    1. Start the clock. At your check-in time, or at the appointment if you arrived early and early time doesn't count.
    2. Count time on site. From the clock start to your release time on the signed paperwork. Times after midnight roll over correctly.
    3. Subtract free time. The free hours from your rate con.
    4. Round the remainder. Exactly, or up to the next 15 minutes, 30 minutes or hour, depending on your terms.
    5. Multiply. Billable hours times your hourly detention rate, rounded to the dollar.

    As a formula: detention = round(max(0, release − start − free time)) × hourly rate.

    A worked example

    Worked exampleExample

    1. 08:00Appointment at the receiver
    2. 07:40Checked in, 20 minutes early. Early time doesn't count, so the clock starts at 08:00
    3. 10:00Free time (2 hours) ends; a message goes to the broker at 09:45
    4. 12:25Released with the signed POD
    5. RESULT2 h 25 m billable, rounded up to 2 h 30 m, at $50 per hour: $125

    Those are made-up numbers. Put in your own and the result will be specific to your load.

    What the result means

    The figure is what you can claim if two things are true: the detention terms were on your rate con, and you can prove the times. It is not a promise that a broker pays. Brokers and shippers refuse claims for missing terms, missing proof or late submission. The calculator's job is to tell you what the claim is worth and make the math easy to show.

    If the result is zero, either you were out within free time or the early-arrival rule moved your start. If it's large and your rate con has no detention terms, the number is a measure of what that load cost you, and a reason to get terms in writing on the next one.

    Want a desk that does this for you on every load? See our dispatch service for owner-operators. To give your drivers and your office the same rules, start from our warehouse detention policy template (coming soon), and for the research on how widespread detention is, see truck detention statistics (coming soon).

    When detention usually isn't owed

    Detention is owed on the terms you agreed to, so a few situations commonly end a claim before it starts:

    • You arrived late. Many rate cons void detention if you missed the appointment, because the delay started with you.
    • The wait was inside free time. Two hours free means the first two hours are part of the rate.
    • The rate con didn't include detention. Without terms, a claim becomes a request.
    • No proof of times. A broker can't check a claim with no check-in record or release time.
    • The claim went in late. Some brokers set a deadline for accessorial claims after delivery.

    Knowing these before you take a load is the point. A dispatcher who asks for terms on every rate con and logs your times is closing those gaps for you.

    Using the result in a claim

    Copy the result link and paste it into your claim message, or print the page and attach it. The punch card on the right shows exactly how the number was reached: when the clock started, when free time ended, and how the remainder was rounded. A broker reviewing a claim can follow it line by line, which makes it harder to dispute than a single dollar figure with no working.

    Related calculators

    Tired of chasing detention yourself? Our dispatchers put the terms on the rate con before you accept the load and file the claims for you. Send an application, and you approve every load.

    Questions about this calculator

    How is detention pay calculated?
    Start the clock at check-in, or at the appointment if you arrived early and your rate con says early time doesn't count. Subtract the free time on the rate con. Round the rest the way the rate con says, often up to the next 15 minutes. Multiply the billable hours by the hourly detention rate. That's the amount to claim, with the time records attached.
    What are freight detention charges?
    Freight detention charges are what a shipper or receiver, usually through the broker, pays a carrier for holding the truck past the agreed free time. They're set by the rate confirmation or a shipper's tariff, often as an hourly rate after a set number of free hours. Shippers sometimes see them on their freight bill as an accessorial charge.
    How much is detention pay per hour?
    Whatever your rate confirmation says. There's no legal standard rate; brokers and carriers agree to it load by load or through a contract. That's why this calculator asks for your rate instead of assuming one. If your rate con has no detention rate at all, you have nothing agreed to bill against, which is worth fixing before the next load.
    Does detention start at my appointment or when I arrive?
    It depends on the terms. Many rate cons start free time at your appointment, so arriving early doesn't start the clock early, while arriving late may void detention. Others start at check-in. Read the clause, then set the calculator's early-arrival option to match. When in doubt, ask the broker in writing before the load.
    What proof do I need to get detention paid?
    Detention terms on the signed rate con, your check-in time from a record the broker accepts such as a gate slip or the receiver's system, your release time on the signed BOL or POD, and a message to the broker before free time ended. Photograph each before you leave. Our detention policy template covers how to write the rules down.