# Truck detention: how to measure it, bill it and pay drivers

> How detention time is measured (ELD, geofence and dock timestamps against the appointment), free time, billing without disputes and the driver's share.

URL: https://roadmark.ai/blog/truck-detention-billing
Language: en
Last updated: 2026-09-08

**TL;DR:** Detention is what a shipper or receiver pays when a truck is held at the dock past its free time, most often two hours. Bill it from timestamps the customer can't argue with (the confirmed appointment, then arrival and departure from signed in/out times or a geofence, with the ELD as backup) under the clock rule on the rate confirmation, and pay the driver's share on the same load's settlement.

Detention is the charge for keeping a truck at a shipper's or receiver's dock past its free time. There's no federal rule for it in the U.S.: the free time, the hourly rate and when the clock starts are whatever the rate confirmation, contract or tariff says. Two hours free is the common term, and the [DOT Inspector General's 2018 report](https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/FMCSA%20Driver%20Detention%20Final%20Report.pdf) used time over two hours at a facility as its measure of detention.

The money is real. That report associated detention with $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion a year in lost earnings for for-hire truckload drivers, and that a 15-minute increase in average dwell time raises the expected crash rate by 6.2%. FMCSA has a follow-up [detention study](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/research-and-analysis/research/impact-driver-detention-times-safety-and-operations-phase-ii) collecting data from carriers and drivers. Amounts in this article are in US dollars unless marked CA$.

## When does the detention clock start?

The contract decides, and the wording matters more than the rate. The common versions:

| Clock rule                                | Starts at                                  | What it protects against                   |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| From arrival                              | Check-in, whenever the truck arrives       | Simple, but early arrivals inflate it      |
| From the later of arrival and appointment | The appointment if early, arrival if late  | Early trucks don't bill waiting they chose |
| From the appointment, void if late        | The appointment, only if on time           | Late trucks losing the facility's slot     |
| Whole hours only                          | Any of the above, rounded down to the hour | Small overruns (a favourite of shippers)   |

Two details decide most arguments. First, if the facility moves the appointment, record who moved it and when: the clock normally follows the confirmed time, not the original one. Second, for drop trailers the charge is usually trailer detention, per day after free days, not driver detention per hour.

## ELD timestamps or appointment times: which proves detention?

The appointment says when the clock could start. The timestamps say when the truck actually arrived and left. Each source has limits:

| Source                                   | What it shows                                       | Weakness in a dispute                                      |
| ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Signed in/out times on the BOL or POD    | Arrival and release, written at the dock            | Only as good as the person filling it in                   |
| Facility gate or check-in log            | The facility's own record of arrival                | You may have to ask for it                                 |
| Geofence from telematics or a driver app | Entering and leaving the site, to the minute        | Shows the property, not the door                           |
| ELD duty-status changes                  | When the driver went on duty, not driving, and back | Location recorded only at logging events, to about ±1 mile |

The ELD limitation is in the regulation itself. The [ELD technical specification](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/appendix-A_to_subpart_B_of_part_395) puts reporting accuracy "on the order of ±1 mile" and records location only when a logging event happens, such as a duty-status change. An ELD shows the truck was near the facility and the driver was on duty; it doesn't show the truck was at door 22.

The strongest case uses two independent sources that agree: the receiver's signed in/out times and a geofence, with the ELD as backup.

## Worked example: how much detention does one late afternoon earn?

Load 48213, Mississauga ON to Joliet IL, one of the examples used across this site. I-94 construction near Kalamazoo made the truck late for its 14:00 appointment, so the carrier warned the receiver and the Joliet dock moved the appointment to 14:45 CT. The truck arrived at door 22 at 14:40 and the POD was signed at 18:00. The rate confirmation gives two hours free and $75.00 an hour after that.

| Clock rule                                | Clock starts | Time held | Billable after 2 h | At $75.00/h |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------ | --------- | ------------------ | ----------- |
| From arrival                              | 14:40        | 3 h 20 m  | 1 h 20 m           | $100.00     |
| From the later of arrival and appointment | 14:45        | 3 h 15 m  | 1 h 15 m           | $93.75      |
| Later of the two, whole hours only        | 14:45        | 3 h 15 m  | 1 h                | $75.00      |

The same afternoon is worth $75.00 to $100.00 depending on one sentence in the rate confirmation. The invoice on our [billing page](https://roadmark.ai/billing) uses the first rule: $100.00 of detention on a $4,215.00 load, for $4,315.00. Try your own terms in the [detention calculator](https://roadmark.ai/tools/detention).

## How do you bill detention without a dispute?

Most detention disputes are about proof and notice, not the rate. What works:

1. **Know the terms before the truck arrives.** Free time, rate, clock rule, increments and any notice requirement belong on the rate confirmation. Broker-carrier agreements often require the carrier to warn the broker while the truck is still waiting; miss that and the claim can be void.
2. **Warn while it's happening.** Send a message at the end of free time with the arrival time and the running total. A customer who knew at 16:40 argues less at invoice time.
3. **Record each timestamp with its source.** "Arrived 14:40 (geofence), released 18:00 (POD signed by D. Kowalski)" is hard to dispute. "3.5 hours detention" is easy.
4. **Invoice with the load, not at month end.** Put detention on the freight invoice with the POD and the timestamps attached. A separate bill weeks later looks like an afterthought, and it often gets treated as one.
5. **Brokers: pass it through as one event.** The detention you bill the shipper and the detention you pay the carrier should use the same timestamps, so the two never disagree.

## How much of the detention should reach the driver?

The driver did the waiting, so decide the share in advance and pay it on the same load's settlement. There are two common models, and neither is regulated:

- **An hourly rate** after free time, whatever the customer paid. On 48213, R. Diaz's CA$20.00 an hour for 1 h 20 m is CA$26.67 (the customer is billed $100.00 for the same time), and it's on the same week's pay as the 488 miles.
- **A percentage of what's collected.** This ties the driver's pay to the billing office's success, which drivers tend to notice.

For company drivers, the time counts even when the rate is low. The FLSA's motor carrier exemption covers overtime, not minimum wage ([DOL Fact Sheet #19](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/19-flsa-motor-carrier)), and time an employee is "engaged to wait" is generally work time ([29 CFR 785.15](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/785.15)). Several states and provinces add rules for piece-rate drivers, so check with employment counsel for yours.

For leased owner-operators, the lease has to state compensation clearly ([49 CFR 376.12](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/376.12)), and that includes detention: say whether they get all of it, a share, or an hourly rate, and whether it depends on the customer paying.

Capturing arrival and release in the [driver app](https://roadmark.ai/driver-app) is what makes the driver's share and the customer's invoice come from the same minutes.

## FAQ

### How much free time is standard before detention starts?

Two hours is the common figure in shipping contracts; the U.S. DOT Office of Inspector General used time over two hours at a facility as its proxy for detention. No federal rule sets it, so the free time that applies is the one in your rate confirmation, contract or tariff.

### Is there a law that requires shippers to pay detention?

No federal law requires it in the U.S. Detention is a contract term: it's owed because the rate confirmation, the shipper contract or the carrier's rules tariff says so, and only on the terms written there.

### Can I bill detention from ELD data alone?

You can use it, but it's the weakest proof on its own. An ELD records location only at logging events, with accuracy on the order of one mile, so it shows the truck was nearby, not that it was at the door. Pair it with signed in/out times or a geofence.

### Do company drivers have to be paid for detention time?

How much is company policy, but the time isn't free. The FLSA's motor carrier exemption is from overtime, not minimum wage, and waiting time the employer controls generally counts as hours worked. State and provincial rules add to that, so check with employment counsel.

### What if the truck arrives late for the appointment?

Many contracts void detention on a late arrival or start the clock only when the facility is ready. If the facility moved the appointment, the clock usually runs from the new, confirmed time, so record who moved it and when.

## Related pages

- [Detention calculator](https://roadmark.ai/tools/detention): What a truck's time at the dock past its free time comes to, on the invoice and on the driver's pay.
- [Billing and settlements](https://roadmark.ai/billing): Invoices, driver pay and carrier pay
- [Driver app](https://roadmark.ai/driver-app): Stops, documents and pay on the phone
- [Samsara integration: hours of service and ETAs](https://roadmark.ai/integrations/samsara): Samsara feeds Roadmark hours of service, location and engine data every few minutes, so tracking ETAs, dispatch planning and detention all use current data.
- [Motive integration: hours of service and DVIR](https://roadmark.ai/integrations/motive): Motive feeds Roadmark hours of service, location, inspections and diagnostics, so tracking, dispatch planning and detention billing use current ELD data.

Companies, people and shipment figures in product examples are fictional. They illustrate workflows and are not customer testimonials or measured results.