Dispatch questions, answered straight

You do, every time. We search for freight that fits your truck and lanes and negotiate the rate with the broker, then bring you the offer with the rate, miles, pickup and delivery times. You say yes or no. Nothing gets booked on your truck until you agree to it. See how our process works from the first call to payday.

You do. When you accept a load, the broker sends the rate confirmation directly to you as the carrier, and you sign it. We don't sign rate cons on your behalf. That way the agreement for each load is between your company and the broker, and you can read every term, including detention and layover, before you commit to anything.

Nothing bad. We look for the next one. There's no penalty, no fee and no minimum number of loads you have to take. Saying no to a load that doesn't fit your hours, your truck or your plans is part of how this is supposed to work, and a good dispatcher should expect it. Our owner-operator page shows how we handle passes.

No. We don't do forced dispatch. A load only becomes your load when you accept it and sign the rate con the broker sends you. If we can't reach you in time and the broker gives the load to someone else, that's fine; we look for the next one. Tell us on the first call how and when you like to be reached.

We charge a percentage of each load's gross revenue, only on loads you haul. The rate depends on your situation: new authorities, box trucks and hotshots, fleets of two or more trucks, and single trucks with older authorities each have their own rate. Our pricing page lists every tier with worked examples, and the fee calculator shows your exact number.

No setup fee, no minimums and no long contract. Service is month-to-month, and you can cancel with written notice under the terms in your agreement. There are also no app or admin fees on top of the percentage. Before you sign with any dispatcher, us included, ask for every possible charge in writing and a sample invoice.

The fee is a percentage of the gross on the rate con for each load you hauled, nothing more. Some dispatch agreements use the line haul only and others add more than the rate con total, so it's worth asking any dispatcher. Ours is written in your agreement, and every invoice lists each load, its gross and the fee so you can check the math.

No. If you book a load on your own, without us finding or negotiating it, we don't take a fee on it. Plenty of carriers keep a few direct customers or a favorite broker and use us to fill the rest of the week. Just let us know about your own loads so we can plan around them.

We invoice our fee on the schedule written in your dispatch agreement, based on the loads you delivered in that period. Each invoice lists every load, its gross and the fee, so you can match it line by line to your rate cons and your weekly report. Your freight bill goes to the broker or your factoring company, not to us.

Eleven types, all treated the same: 26 ft box trucks, hotshots, dry vans, reefers, flatbeds, step decks, power only, car haulers, dump trucks, oversize and heavy haul, and hazmat and tankers. Each has its own page explaining the freight, what brokers ask for and how we plan a week. Start with the type you run from our home page.

No. 26 ft is our smallest box truck, and we hold to that. Smaller boxes compete for different freight at rates that rarely work for the way we dispatch. If you're shopping for a box truck, our box truck dispatch page explains why the 26 ft size and a liftgate open up more loads.

No. We don't dispatch cargo vans or sprinters at any size. Our work starts at the 26 ft box truck and goes up through tractor trailers and heavy haul. If you run a van today and plan to move up, our guides on box truck dispatch and new authorities cover what changes.

It depends on the truck. A 26 ft box truck rated at 26,000 lb or less can usually be driven without a CDL, and some hotshot setups stay under the line, while tractor trailers need a Class A. Our free CDL checker works out the class from your truck and trailer weight ratings, with the federal rule cited.

Yes. New authorities are a big part of what we do. Some brokers wait until an authority has some age or history, so we start with brokers known to work with new carriers and build from there. Our new authority page explains the first 90 days, including the setup steps and the mistakes that slow down first loads.

Your MC authority letter, a certificate of insurance showing the right coverage, a signed W-9 with your company name and EIN, and your notice of assignment if you factor. Have them as clean PDFs with the same legal name and numbers on each. Mismatched details are the most common reason broker setups stall in the first week.

Nobody honest can promise a date. It depends on whether your authority is active, how quickly brokers approve your carrier packet, and the market for your equipment that week. With setups done, offers can come quickly. Our guide on how fast a dispatcher can get loads explains what speeds it up and what slows it down.

Usually not while you're leased on, because the carrier you're leased to controls the freight under its authority. Many drivers come to us when they're planning to leave a lease and run their own authority. Our lease-purchase page walks through that decision, including the questions to ask before you sign or leave a lease.

We send your carrier packets to brokers, keep your insurance certificate on file with them, handle rate negotiation and check calls, and chase detention and layover claims with the documentation you send us. You keep your signed bills of lading and delivery receipts and send them in after each load, so invoices go out quickly and nothing gets lost.

Yes. Broker setups are between your company and the broker, not between the broker and us. If you leave, you keep those relationships and can keep hauling for those brokers directly. That's one of the reasons we work under your authority and never ask you to run under ours.

No. Factoring is optional. Some carriers like getting paid on their invoices quickly instead of waiting on broker payment terms; others don't need it. If you want it, we refer carriers to our factoring partner, RTS Financial, and we may be paid for that referral. Our disclosure page explains that relationship.

Yes. The calculators and checkers are free to use without signing up. What you type stays in your browser; you can share a result link if you want to. The tools are planning aids, not legal or tax advice, so confirm rules against the official text before you rely on them. Browse all of them on our tools page.

Our guides are written and edited by Evan Davidson. Every statistic, rule and record comes from a named source such as a federal agency, a regulation, a maker's own page or a museum record, with the date we checked it. Our editorial policy explains how sources are chosen and how to send a correction.