Detention pay calculator

How the calculator works

Detention follows a simple sequence, and the calculator walks through it step by step.

1. Find the start of the clock. Detention usually counts from the later of two times: your appointment or your check-in. Arriving an hour early doesn't add an hour of detention. Arriving late moves the start to when you checked in, and it often cancels detention altogether.
2. Measure counted time. From that start until check-out. If you left after midnight, choose "next day" and the calculator adds the extra hours.
3. Subtract free time. The free time on your rate con is the loading or unloading time the shipper gets at no charge.
4. Round to the billing increment. Some agreements bill each started quarter hour, others each started hour. Enter what yours says.
5. Multiply by the rate. Billable hours x the detention rate per hour.

The card also shows your total time on site, which is useful when you're tracking which shippers cost you the most hours.

A worked example

A driver has an 8:00 AM appointment, checks in at 7:40 and leaves at 1:10 PM. The rate con gives 2 hours of free time and pays $50 an hour in detention, billed by the quarter hour.

If the same driver had checked in at 8:20, after the appointment, many brokers would refuse the claim. The calculator flags late check-ins so you read your rate con before you bill.

Making the claim stick

A detention claim is only as good as its proof. Brokers pay claims faster when everything is lined up before you leave the dock:

• Times on paper. In and out times written, signed or stamped on the bill of lading or a gate receipt. An ELD record helps, but the shipper's signature carries more weight.
• Early notice. Tell the broker when you arrive and again before your free time runs out. Many brokers won't pay detention they weren't warned about.
• Terms on the rate con. Free time, the hourly rate, any cap and how to claim should be written down before you take the load. If they're missing, ask for them in writing.
• Quick filing. Send the claim with the paperwork right after delivery. Old claims are easy to deny.

Detention is one of the protections drivers should understand. Our guide to truck drivers' rights covers others, from pay to coercion.

Why detention matters beyond the money

Waiting at a dock doesn't just cost an afternoon. It eats into the hours you're allowed to drive. Time on duty at a shipper still counts toward your daily limits, so a long wait can push your next load back by a day. Our guide to the truck driver schedule explains how those limits shape a working day.

That's why the detention rate is rarely enough on its own. Shippers who hold trucks for hours are worth tracking, and loads from them are worth pricing higher. Put the hours into the quarterly estimated tax calculator along with your other income, so detention money is counted when you set tax aside. If you're thinking about selling or upgrading your truck, the semi truck value estimator gives a ballpark range.

Letting dispatch handle it

Claiming detention takes messages at the right moments and paperwork after the fact, often while you're trying to sleep or get back on the road. Our dispatchers ask for the detention terms while the rate is still being negotiated, keep your in and out times, give the broker a heads-up before free time ends and send the claim with the paperwork. That routine is part of our dispatch process, and the rest of our free tools cover rates, fuel and hours.