You showed up on time, backed into the dock, and then sat for five hours while nobody loaded you. That wait is unpaid unless you know how to bill for it — and most owner-operators leave that money on the table.

Here's how detention actually works and how to collect it.

What detention in trucking really means

Detention is compensation for excessive time you spend at a shipper or receiver beyond the free window. Most brokers and shippers allow two hours of free loading/unloading time. After that, detention starts accruing — usually billed per hour.

The rate and free time aren't set by law. They're set by the load's terms. That's why reading the rate confirmation matters before you ever roll to the pickup.

Know the terms before you accept the load

Detention is a negotiation, not a guarantee. Before you commit, your rate con should spell out:

  • How much free time you get (usually 2 hours)
  • The detention rate per hour after free time
  • Any cap on total detention
  • Whether detention requires prior notice to the broker

If the rate con is silent on detention, that's a red flag. A good dispatcher pins this down up front — which matters, because when you run with a real motor carrier your dispatcher is negotiating these terms on your behalf, not leaving you to fight the broker alone. If you're weighing how a lease-on setup handles this versus going it solo, the difference in backup is the whole point.

Document everything — this is where the money is won or lost

Detention claims get denied for one reason above all others: weak documentation. Protect yourself with a clean paper trail every single time.

Log your arrival and departure

  • Check in immediately and note the exact time you arrived at the gate or dock.
  • Get it on paper. Have the shipper/receiver sign your BOL with in and out times, or use their check-in system that timestamps you.
  • Your ELD is your backup. Your logs independently prove when you arrived and when you left. That's hard for a broker to argue with.

Notify the broker while you're still sitting

Don't wait until you're empty and 200 miles down the road. Call or message your dispatcher the moment free time runs out. Many brokers require notice during the delay to honor the claim. A timestamped message creates a record.

How to bill and collect detention

Once you're loaded and gone, submit the detention claim with the trip paperwork:

  • Signed BOL showing in/out times
  • A detention invoice referencing the load number and the rate con terms
  • ELD data if the shipper refused to sign times

Then follow up. Detention often gets paid separately and later than linehaul, so track it like any other receivable. This is another place where running under an established carrier helps — billing, follow-up, and chasing slow-paying brokers is handled for you, so a claim doesn't die because you got busy hauling the next load.

Where ARI fits

At ARI you lease on and run under ARI's DOT/MC authority, so you're not the one on the phone arguing about wait time. Your dedicated dispatcher — who never juggles more than seven trucks — knows your lanes, negotiates the terms, and pushes detention claims through billing.

And because linehaul pays same-day when you deliver before noon EST and turn in paperwork — with no quick-pay fees and zero escrow held — your cash flow doesn't hinge on a slow detention check. You keep 82% of the linehaul, and the back-office work of collecting what you're owed is part of the deal.

Want a setup where your wait time doesn't just disappear? See what it takes to lease on with ARI and put a dispatcher in your corner.