Detention Pay: How to Ask for It and Actually Get It

Tired of losing hours at a shipper with no pay? This post walks through when to ask for detention, how to document it, scripts to use, and a worked example so you get paid for your time.

You pull up, park, and sit. Two hours later you’re still waiting. Your HOS clock’s ticking and the dispatcher’s radio is quiet. That’s detention in the raw: paid work time that too many carriers let walk.

Detention isn't charity. It's pay for time you could've been running another load. Ask for it. Get it. Here’s how.

Know when to ask

• If you're delayed beyond the agreed free time at the shipper or receiver, that’s detention. Common free times are 30–60 minutes, but read the rate con. If the con says 2 hours free, the third hour becomes detention.
• If the yard's backed up, their forklift is parked, the appointment window passed, or the paperwork's missing, start documenting.
• If you get forced to wait because of missing paperwork, lumper delays, or dock congestion — that's detention.

If it’s your fault — paperwork you didn’t bring, missed slot because you were late — don’t even bring up detention. Own it and move on.

Document from minute one

You can't sell detention without a paper trail (or at least time-stamped photos). Do this every time you think detention might happen:

1. Take a timestamped photo of the gate/yard sign when you arrive.
2. Take a screenshot or photo of your rate con showing free time and detention terms.
3. Log arrival time and every status update in your ELD notes or a notes app. Say exactly why you're waiting.
4. If someone at the dock gives you a reason, get their name and take a quick photo of any written paperwork.

If you're running drop-and-hook and you know the yard is slow, still log it. Documentation makes the conversation factual, not emotional.

Call script that works (spoken, not read)

Use short, direct lines. Sound like you know what you're asking for.

• To your dispatcher: "I pulled in at 10:05 and still parked at 12:40. Rate con shows 60 minutes free. I'm logging detention starting at 11:06. Are we going to bill detention?"
• To the broker or shipper (if you have to): "I'm outside at [time]. I'm waiting for [reason]. Per the rate con we've got 60 free and then detention. Do you want me to start the detention clock now and bill?"

Don’t be confrontational. Be firm. Make it easy for the dispatcher to say yes.

How to present detention to your dispatcher or broker

• Lead with facts: arrival time, free time from the rate con, current time waiting.
• Offer the documentation: a photo or ELD log. Say, "I logged arrival and status in the ELD. Photo of the yard gate and my con attached."
• Ask for the billing line: "Put 'detention' on the invoice from [start time] to [end time]."

If they say they don’t pay detention, ask for alternatives: higher rate, layover, or a different slot. Sometimes they’ll give a split or a partial, especially if you make billing clean and obvious.

What to bill for (practical rules)

• Start time: when the free time expires. If free time is 60 minutes and you arrived at 10:00, detention starts at 11:01.
• Stop time: when you hit dock, when you hook/unhook, or when the paperwork clears — whatever the con specifies. If you get moved into a loading dock but aren't unloaded, log that exactly.
• Round reasonably. Don't bill for every minute. Use 15-minute increments if the broker wants sanity.
• Charge by hour. Flat per-hour detention is easier to bill than per-minute nitpicking.

Worked example (clear, hypothetical numbers)

You're running a dry van, rate con says 60 minutes free, detention $45/hour after that.

• Arrival: 09:20 (photo of yard gate)
• Free time expires: 10:21
• Actual load start (hook/unhook or dock move): 13:10

Detention time = 13:10 minus 10:21 = 2 hours 49 minutes. Round to nearest 15 minutes = 2 hours 45 minutes = 2.75 hours.

At $45/hour you bill: 2.75 × $45 =