Detention pay calculator: billable hours from your in and out times

How it's calculated

• Clock start = the later of your appointment and your check-in, unless your rate con uses arrival or appointment only.
• Time on the clock = check-out − clock start.
• Billable time = time on the clock − free time, rounded down to the step your rate con uses.
• Detention owed = billable hours × hourly rate, up to the cap if there is one.

Times are read as clock times at the facility, so a load that runs past midnight or across a daylight-saving change still adds up correctly. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

A worked example

EXAMPLE: your appointment is 08:00. You check in at 07:40 and leave at 13:45. The rate con gives 2 hours free, then $50 an hour, billed in 15-minute steps.

The invoice line the calculator writes for this stop:

Detention: checked in 2026-10-14 07:40, out 2026-10-14 13:45 (appointment 2026-10-14 08:00). 5.75 hrs on the clock, 2 hrs free, 3.75 billable hrs x $50.00/hr = $187.50.

Change one thing and the answer moves. With a $150 cap, you'd bill $150.00. Check in at 08:30 instead, half an hour late, and the clock starts at arrival: 5h 15m on the clock, $162.50 owed, if your rate con still pays detention for a late truck at all.

Overnight stops

Night appointments are where hand math goes wrong. EXAMPLE: appointment 22:00, check-in 21:30, out at 03:10 the next morning. That's 5h 10m on the clock and 3h 00m billable after 2 hours free, so $150.00 at $50 an hour. If the wait runs into a second day, check whether your rate con switches from detention to a layover rate.

Reading the result

Billable hours

This is the number the broker will check against your paperwork. If your BOL shows different times, the BOL wins, so get the times written down at the window before you leave.

Late arrival warning

When you check in after your appointment, the calculator says so. Some rate cons still pay detention from arrival; others don't pay it at all for a late truck. Read the clause before you bill so the claim isn't rejected on a technicality.

Caps and rounding

A cap limits what you can collect no matter how long you sit, and rounding down to the hour can cost most of an hour each stop. Both are negotiable before you sign the rate con, which is when to raise them.

Detention pay in trucking: getting it paid

Detention charges in trucking get paid when the paperwork is clean and the broker heard from you on time:

1. Before you sign: make sure the rate con states free time, hourly rate, cap and what proof they need.
2. On arrival: message the broker your check-in time, even if you're early.
3. When free time ends: tell the broker detention has started. Many brokers require this notice.
4. At departure: get in and out times on the BOL, signed.
5. On the invoice: add the detention line with the times, and attach the signed BOL.

Price detention alongside layover, TONU and extra stops with the accessorial charges calculator, and put it all on one bill with the trucking invoice generator. What to look for in the detention clause itself is in our guide to reviewing a rate confirmation.

Detention, layover and TONU are different charges

Each needs its own line on the rate con. If one is missing, ask for it before you sign, not when it happens.

Detention terms worth negotiating

• Free time. Less free time means the clock starts sooner on a slow dock.
• The cap. A low cap stops paying long before a bad wait ends. Ask for no cap, or a higher one.
• Rounding. Billing by the quarter hour instead of the full hour keeps the minutes you actually waited.
• Notice rules. If the broker needs a message when free time ends, agree on how: text, email or the app.
• Proof. Know in advance whether signed BOL times are enough or they want ELD data too.

What detention is, and isn't

Detention pay for truck drivers and carriers is compensation for time a shipper or receiver holds the truck beyond the free time agreed on the rate con. It's a term of your agreement with the broker, not a federal requirement, so the rate con decides whether and how much you're paid. That's also why it's worth negotiating before the load, not after the wait.

On our desk, detention terms get asked for in writing before a load reaches you, and we handle the messages to the broker while you wait at the dock. See how we work, browse all tools, or apply.