Trucking Detention Rules by State

Understanding federal detention rules

There is no single federal detention pay law. Instead, the federal framework consists of FMCSA oversight, the Carmack Amendment, and Hours of Service regulations that interact with detention practices.

The FMCSA has recognized detention as a safety issue. Drivers forced to wait at facilities for hours are losing driving time, which pushes them to drive faster or longer to make up miles — increasing accident risk. FMCSA studies have documented the connection between excessive detention and driver fatigue, but the agency has stopped short of mandating specific detention pay requirements.

The Carmack Amendment (49 USC 14706) is the primary legal tool for carriers pursuing unpaid detention claims. It establishes the right to file claims against brokers and shippers for accessorial charges that were agreed upon in the transportation contract. To use it effectively, the detention terms must be explicitly written into the rate confirmation — verbal agreements are difficult to enforce.

Hours of Service (HOS) regulations under 49 CFR Part 395 do not directly address detention pay, but they create the operational pressure. A driver detained for 4 hours at a shipper has lost 4 hours of their 14-hour driving window. That lost time cannot be recovered, and it directly reduces the carrier's revenue capacity. This is the economic argument for detention pay — it compensates carriers for lost productivity caused by shipper or receiver delays.

How to protect yourself in any state

Regardless of which state you operate in, detention pay recovery comes down to two things: what your rate confirmation says, and what you can prove.

Rate confirmation language

Every rate confirmation should include explicit detention terms before you accept the load. The critical elements are:

• Free time window — typically 2 hours at pickup and 2 hours at delivery
• Hourly detention rate — $50 to $100 per hour is standard; negotiate higher for specialized equipment
• Maximum detention cap — some rate cons cap detention at 4 or 8 hours; push back on caps below your typical exposure
• Documentation requirements — what the broker requires as proof (facility timestamps, GPS logs, signed detention sheets)
• Submission deadline — how many days after the load you have to file the claim (7 to 30 days is common)

If the rate confirmation is silent on detention, you have almost no leverage to collect. Get it in writing before dispatch.

Documentation and proof

GPS and ELD data are the strongest forms of detention evidence. They are timestamped, geofenced, and tamper-resistant — brokers cannot easily dispute them.

• ELD arrival/departure timestamps — shows exactly when the truck arrived and left the facility
• GPS geofence logs — confirms the truck was at the specific facility coordinates
• Facility check-in/check-out records — gate passes, guard logs, or kiosk receipts
• BOL timestamps — the bill of lading often has a dock time or load completion time
• Photos — facility signage, appointment boards, queue lines, anything that documents the wait

How Bastion automates detention recovery

Most detention pay goes uncollected because the claim amount ($200 to $500) does not justify the time it takes to file, follow up, and escalate. Carriers lose an estimated $1,281 per truck per year in uncollected detention — not because the claims are invalid, but because the process is too slow and manual to be worth the effort on individual loads.

Bastion changes the math by automating the entire process. Upload your rate confirmation and facility documentation. Bastion matches the detention terms, validates the claim against GPS and ELD data, files with the broker, and follows up automatically on a schedule. If the broker disputes, Bastion escalates with the supporting evidence.

Commission-only pricing means you pay nothing unless Bastion recovers money. No monthly fee, no minimum volume, no contract. The ROI is immediate — every dollar recovered is a dollar that was previously written off.