Detention Pay and Bad Dispatch Info: Why You Get It in Writing, Every Time
Hours lost at a dock come out of your 14-hour clock and your paycheck. How detention pay usually works, what to document, and how to protect yourself when dispatch gets it wrong.
Wrong appointment time, six and a half hours of waiting, and detention pay that never came. In the short video above the veteran driver tells it plainly: it happens to everyone once. After that, you get it in writing, every time.
Why waiting costs you twice
- It eats your clock. Your 14-hour window keeps running at the dock. Six hours waiting can turn an 11-hour driving day into a five-hour one. (See how the 11 and 14-hour rules work.)
- It eats your pay. If you're paid by the mile, waiting earns nothing, unless detention pay kicks in.
How detention pay usually works
Policies differ by carrier and customer, but a common setup is:
- a free period, often two hours after your appointment or arrival,
- then an hourly detention rate,
- sometimes paid only if you request it with proof, within a deadline.
Ask about all three before you take a job: when it starts, what it pays and how you claim it.
What to get in writing
- The appointment time and location, from dispatch, through your ELD or messaging system. Not just a phone call.
- Any change to the appointment, pickup number or address.
- Your arrival and check-in time. Message dispatch when you arrive, and keep the gate slip if there is one.
- When you're loaded or unloaded and leave. Ask for in and out times on the bill of lading if the facility allows it.
- Photos with timestamps of the gate, the check-in window or the dock board if it shows times.
The message thread is your proof if the appointment was wrong, if detention gets disputed, or if a late load is blamed on you.
When you're about to run out of hours
Tell dispatch early and in writing. You can't legally drive past your limits to make up lost time, and federal rules prohibit carriers, shippers, receivers and brokers from coercing you to violate hours of service. Coercion can be reported to FMCSA through the National Consumer Complaint Database.
Ask about it before you're hired
Detention policy is one of the clearest signs of how a carrier treats drivers. When you're comparing offers, ask about it alongside pay and home time. Our guide on questions to ask a recruiter has the full list.
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Questions drivers ask
When does detention pay usually start?
Many carriers start detention after a free period, often two hours past your appointment or arrival time, and pay an hourly rate after that. Policies vary widely, so ask before you're hired and get it in writing.
What proof do I need for a detention claim?
Your appointment time in writing, your arrival and check-in time, and your departure time. Messages through your ELD or dispatch system, gate check-in slips, bills of lading signed with times, and timestamped photos all help.
What if waiting makes me run out of hours?
Tell dispatch as early as you can, in writing. Your 14-hour window runs while you wait. You can't legally drive past your hours to make up the time, and federal rules prohibit anyone from pressuring you to.
Sources
Written by The Truck Jobs team with help from AI, and checked against the sources above. Rules change: confirm anything that affects your license or your safety with FMCSA or your carrier. This is general information, not legal or medical advice.