Detention Pay and TONU: How to Actually Collect

Detention and TONU are money you already earned. The trouble is that most of it never gets paid, because nobody asks for it the right way, with the right proof, at the right time. Here's how to get it on paper before the load, prove it at the dock, and collect it after.

Detention, layover and TONU, defined

All three are accessorials: pay on top of the linehaul, along with reimbursements like lumper fees. The exact rates aren't set by law. They're whatever the broker agrees to on the rate confirmation, which is why that document matters so much.

How big the problem is

The American Transportation Research Institute's 2024 detention study found drivers were detained, meaning held more than 2 hours, at 39.3% of stops in 2023. It was worse for reefer drivers (56.2% of stops) and for carriers working the spot market (42.5%). Most fleets bill for detention, but the study found fewer than half of those invoices get paid.

For an owner-operator, that's real money. Two unpaid detention claims a month can be worth more than a dispatcher's fee on a load. And the time costs you twice: hours at a dock are hours you can't drive toward the next load.

Before you book: get it on the rate con

Most detention fights are lost before the truck moves. (New to rate cons? Here's a rate confirmation, line by line.) If the rate confirmation doesn't say what detention pays, the broker can argue about it later. Before you accept a load, make sure the rate con shows:

• The free time, and when it starts (usually your appointment time, not when you arrive early)
• The hourly detention rate after free time, and any daily cap
• The layover rate, if the load could run overnight
• The TONU amount if the load is cancelled after dispatch
• What proof the broker wants, and how soon after delivery they need the claim

If something you agreed on the phone isn't on the rate con, ask for a revised one before pickup. "We'll take care of you" isn't a term.

At the dock: document everything

Detention is paid on proof. The broker has to bill the shipper for it, and the shipper will only pay for time it can see. Build the record as it happens:

1. Arrive on time, and prove it. Check in at your appointment time or earlier. Detention usually doesn't count if you were late.
2. Get your check-in time in writing. A gate pass, a check-in slip or a timestamped photo of the guard shack all work. Your ELD location and timestamps back it up.
3. Notify the broker when free time is about to run out. Most brokers want notice before detention starts, not after. Send it by email or text so there's a record, and include the load number.
4. Get out times on the bill of lading. Ask the shipper or receiver to write in and out times on the BOL and sign it. If they won't, note that and take a photo of the dock clock or your ELD screen.
5. Keep updating. Send the broker a short update every hour or two, so nobody can say they didn't know.

After the load: file the claim

Send the detention claim with your invoice, not weeks later. Many brokers have a cutoff, and the shipper's billing window is even shorter. Your claim should include:

• The load number and rate confirmation
• Appointment time, check-in time and check-out time
• The signed BOL with in and out times, and any photos or gate passes
• Copies of your messages notifying the broker
• The math: hours past free time, times the agreed rate, up to any cap

Our detention pay calculator works out the billable hours and the amount from your times and the rate con's terms. Keep it simple and factual. A clean claim with times and signatures gets paid far more often than an angry email with no paperwork.

Collecting TONU

TONU is simpler than detention, but it still needs proof that your truck was committed to the load. When a load is cancelled after dispatch:

• Get the cancellation in writing, with the time it happened
• Note where the truck was and how many miles you'd already driven toward pickup
• Ask the broker to confirm the TONU amount from the rate con, then invoice it like any other load

If you were already at the shipper when the load fell through, say so. It strengthens the claim, and some brokers will offer a replacement load instead. Take the replacement only if it actually works for your truck.

When the broker says no

Sometimes the broker says the shipper refused to pay. Ask for that in writing, and ask whether they billed the shipper with your documents. If the detention was on the rate con, the broker agreed to it, not the shipper. Point to the rate con, resend the proof, and set a date for an answer.

If a broker keeps refusing valid claims, note it. Days to pay and how a broker treats accessorials belong on your list of things to check before you haul for them again.

How we handle it for our carriers

Recovering detention, layover and TONU from the broker is part of what our dispatchers do on every load. We get the terms on the rate con before you accept, track your appointment times, notify the broker before free time runs out, and file the claim with your paperwork.

Detention, layover and TONU count toward your weekly gross, so our flat 6% or 8% fee applies to them like the rest of the load. Lumper reimbursements don't count. New to the terms? Our trucking glossary defines them in plain English.