Rate confirmation in trucking: what to check before you sign

What a rate confirmation is

A rate confirmation is the document that turns a phone call into a deal. After a broker and a carrier agree on a load, the broker sends a rate con listing what was agreed: who's hauling, what, from where to where, when, and for how much. The carrier signs and returns it, and the load is booked. It usually sits on top of a broker-carrier agreement signed when the carrier was first set up, which covers the general terms for every load.

In practice, the rate con is the document that decides what you get paid. If detention, stop pay or a tarp payment isn't on it, getting paid for them later is much harder. If the rate on it is lower than what you agreed, the lower number is the one on paper. That's why reading it carefully, every time, is one of the most valuable habits in trucking.

Every field on a rate con, explained

Formats differ from broker to broker, but most rate confirmations carry the same information. Here's what each part means and what to look for.

A checklist before you sign

• +The rate matches. Same total, same basis. If you agreed $1,500 all-in, it shouldn't say $1,500 plus fuel or $1,400 plus $100 fuel unless you agreed that.
• +The accessorials are written. Stop pay, detention free time and hourly rate, layover, TONU and tarp pay as agreed.
• +The times work. Pickup and delivery appointments you can legally make. The truck transit time calculator checks the run against hours of service.
• +The load is what you were told. Weight, commodity, equipment and stops match the call.
• +The broker is the one you checked. Name, MC number, phone and email match the registration on FMCSA's public records.
• +The fine print is acceptable. Look for deductions for late check calls, tracking requirements, fines and restrictions on re-brokering or co-brokering.
• +Payment is clear. Days to pay, quick pay terms and fees, and exactly what paperwork the invoice needs.

If anything doesn't match, don't sign and hope. Call or email the broker, point to the line, and ask for a corrected rate con. Brokers send revised rate cons all the time. A short delay now is better than a dispute after delivery.

Red flags on a rate confirmation

• +The broker name, MC number or contact details don't match what you looked up.
• +The email came from a free email domain, or a domain that's slightly different from the broker's real one.
• +The rate is far above the lane, or different from what you agreed.
• +Pickup details change after you sign, especially to a new location or a different shipper name.
• +You're asked to pay anything up front, or to send money for a load.
• +The rate con names a different broker from the one who called you, which can be a sign of double brokering.

If something feels off, call the broker back on the phone number listed in their FMCSA registration, not the one on the email. Our guide to load board fraud and fake load scams covers the patterns in detail.

Rate confirmation vs bill of lading

The two are easy to mix up. The rate confirmation is between the broker and the carrier, and it's about price and terms. The bill of lading is between the shipper and the carrier, and it's about the freight: what was loaded, how much, and in what condition. The driver signs the bill of lading at pickup, and the receiver signs it at delivery.

To get paid, you usually need both: the signed rate confirmation to show what was agreed, and the signed bill of lading to show the load was delivered. Keep in and out times on the bill of lading at each stop, because they're your proof for detention. Our guide to shipper load and count explains one common bill of lading notation.

Rate confirmation templates

If you're a broker, or a carrier that books freight directly with shippers, you may need your own rate confirmation template. A good one covers every field in the table above, names both parties with their MC and DOT numbers, states the rate basis plainly, lists accessorial terms with numbers, and refers to the broker-carrier or shipper-carrier agreement that governs it. Keep the language plain; a rate con that's hard to read leads to disputes.

For direct shipper freight, the rate confirmation usually sits under a longer shipper-carrier agreement. Our shipper-carrier agreement template guide covers what that agreement should include. Have a lawyer review any template before you rely on it.

Common rate con disputes, and how to avoid them

Most disputes over rate cons come from a handful of situations. Each one is easier to prevent than to fix after delivery.

• +Detention denied. The rate con didn't state free time and an hourly rate, or the driver didn't record in and out times. Fix: get detention terms written, and keep times on the bill of lading.
• +Short pay for a late delivery. The rate con allowed a deduction for missing an appointment. Fix: read the fines section, and only accept appointments you can make.
• +Added stop, no stop pay. A stop was added by phone after booking. Fix: ask for a revised rate con before driving to the extra stop.
• +Lumper not reimbursed. The receipt wasn't sent, or the rate con said lumpers were the carrier's cost. Fix: confirm lumper handling before the load, and send the receipt with the invoice.
• +Fuel dispute. One side thought the rate was all-in, the other thought fuel was extra. Fix: make sure the rate con states the basis plainly.

Rate confirmations on dispatched loads

When a dispatcher books loads for a carrier, the rate confirmation should still go to the carrier, because the carrier is the party agreeing to haul the load and the one the broker pays. The dispatcher may help arrange it, but the carrier reads it, signs it and keeps it. A dispatcher who signs rate cons in a carrier's name without the carrier seeing them, or who has the broker pay the dispatcher instead of the carrier, is a reason to ask hard questions.

On our desk, every load comes to the carrier to approve, and the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to the carrier. You can say no to any load, and freight money goes from the broker to you or your factoring company.

Keep a rate con file

Save every signed rate con with its load number, alongside the bill of lading and any revised versions. Name the files the same way each time, by date and load number, so you can find them in seconds when a broker short-pays or a factoring company asks a question months later. A simple folder per month is enough.

What it means for the money

The rate con is also the basis of your invoice. Everything you bill, from linehaul to detention, should trace back to a line on it. When a broker short-pays, the rate con is what you point to. When a factoring company buys your invoice, it checks the rate con against the bill of lading. Clean, matching paperwork gets paid faster.

If you want to check what a load's accessorials add up to before signing, the accessorial charges calculator turns the terms into invoice lines. For context on whether the rate itself is fair for the lane, see full truckload rates and truckload spot rates.