Accessorial Charges in Trucking: The Full List and What to Bill

The base linehaul rate is what the broker advertises. Accessorial charges are everything else — and for a lot of owner-operators, those extras go uncollected because they either don't know they're entitled to them or don't know how to document and bill them.

That's money you earned sitting on the table.

Here's the full list of common accessorials, what triggers each one, and how to make sure you actually get paid for them.

What Accessorial Charges Are

An accessorial charge is any fee outside the base rate for services that go beyond a standard pickup-and-deliver trip. They exist because not every load is a simple dock-to-dock move. Drivers get detained at loading facilities, loads require special handling, appointments fall through, and routes include extra stops. Accessorials compensate you for that extra time and cost.

The catch: brokers and shippers rarely add accessorials automatically. You have to identify them, document them, get pre-approval when required, and include them on your invoice. Skipping any step is how they get disputed.

The Full Accessorial List

Detention

The most common accessorial. If a shipper or receiver takes longer than the free time to load or unload your truck, you're owed detention pay.

Standard free time is 2 hours at the shipper and 2 hours at the receiver, though some rate confirmations specify different windows. After the free period, detention accrues on an hourly basis. What you charge varies by load and broker agreement — some rate confirmations specify a rate; others require you to negotiate before accepting the load.

What to document: The time you arrived at the facility, the time your truck was released. Timestamped gate receipts, check-in logs, or a note signed by facility staff all work. If none are available, your ELD logs showing your location and time at the facility are your backup.

Pre-approval: Always call the broker before free time expires. A call logged, followed by an email confirmation, gives you a paper trail if the detention charge is disputed.

TONU (Truck Ordered Not Used)

If you drive to a pickup location and the load is canceled after you're in route or already at the facility, you're owed a TONU fee. This covers your fuel, time, and lost opportunity.

TONU amounts are negotiated — some rate confirmations include a stated TONU amount, others don't. If yours doesn't, establish the rate before you accept the load. Without a stated amount, you're negotiating from scratch after the fact, which is a much weaker position.

Layover or Breakdown Delay

If you pick up a load and the delivery is delayed — due to the shipper, receiver, or broker — and you must wait overnight or for an extended period, a layover charge applies. This is typically a flat daily rate.

Document the reason for the delay (a broker-confirmed email works best), the dates, and that you were unable to take another load during that time.

Stop-Off Charge

Loading or unloading at additional stops beyond the primary pickup and delivery listed on the rate confirmation. If a load has 3 delivery stops but the rate confirmation only reflects a direct move, each additional stop is billable.

This is one accessorial you should catch before you accept the load. If a broker lists multiple stops, the stop-off fee should already be in the rate. If it's not, negotiate it before dispatch — it's much harder to add after.

Driver Assist / Lumper

If you're expected to assist with loading or unloading beyond what a standard carrier does, that's driver assist. If a third-party lumper crew handles the unloading, that's a lumper fee. Both are billable — driver assist as a service fee, lumper fees as a reimbursement (see our article on lumper fees for the full process).

Fuel Surcharge

Most freight rates include a fuel surcharge component, either built into the rate or added as a line item pegged to the DOE national diesel average. If it's listed separately on the rate confirmation, it may be separately invoiced. If it's baked into the linehaul rate, it's already collected.

Hazmat Fee

Hauling materials requiring a hazmat placard involves additional compliance requirements, driver certification (CDL hazmat endorsement), and liability exposure. Hazmat loads should carry a premium over the standard rate — usually negotiated upfront.

Oversize / Overweight / Permitted Load

Loads requiring state permits, pilot cars, or route surveys cost you time and money beyond a standard move. All permit costs and escort fees are pass-through expenses, and the coordination time warrants an additional fee. Confirm who pays for permits (carrier or broker) in the rate confirmation.

Tarping / Securing Fee

Flatbed loads that require tarping, chains, straps, or special securement beyond standard blocking and bracing are additional labor. A tarping fee compensates for the time and materials.

Lift Gate

If you have a lift gate truck and use it to deliver freight that can't be docked, a lift gate fee applies. Not all carriers have lift gates, so this is a premium service.

Inside Delivery

Delivering freight past the threshold — into a warehouse aisle, a retail floor, or a specific location inside a building — goes beyond the standard curb or dock delivery. Inside delivery fees apply when you're expected to position freight inside the facility.

Residential Delivery

Delivery to a residential address rather than a commercial dock. Residential locations typically don't have docks, may have access restrictions, and require more time to execute. Most brokers add this to the rate confirmation if they know it's residential — confirm at booking if the address looks like a house or apartment.

Re-consignment / Address Correction

If delivery instructions change after you've picked up the freight — a different address, a different consignee, a later appointment — that's a re-consignment. It adds mileage, changes your routing, and should be compensated.

Appointment Fee

Some shippers and receivers charge for or require scheduled delivery appointments, and scheduling them takes time. This is rare as a separately billed item, but for loads where appointment management is substantial, it's a legitimate charge.

Team Driving Premium

If a load requires team drivers to meet a delivery window that a single driver can't legally hit under HOS rules, team driving carries a rate premium over standard single-driver loads.

How to Bill Accessorials Without Getting Them Disputed

1. Confirm before the load moves. If there's any possibility of detention, extra stops, or special handling, establish the rate before dispatch. "What's your detention rate after 2 hours?" is a question to ask before you pull out, not after.

2. Get pre-approval in writing. For detention especially, a quick text or email to your broker saying "I've been here 3 hours, need to start billing detention" — and a reply acknowledging it — is your documentation. A phone call you can't prove happened isn't.

3. Document everything. Gate receipts, check-in logs, ELD location records, scale tickets, photographs of delivered freight condition, and receipts for cash expenses (like lumpers) all support accessorial claims.

4. Invoice accessorials on the same invoice as the linehaul. Don't send a separate invoice weeks later. Include all accessorials as line items on your primary invoice with supporting documentation attached.

5. Know what your rate confirmation already includes. Some brokers build a fuel surcharge or stop-off fee into the linehaul rate. Billing for something that's already in the rate is what gets carriers flagged as difficult.

What Happens When an Accessorial Gets Disputed

A broker disputing a detention claim is common. Their defense is usually: "We didn't approve it" or "We have no record of you being there that long."

That's why documentation matters. A timestamped ELD log, a gate receipt, and a text message exchange showing you notified the broker during the delay is a hard combination to argue with. A phone call and a verbal yes is not.

If the dispute goes unresolved, you can file a freight claim or send to collections — both are time-consuming. Prevention through documentation is always faster.

Truck Command's invoicing tools let you add accessorial charges as line items directly on each load invoice, with notes and documentation attached. Your dispatching records keep the timeline of each load — arrival, departure, delays — so the documentation is already there when you need to support a claim.

Expense tracking captures out-of-pocket costs like lumper receipts and permit fees as they happen, so they're ready to pass through on the next invoice.

Plans start at $20/month with a 14-day free trial — no credit card required.

Most accessorials don't get paid because they don't get billed. Know what you're owed, document it in the moment, and invoice it cleanly — it adds up.