Freight Operations / Pricing
Accessorial Charge in trucking
Plain-English explanation
An accessorial charge is any billable service, delay, or cost that falls outside the basic linehaul move from origin to destination. The rate confirmation establishes which accessorials are pre-approved and what the carrier needs to do to collect them. Common accessorials in truckload and LTL trucking include: **Detention** — time beyond free time at a shipper or receiver dock, typically $25–$75/hour after 2 free hours. Requires check-in time, release time, and often written broker approval. **Layover** — an extended stop of several hours or overnight because the driver cannot complete pickup or delivery as planned. More serious than detention; usually requires broker authorization in advance. **Lumper fee** — payment to a third-party unloading service at a grocery warehouse or distribution center. Requires a receipt and broker pre-approval for reimbursement. **Driver assist** — the driver helps load or unload freight that would normally be handled entirely by the shipper or receiver staff. Requires approval; the rate varies. **Extra stops** — additional pickup or delivery points beyond the primary origin and destination. Each stop needs to be on the rate confirmation with an agreed fee. **Liftgate** — use of a powered platform to lower freight from trailer height to ground level at a location without a loading dock. Common for residential and small business deliveries. **TONU (Truck Ordered Not Used)** — the load is canceled after the truck has been dispatched, and the carrier collects a fee for the committed capacity that could not be redeployed. **Layover / hotel / meal** — overnight compensation when a driver must remain at a location beyond their available drive time. The critical feature of accessorials is that they are almost never automatic — they require documentation, notification, and in many cases pre-approval. A carrier who provides the service but fails to follow the documentation process specified in the rate confirmation often cannot collect the charge, regardless of whether the work was genuinely done.
In a load file, this language usually matters because it changes a rate, appointment, dock instruction, delivery record, or invoice packet.
Why it matters in trucking
Accessorials routinely determine whether a difficult or delayed load breaks even or loses money. A 3-hour detention wait at $50/hour is $150 — real money on a load that was borderline when it was booked. A $250 lumper fee reimbursement on a grocery delivery can flip the load from marginal to acceptable. The pattern for unsuccessful accessorial collection is consistent: the service happens, the driver notes it verbally, no documentation is collected, and the invoice is submitted without supporting proof. The broker's billing team either denies the charge or reduces it to whatever they can verify. Carriers who treat accessorials as guaranteed because "the work happened" routinely lose money they were owed.
The useful details are the ones a dispatcher or billing desk can verify later: who approved the change, when it happened, and which document shows it.
Example in real use
A flatbed driver makes a delivery to a job site that was not listed on the original rate confirmation as a liftgate stop. The freight needs to be lowered to ground level, but the driver has a liftgate. The driver calls dispatch before helping. Dispatch contacts the broker and gets written approval for a $75 liftgate charge. The driver takes a photo of the freight on the liftgate, notes the delivery on the BOL, and dispatch adds the $75 liftgate line item to the invoice with the broker's approval confirmation attached. The charge is paid with the invoice.
Where it shows up
Accessorial charges show up when a load needs extra time, handling, equipment, stops, or service beyond the basic move.
What to check first
- Which accessorial applies and what triggers it.
- Pre-approval rules in the confirmation or agreement.
- Proof such as timestamps, receipts, revised appointments, or receiver notes.
- How the charge should appear on the invoice.
Common mistakes or confusion
- Assuming an accessorial will be paid because the work was genuinely performed — brokers routinely deny or reduce accessorial charges when the documentation, approval, or notification requirement was not followed, regardless of whether the service happened.
- Not reading the accessorial section of the rate confirmation before dispatch — many rate confirmations have specific approval procedures, submission deadlines, or exclusion clauses ("no detention," "lumper receipt required within 24 hours") that control what can be collected.
- Treating fuel surcharge as an accessorial charge — FSC is a separate rate component that adjusts with fuel price indexes; it is part of the freight rate structure, not an add-on for extra service.
Related terms
Commonly confused with
Related guides
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Sources and last updated
Last updated: 2026-05-10