A rate confirmation is the actual contract for a load, even though it rarely feels like one — it shows up fast, needs a quick signature, and everyone wants the truck moving. That speed is exactly why it's worth thirty extra seconds before you sign, since almost every payment dispute later traces back to something the rate con said (or didn't say) that nobody caught at the time.
The rate itself, and what it actually includes
Confirm the total rate matches what was verbally agreed — a surprisingly common source of disputes is a rate con that quietly differs from the phone or message conversation that preceded it. Also check whether the rate is described as all-in or subject to additional line-haul-only wording that could exclude fuel surcharge or other components you assumed were included.
Detention terms
This is the single most disputed clause on a rate con. You want three specific things spelled out, not implied: how much free time is allowed before detention starts, the detention rate itself, and whether it accrues per hour or in some other increment. If the rate con is silent on detention entirely, that silence tends to work against you later — push to get it added before you sign, not after you've already sat for four hours.
See our detention pay guide for how to actually collect once you're owed it.
Layover and TONU (truck ordered, not used)
If a delivery appointment slips to the next day, is layover pay specified? If the load gets cancelled after you're already dispatched or en route, is there a TONU fee, and how much? Both of these are common, real scenarios — not edge cases — and a rate con that's silent on either one usually means you're negotiating from a weaker position after the fact instead of before.
Accessorials and lumper fees
If the load involves a lumper (hand-unloading service) at a warehouse, confirm upfront whether that cost is reimbursed and how — some brokers require you to pay it and submit a receipt, others handle it directly. Same for any other accessorial the load might realistically involve: driver assist, inside delivery, pallet exchange. Cheaper to ask before pickup than to argue about a receipt after delivery.
Payment terms
Confirm the actual number of days until payment, and whether a quick-pay option exists (usually at a discount) if your cash flow needs it. This should match what you agreed to with that broker generally — if a specific rate con quietly extends the usual terms, that's worth catching before you sign, not when the invoice is already thirty days old.
Load and delivery details, matched exactly
Pickup and delivery addresses, appointment times or windows, weight, and commodity description should all match what you were actually told about the load. A mismatch here is often just a clerical error on the broker's side, but it's much easier to fix before a driver is en route than after they've arrived at the wrong dock or outside an appointment window.
Keep it, and keep it attached to the load
The rate con is your proof of what was agreed if a payment dispute ever comes up — keep it somewhere it won't get lost, ideally attached directly to that specific shipment's record rather than buried in an email inbox. When the agreed rate lives on the shipment itself, generating the invoice later pulls from the same number automatically, so there's no risk of a typo between what was agreed and what gets billed.