Steplane › Guides › Detention time calculator
Updated 19 October 2026 · Written by Paul, founder of Steplane, a logistics process specialist with over 13 years in logistics, including at some of the biggest freight forwarders in the world.
In short: Billable detention or waiting time is the time on site minus the agreed free time, rounded up to your billing increment, multiplied by your hourly rate. In the US, 2 hours on site is the usual threshold. In the EU and UK, the contract alone decides. Bill only with timestamps as proof and terms already in your quote.
Example: the truck arrives at 08:00 and leaves at 11:30. That is 3 h 30 min on site. With 2 hours free, 1 h 30 min is billable. At €45 per hour that is €67.50.
Use the calculator below with your own times and rate. It writes the invoice line for you.
Enter the times from the delivery document or the driver's log. The result updates as you type.
The calculator follows the terms you enter. Your contract or quote decides the free time, the rate and the rounding. If the truck arrived after its appointment, many contracts pay no waiting time for that stop: check your terms before you bill.
There is no federal rule that sets free time or a detention rate. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says there is no standard definition of detention time, and that the industry, the US government and researchers have typically used time at a facility of more than 2 hours to define it. So 2 hours is a sensible default for free time, but your broker or shipper contract can set a different number, and the contract is what counts.
In Europe the charge is usually called waiting time, and in the UK also standing time. No EU-wide rule and no UK rule sets the free time or the rate. It is whatever your quote, contract or standard conditions of carriage say. Some national laws give a fallback: in Germany, section 412 of the Commercial Code (HGB) gives the carrier a right to reasonable payment (Standgeld) for waiting beyond the loading or unloading time, when the reason is not on the carrier's side. Do not rely on a fallback. Write the terms into the quote.
| Where | Usual name | Free time | Who sets the rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| US trucking | Detention | 2 hours is the common threshold (FMCSA); contract decides | Rate confirmation or carrier agreement |
| EU road transport | Waiting time | Set by contract; no EU rule | Quote, contract or conditions of carriage |
| UK road haulage | Waiting time or standing time | Set by contract; no UK rule | Quote, contract or conditions of carriage |
We do not publish market rates, because there is no official source for them and they vary by lane, vehicle and customer. Base your rate on what an hour of the truck and driver actually costs you: monthly cost of the vehicle, driver and overhead, divided by the working hours in the month. Add your margin. Then put that rate in every quote, so the customer agreed to it before the job.
Waiting time gets disputed when nobody can show when the truck arrived and left. Keep at least two of these for every stop where you will charge:
| Proof | What it shows | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Gate in and gate out times | Arrival and departure, recorded by the site | Ask for the gate slip or a photo of the check-in screen. |
| Times written on the CMR, bill of lading or proof of delivery | Arrival, start and end of loading or unloading, departure | Have the site sign or stamp next to the times. A signed note is the strongest proof. |
| Tachograph (EU and UK) or ELD record (US) | When the vehicle stopped and moved | Export or photograph the record for that stop. |
| Time-stamped messages from the driver | Arrival, and a warning when free time is running out | Tell the customer before the free time ends. It makes the charge hard to dispute. |
| Appointment confirmation | The booked slot, if the clock starts at the appointment | Keep the booking email with the job. |
Log the waiting time in your extras log on the same day, with a note of where the proof is saved. The guide to unbilled waiting time and extras shows the full routine.
A charge the customer agreed to in advance is easy to bill. Put a short exclusions block on every quote. Example wording, with example figures you replace with your own:
Not included in this price:
Use the same increment in the quote and on the invoice. Then check every invoice against the extras log before it goes out. Free checklists: unbilled extras checklist (EU, PDF) and unbilled extras checklist (US, PDF).
A quote template with an exclusions block for waiting time, storage and extra stops, a same-day extras log in Excel, an invoice checklist and payment reminder emails. EU and US versions, editable in Word and Excel.
€49 (about $55) per kit, one-time. EU and US versions. Any 3 kits €99, all 6 kits €199. 14-day money-back guarantee.
Take the time on site, from arrival (or the appointment, if your contract says so) to departure. Subtract the free time. Round the rest up to your billing increment and multiply by the hourly rate. Example: 3 h 30 min on site, 2 h free, 1 h 30 min at €45 per hour is €67.50.
Two hours. The FMCSA notes that industry, government and researchers have typically used more than 2 hours at a facility to define detention. It is not a federal rule, so the free time in your rate confirmation or contract is what counts.
No EU-wide or UK rule sets free time or a waiting time rate. It is set by your quote, contract or conditions of carriage. Some national laws give a fallback, such as Standgeld under section 412 of the German Commercial Code, but written terms are much easier to enforce.
There is no official market rate. Work out what one hour of truck and driver costs you, add your margin, and put that rate in every quote so the customer agreed to it before the job.
Only if your quote or contract says so. Billing in 15, 30 or 60-minute steps, rounded up, is simple to check. State the step in the quote and use the same one on the invoice.
Arrival and departure times, ideally signed or stamped by the site on the delivery document, plus a gate record, tachograph or ELD record, or time-stamped messages from the driver. Save the proof with the job on the same day.
You can ask, but it is easy for the customer to dispute. Put free time, rate and rounding in every quote, so the charge is already agreed.
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