A rate confirmation is the agreement between you and the carrier for one specific load. It sets out who is hauling what, where, when and for how much. Here is what a solid one includes.
The parties
- Your legal name, MC number and a contact for this load.
- The carrier’s legal name, MC and USDOT numbers, and dispatcher.
- A load or reference number that appears on the invoice too.
The load
- Pickup and delivery addresses, dates and appointment times.
- Commodity, weight, piece count and any value limit.
- Equipment type and size, and temperature if it’s a reefer load.
- Pickup and delivery reference numbers.
The money
- Line haul and fuel surcharge, shown separately, and the total.
- Agreed accessorials: detention after how many free hours and at what rate, plus layover, lumper and extra stops.
- How extra charges must be approved, and by whom, before they count.
The terms
- No re-brokering. State that the carrier may not re-broker, co-broker or double-broker the load.
- Payment. Your terms, and what you need before paying: usually the signed proof of delivery, the bill of lading and the carrier’s invoice.
- Damage and claims. What the driver must do if freight arrives damaged or short.
- Signature and date. A signed copy, returned before pickup, ends most arguments before they start.
Rate con terms interact with your broker-carrier agreement. Have a transportation attorney review your standard wording once, then use it every time.
Customer confirmations
You may send the shipper a matching confirmation with their rate. Never mix the two up: the carrier shouldn’t see the shipper’s rate, or the shipper the carrier’s.
Stop retyping it
Every field above already exists somewhere once the load is booked. Our free generator makes a clean PDF with no account. In Juno, the rate con is built from the load itself.
Mistakes that cause disputes
- "All-in" with no definition. Say whether the rate includes fuel, lumpers and detention.
- No appointment times. Without them, nobody can show the truck was late.
- Detention terms that only live on the phone. Put free time and the hourly rate on the page. Our detention calculator works from those two numbers.
- A generic carrier name. Use the legal name that matches the MC number. See how to vet a carrier.
- Sending it after pickup. Get it signed before the truck is loaded.
A rate con is only one of the documents on a load. See bill of lading vs proof of delivery vs rate con.
Common questions
Is a rate confirmation a contract?
It is generally treated as the agreement for that specific load, alongside your broker-carrier agreement. Have a transportation attorney review your standard wording.
Who signs a rate confirmation?
The carrier signs and returns it, ideally before pickup. Keep the signed copy with the load.
Can a rate con be changed after it is signed?
Yes, by agreement. Issue an updated confirmation, or get the change approved in writing, so both sides have the same record.
How long should I keep rate confirmations?
Brokers must keep a record of each transaction for three years under 49 CFR 371.3, so keep rate cons at least that long.