A rate confirmation (rate con) is the one-page agreement between a broker and a carrier for a single load. Fill in this template on the page and print it or save it as a PDF. Below the form: what a rate confirmation has to include, the clauses that cost carriers money, and what to check before you sign.
Rate confirmation template (fill in and print)
What a rate confirmation must include
A rate con is short, but every line on it is there because someone once lost money without it. Before you sign, check that these are all present and match what you agreed to on the phone:
- Broker identity. Legal name, MC number, address, the rep's direct phone and email, and an after-hours number.
- Carrier identity. Your legal name, MC and USDOT numbers, exactly as they appear on your FMCSA record.
- Load number and any customer reference. It goes on your invoice and your BOL.
- Every stop with facility name, address, date, appointment window or first-come-first-served, pickup or delivery number, and a contact.
- Freight. Commodity, weight, piece count, equipment, temperature, and whether loading is live or drop.
- Money. Linehaul, fuel surcharge and how it is calculated, each accessorial, and the total. If the rate is per mile, the mileage basis must be stated.
- Detention terms. Free time, hourly rate, any cap, and what you must do to collect it. Our guide to detention pay for truck drivers covers this in depth.
- Layover, truck-ordered-not-used, lumper handling, payment terms, required documents, and the quick-pay fee if one is offered.
- Signatures from both sides.
Rate confirmation red flags
- "Subject to the broker-carrier agreement." The master agreement you signed when you set up with the broker usually controls when the two conflict. If the agreement says detention requires written approval from the shipper, the $50 per hour on the rate con is not a promise. Read both documents.
- Detention conditions you cannot meet. "Must be requested in writing within 30 minutes of arrival" or "in and out times must be stamped on the BOL by the receiver" are written so the broker does not have to pay. Decide before you accept whether your driver will do that paperwork on every stop.
- Fine schedules and "all-in" language. Charges for late arrival, missed check calls, or a late POD can add up to more than the rate. "Rate is inclusive of all accessorials" means no detention, no lumper reimbursement, no layover.
- Long payment terms with no quick-pay. Net 45 or net 60 with no option to get paid sooner is a cash-flow problem you are agreeing to in advance. See our owner-operator cash flow tips.
- Identity mismatches. A rate con emailed from a free mail domain, a broker name that does not match the MC on the FMCSA record, or an MC number only a few months old. Double brokering and carrier identity theft start here.
What to do before you sign a rate confirmation
- Look up the broker's MC number on FMCSA's SAFER system. Confirm active authority and a BMC-84 or BMC-85 bond on file, then check payment history through your factoring company or the load board's credit report.
- Read the broker-carrier agreement, not just the rate con. Note which document controls in a conflict.
- Compare the rate, stops, dates, pickup and delivery numbers, and receiver contact against what was negotiated. Confirm the fuel surcharge basis.
- Check the appointments against your driver's available hours and the actual miles. A rate con that cannot be run legally is not a load.
- Get detention, layover, and lumper terms written on the rate con itself, including free time and the hourly rate.
- Sign, return, and attach the signed copy to the load file. It goes out with the invoice.
How TruckFlow handles rate confirmations
Forward a rate con to your account's own intake address, or upload the PDF in the app, and TruckFlow.ai reads it into a load record: pickup and delivery stops, dates, commodity, weight, and rate. It drafts the invoice from the rate at the same time, usually in about a minute. The new load lands in an approval queue so you can check it before it is booked, and if you connect Motive or Samsara, you get suggested drivers when you assign it. When the load delivers, the drafted invoice is ready to review and send from the app. If you broker freight to other carriers, TruckFlow.ai generates the rate con from the load record as well. See trucking dispatch software for the full flow and owner-operator trucking software for running it from a phone.
Rate confirmation FAQ
Is a rate confirmation a contract?
Yes. Once both sides sign, it is the binding agreement for that load. It usually sits under the broker-carrier agreement, which sets the general terms for every load you haul for that broker.
Can a broker change the rate after I sign?
Not without your agreement. Any change to rate, stops, or dates should come as a revised rate confirmation that you sign again. If you run a changed load on a verbal promise, you are relying on the broker's memory.
How is a rate confirmation different from a bill of lading?
The rate con is your agreement with the broker about the money. The bill of lading is the contract with the shipper for the freight and, once signed at delivery, the proof you delivered it. You need both to get paid.
What is a fair detention rate?
Two hours of free time is the usual starting point. The hourly rate is negotiable and should reflect what your truck earns per hour when it is moving; our cost per mile calculator gives you that number before the phone rings.
Tired of retyping rate cons into a spreadsheet? Start a free 14-day TruckFlow trial, no credit card required. The rate con becomes the load, the load becomes the invoice, and you stop chasing paperwork. Plans start at $99/mo; see pricing. More free tools: IFTA calculator.