Answers · updated August 2026

What records do I need to win a detention claim?

For carriers who bill detention, and for yards that get billed.

Reviewed August 2026 · third-party figures cited inline

Short answer: three timestamps with photos: gate arrival, door or spot assignment, and departure, each from a source you can name. File inside your contract window (the cargo-claim floor is nine months, 49 U.S.C. 14706) and keep customs-touching records five years (19 CFR 163.4).

The three timestamps that decide most disputes

A detention claim is a timestamp dispute; the cleaner record usually wins. It needs three moments: gate arrival, door or spot assignment, and departure. Free time typically runs two hours (US DOT OIG, ST2018019); the rate is set by your contract; rates vary by lane and agreement. On stops with detention, an FMCSA-sponsored study found drivers waited an average of 1.4 hours beyond the free window; at an example rate of $85 (use your contract rate) that bills about $119. Example scenario, not a measured average. Photos tie the times to a physical trailer; without them, the other side concedes the times and disputes the truck.

The record checklist

Record	Why	File or keep by	Source
Gate arrival time	Starts the free-time clock	Claim file	Free time ~2 hrs (US DOT OIG ST2018019)
Door / spot assignment	Facility delay vs carrier delay	Claim file	Contract
Departure time	Ends the clock	Claim file	FMCSA study: detained stops avg 1.4 h over free time
Photos, gate and door	Tie times to the unit	Claim file	Evidence practice
The claim itself	Late filing forfeits it	Contract window; 9-month cargo floor	49 U.S.C. 14706
Customs records	Audits come years later	5 years	19 CFR 163.4; to $10,000 per release, $100,000 willful (19 U.S.C. 1509)

Railroads must report dwell weekly (49 CFR Part 1250); trucking has no equivalent, so your record is the record.

Why handwritten logs lose

The weak link is transcription: 3.7% of 6,930 manual transcriptions failed to match their source (JAMIA, 2019). One wrong digit is the opening an auditor needs. The stakes: detention hits 39.3% of stops (56.2% refrigerated), 94.5% of fleets bill it, fewer than half collect (ATRI, 2024), and a truck now costs $90.89 per hour to run (ATRI, 2025 update).

Drivers and yards need the same file

The DOT Inspector General wrote that "accurate industrywide data on driver detention do not currently exist" (ST2018019). Carriers must keep their own timestamps; yards need the mirror image, a log that rebuts an inflated invoice as readily as it backs a valid claim. Vantage builds this file automatically: gate moves stamped at capture, trailer and container numbers read from a photo (container numbers also get the ISO 6346 check digit; the clerk confirms every read), a photo stored whenever the camera is used, from $149 a month, no fixed hardware.

Run your own numbers: the savings calculator turns gate volume into hours; the 2026 yard & detention benchmarks collect every figure cited here.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a detention claim?

Your contract's invoice window controls and is often short. The nine-month floor of 49 U.S.C. 14706 applies to cargo claims and is the common outer reference. Keep records five years where customs applies (19 CFR 163.4).

Are handwritten gate logs enough to win?

They are evidence, but weak: 3.7% of 6,930 manual transcriptions failed to match their source (JAMIA, 2019). A record timestamped at capture, with a photo, is far harder to argue with.

Build the record automatically

For warehouse and DC yard operators: a timestamp on every record and a photo whenever the camera is used. Published pricing, free plan, no card. Driver or carrier? You don’t need an account.

Watch the demo Start free as a yard operator