What records do I need to win a detention claim?
For carriers who bill detention, and for yards that get billed.
Reviewed August 2026 · every figure sourced 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); rates run $50 to $125 per hour, $85 commonly cited. FMCSA puts average dwell at 3.4 hours, 1.4 beyond the free window; at $85 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: dwell avg 3.4 hrs, 1.4 over free |
| 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 numbers read by camera with 5-stage AI validation, photos stored with each event, 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
Every gate move timestamped and photographed. Published pricing, 14-day trial.
Related: detention benchmarks · savings calculator · best yard management software · why detention invoices go unpaid · who actually pays truck detention · pricing