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How to read a rate confirmation

A rate confirmation is the contract for one load. Here is what every section means, what to check before the carrier signs, and the red flags that point to fraud.

By The Freight Craft deskUpdated 7 min read

Short answer: the rate confirmation ("rate con") is the broker's written agreement for a single load. Before the carrier signs it, the dispatcher checks that everything agreed on the phone is on paper: the rate, the stops and times, the equipment, the accessorial terms and the payment terms, and that the broker is who they say they are.

What a rate confirmation is

When a carrier books a load from a broker, the phone call is only the negotiation. The rate con is the document that binds both sides for that load, on top of the broker-carrier agreement signed during setup. If something isn't on the rate con, assume it wasn't agreed. Broker rate cons don't have one standard layout, but they cover the same ground.

Section by section

1. Broker and carrier details

The broker's legal name, MC number, address and contact, and the carrier's name and MC number. Check the broker's MC number against FMCSA's records (SAFER and Licensing & Insurance) and make sure the contact email domain matches the company. Mismatches are a classic sign of identity fraud.

2. Load reference numbers

Load or order number, and often pickup (PU) and purchase order (PO) numbers. The driver needs them at the shipper and you need them on the invoice.

3. Pickup and delivery

Full addresses, dates, and whether each stop is an appointment, first come, first served or a time window. Check that the times are possible with the driver's remaining hours of service and the miles involved. See hours of service for dispatchers.

4. Equipment and freight

Trailer type and length, commodity, weight, piece or pallet count, and special requirements: temperature for reefers (continuous or cycle), tarps and securement for flatbeds, team drivers, hazmat. Weight matters for legal limits: the federal gross vehicle weight limit on the Interstate System is 80,000 pounds (FHWA).

5. The rate

The total, usually broken into linehaul and sometimes a fuel surcharge, plus any agreed extras such as additional stops. It must match the number agreed on the call, to the dollar.

6. Accessorial terms

How the broker pays for extra time and work: detention (often after two free hours, at an hourly rate, sometimes capped), layover, TONU (truck ordered, not used), lumper reimbursement and the proof each one requires. Many brokers require notice within a set time and in-and-out times on the bill of lading, or they won't pay.

7. Tracking and conduct requirements

Tracking app requirements, check-call schedules and penalties ("fines") for late updates, missing appointments or not using the tracking app. Read these closely: some rate cons deduct money for small misses.

8. Payment terms

Payment days (for example 30 days from receipt of documents), quick-pay options and their fees, the documents needed to invoice (signed rate con, bill of lading, proof of delivery, lumper receipts) and where to send them. If the carrier uses a factoring company, the invoice goes to the factor.

The 10-point check before signing

  1. Broker's legal name and MC number match FMCSA records.
  2. The sender's email domain matches the broker's real domain.
  3. Carrier name and MC number are correct.
  4. Rate matches what was agreed.
  5. Pickup and delivery addresses, dates and appointment types are right.
  6. Equipment, weight and commodity match what the truck can legally haul.
  7. Detention, layover, TONU and lumper terms are stated.
  8. Tracking requirements and fines are acceptable.
  9. Payment terms and required documents are clear.
  10. Nothing appears that wasn't discussed on the call.

Fraud red flags

  • The rate is far above the market for the lane.
  • The broker contact uses a free email address or a lookalike domain.
  • The phone number differs from the one FMCSA or the broker's website lists.
  • Pressure to dispatch immediately, or a last-minute change of delivery address.
  • Requests for the carrier's login, payment details change or "quick fuel advance" schemes.

When something looks wrong, call the broker on the number from their official website, not the one on the rate con. FMCSA explains how to report identity theft on its fraud and identity theft page.

Who signs

The rate con is between the broker and the carrier. A dispatcher may sign on the carrier's behalf only if the dispatch agreement authorizes it. The dispatcher's fee is a matter between dispatcher and carrier and never belongs on the broker's rate con. See dispatcher vs freight broker for why.

Practise it

In Basic Dispatch you check rate cons on screen, line by line, then book loads on our practice board and catch the errors we plant.

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