What is a rate confirmation in trucking?

The document a broker sends a carrier to confirm a single load — pickup, delivery, equipment and the agreed rate. The carrier signs it or, under many agreements, accepts it by starting the haul.

Is a rate confirmation a contract?

It is the load-level part of one. It usually sits under a master broker-carrier agreement that makes the rate confirmation's rate and charges binding for that load.

How long must brokers keep records of a load?

Three years, under 49 CFR 371.3, and each party to the brokered transaction has the right to review that record.

Term

Rate confirmation

A rate confirmation is the document a freight broker sends a carrier to confirm one load: where and when, the equipment, and the agreed rate and charges. Under a typical broker-carrier agreement it sets the price for that load — starting the haul counts as accepting it — and charges not on it are not payable.

Also called rate con, load confirmation, rate confirmation sheet, carrier rate confirmationApplies in USUpdated 13 October 2026

What it does

A broker and a carrier usually sign one master agreement, then confirm each load separately. In RPM Freight Systems' published broker-carrier agreement, for example, the rates are those on the rate confirmation or other load tender document, the carrier's performance or commencement to perform is confirmation of acceptance, and no other charges are payable unless they are in the written tender document.

The record US law requires

No regulation names the rate confirmation, but brokers must keep a record of each transaction for three years: the consignor, the carrier and its registration number, the bill of lading or freight bill number, the broker's compensation and who paid it, and the freight charges collected and the date the carrier was paid. Each party to the transaction may review it (49 CFR 371.3). FMCSA proposed in November 2024 to require brokers to keep these records in an electronic format, noting that brokers already provide documents such as rate confirmations to carriers; check the rule's status before relying on it.

Worked example: one spot load

500-mile van load at USD 2.52 a mile all-in (DAT's March 2026 national spot average) → rate confirmation shows USD 1,260, fuel included, no separate surcharge

If the receiver then holds the truck for hours, detention is payable only if the rate confirmation or the master agreement provides for it.

The mistake people make

Agreeing extras by phone. A carrier promised detention, a layover or an extra stop by a dispatcher has nothing to invoice against unless the rate confirmation is reissued with it; under agreements like RPM's, charges not in the written tender document are not payable.

FAQ