A quote looks great. The invoice doesn’t match. This happens to shippers all the time, and it’s rarely a billing mistake. It’s an accessorial charge, a fee for something the base rate never covered in the first place.
This guide walks through the 12 most common freight accessorial charges, what triggers each one, and how to avoid getting surprised by them.
In this guide:
- What Are Freight Accessorial Charges?
- Location-Related Charges
- Time-Related Charges
- Freight and Handling Charges
- Cancellation and Delivery Issue Charges
- Full Accessorial Charges Reference Table
- How to Avoid Unexpected Charges
- A Quick Example
- Final Thought
- FAQs
What Are Freight Accessorial Charges?
An accessorial charge is any service a carrier provides beyond a standard dock-to-dock pickup and delivery. The base freight rate covers picking up freight at one loading dock and dropping it at another. Anything past that gets billed separately.
These charges exist because they cost the carrier something extra. Extra labor, extra equipment, or extra time all cost money, so carriers pass that cost along as a separate line item. Accessorial charges can add 20 to 40 percent to a base LTL rate. That’s according to industry data on LTL accessorials. Most shippers can’t predict them at the time they book.
Location-Related Charges
These charges depend on where your freight is going, not what it is.
1. Liftgate Service
A liftgate is a hydraulic platform that lowers freight from the truck to ground level. It’s required any time a pickup or delivery location doesn’t have a loading dock. This is one of the most common accessorial charges in LTL freight, typically running $75 to $200 per shipment. Many carriers also charge separately for liftgate pickup versus liftgate delivery, so check both ends of the move.
2. Residential Delivery
Delivering to a home address costs more than delivering to a business. Residential stops often mean tighter streets, no dock, and more time spent maneuvering. This fee usually runs $50 to $200 and often triggers a liftgate charge too, since most homes don’t have a loading dock. Even a home-based business can get classified as residential, so double-check how the carrier codes the address.
3. Inside Delivery
Standard delivery stops at the back of the truck. Inside delivery means the driver brings freight past that point, sometimes up stairs or into a specific room. It’s considered a “white glove” service and usually costs $75 to $200.
4. Limited Access Delivery
Some locations are harder to access than a typical dock or driveway. Schools, military bases, construction sites, and storage facilities all fall into this category. Expect a fee between $50 and $180 for these deliveries. Carriers define “limited access” a little differently from one another, so it’s worth confirming with your specific carrier if you’re unsure whether a location qualifies.
Let Norfleet Transportation help coordinate your freight with solutions tailored to your shipment requirements, delivery timelines, and transportation needs.
Time-Related Charges
These charges are about how long a driver or truck spends waiting.
5. Detention
Carriers typically give a driver a set window, often two hours, to load or unload at no extra charge. Once that window passes, detention charges kick in, usually $50 to $100 per hour. This is one of the most common accessorial disputes, since it depends heavily on how a shipper’s dock is run.
6. Layover
A layover charge applies when a driver has to wait overnight before loading or unloading. This usually happens because a facility is closed or freight isn’t ready. It runs $150 to $400 per day and is far more expensive than a standard detention charge.
7. Delivery Appointment Fee
Some receivers require a scheduled delivery window rather than a flexible drop-off time. Setting and coordinating that appointment adds carrier overhead, which usually shows up as a $25 to $100 fee.
Freight and Handling Charges
These charges relate to the physical freight itself, not the location or timing.
8. Reweigh and Reclassification Fee
Carriers reweigh and remeasure freight at their terminals. If the actual weight or freight class doesn’t match the bill of lading, you’ll see a reclassification charge. That typically runs $10 to $50 plus the corrected rate difference.
Tip: Weigh and measure your own freight before booking. Closing the gap between your numbers and the carrier’s is one of the simplest ways to avoid this fee entirely.
9. Lumper Fee
Common in grocery and retail freight, a lumper fee pays a third-party worker to load or unload freight. It applies when the shipper or receiver’s own staff doesn’t handle that work. This is almost always a flat fee, and it’s especially common at high-volume distribution centers.
10. Hazmat Handling Fee
Shipments containing regulated hazardous materials require special handling, documentation, and sometimes specific placards. Carriers charge extra to cover the added training, paperwork, and liability involved in moving hazmat freight safely. This fee varies widely depending on the hazard class and quantity, so get a specific quote rather than assuming a flat rate applies.
Do FTL and LTL Have the Same Accessorial Charges?
Mostly, but not entirely. Location-based charges like liftgate, residential delivery, and limited access apply to both FTL and LTL shipments in similar ways. Time-based charges work a little differently. Detention on an FTL load usually applies to the whole truck sitting idle, while LTL detention can apply at a terminal stop as well as at the shipper’s dock.
TONU and lumper fees show up far more often in FTL freight, since a full truckload dedicates an entire truck to one shipper. LTL freight spreads that risk across multiple shippers on the same trailer, which changes how some of these fees get triggered and billed.
Cancellation and Delivery Issue Charges
These charges cover situations where something about the plan changes at the last minute.
11. Redelivery Fee
Sometimes a first delivery attempt fails. No one’s available to receive it, or the address is wrong. Either way, the carrier has to reattempt. That second trip isn’t free, and it typically shows up as its own line item on the invoice.
12. TONU (Truck Ordered Not Used)
TONU stands for Truck Ordered Not Used. It applies when a load gets canceled after a truck has already been dispatched. The carrier turned down other freight to hold that truck for you. This fee compensates them for the wasted capacity, often $150 to $500.
Who Pays Accessorial Charges: Shipper or Receiver?
This depends on the bill of lading and who arranged the shipment. In most cases, whoever books the freight is responsible for accessorial charges, even if the trigger, like a residential address, technically belongs to the receiver. This is why naming every service upfront matters so much. If you book the shipment, the invoice usually comes back to you regardless of who caused the fee.
Some shippers build accessorial costs into their pricing or terms with customers, especially for recurring residential or limited-access deliveries. That way, a predictable fee doesn’t turn into an unplanned loss on every order.
Full Accessorial Charges Reference Table
Use this as a quick reference when reviewing a quote or an invoice.
| Charge | Typical Range | What Triggers It |
| Liftgate Service | $75–$200 | No loading dock at pickup or delivery |
| Residential Delivery | $50–$200 | Delivery to a home address |
| Inside Delivery | $75–$200 | Freight moved past the truck’s threshold |
| Limited Access Delivery | $50–$180 | Schools, bases, construction sites |
| Detention | $50–$100/hour | Wait time beyond the free loading window |
| Layover | $150–$400/day | Overnight wait for loading or unloading |
| Delivery Appointment | $25–$100 | Scheduled delivery window required |
| Reweigh/Reclassification | $10–$50+ | Actual weight or class differs from the BOL |
| Lumper Fee | Varies | Third-party labor to load or unload |
| TONU | $150–$500 | Load canceled after a truck is dispatched |
How to Avoid Unexpected Accessorial Charges
A few habits catch most of these before they ever hit your invoice:
- Flag every accessorial need at the time you book, not on pickup day
- Weigh and measure freight accurately instead of estimating
- Confirm whether the delivery address is residential, commercial, or limited access
- Keep your dock running efficiently to avoid detention charges
- Ask for an itemized quote so nothing is hidden in a flat number
- Review every invoice against the original quote, not just the total
Disputing a charge after the fact is possible, but it takes real time and doesn’t always work. Preventing the charge in the first place, by giving accurate information at booking, is almost always the better use of that time.
Let Norfleet Transportation help coordinate your freight with solutions tailored to your shipment requirements, delivery timelines, and transportation needs.
Working with dedicated freight shipping services provider that ask the right questions upfront can catch most of these charges before they ever become a surprise.
A Quick Example
A regional retailer kept seeing detention charges on shipments to one specific store. After reviewing the pattern, the cause was simple. That location’s staff routinely took over two hours to unload, well past the standard free window. Once the retailer adjusted staffing on delivery days, the detention charges nearly disappeared, without changing carriers or renegotiating a single rate.
Detention and accessorial guidance points out that most detention charges are entirely preventable once a shipper understands exactly what triggers the clock. Working with freight shipping services provider that communicate these windows clearly makes that kind of fix much easier to spot.
Final Thought
Accessorial charges aren’t hidden fees designed to catch shippers off guard. They’re the cost of services that fall outside a standard pickup and delivery. Nearly every one of them is predictable once you know what to look for. Learn the 12 charges above, flag your needs upfront, and your invoices will start looking a lot more like your quotes.
FAQs
What are freight accessorial charges?
Freight accessorial charges are fees for services beyond standard dock-to-dock pickup and delivery, like liftgate service, detention, or residential delivery.
Why did my freight bill include charges I wasn’t quoted for?
Unquoted charges usually happen because a service like liftgate, residential delivery, or an appointment requirement wasn’t flagged at the time you booked the shipment.
How much can accessorial charges add to my freight bill?
Accessorial charges can add 20 to 40 percent to a base LTL rate, depending on how many services the shipment actually needs.
Can I avoid detention charges completely?
You can avoid most detention charges by keeping your dock staffed and ready so loading or unloading finishes within the carrier’s free time window.
What’s the difference between detention and layover charges?
Detention applies to a driver waiting during loading or unloading, while layover applies when a driver has to wait overnight before that process can even begin.
Is a liftgate fee the same as a residential delivery fee?
No, though they often appear together. A liftgate fee covers the equipment needed with no loading dock. A residential fee covers the extra time and access needed at a home address.
Who is responsible for paying accessorial charges?
Whoever books the shipment is typically responsible for accessorial charges, even when the trigger, like a residential delivery address, is on the receiving end.
