A rate confirmation, or rate con, is a written document a freight broker sends a carrier for a single load. It lists the parties, pickup and delivery details, the agreed rate, accessorial charges, payment terms, and special instructions. Once the carrier signs it, the rate con is the record both sides use to pay and to settle disputes.
What a rate confirmation does
A rate con is the load-level deal. A broker arranges transportation for compensation, and the carrier hauls the freight. The rate con puts the price and the terms for one specific load in writing before the truck rolls.
Most brokers send it by email as a PDF. The carrier reviews it, signs it, and sends it back. Some carriers reply with a single line of text or a photo. That is a risk, and we cover it below.
Think of it as the answer to one question: what exactly did we agree to for this load? If the answer lives only in a phone call or a text thread, you will argue about it later.
What a rate confirmation should include
There is no single federal form for a rate con. Brokers build their own. The fields below are the ones that keep payment and disputes clean.
- Parties: broker name and contact, carrier name and dispatcher contact, and the shipper or consignor on the load.
- Authority: the broker MC number and the carrier MC and USDOT numbers, so you can tie the load to a real, registered company.
- Load identifiers: your load number, plus the shipper PO or reference numbers the receiver will ask for.
- Pickup and delivery: full addresses, appointment dates and windows, contact names, and whether the stop is live or drop.
- Freight and equipment: commodity, weight, piece count, trailer type, and any temperature or securement needs.
- Rate: the all-in amount or a split between linehaul and fuel, stated in dollars, not percentages that need a lookup.
- Accessorials: detention, layover, lumper, TONU, liftgate, and who approves each one.
- Payment terms: how many days after proof of delivery, what documents are required, and how the carrier gets paid.
- Special instructions: check call times, tracking requirements, seals, and what to do if the load is late.
Rate con vs BOL vs broker-carrier agreement
These three documents get mixed up. They do different jobs.
The broker-carrier agreement is the standing contract. It covers the long-term rules between the two companies, such as insurance, liability, and general payment practices. You sign it once, then it applies to many loads.
The rate con covers one load. It names the price, the stops, and the accessorials. It sits on top of the agreement and fills in the details that change every time.
The bill of lading (BOL) is the shipping document. It records what was tendered, and it travels with the freight. The shipper usually issues it, and the driver gets it signed at pickup and delivery. Federal law treats a bill of lading as the document that says goods are to be delivered to a named consignee (49 U.S.C. 80103).
A simple way to remember it: the BOL says what moved. The rate con says what you agreed to pay for moving it.
Why it matters for payment and disputes
Every payment question starts with the rate con. The carrier wants to know the rate and the pay timeline. The broker wants proof the carrier accepted the terms. The shipper's invoice usually has to match the load that was actually run.
Federal rules also put record-keeping on brokers. Under 49 CFR 371.3, a broker must keep a record of each brokered transaction. That record includes the consignor's name and address, the originating carrier's name, address, and registration number, the bill of lading or freight bill number, and the compensation the broker received. Brokers must keep these records for three years. Each party to the transaction has the right to review the record.
A clean rate con makes that record easy to build. A missing or vague one means someone has to reconstruct the deal from emails and call notes, often months later.
Common rate con mistakes
Most disputes trace back to a handful of avoidable errors.
- Vague accessorials: language like 'additional charges may apply' gives no cap and no approval path.
- No detention terms: if free time and the hourly rate are not written down, they get negotiated after the delay.
- Wrong or missing authority numbers: a typo in an MC or USDOT number makes it hard to confirm who actually signed.
- Edited after signing: a changed rate or stop with no new signed version leaves two documents that disagree.
- Unclear payment terms: not stating the paperwork required (signed BOL, POD) before the clock starts.
- Stale details: pickup times or addresses that changed by phone but never reached the document.
How to keep your rate cons clean
The fix is process, not paperwork. Use one template. Fill every field. Get a signature before the driver is dispatched. When anything changes, send a new version and get it signed again.
Keep the signed copy attached to the load, not buried in an inbox. When the driver delivers, match the final charges to the rate con before you invoice.
Rate cons are also a common target for fraud, so verify the carrier authority before you send one. Check the MC and USDOT numbers on the FMCSA record, and confirm payment details with a known contact.
Where Clyde fits
Clyde Collect builds rate confirmations from the details already in the email thread, requests PODs and BOLs, and assembles the invoice packet. Clyde Inbox reads each freight email, matches it to the load, and drafts the reply, so a signed rate con lands on the right load. A person approves before anything sends by default.