Does detention time count toward your hours of service?

The short answer

FMCSA's definition of on-duty time (49 CFR 395.2) includes:

"All time at a plant, terminal, facility, or other property of a motor carrier or shipper, or on any public property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the motor carrier"

"attending a commercial motor vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the commercial motor vehicle"

The Congressional Research Service puts it in one line: detention "counts toward truck drivers' maximum 14 hours per day of duty time but does not count toward their 11 hours per day of maximum driving time."

What a long wait does to your day

Your 14-hour window starts when you come on duty after 10 hours off, and it doesn't stop. FMCSA: "Off-duty time does not extend the 14-hour period."

Example: you come on duty at 6:00 AM, so your window closes at 8:00 PM. The receiver holds you from 7:00 AM to noon. When you pull out, you have 8 hours left in the window, so you can't use all 11 driving hours that day, however much driving time you have left.

There is no extra time for a slow dock. FMCSA's guidance says "loading and unloading delays are not covered" by the adverse-driving-conditions and emergency exceptions.

Can you log dock time as off duty?

Only if you are really relieved of duty. FMCSA's guidance (78 FR 41852, 2013) lets a driver record a stop as off-duty time when:

"The driver is relieved of all duty and responsibility for the care and custody of the vehicle, its accessories, and any cargo or passengers it may be carrying."

and, for the length of the stop, "the driver must be at liberty to pursue activities of his/her own choosing." FMCSA adds that this can apply "irrespective of whether the driver has the means or opportunity to leave a particular facility or location."

It is your carrier's call: "It is the employer's choice whether the driver shall record stops made during a tour of duty as off-duty time." If you are expected to pull into a door when called, watch the trailer or sign for the freight, you are "remaining in readiness to operate," and that is on duty.

Logging the wait off duty protects your 60/70 hours. It doesn't save your 14-hour window, because off-duty time doesn't extend it.

Sleeper berth and the 30-minute break

Split sleeper: you can split the 10 hours off duty into one period of at least 7 hours in the sleeper berth and another of at least 2 hours. FMCSA: "When used together, neither time period counts against the maximum 14- hour driving window."

Whether you can be in the sleeper while your trailer is being loaded comes down to whether you are relieved of duty. We found no FMCSA guidance that answers it directly, so ask your carrier's safety department or FMCSA (1-800-832-5660).

30-minute break: you need one after 8 hours of driving, and it "may be satisfied by any non-driving period of 30 consecutive minutes (i.e., on-duty not driving, off-duty, sleeper berth, or any combination of these taken consecutively)." Time at the dock counts.

Out of hours at the shipper

If your hours run out while you wait, you can't drive. FMCSA's personal conveyance guidance (83 FR 26377, 2018) covers "Time spent traveling to a nearby, reasonable, safe location to obtain required rest after loading or unloading," and says the move from a shipper or receiver to the nearest safe resting area may count as personal conveyance "regardless of whether the driver exhausted his or her HOS."

That is only an option if your carrier allows it: motor carriers, "at their discretion, may authorize their drivers to use a CMV while off-duty for personal conveyance."

Can you legally leave a shipper after 2, 4 or 5 hours?

No federal rule sets a time after which you may leave, and none caps how long a shipper can hold you. Whether leaving costs you is a question for your contract. Some published shipper terms pay nothing if you pull out without approval: Campbell's, for example, pays no truck-ordered-not-used fee when a carrier pulls its equipment without the shipper's approval.

Before you leave a load, tell the broker in writing how long you have waited and why you are leaving (your hours, for example), and get their answer in writing. Keep your in and out times. This is practical advice, not legal advice.

Tracking detention time with your ELD

Your ELD already records part of the story. It logs the date, time and location at every change of duty status, and every 60 minutes while the truck is moving. But FMCSA notes that "Vehicle location information is not sufficiently precise to identify street addresses": it is an approximate distance and direction from a nearby town, accurate to about a mile while driving.

So an ELD log shows you were on duty near the facility for those hours. It doesn't show which dock you were at or when the facility checked you in. Pair it with facility-level proof: signed BOL in and out times, and a GPS-stamped arrival and departure.

Few drivers send their ELD records at all: in ATRI's 2019 study, only 17% of drivers said they shared their ELD data with the customer to document detention.

In GetDockPay, Pro lets you attach the day's ELD log (a PDF export or screenshot from your ELD app) to the claim, next to the GPS-stamped Arrived and Departed times. See the help page.

The pilot that would pause the 14-hour clock

FMCSA is testing a Split Duty Period pilot that would let participating drivers pause the 14-hour window for up to three hours a day, including on-duty time at a pickup or delivery. Pre-tests ran in 2026 with nine drivers; the full pilot, with 256 drivers, is planned for 2027 (FMCSA, August 27, 2026). Until then, the standard rules apply to everyone else. FMCSA also says it "will monitor shippers to ensure the increased flexibility does not lead to increased detention and exploitation of drivers."

FAQ

Does waiting at a shipper count as on-duty time?

Yes, unless you are relieved of all duty and responsibility for the truck and the load. Time waiting at a shipper's facility and attending the truck while it is loaded are both on-duty time under 49 CFR 395.2.

Does detention count toward my 11 hours?

No. The 11-hour limit counts driving time only.

Does detention count toward my 14-hour clock?

Yes. The 14-hour window runs from when you come on duty, and even off-duty time doesn't extend it, except for a qualifying split sleeper berth pair.

Can I log off duty while I wait to load?

Only if you are relieved of all duty and responsibility for the vehicle and cargo and free to do what you want, and your carrier allows it.

What if I run out of hours at the shipper?

You can't drive. If your carrier allows personal conveyance, you may move to the nearest safe place to rest after loading or unloading.

Can I legally leave a shipper after 2 hours?

No federal rule gives you a right to leave or sets a time limit; your contract decides what leaving costs. Tell the broker in writing before you go.