Accessorial charges are the extra LTL fees carriers add for anything beyond a standard dock-to-dock pickup and delivery — liftgate, residential, limited access, inside delivery, reweighs, detention, and more. Tick the services that apply to your shipment to see an estimated total surcharge range before the invoice arrives.
With a weight, each carrier's own rule is used (per 100 lb, then its minimum and maximum). Without one, the ranges are the carriers' minimum charges.
Carriers bill roughly $50–$90 per hour after the free loading/unloading window (usually 2 hours).
Estimate only. Accessorial fees vary by carrier, region, contract, and shipment size. Use this as a planning range, not a quote.
Published list prices from FedEx Freight, Old Dominion and Estes tariffs, checked October 25, 2026. Contract rates are often lower.
Reweigh, reclassification, hazmat, sort & segregate, lumper and detention: Typical ranges, not any carrier's price.
This is a free calculator and it can make mistakes. Always confirm with your carrier before you ship.
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Tired of surprise accessorials? Get a quoted rate with accessorials spelled out up front.
An accessorial charge is any fee an LTL carrier adds on top of the base line-haul and fuel surcharge for a service outside a standard dock-to-dock move. The base rate assumes a forklift-equipped commercial dock at both ends, no appointment, and no special handling. The moment a shipment needs a liftgate, a residential address, an inside drop, or a reweigh, the carrier bills an accessorial — and these are the fees that most often surprise shippers on the invoice.
Published list prices from FedEx Freight, Old Dominion and Estes tariffs, checked October 25, 2026. Contract rates are often lower.
Reweigh, reclassification, hazmat, sort & segregate, lumper and detention: Typical ranges, not any carrier's price.
Most accessorial surprises come from under-declaring at booking. If you know the delivery is residential or needs a liftgate, put it on the BOL and in the quote request — carriers charge more to add it after the fact, and an undeclared service can trigger a reclassification or redelivery on top of the missed fee. Weigh and measure accurately to avoid reweigh and reclassification charges, and confirm the receiver's free-time window to sidestep detention. When you do get billed for something you didn't authorize, the carrier must show proof (a driver note, a weight ticket); if they can't, it's disputable.
It's a fee a carrier adds for any service beyond a standard commercial dock-to-dock move — liftgate, residential delivery, inside delivery, limited access, reweighs, detention, and similar. The base LTL rate covers only the line haul and fuel; everything else is an accessorial.
At the published list prices of FedEx Freight, Old Dominion and Estes, a liftgate is $4.40–$13.96 per 100 lb, with a minimum of $75–$207 and a maximum of $330–$681, billed per end. Contract rates are often lower. A shipment that needs a liftgate at both pickup and delivery can carry two separate liftgate charges.
Carriers classify any address that looks non-commercial — including home-based businesses — as residential, and they verify addresses against databases. If your commercial address gets flagged, ask the carrier to reclassify it; declaring the correct type at booking avoids the charge.
Yes. Carriers must be able to document an accessorial — a driver's note, a weight ticket, or a delivery receipt. If they can't prove the service was required and provided, the charge is disputable. Compare the invoice line items to what you authorized on the BOL.
Often, yes — especially if you ship volume. Many shippers negotiate capped or discounted accessorial schedules in their carrier contracts. Knowing the standard ranges (above) is the starting point for that conversation.