Sample dispatch carrier agreement: every clause, and what to push back on

Not legal advice. This is a sample and an explanation of common clauses, written for owner-operators. Laws and situations vary; have an attorney review any agreement before you sign it.

A dispatcher carrier agreement is short compared with a lease or a factoring contract, which is exactly why owner-operators skim it. Most problems between carriers and dispatchers come from four clauses: what the fee is charged on, who can accept a load, how payment flows, and how you get out. This guide walks through each clause in a typical carrier dispatch agreement, flags the versions that cost owners money, and gives you the question to ask about each one. A free sample you can download sits at the end.

The clause stack

Each card below is an EXAMPLE clause, written for this guide, not taken from any real company's contract. The flag says how often that version is fair to the carrier: green for common and fair, amber for read closely, red for rarely fair. Tap a card to see what it means in plain words and what to ask.

The fee clause: gross, net and loads hauled

The fee clause is where most agreements differ. Three questions settle it.

What is the percentage, and what is it charged on? A percentage of gross is the simplest: the line-haul rate plus accessorials on the rate con. A percentage of net only works if net is defined exactly. Flat weekly fees are charged whether the truck runs or not.

Is anything charged on loads you don't haul? A fair agreement charges nothing on declined loads, cancelled loads you weren't paid for, or weeks the truck sits.

Are there other fees? Setup fees, monthly minimums, packet fees and fees for paperwork add up. Ask for all of them in writing before you compare percentages. Our own terms are a percentage of gross on loads you haul, with no setup fee and no minimums; the numbers are on our dispatch pricing page.

Load approval and who signs the rate con

This is the clause that decides whether you still run your business. Look for language that says you decide on every load and that rate confirmations are issued to your company and signed by you. If the agreement gives the dispatcher a power of attorney to sign rate cons, read it closely; it is a common arrangement, but it means a load can be booked in your name before you see it.

Payment flow: who gets the broker's money

Brokers should pay you, or your factoring company if you factor, directly. Then you pay the dispatcher its fee on a separate invoice. An agreement that routes freight payments through the dispatcher puts your money in someone else's account and makes it harder to check what each load really paid. If you factor, the notice of assignment in your carrier packets should point to your factor, not the dispatcher.

Termination and non-solicitation

How you leave matters as much as how you start. Month-to-month with a written notice period is common. Fixed terms with early exit fees and automatic renewals are worth negotiating out. Non-solicitation clauses, which stop you working directly with brokers the dispatcher introduced, can be reasonable if short and narrow; read how long they last and whether they cover brokers you already knew.

For a broader look at the contracts owner-operators sign, from leases to factoring, see our guide to owner-operator contracts.

Red flags before you even see the paperwork

Some problems show up in the sales call. Be careful with a dispatcher who promises a weekly income, won't put the fee basis in writing, asks for your load board or factoring login, wants an upfront fee before any load, or gets vague when you ask who signs the rate con. A dispatcher with nothing to hide sends the agreement before you commit and answers these questions in one sentence each.

If you already signed a bad agreement

Read the termination clause first: how much notice, how it must be given, and whether any fee is owed on the way out. Send notice in writing and keep a copy. Ask for copies of every rate con booked in your name and a final list of fees owed. Update your carrier packets with brokers if anything in them points to the dispatcher. If the agreement has an early exit fee or a long non-solicitation clause you think is unfair, that is the moment to talk to an attorney before you pay.

Download the sample agreement

The sample below follows the fair versions of each clause above, with blanks for the fee, notice period and billing terms. It opens in Word, Pages or Google Docs.

Download the sample dispatch carrier agreement (RTF)

Sample only, not legal advice. Use it to compare against an agreement you have been offered, or as a checklist of what to ask for. Have an attorney review any agreement before you sign it.

How our terms compare

We hold our own agreement to the same checklist. Every load is your decision and every rate con is issued to you. The fee is a percentage of gross on loads you accept and haul, with no setup fee and no minimums. Service is month to month, and either side can end it with 30 days notice. Before you hire anyone, including us, use our list of questions to ask a truck dispatcher.