LTL Accessorial Charges: The Complete List (and How to Avoid Surprises)

The base rate and fuel surcharge aren't the whole story on an LTL invoice. Accessorial charges — fees for services beyond simple dock-to-dock transport — are where a lot of "why is this so expensive?" surprises come from. Know them, and you can plan for (or avoid) them.

Pickup and delivery accessorials

• Liftgate — the truck has no dock, so the driver uses a hydraulic gate to lower freight to the ground. Common for residential and small-business deliveries.
• Residential pickup/delivery — service to a home or a location coded as residential. Almost always an added fee.
• Inside delivery — moving freight beyond the threshold, not just to the curb or dock.
• Limited access — sites like schools, farms, military bases, storage units, or construction sites that are harder to service.
• Appointment / notification — the carrier must schedule or call ahead before delivering.

Weight, size, and handling accessorials

• Reweigh / reclassification — the carrier weighs or measures your freight and adjusts the bill when it doesn't match the BOL. The most avoidable accessorial of all.
• Overlength / excessive length — a fee (often tiered) for long pieces that take up outsized trailer space.
• Single-shipment / minimum charge — a floor price when your freight is very small.

Terminal and administrative accessorials

• Detention — the driver waits beyond the free loading/unloading window.
• Storage — freight sits at a terminal because it can't be delivered.
• Reconsignment / redelivery — the destination changes, or a failed delivery has to be re-attempted.

How to keep accessorials off your bill

1. Declare needed services up front on the BOL. Requested-in-advance is cheaper than added-after-the-fact, and it prevents disputes.
2. Classify and measure accurately so you never trigger a reweigh/reclass adjustment.
3. Verify addresses and access — a location miscoded as commercial when it's residential (or limited access) invites a surprise fee.
4. Audit the invoice against the BOL. If a service is billed that wasn't performed or requested, dispute it.

Comparing the accessorials on your invoice to what you actually requested on the BOL is one of the fastest, highest-return audits in LTL.