Freight Claims: What They Are and How to File One
A freight claim is a written legal demand for payment when cargo is lost or damaged in transit. Here's the step-by-step process, the deadlines under the Carmack Amendment, and why claims get denied.
A freight claim is a written legal demand for payment from a carrier for goods that were lost, damaged, or delayed while in that carrier's custody. It is not a complaint or a service escalation. It is governed by federal law — the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706 — which makes the carrier liable for loss or damage to goods moving in interstate commerce.
Treat it like the legal process it is and you collect. Treat it like an angry email and you don't.
The freight claims process, step by step
- Note the exception at delivery. Before the driver leaves, write the damage or shortage on the delivery receipt and get it signed. This is the single most important step in the entire process.
- Photograph everything. The damage, the packaging, and the freight as it sat on the trailer. Dated images.
- Preserve the freight and the packaging. Do not discard either. The carrier has the right to inspect, and destroyed evidence sinks claims.
- Assemble the value documents. The original commercial invoice showing what you paid for the goods, plus a repair or replacement estimate.
- File the written claim with the carrier. It must identify the shipment, assert carrier liability, and demand a specific or determinable dollar amount. Those three elements are the federal minimum under 49 CFR § 370.3 — a claim missing any of them is not legally a claim.
- Keep paying the freight charges. You generally cannot withhold or offset freight bills against an open cargo claim. Doing so weakens your position and can breach the contract.
- Track the carrier's response clock. Acknowledgment is due in about 30 days; disposition — pay, deny, or make a settlement offer — in about 120 days.
- Escalate if it stalls or is denied. A denied claim goes to negotiation, then to suit if the amount justifies it.
Freight claims law: the deadlines that matter
Three time limits govern almost every interstate motor freight claim.
- Nine months to file. A bill of lading cannot give you less than nine months from delivery to file a written claim. For a total loss, the clock generally runs from the date delivery should have happened.
- Thirty days to acknowledge, 120 to resolve. Under 49 CFR Part 370, the carrier must acknowledge your claim in roughly 30 days and dispose of it in roughly 120. If it can't resolve in that window, it owes you a written status update every 60 days.
- Two years and one day to sue. After a written denial, you have at minimum two years and one day to file suit. This is a floor set by statute; the bill of lading cannot shorten it below that.
Nine months sounds generous. It isn't. Evidence goes cold, people leave, and the longer you wait the easier it is for the carrier to argue the damage happened after delivery. File fast.
What you can actually recover
Carmack covers your actual loss — not your retail markup, not lost profit, not the price you would have sold the goods for. For most shippers that means the invoice cost of the damaged goods: what you paid your supplier, plus the freight charges attributable to the damaged portion. If an item can be repaired for less than its value, the claim is the repair cost.
Two things commonly cap that number:
- Released value / limitation of liability. Carriers can lawfully limit their liability by tariff or contract, often to a set dollar amount per pound. This is standard in LTL and it can leave a large gap between your invoice cost and what the carrier owes.
- Declared value not declared. If a higher value was available for purchase and you didn't buy it, the carrier's default limit applies.
Build the claim number from documents, not from what feels fair.
LTL freight claims are different
LTL freight is handled far more than truckload — cross-docked, re-palletized, moved between terminals — so claims are more frequent, and the rules are tighter:
- Liability is usually limited per pound, tied to the freight class. High-value, low-weight goods are the worst exposure: the per-pound cap can be a fraction of the invoice value.
- Concealed damage has a short fuse. Damage you couldn't see at delivery is still claimable, but carrier tariffs typically require notice within about five business days, with the original packaging preserved. Check your carrier's rules tariff for the exact window.
- The delivery receipt carries more weight, because with multiple handling points the carrier's defense is almost always that the damage happened somewhere other than in their custody.
Why claims get denied
Most denials trace to a handful of avoidable mistakes:
- No exception noted on the delivery receipt. Signing "clear" tells the carrier the freight arrived fine. This is the number one reason claims die.
- Concealed damage reported too late, or with the packaging already thrown out.
- Insufficient packaging. If goods weren't packaged to survive normal transport, the carrier isn't liable for the consequences.
- The claim didn't meet the legal minimum — no specific amount demanded, or no clear assertion of carrier liability.
- A statutory exception applies. Carmack carves out genuine acts of God, public enemy, act of the shipper, public authority, and inherent defect in the goods. These are narrow, but real.
The real fix: don't file in the first place
Every claim above is a problem you'd rather not have, and the most reliable way to avoid them is to never put your freight on the wrong truck.
That's what carrier vetting does. We verify FMCSA operating authority, safety history, and — critically — insurance before a carrier ever touches your load. We hold a $1M cargo and $1M auto liability minimum, so when something does go wrong there's real coverage behind the claim instead of an uninsured carrier and an empty bank account.
Vetting reduces claim frequency, and it makes the claims you do file collectible, which is the part shippers forget. A valid claim against a carrier with no assets and lapsed insurance is just paperwork. You also get 24/7 support, so when a driver is standing at your dock with damaged freight there's someone to call who knows how to note the exception correctly the first time.
Document everything. File fast. And put your freight on carriers vetted before the load ever moved.
FAQ
What is a freight claim?
A freight claim is a written legal demand for payment made to a carrier for goods lost, damaged, or delayed while in the carrier's custody. In interstate trucking it is governed by the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706, which holds the carrier liable for the actual loss.
What is the freight claims process?
Note the damage on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves, photograph the damage and packaging, preserve both, gather the commercial invoice and a repair estimate, then file a written claim that identifies the shipment, asserts carrier liability, and demands a specific dollar amount. The carrier acknowledges in about 30 days and resolves in about 120.
How long do I have to file a freight claim?
At least nine months from the delivery date, or from the date delivery should have occurred in the case of total loss. A bill of lading cannot give you less. After a written denial you have at least two years and one day to file suit.
What is freight claims law?
Interstate motor freight claims are governed by the Carmack Amendment (49 U.S.C. § 14706), which establishes carrier liability for actual loss, and by 49 CFR Part 370, which sets the processing rules: what a valid claim must contain, the 30-day acknowledgment, and the 120-day disposition requirement.
How are LTL freight claims different?
LTL carriers typically limit liability to a set amount per pound tied to the freight class, so recovery can fall well short of the goods' invoice value. LTL also involves more handling, so concealed damage windows (often around five business days) and a properly annotated delivery receipt matter more than in truckload.
Can I withhold freight charges until my claim is paid?
No. Freight charges and cargo claims are treated separately, and offsetting one against the other is generally not permitted. Withholding payment weakens your claim position and may breach the transportation contract.
How much can I recover on a freight claim?
Your actual loss — normally the invoice cost of the goods plus the freight charges on the damaged portion, or the repair cost if repair is cheaper. Retail markup and lost profit are not recoverable, and carrier tariffs may cap liability at a per-pound amount well below invoice value.