Guides

LTL billing dispute deadlines: the 180-day rule and what overrides it

Updated October 8, 2026

There are two clocks on every LTL invoice. One limits how long the carrier has to bill you more. The other limits how long you have to object. Both are 180 days by default, and both can be changed by paper you may not have read.

The default: 180 days each way

Under 49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3):

• The carrier must issue any bill for charges beyond the original bill within 180 days of the original bill to be able to collect them.
• The shipper must contest the original bill, or a later bill for additional charges, within 180 days of receiving it to keep the right to contest.

So a corrected invoice that shows up seven months after the original is one you can push back on for lateness alone. And a correction you have been sitting on for seven months is one you have probably lost the right to fight.

What changes the default

The carrier's tariff

Every LTL carrier publishes a rules tariff, and you accepted it when you tendered the freight. Tariffs often set their own dispute procedures and may give longer windows for some kinds of error, such as clerical overcharges, and procedural requirements for all of them. Find the section on overcharge claims or billing disputes and read it once per carrier.

Your contract

A signed transportation contract can waive or replace the statutory notice periods. Shippers and carriers are allowed to agree to different terms. If you have a pricing agreement, check whether it mentions billing disputes or section 13710.

Your 3PL's terms

If a broker or 3PL bills you, their terms govern your relationship with them, and their dispute window can be much shorter than 180 days, sometimes a matter of weeks. Read it before you need it. This is the deadline that catches small shippers most often.

Separate clocks you should not confuse with this one

• Loss and damage claims run on a different schedule, generally nine months from delivery to file. That is cargo liability, not billing.
• Lawsuits over freight charges have their own limitation period, 18 months under 49 U.S.C. 14705. That is the outer limit for court action, not the window to dispute.

A workable routine

1. Date-stamp every corrected invoice the day it arrives. The clock runs from receipt.
2. Decide within two weeks: pay, or dispute. Use the checker to sort them.
3. File disputes in writing within 30 days. Evidence is easiest to find while the shipment is recent.
4. Keep a simple log: PRO, date received, amount, date filed, outcome.

Thirty days is not the law. It is the habit that keeps you clear of every version of the deadline, including the short ones in 3PL terms.