"Dispatched" is the most important status word in a car shipment, and it is often misunderstood.
What it means
A carrier has accepted your order and assigned it to a truck. We confirm the carrier's name and a pickup window with you. Under our Terms and Conditions, Rivalane's service is complete at this point, so our fee becomes due, and a cancellation from here on carries the minimum $199 fee.
What it does not mean
It does not mean the truck is outside. Pickup happens within the window the carrier gives after dispatch, usually a span of days, and the driver confirms a time closer to the day. It also does not mean the delivery date is fixed; delivery remains an estimate.
What to do once you are dispatched
Finish preparing the car, keep your phone on for the driver's call, arrange the carrier's payment for delivery, and confirm who will be present at each end. If anything changes on your side, tell us immediately so the carrier can replan before it drives to you.
Our glossary defines the other terms you will see on your confirmation and Bill of Lading.
The status words in order
Booked or confirmed: you placed the order and received an order confirmation; nothing has been charged and no truck is assigned. Posted or listed: the order is visible to carriers running your lane. Dispatched or assigned: a carrier has accepted, passed our checks and been confirmed to you; Rivalane's fee is due. Picked up or in transit: the driver has loaded the car and signed the Bill of Lading. Delivered: the car has been inspected, the Bill of Lading signed at the destination and the carrier paid.
Different companies use slightly different words, but the transition that matters is the one into dispatched, because that is where responsibility, payment and cancellation terms all change at once.
What changes at dispatch, in the Terms
Section 2b of our Terms and Conditions says Rivalane's services are complete when a carrier accepts the order. Section 7a makes our fee due at that point. Section 10a ends the free cancellation period there and introduces the minimum cancellation fee and the carrier's possible dry run fee. Section 3a's responsibility for accurate order details becomes expensive to get wrong, because the carrier has now planned around them.
What the Terms say: Rivalane's services are deemed completed when a Carrier has accepted the Customer's Order (Section 2b); payment for Rivalane's services is due at that point (Section 7a); cancellation after acceptance carries a minimum fee of $199 plus any carrier dry run fee (Section 10a).
What dispatch does not change
The delivery date is still an estimate under Section 2e, and so is the pickup day inside the window the carrier gave. The carrier's balance is still paid at delivery, not at dispatch. Your obligation to be present or to name an agent is the same. Dispatch is a commitment about who will move the car and roughly when, not a promise about the hour the truck arrives.
Why brokers use the word
In trucking, a dispatcher is the person at a carrier who assigns loads to drivers, and "dispatched" means a load has been given to a specific truck. The term carried over to brokers because acceptance by a carrier is the moment the load is on a dispatcher's board. The FMCSA's definitions of broker and motor carrier at 49 U.S.C. 13102 draw the line the word reflects: the broker arranges, the carrier dispatches and moves.
Questions to ask when you are told you are dispatched
Which carrier, so you can check it on the FMCSA SAFER system. What pickup window the carrier has planned. Whether the driver will call directly, and from what number. What the carrier balance at delivery is, so you can arrange the funds. Rivalane gives you all four when we confirm the assignment; if a company tells you that you are dispatched and cannot answer the first question, you are not.
If "dispatched" turns into silence
A dispatched order should be followed by contact from the driver inside the window. If the window passes with no call, tell us. We contact the carrier's dispatcher, get the current plan and, if the carrier has let the order slip, reassign it. The articles on delays and on carrier assignment, linked below, explain both paths, and the calculator shows current timing estimates for your route.
Dispatched on a special route
For an Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico shipment, dispatch covers the road leg to the port; the sailing is a separate booking with the shipping line under Section 2f of the Terms, with its own confirmation and cut-off. For an auction pickup, dispatch means the carrier has the release paperwork and the yard's hours; if either changes, tell us before the window opens. Our auction page and the Hawaii page describe the extra steps on each.
Related questions
- How does carrier assignment work after I book?
- When do I pay for car shipping with Rivalane?
- What do common car shipping terms mean?
Go deeper: Understanding the Auto Transport Dispatch Process: A Step-by-Step Guide.
