OSRA and the FMC Demurrage Billing Rule: What Miami Importers Can Dispute (2026)

If a demurrage or detention invoice lands on your desk months after the container moved, or arrives with nothing but a container number and a dollar figure, you may not owe it. Under the Federal Maritime Commission billing rule that took effect on May 28, 2024, an invoice that omits required information eliminates the billed party’s obligation to pay that charge. Miami importers who understand the rule recover real money every quarter.

Where the rule came from

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 directed the FMC to tighten how ocean carriers and marine terminal operators bill detention and demurrage. The FMC issued its final rule in February 2024, and it became effective that May. It does not cap the charges. It regulates who can be billed, when, and what the invoice must say.

If you are still working out what these charges are, start with our primers on demurrage and detention at PortMiami and the Port Everglades equivalent.

The 30-day clock

A billing party must issue its demurrage or detention invoice within 30 calendar days from the date the charge stopped accruing. NVOCCs passing through charges they received from a vessel operating carrier get an additional 30 days. An invoice issued outside that window is vulnerable.

This single provision kills a large share of the surprise invoices South Florida importers used to receive nine or twelve months after the fact.

What the invoice has to contain

The rule requires the billing party to identify the charge clearly enough that you can actually check it. In practice that means:

• The container number or numbers the charge applies to, and the bill of lading number
• The specific dates the charge covers, including when free time began and ended
• The applicable rate, the total amount due, and how it was calculated
• The invoice date and the invoice due date
• The basis for why you are the proper party of interest to be billed
• A contact for disputes, and a description of how to request mitigation or a waiver
• A certification that the charges comply with FMC regulations

Missing elements are not a technicality. The FMC’s position is that an incomplete invoice removes the obligation to pay the charge it describes.

Who can be billed

The rule limits billing to the person for whose account the billing party provided ocean transportation or storage, or the consignee. A motor carrier that merely picked up the box is generally not the proper party. If you are a Miami drayage customer and the invoice went to your trucker, check whether it was addressed correctly before anyone pays it.

How to run a dispute

1. Log the invoice the day it arrives. Deadlines run from the invoice date.
2. Check the date math first. Compare last free day against terminal appointment availability, chassis availability and any CBP hold. Our guide to CBP container exams at PortMiami explains which delays were never yours.
3. Check completeness. Run the invoice against the list above and note every missing element in writing.
4. Dispute in writing, through the contact on the invoice. Keep the thread in one place.
5. Escalate. Unresolved charges can be raised with the FMC through its consumer affairs and dispute resolution services.

Prevention beats disputes

The cheapest demurrage invoice is the one that never accrues. Pre-book appointments, keep a chassis strategy (compare options in our chassis pool cost guide), and have a bonded or general storage yard ready so a released container is not sitting at the terminal. Go Freight stages import containers at our Miami facility so free time is spent on your schedule, not the terminal’s.

Frequently asked questions

When did the FMC demurrage and detention billing rule take effect?

The Federal Maritime Commission published the final rule in February 2024 and it took effect on May 28, 2024, under authority from the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.

How long does a carrier have to send a demurrage invoice?

A billing party must issue the invoice within 30 calendar days from the date the charge stopped accruing. An NVOCC passing through charges from a vessel operating carrier has an additional 30 days.

What happens if a demurrage invoice is missing required information?

Under the rule, failure to include the required minimum information eliminates the billed party’s obligation to pay that charge. Raise the omissions in writing through the dispute contact listed on the invoice.

Stop paying for the terminal’s clock

Go Freight runs drayage and container storage from 3300 NW 110 St, Miami, FL 33167, with capacity to pull on release and stage on our yard. Get a freight quote or call (786) 445-0150.