Required for Pickup and Delivery: Confirming Your Loading or Offloading Method (Dock, Forklift, or Lift Gate)
For the safety of our drivers and your freight, and to guarantee the successful delivery of your order, all heavy or large shipments must be offloaded by one of three methods: a Shipping Dock, a Forklift, or a Lift Gate (Accessorial).
To ensure your booking is accurate and your delivery is smooth, we ask you to confirm your facility's capabilities during the quoting process.
The Offloading Requirement Policy
During the address details step of your booking (after quoting but before confirmation), you will be asked a series of questions to determine the proper delivery method.
If your delivery location does not have a shipping dock, a forklift, or a Lift Gate accessory added to the order, your booking cannot be completed.
The system will guide you through these questions based on your previous answers:
How It Works in FreightSimple
When you enter or confirm a pickup or delivery address (after quoting but before booking), our system checks how the location can offload freight:
You’ll first see the question:
“Does this location have a shipping dock?”- If you select "Yes": Great! Your delivery will be booked accordingly. No further offloading questions are needed.
If you answer No, a follow-up question appears:
“Does this location have a forklift?”- If you select "Yes": Your delivery will be booked for forklift offloading. You can proceed with confirmation.
If you answer No again, the system will automatically show a message:
“This location requires a lift gate service since there is no dock or forklift available. Click below to requote with lift gate”
You’ll see a quick Requote button that lets you easily update your quote to include Liftgate at Pickup or Liftgate at Delivery.
If you’ve already selected a liftgate during the quoting or booking process, these questions won’t appear — the system knows you’re covered!
Why This Is Important
Carriers need to know exactly how freight will be handled on-site. If no equipment is available, drivers can’t safely offload pallets, and extra fees or missed deliveries can occur.
By confirming your setup upfront, you’ll:
- Avoid extra liftgate or redelivery fees
- Ensure a smoother delivery process
- Save time during booking
Pro Tip 💡
If you frequently ship from or deliver to locations without docks or forklifts, add “Liftgate required” to that address in your Address Book — it’ll automatically apply for future quotes.