Re-Class / Reclassification Fee

A reclassification fee – commonly called a re-class – is charged when an LTL carrier inspects a shipment and determines that the freight class listed on the bill of lading doesn't match the actual commodity. LTL pricing is built on the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system, which assigns classes from 50 to 500 based on density, stowability, handling difficulty, and liability. When a shipment is classed too low – whether by mistake, outdated data, or guesswork – the carrier reclassifies it at the correct (usually higher) class and applies both the adjusted rate and a reclassification penalty fee, often $50 to $150 per occurrence.

Carriers perform freight inspections at origin terminals, and high-value or density-suspect shipments are frequent targets. The inspection may involve weighing the shipment, measuring dimensions, or verifying the commodity description against the NMFC code on the BOL. If the declared class is wrong, the carrier recalculates the charges using the correct class – which can dramatically increase the cost. A shipment incorrectly classed at 70 that gets reclassified to 125, for example, might see its rate double or triple. The reclassification penalty is added on top as an administrative fee.

Re-class fees are one of the most preventable accessorial charges in LTL shipping. The root cause is almost always inaccurate or missing product data – shippers who don't maintain current NMFC codes, correct weights, and accurate dimensions for their SKUs are guessing at freight class every time they create a BOL. Over time, these guesses generate a steady stream of reclassification charges that erode freight budgets and strain carrier relationships, since carriers view chronic misclassification as either incompetence or an attempt to game the rating system.

The fix is maintaining an accurate item master with verified NMFC codes, dimensions, and weights for every product, and using that data to automatically generate BOLs with correct freight classifications. Shippers who eliminate re-class fees often cite it as one of their quickest freight cost wins.