What the Relay Scorecard Measures
The Amazon Relay scorecard is a performance tracking system visible in your Relay portal. It tracks four categories:
Safety Compliance: Your safety record based on your FMCSA ratings, inspections, violations, and accident history. A strong safety score opens access to premium loads. A weak score limits it.
On-Time Performance: Whether you pick up loads on time and deliver on time. Missing pickups or delivering late both hurt your score. Consistently on-time delivery improves it.
Tender Acceptance: Whether you accept loads and follow through. Accept a load and then cancel it, and your tender acceptance score drops. Amazon wants carriers who commit to the loads they accept.
Technology/App Usage: Whether you use the Relay app, respond to updates, and keep your equipment registered. Carriers who actively manage their account on Relay score better than those who go silent for weeks.
Your scorecard is a blend of these four areas. Amazon uses it to decide which carriers get first access to premium loads and which carriers are restricted to lower-demand work.
Why the Scorecard Limits Load Access
Amazon Relay needs carriers who will pick up on time, deliver on time, and commit to their bookings. Carriers with strong scorecards get priority access to loads. Carriers with weak scorecards—lots of cancellations, late pickups, poor on-time delivery—get fewer options.
The scorecard system creates accountability. Accept a load, and you're expected to follow through. Miss a pickup or deliver late, and it's recorded. Low scores have consequences: fewer loads, less control over which work you see, less access to premium lanes.
This doesn't mean one missed delivery ruins your score. Amazon looks at trends. One late pickup might not tank you. Three late pickups in two weeks will.
Common Scorecard Violations
The types of things that lower your scorecard:
- Missed or Late Pickups: You didn't pick up the load at the scheduled time.
- Late Deliveries: You delivered after the required time window.
- Tender Cancellations: You accepted a load and then canceled it.
- Failed to Respond: Amazon communicated with you (via email, SMS, the app) and you didn't respond within the required timeframe.
- Inactive Account: You haven't used the Relay app or portal for an extended period.
- Safety Violations: An inspection found a violation, or your FMCSA rating changed.
Each violation has a reason and often provides a date and specific details. When you log into your scorecard, you should see which violations are holding you back.
How to Read Your Scorecard
Log into your Relay portal and look for the scorecard or performance section. It will show:
- Your overall score or rating (often on a scale or as a status: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor).
- Specific violations by category (safety, on-time, tender acceptance, technology/app).
- The date of each violation.
- Details about what happened (e.g., "Late delivery on 2024-09-15" or "Tender canceled on 2024-09-18").
Write down the violations you see. Get specific: the date, the load (if listed), the type of violation, and the reason (if Amazon provided one).
How to Dispute a Violation
Dispute as soon as you see the violation, and check the Relay portal for the current deadline.
Step 1: Understand Why It Was Marked
First, make sure you understand why the violation was recorded. Read the details in your scorecard. If it says "Late Delivery" on a specific date, understand what load that was and why you were late. Was it traffic? A customer delay? Your own mistake?
Understand the violation before you dispute it. If Amazon marked you late and you actually were late (traffic or not), a dispute won't help. But if Amazon marked you late and you delivered on time, or marked you as having canceled when you didn't, then a dispute is warranted.
Step 2: Gather Evidence
Collect documentation that supports your dispute:
- Delivery proof: GPS records, delivery confirmation, customer signature, timestamp.
- Communication: Emails or messages where Amazon changed the pickup time or delay was authorized.
- System records: Screenshots of the Relay app showing your status when you completed the load.
- External evidence: Police report (if an accident caused delay), dispatch records, fuel stops, anything that corroborates your version.
The stronger your evidence, the better your case.
Step 3: Draft a Dispute Letter
Write a letter to Amazon explaining why the violation should be reversed. The letter should:
- State the violation: "I'm disputing the late delivery violation recorded on 2024-09-15 for load #12345."
- Explain your side: "I picked up on time and drove the required route. I arrived at the delivery location at 14:32, within the contracted 16:00 window."
- Cite policy or evidence: "Per Relay's on-time delivery policy, I completed the delivery within the agreed timeframe. My GPS records and the customer's signature confirm the 14:32 delivery time."
- Request reversal: "I request that this violation be removed from my scorecard as it was recorded in error."
Keep the letter professional, factual, and brief. No excuses, no blame. Just facts: what you did, when you did it, what your evidence shows.
Step 4: Submit the Dispute
In your Relay portal, there's typically a "Dispute" or "Appeal" button next to the violation. Click it, paste your letter, and submit. Amazon will review it.
Most disputes are reviewed within 7–14 days. You'll get an email notification of the outcome.
Step 5: Accept the Decision
Amazon reviews the dispute and either reverses the violation or upholds it. If they reverse it, the violation disappears from your scorecard and your score improves. If they uphold it, the violation stays and you can't dispute it again.
This is why evidence matters. If you have GPS proof you delivered on time, Amazon is likely to reverse the violation. If you have no evidence and just say "I delivered on time," Amazon is likely to keep the violation.
NudoIQ's Dispute Letter Tool
Writing a dispute letter from scratch is time-consuming. NudoIQ automates part of the process.
When you open NudoIQ's dispute tool, it reads your Relay scorecard and shows all your violations. For each violation, it identifies what Amazon says happened (late delivery, tender cancellation, safety issue) and the policy that applies.
NudoIQ then drafts a dispute letter template that cites the relevant Amazon Relay policy. The letter is a starting point—you review it, edit it to match your specific situation and evidence, and then submit it to Amazon.
This saves you hours of research. Instead of guessing what policy applies or how to phrase a dispute, you have a draft that references the actual policy. You add your evidence (GPS records, delivery confirmation, etc.) and your explanation, and you're done.
Why Disputes Take Time
Amazon reviews disputes but doesn't process them instantly. They're reviewed by a team, not a bot. This takes days or weeks.
While your dispute is pending, the violation stays on your scorecard. Your score stays lower. You might have limited access to premium loads until it's resolved.
This is why disputing promptly matters. The sooner you dispute, the fresher Amazon's records are. Waiting months makes your dispute weaker because the evidence gets stale.
Preventing Scorecard Problems
The best strategy is to avoid violations in the first place:
- Pick up on time: Set a reminder. Leave early if traffic might be bad. Build in buffer time.
- Deliver on time: Plan your route. Know the delivery address and hours before you pick up. Avoid delays whenever possible.
- Don't cancel loads: Accept only loads you're certain you can deliver. Cancellations tank your tender acceptance score.
- Respond to Amazon: Check your email, SMS, and the Relay app regularly. If Amazon reaches out, respond promptly.
- Use the app: Log in to Relay at least weekly. Keep your information current. Show Amazon you're an active, engaged carrier.
- Watch your safety: Keep your truck maintained. Drive safely. Avoid citations and accidents.
What Happens If Your Score Stays Low
If your scorecard stays low for extended periods:
- You lose priority access to loads. Good loads go to higher-scoring carriers first.
- You're restricted to lower-demand lanes and routes.
- You may be unable to work with Relay at all (in extreme cases, Amazon can deactivate your account).
Low scores are a real threat to your Relay income. If you see violations piling up, address them immediately. Dispute what you can, fix your behavior where you can, and work to rebuild your score.
Rebuilding Your Score
If your score is low, it can be rebuilt:
- Fix the behavior: If you've been late on deliveries, be early from now on. If you've canceled loads, stop canceling.
- Dispute wrong violations: Use the process above to challenge violations you believe are incorrect.
- Engage with Relay: Use the app, respond to communications, keep your profile updated.
- Build a pattern: A few on-time deliveries won't fix a score damaged by months of problems. You need a pattern of good behavior over weeks and months.
Scorecard rebuilding takes time, but it's possible. Carriers have recovered from poor scores by consistently doing the right things.
Scorecard and Equipment
Note: The scorecard measures your performance, not your equipment. Even with the best truck, a poor scorecard means limited loads. Even with older equipment, a strong scorecard means priority access.
Amazon cares more about reliability than newness.
The Uncertainty: What Amazon Decides
The final rule: Amazon decides the outcome of every dispute. You present your case, Amazon reviews it, and Amazon makes the call. There's no appeal after Amazon's decision.
This is why evidence matters so much. Build the strongest case you can—GPS records, photos, customer signatures, emails—and present it clearly. But understand that Amazon has the authority and the last word.
Using NudoIQ to Draft a Stronger Dispute
NudoIQ's dispute letter tool gives you a head start. It reads your scorecard, identifies the violation, and cites the policy. You review the draft, add your evidence, personalize it to your situation, and submit.
This turns a task that takes hours (researching policy, drafting from scratch) into one that takes minutes (reviewing a draft, adding your specifics, and submitting).
The extension costs $49.99 a month for every feature including dispute drafting, and includes a 7-day free trial with no card charged upfront. Cancel anytime from Stripe.
Used by 300+ carriers and rated 5.0 on the Chrome Web Store, NudoIQ is built to help you navigate Relay's scorecard system and stay competitive.