How to hire a moving company
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
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Four checks, in order. Confirm the company holds federal authority for the kind of move you are making, since an active USDOT number is not the same as authority to carry household goods. Get the estimate in writing, which 49 CFR 375.401 requires. Understand what liability you have, because the default is far lower than most people assume. Then compare prices.
What is the difference between a carrier and a broker?
A carrier moves your belongings with its own crews and equipment. A broker arranges the move and a different company performs it. Both are legitimate and both are federally registered, but they are registered separately: a broker holds broker authority and posts a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund under 49 CFR 387.307, while a carrier holds motor carrier authority. Ask which you are talking to, because it decides who arrives. The broker versus carrier page sets out how each is registered.
What must a written estimate contain?
An interstate mover must give you a written estimate before the move under 49 CFR 375.401, covering the transportation and the services it will perform. A binding estimate fixes the price for the goods and services listed. A non-binding estimate does not, and the mover may require no more than 110 percent of it before releasing your goods under 49 CFR 375.407, with the balance billed within 30 days. The binding versus non-binding page compares the two.
What is the mover liable for if something breaks?
Less than most people expect. The default is released value, which is 60 cents per pound per article under 49 CFR 375.701. A television weighing 40 pounds is covered for 24 dollars under that default regardless of what it cost. The alternative is full value protection, which the mover must offer and which is priced separately, and choosing between them is the single most consequential decision on the paperwork. Moving insurance sets out both levels.
How do you check a company is what it says it is?
Look up the USDOT number in the federal record and confirm three things: the registration is active, the operating authority covers household goods, and the authority is current rather than lapsed. A company can hold an active USDOT and no household goods authority at all, which is the most common gap between what a mover implies and what its record shows. The USDOT lookup page explains the search, and the company profiles record what each registration shows.
What are the signs to walk away from?
A quote with no written estimate. A large deposit demanded before the move. A company that will not give a USDOT number, or gives one that resolves to a different legal name. An estimate given over the phone without anyone seeing or discussing what is being moved. And a company that answers the phone with a generic greeting rather than a business name, which usually means a broker that has not said so.
What do you need to work out?
- What does moving insurance cover?What the default federal liability actually pays, what full value protection changes, and what a certificate of insurance is for.
- Do movers pack for you?What full packing includes, how partial packing works, and what changes about liability when the mover does the packing.
- How far in advance should you book movers?The real lead times for local and interstate moves, why summer and month ends are different, and what booking late actually costs.
- What will movers not move?The items federal rules bar from a moving truck, the ones companies refuse by policy, and what to do with each.
- Will movers hold your belongings?How storage in transit works, what it costs to leave a shipment in a warehouse, and what changes about liability while it is there.
- What is a moving inventory list?What the mover's inventory records, what the condition codes mean, and why reading it before you sign is the whole of your protection.
- What are the options for shipping household goods?Full service, containers, freight and rental trucks compared on who does the work, who carries the liability and what each suits.