Which States Regulate Moving Companies and How (2026)

Which states set a minimum mover liability above the federal level?

On a move that crosses a state line, the least a carrier owes for lost or damaged goods at no extra charge is the federal released-value level, 60 cents per pound per article under 49 CFR 375.701. A move that stays inside one state is governed by that state's own rule instead, and two states verified here set a higher floor: Arkansas and New Jersey. Each figure below is what the rule requires of the carrier, not a statement about what the goods are worth and not a recommendation about valuation coverage.

The comparison only holds within the move each rule governs. A state minimum does not follow a shipment across the state line, and the federal level does not displace a state rule on a move that never leaves the state. Where a state verified here sets no liability figure of its own, no row appears for it, because silence in a state's rules is not a figure.

Which states regulate moving brokers, and who regulates the rest?

Alabama and Florida are the only two states in this survey whose own rules name moving brokers and bring them inside the state regime. Every moving broker that arranges a move across a state line is regulated federally instead: a licensed property broker must maintain a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund under 49 CFR 387.307. A broker is the company that arranges the move; the carrier is the company that performs it, and the two can be regulated by different bodies on the same job.

• AlabamaAlabama requires a broker's licence from the Public Service Commission where a person arranges the transportation of property for compensation within the state, and an Alabama broker files a surety bond rather than the cargo insurance a carrier files.Alabama Public Service Commission, Motor Carrier Section
• FloridaFlorida's Chapter 507 Household Moving Services Registration covers a company that only arranges moves as well as one that carries them, so a Florida moving broker registers with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under the same chapter as a carrier.Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Moving Companies
• Federal, every state line crossedA property broker registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must maintain a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund. The requirement attaches to the broker's federal licence, not to any individual company's conduct.eCFR, 49 CFR 387.307

The published rules of the other forty-one states in this survey do not mention moving brokers at all, and our records carry no finding either way for them. That is silence in the sources we have read, not a statement that those states exempt brokers, and it is not a reason to prefer or avoid a broker. What it means in practice is that in most states the state rule describes the carrier, while the arranging party is answerable to the federal bond requirement above.

In which states can a mover's licence be checked online?

Fifteen of the forty-three verified states publish a public licence lookup a consumer can search: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington. The other twenty-eight publish no searchable register we have found, so a mover's state authorisation is confirmed there by contacting the agency directly. An absent lookup is a publishing choice and not a measure of how strictly a state regulates: several states that cap what a mover may charge publish nothing searchable at all.

For Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oklahoma our records hold neither a lookup nor a phone number or email address for licence verification, so this page names no verification route for those states rather than suggesting one. A move crossing a state line is verified instead against the carrier's federal registration.

Which states approve a mover's rates, and which only require them filed?

A filed tariff is not one requirement. In Arkansas and Iowa the tariff must be approved by the state before a move may be performed, so the price on your paperwork has already passed a state office. Arkansas requires this under 27 CAR 110-1903(c)(1). Iowa requires this under Iowa Code 325A.7A. In Connecticut, Indiana and Rhode Island the mover sets its own rates, files them, and may not charge outside the filed schedule, but no state office approves the numbers first (Connecticut: Conn. Gen. Stat. 13b-393; Indiana: Indiana Code 8-2.1-22-23; Rhode Island: R.I. Gen. Laws 39-12-12). The practical difference is what a disputed charge is measured against: an approved schedule in the first group, the mover's own filed schedule in the second.

Which states cap what movers can charge?

Five of the forty-three states verified here set a ceiling on what a mover may charge for a move that stays inside the state: Alabama, California, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. A carrier in these states may charge less than the prescribed rates but may not exceed them. Alabama uses Approved tariff on file with the Commission, setting the rates, fares, charges, rules and regulations for the service. California uses Maximum Rate Tariff 4. Georgia uses Georgia DPS Maximum Rate Tariff No. 7, effective 13 January 2026, adopted under Department Rule 570-38-3-.06. North Carolina uses Maximum Rate Tariff issued by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. South Carolina uses Approved tariff, which the consumer may request a copy of from the carrier to check the rates and charges on an estimate. No ceiling applies to a move that crosses a state line.

Alabama sourceCalifornia sourceGeorgia sourceNorth Carolina sourceSouth Carolina source

Which states regulate rates only above a distance?

Which states require movers to file their rates?

Seventeen of the forty-three states verified here require a mover to file its own rates with the state regulator and set no ceiling of their own: Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Filing makes a mover's rates public and holds the mover to what it filed, but the mover chooses the numbers and no state maximum applies. Each state names its own mechanism, listed below with the source that establishes it.

• Arkansas: tariff of rates based on weight and mileage, published and approved by the Arkansas State Highway Commission under 27 CAR 110-1903. Arkansas source
• Connecticut: Schedule of rates and charges filed with the Commissioner of Transportation under Conn. Gen. Stat. 13b-393, which the commissioner may cap or floor by order after a hearing. View Connecticut filed rates
• Hawaii: Tariff filed with the Public Utilities Commission and kept open to public inspection under HRS 271-21. Hawaii source
• Illinois: Tariff filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission under 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1225. View Illinois filed rates
• Indiana: Tariff filed with the Department of Revenue, which the carrier may not charge outside of. Indiana source
• Iowa: Tariff filed, posted and approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation under Iowa Code 325A.7A before any household goods move may be performed. Iowa source
• Kansas: Kansas intrastate household goods tariffs, filed with and published by the commission. Kansas source
• Kentucky: Tariff for household goods, uploaded to the carrier's Motor Carrier Portal account during the application. Kentucky source
• Louisiana: Tariff on file with the Commission, changed only by an Application for Tariff/Rate Change under the Transportation Tariff Rules at General Order R-32437. View Louisiana filed rates
• Massachusetts: an intrastate tariff that each licensed mover files with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, published by the DPU alongside its list of regulated companies. View Massachusetts filed rates
• Missouri: Household Goods Tariff Circular No. 1-2013, filed with the commission. Missouri source
• Nevada: Tariff filed with the Nevada Transportation Authority; the Authority publishes issued certificates as public documents. Nevada source
• New Jersey: Tariff, a formal schedule of rates and charges kept at the mover's main office and on file with the Division of Consumer Affairs. View New Jersey filed rates
• New Mexico: Tariff submitted to the Transportation Regulation Bureau, whose Compliance Unit reviews tariff submissions alongside financial responsibility and annual reporting. New Mexico source
• Ohio: Household goods carrier tariffs are filed and docketed with PUCO. Ohio source
• Pennsylvania: Rates on file with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which movers are required by law to charge. Pennsylvania source
• Rhode Island: tariffs printed, filed with the administrator and kept open for public inspection under R.I. Gen. Laws 39-12-11. View Rhode Island filed rates

Which states have no mover-specific authorisation?

Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Arizona, Delaware and West Virginia issues no authorisation written specifically for household goods movers, so there is no mover credential number to look up. That absence does not mean the same thing everywhere, and in none of these states does it mean a mover may simply operate unchecked. Arkansas requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the Arkansas intrastate motor carrier authority, and a mover working inside Arkansas must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence. Hawaii requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the Certificate of public convenience and necessity for a common carrier of property, and a mover working inside Hawaii must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence. Iowa requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the Iowa intrastate motor carrier permit, and a mover working inside Iowa must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence. Mississippi requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, and a mover working inside Mississippi must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence, with complaints going to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division, which took over roadside enforcement of the motor carrier chapter on 1 July 2021. New Mexico requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the New Mexico motor carrier operating authority, and a mover working inside New Mexico must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence. Wisconsin requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the Intrastate operating authority for property, certificate number prefixed LC, and a mover working inside Wisconsin must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence. Wyoming requires intrastate operating authority to carry property for hire, held as the Wyoming letter of authority for intrastate operation as a motor carrier, and a mover working inside Wyoming must hold it, so the check is that authority rather than a mover licence. Arizona requires Arizona Corporation Commission business registration, the same filing any business makes, and that is what a consumer checks in place of a mover credential, with complaints going to the Arizona Department of Public Safety Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Task Force, which investigates moving company complaints and enforces FMCSA household goods regulations. Delaware requires a Delaware business licence issued by the Division of Revenue under the drayperson and mover activity, which the Division states is not a regulatory licence, the same filing any business makes, and that is what a consumer checks in place of a mover credential, with complaints going to the Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit, which handles moving complaints as ordinary consumer complaints under Delaware consumer protection law. West Virginia sources confirm no state-level requirement of any kind. For a move leaving the state, the check is the same everywhere: an active USDOT number and household goods operating authority in FMCSA SAFER.

Which states regulate moving brokers?

A broker sells a move and hands it to a carrier, which is a different trade from carrying the goods, and a state regime that covers carriers does not automatically cover brokers. Alabama and Florida bring moving brokers inside the state regime on the state's own wording, so a broker operating there carries a state duty of its own. Where a state's pages describe the regime without mentioning brokers, this page records that silence rather than reading it as an exemption.