Movers in Arkansas charge about $80 to $125 per hour for a two-person crew on local jobs, and a two-bedroom interstate move from Arkansas is estimated at $2,300 to $5,400. Intrastate movers in Arkansas are licensed by the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division, while any company moving household goods across state lines must hold FMCSA operating authority. Peak demand runs April to September, when quotes sit at the top of those ranges. BestMovers.info compares 182 licensed carriers serving Arkansas, with pricing data as of May 2026.
Compare moving companies, Federal Records, and moving resources for Arkansas. BestMovers.info publishes no numeric score, star rating or ranked order.
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The South calendar sets Arkansas pricing: April–September is peak, November–March is the discount window, and the gap between them is 15% to 25% on an identical job.
Two crew members at standard rates run roughly $103/hr in most of the state, with downtown high-rise jobs and gated communities pulling toward the upper end. A typical 2-bedroom interstate move out of Arkansas settles around $3,850, though distance and packing services swing that meaningfully.
Local quirks worth pricing in: summer heat, hurricane-season reschedules along the coast, and a heavier flow of inbound retirees. None of these are dealbreakers, but they show up in the final bill if you don't ask about them upfront.
Verification in Arkansas runs through the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division. Every for-hire motor carrier transporting property or passengers wholly within Arkansas must apply for authority to operate from the Arkansas Department of Transportation, and the department runs a separate household goods carrier application track alongside general freight and passenger carriers. The authorisation is a Arkansas intrastate motor carrier authority. Interstate carriers additionally need active FMCSA authority, which you can check on SAFER by USDOT number.
Pay by card, never cash, so a disputed charge has a route back through the issuer.
Arkansas runs its heaviest volume April–September, and its metro areas feed most of that demand out of and around Little Rock. Population sits near 3.1 million, which is what sets how deep the local crew pool actually is in November–March.
Selection for Arkansas starts from licensing, not marketing. A company is listed here when it is headquartered in Arkansas or its record shows coverage of the state, and when we can describe it from sourced fields: federal registration, operating authority, founding year, and service coverage. We publish no numeric score and rank nobody first.
Which company suits your move is a question of scope and date, not of a score: BestMovers.info publishes no numeric score, star rating or ranked order. The pricing model behind the estimates on this page is dated May 2026.
Two movers, ground-floor access, standard packing. Peak season in Arkansas is April–September.
| Home size | Local move | Interstate move |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $240–$625 | $1,265–$3,240 |
| 1 Bedroom | $320–$750 | $1,725–$4,212 |
| 2 Bedroom | $480–$1,125 | $2,300–$5,400 |
| 3 Bedroom | $640–$1,500 | $3,335–$8,370 |
| 4 Bedroom | $880–$2,000 | $4,485–$11,610 |
| 5+ Bedroom | $1,120–$2,500 | $5,520–$14,580 |
The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 276 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in Arkansas, and 140 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists a Arkansas address, which is not the same as the number of companies that will serve a move in Arkansas. An interstate move into or out of Arkansas can be performed by a carrier registered in any state.
FMCSA motor carrier census, Company Census FileData as of 2026-08-10
IRS tax return data for filing years 2022 to 2023 records 32,121 returns moving out of Arkansas to another state, and 37,334 moving in, a net gain of 5,213 returns. A return approximates a household rather than a person. The same filings cover 57,903 individuals leaving and 69,149 arriving.
The states receiving the most Arkansas households were Texas (6,498 returns), Missouri (3,143 returns) and Oklahoma (2,929 returns).
Arrivals came mainly from Texas (7,451 returns), Missouri (3,265 returns) and Oklahoma (2,953 returns). These figures count all filers who changed address, not only those who hired a moving company.
IRS SOI state-to-state outflow fileIRS SOI state-to-state inflow fileData as of tax filing years 2022 to 2023
Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division enforces household goods moving rules in Arkansas, and sits within the Arkansas State Highway Commission. Movers are licensed under Arkansas Motor Carrier Act of 1955, Ark. Code 23-13-201 et seq.. The operating rules sit in 27 CAR Part 110, Subpart 19, Special Rules Governing Household Goods Carriers. Moves crossing the Arkansas state line fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration instead, a separate authorisation with separate requirements.
Source: Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division
Arkansas issues no authorisation written specifically for household goods movers, so there is no mover credential number to look up. Arkansas does still require operating authority to carry property for hire inside the state, and a mover must hold it: the credential is the Arkansas intrastate motor carrier authority. It is not a mover licence, it is the authority any for-hire property carrier in Arkansas holds, and a company moving your household goods inside Arkansas without it is operating unlawfully. For a move crossing the Arkansas state line, FMCSA registration applies instead.
Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division household goods pageFMCSA SAFER
Arkansas publishes notices of intrastate authority filings rather than a searchable register of carriers holding authority, so a company's standing is confirmed with the department's motor carrier legal assistant on 501-569-2160 rather than looked up online. For a move leaving Arkansas, check the company's USDOT record in FMCSA SAFER as well. Holding one authorisation does not imply the other.
Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division: Arkansas Department of Transportation, 10324 Interstate 30, Little Rock AR 72209Verify by phone: 501-569-2160FMCSA SAFER
Arkansas requires each mover to file its own rates rather than setting a ceiling. The mechanism is tariff of rates based on weight and mileage, published and approved by the Arkansas State Highway Commission under 27 CAR 110-1903, so the rates are public and enforceable against the mover that filed them, but Arkansas does not cap them. Rates on a move that leaves Arkansas are not set by the state.
Source: Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division
Complaints about a move inside Arkansas go to Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division through formal complaint to the Arkansas State Highway Commission under 27 CAR Part 110, Subpart 3, 501-569-2160. A complaint about a move that crossed the Arkansas state line goes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through the National Consumer Complaint Database instead.
Arkansas complaint channelFMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database
Arkansas is one of the few states whose rules put the answer in writing, and the answer is yes. The wording every Arkansas mover must print on its estimate form states that actual rates and charges on intrastate transportation of household goods are based upon weight and mileage of shipment and are published in a tariff approved by the Arkansas State Highway Commission, and that certificated carriers generally participate in the same tariff or have uniform rates. Two Arkansas quotes on identical weight and distance should therefore look alike, and a quote structured on hours rather than weight and mileage is worth questioning.
Source: 27 CAR 110-1903, Estimates
Arkansas caps what you must hand over on the day. Where the actual charges exceed the estimate by more than ten percent, the rules require the shipper to pay the estimate plus ten percent at delivery and give a further fifteen business days to settle the remainder. The protection depends on holding a written estimate on the department's prescribed form, which must be headed Estimated Cost of Services and follow a visual inspection.
Source: 27 CAR 110-1903, Estimates
Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division publishes what applies to a company moving household goods in Arkansas. Each of the following comes from the agency's own pages:
Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division moving companies pageHow to apply for Arkansas moving authorityArkansas consumer information for movers
Moves crossing a state line are authorised by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under a USDOT number and interstate household goods operating authority. A Arkansas state licence does not cover that work, and the federal record is the one to check: confirm the USDOT number is active and authorised for household goods before paying a deposit.
Last verified against agency pages: 2026-08-11
A move that leaves Arkansas is an interstate move and falls under federal authority, so the company needs active operating authority for household goods rather than only an Arkansas licence. A move that stays inside Arkansas is different: it is regulated by Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division, and the company needs Arkansas intrastate motor carrier authority, which is general carrier authority rather than a licence written for movers. Check which kind of move you are booking before you compare quotes, because the two are verified in different places.
Arkansas publishes no lookup, so a licence is confirmed by calling Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division on 501-569-2160.
Arkansas sets its own minimum carrier liability for an in-state move at $1.25 per pound of the actual weight of the shipment, unless the shipper releases the goods to a lower value under 27 CAR 110-1905(b), against the federal released-value level of 60 cents per pound per article on an interstate move.
The out of state checklist sets out what changes when the move crosses a line, and the moving checklist sets out the weeks before it.
For a 1-bedroom apartment moving across town, a labor-only crew (you rent the truck, they load) is the cheapest option that still beats calling friends. In Arkansas metros that runs about $240 to $500 for two movers over three to four hours.
Once a household passes three bedrooms, full service is usually the cheaper mistake to avoid. Budget two to three times the labor-only figure; the premium buys equipment, insurance, and a crew that does this daily.
Portable containers sit between the two on price. Providers such as PODS, U-Pack, and 1-800-PACK-RAT drop a unit at the curb. You load on your schedule, the company drives. On a Arkansas interstate move the container route is usually cheaper than a full-service van line, because you are supplying the loading labor the carrier would otherwise charge for. Bestmovers.info holds no container rates, so price the provider quote for your own lane and dates. The catch is the delivery window, which is set by the provider rather than promised to you, and limited recourse for damage during loading, since you packed it.
These companies have a verified headquarters or documented company location in Arkansas. Placement is based on documented location information, not a numeric ranking.
U-Pack is operated by ABF Freight and uses commercial trucking for the actual transport, which keeps prices below traditional movers. You handle loading; they handle the long haul.
U-Pack is headquartered in Arkansas according to its published company location.
These companies publish broad nationwide moving service and are shown separately from companies based in Arkansas.
Budd Van Lines Inc is an independent nationwide carrier rather than an agent of a national van line, which is rare at this size: the federal census records 124 power units and 102 drivers filed from Somerset, New Jersey. Because the company holds its own active common and contract authority with household goods on the licensing record and no broker authority, the entity you contract with is the entity that hauls the shipment. The company's own history pages date the business to 1975.
Budd Van Lines publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
Colonial Van Lines Inc files from 1441 SW 29th Avenue in Pompano Beach, Florida, active on the federal census with 25 power units, 25 drivers and an MCS-150 filed 21 March 2025. The licensing record carries motor carrier of household goods authority granted 31 March 2010 and motor carrier of property authority recorded as reinstated on 27 June 2025, both active at the time of reading; no broker authority is carried on this registration. The federal file records a Satisfactory safety rating dated 28 June 2021 alongside a compliance review dated 3 October 2012. A safety rating is a dated federal snapshot of the review that produced it, not a current assessment of the company. The company publishes this USDOT number and MC docket in its own website footer, which is how the registration and the brand were joined. Two further registrations filing from the same address, one under the identical legal name and one under a Texas corporate name, are disclosed separately as related registrations rather than merged into this record. The company states it was founded in 2003.
Colonial Van Lines publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
International Van Lines services overseas destinations in addition to US interstate work. What it is licensed to do federally is set out in the federal record on this page rather than described here.
International Van Lines publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
Mayflower Transit is the second large UniGroup brand alongside United Van Lines and runs full-service interstate moves through an agent network under its own federal registration.
Mayflower Transit publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
North American Van Lines is part of SIRVA and moves interstate household goods through an agent-affiliate network. The federal registration shown here belongs to the van line, not to the local agent that loads the truck.
North American Van Lines publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
Eight weeks out: get three written quotes. Two should be in-home or video surveys. One online quote is fine for comparison only — it will rarely be the binding number.
Six weeks out: book the carrier. Ask for binding-not-to-exceed pricing in writing. Confirm valuation coverage (released vs. full-value protection — there is a real difference if a TV gets dropped).
Four weeks out: order packing supplies if you're self-packing. Boxes go on sale at U-Haul and Home Depot in late winter and late summer.
Two weeks out: confirm parking, building COIs, and elevator reservations at both ends. Arkansas buildings vary wildly here — some need 72 hours notice, some 30 days.
One week out: pack a personal essentials box (medications, chargers, three days of clothes, toilet paper, coffee, scissors, the lease/closing folder) and keep it with you, not on the truck.
Move day: walk the truck before driver pulls away. Sign the Bill of Lading only after the inventory list matches. First week in the new place, file any damage claim within nine months — that's the federal interstate window.
Arkansas pricing varies by metro. Downtown cores with high-rise residential typically run 10–20% above the state median because of COI requirements, freight elevator wait time, and tighter parking. Suburban single-family moves usually land near the median. Rural pickups outside metro service areas often add a per-mile travel fee from the nearest depot.
Intrastate household-goods movers in Arkansas are licensed by the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal Division. Every for-hire motor carrier transporting property or passengers wholly within Arkansas must apply for authority to operate from the Arkansas Department of Transportation, and the department runs a separate household goods carrier application track alongside general freight and passenger carriers. The authorisation is a Arkansas intrastate motor carrier authority.
Arkansas Department of Transportation, Legal DivisionResearched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Amanda Brooks · Last reviewed August 2026
How we evaluate moving companies: we verify federal registration and operating authority against FMCSA records, record carrier or broker classification, note state licensing where a state regulator publishes it, and state the limits of what we could source. No numeric score, star rating or ranked order is produced from those checks. Read full methodology