Delaware long distance
Long-distance moving companies in Delaware
Delaware publishes no mover-specific authorisation. 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, then separately verify federal household goods authority for a move crossing the state line.
Researched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Amanda Brooks · Last reviewed August 2026
Who regulates moving companies in Delaware?
Delaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division enforces household goods moving rules in Delaware, and sits within the Delaware Department of Justice. Movers are licensed under 30 Del. C. Chapter 23, drayperson and mover business licence and gross receipts tax. Moves crossing the Delaware state line fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration instead, a separate authorisation with separate requirements.
Source: Delaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division
Does Delaware issue a mover-specific authorisation?
Delaware issues no authorisation written specifically for household goods movers, so there is no mover credential number to look up. What Delaware does require is 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 in the state makes, and that is what a consumer checks in place of a mover credential. Complaint enforcement sits with the Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit, which handles moving complaints as ordinary consumer complaints under Delaware consumer protection law. For a move crossing the Delaware state line, FMCSA registration applies instead.
Delaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division household goods pageFMCSA SAFER
How can I verify a Delaware mover before booking?
Search the company by name or licence number in the Delaware business licence search, and confirm the record shows an active status. For a move leaving Delaware, check the company's USDOT record in FMCSA SAFER as well. Holding one authorisation does not imply the other.
Delaware licence lookupDelaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division: Consumer Protection Unit, 820 N. French Street, 5th Floor, Wilmington DE 19801Verify by phone: 302-577-8600Verify by email: consumer.protection@delaware.govFMCSA SAFER
How do I file a complaint against a Delaware mover?
Complaints about a move inside Delaware go to Delaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division through Delaware Department of Justice consumer complaint form, 302-577-8600 or 800-220-5424, consumer.protection@delaware.gov. A complaint about a move that crossed the Delaware state line goes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through the National Consumer Complaint Database instead.
Delaware complaint channelFMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database
Does Delaware license moving companies?
No. Delaware's public carrier chapter, 2 Del. C. Chapter 18, defines a public carrier as a railroad, street railway, traction railway, taxicab, limousine, motor bus or electric trackless trolley coach service, and a household goods mover is not in that list. The Office of Public Carrier that administers the chapter therefore regulates taxis, limousines and buses, not movers, and no other Delaware agency issues a mover credential in its place.
What can I actually check on a Delaware mover?
A Delaware mover trades under a business licence issued by the Division of Revenue for the drayperson and mover activity, and that licence is searchable. Read what the Division says about it before you lean on it: its own drayperson guidance states the business licence is not a regulatory licence and its issuance does not attest to the qualifications of the applicant to perform the activity. In Delaware the licence proves registration, and insurance and competence have to be checked directly with the company.
Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, drayperson and mover guidance
What does Delaware require of a moving company?
Delaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division publishes what applies to a company moving household goods in Delaware. Each of the following comes from the agency's own pages:
- Delaware taxes an intrastate mover's revenue rather than licensing the trade: the drayperson gross receipts tax runs at 0.3983 percent of Delaware-sourced moving receipts, and amounts received for moving goods interstate are excluded.
- The Delaware drayperson business licence costs $75 for the first location and $25 for each additional location and is renewed annually.
- Moving material off a construction site keeps a Delaware mover under the drayperson licence, but moving or spreading material within the same site requires a contractor's licence instead.
- The Delaware Public Service Commission's remit under 26 Del. C. Chapter 1 is public utilities, so no rate case, tariff or price ceiling for a Delaware mover exists to look up there.
Delaware Department of Justice, Fraud and Consumer Protection Division moving companies pageDelaware consumer information for movers
What is different about an interstate move from Delaware?
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 Delaware 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.
Sources for Delaware licensing
- https://delcode.delaware.gov/title2/c018/index.html
- https://revenuefiles.delaware.gov/docs/drayperson.pdf
- https://revenue.delaware.gov/business-license-search/
- https://depsc.delaware.gov/public-service-commission/
- https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/fraud/cmu/complaint/
Last verified against agency pages: 2026-08-11
What does the federal count say about Delaware?
Of the 177 household goods registrants filed at a Delawareaddress, 94 carry the federal census classification for interstate operations. That is 53% of the state-address total. The other 83 do not carry that classification in this snapshot. Neither group is a list of movers serving every address inDelaware: headquarters location and service area are different facts.
A consumer should use the count as context, not as a shortlist. Ask for the USDOT number of the company that will transport the shipment, match its legal or trade name to the written estimate, and confirm granted household goods authority close to pickup. A broker registration, a state-only filing, or a carrier based inDelaware without interstate classification does not substitute for that check.
How many licensed moving companies are registered in Delaware?
The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 177 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in Delaware, and 94 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists a Delaware address, which is not the same as the number of companies that will serve a move in Delaware. An interstate move into or out of Delaware can be performed by a carrier registered in any state.
FMCSA motor carrier census, Company Census FileData as of 2026-08-10
Which record applies to a Delaware move?
The dividing line is the shipment, not the mover's office. A move that begins and ends inside Delawarefollows the state authorisation described above. A move from Delaware to another state follows federal interstate rules. When one company offers both, check both records independently and make sure the name on the estimate matches the entity holding the authority for that trip.