Maryland long distance
Long-distance moving companies in Maryland
Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit requires Household Goods Mover Registration for household goods work inside Maryland. The state publishes the Search for a licensed household goods mover. A move crossing the state line requires a separate federal check.
Researched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Amanda Brooks · Last reviewed August 2026
Who regulates moving companies in Maryland?
Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit regulates household goods movers operating inside Maryland, and sits within the Maryland Department of Labor. Movers are licensed under Maryland household goods movers registration law, effective 1 October 2019. Moves crossing the Maryland state line fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration instead, a separate authorisation with separate requirements.
What authorisation must a Maryland mover hold?
A mover doing work inside Maryland must hold the Household Goods Mover Registration, issued by Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit. It exists specifically for household goods movers, whatever its title. The requirement sits in Maryland household goods movers registration law, effective 1 October 2019. An interstate carrier holding only a federal USDOT number is not authorised for Maryland intrastate work by that number alone.
Source: Agency licensing page
How can I verify a Maryland mover before booking?
Search the company by name or licence number in the Search for a licensed household goods mover, and confirm the record shows an active status. For a move leaving Maryland, check the company's USDOT record in FMCSA SAFER as well. Holding one authorisation does not imply the other.
Maryland licence lookupMaryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit: 100 S. Charles Street, Tower I, Baltimore, MD 21201Verify by phone: 410-230-6174Verify by email: hhg.labor@maryland.govFMCSA SAFER
How do I file a complaint against a Maryland mover?
Complaints about a move inside Maryland go to Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit through Maryland Attorney General Consumer Protection Division, for damage, contractual and monetary disputes, 410-230-6174, for registration, insurance or workers' compensation failures. A complaint about a move that crossed the Maryland state line goes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through the National Consumer Complaint Database instead.
Maryland complaint channelFMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database
What does a Maryland mover have to prove before it is registered?
Insurance, workers' compensation and good standing. A Maryland household goods mover registration application requires an insurance carrier and policy number showing liability and cargo coverage meeting 49 C.F.R. Part 387.303, proof of workers' compensation coverage for all covered employees, and a certificate of status from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation dated within 30 days of the application. The applicant must also name every person holding at least 25% of the business, and disclose earlier applications by those people for other entities.
Source: Maryland Department of Labor, registration requirements
Who do you complain to about a Maryland mover?
Two different offices, depending on the problem. Maryland routes damage to property, damage to a home or vehicle, late arrivals, contractual and monetary disputes, detained property and missing property to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division complaint form. A mover operating without registration, without proper insurance or without workers' compensation coverage goes instead to the Department of Labor on 410-230-6174. Sending the wrong complaint to the wrong office is the usual way a Maryland claim stalls.
Source: Maryland Department of Labor, information for consumers
What does Maryland require of a permitted mover?
Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit publishes what applies to a company moving household goods in Maryland. Each of the following comes from the agency's own pages:
- Maryland registration runs for a one-year period from the date of issuance, and all Maryland registration fees are nonrefundable.
Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Household Goods Movers Registration Unit moving companies pageHow to apply for Maryland moving authorityMaryland consumer information for movers
What is different about an interstate move from Maryland?
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 Maryland 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 Maryland licensing
- https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/hgm/
- https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/hgm/hhmreginfo.shtml
- https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/hgm/hhmcon.shtml
- https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/hgm/hhgapply.shtml
Last verified against agency pages: 2026-08-11
What does the federal count say about Maryland?
Of the 2,340 household goods registrants filed at a Marylandaddress, 824 carry the federal census classification for interstate operations. That is 35% of the state-address total. The other 1,516 do not carry that classification in this snapshot. Neither group is a list of movers serving every address inMaryland: 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 inMaryland without interstate classification does not substitute for that check.
How many licensed moving companies are registered in Maryland?
The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 2,340 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in Maryland, and 824 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists a Maryland address, which is not the same as the number of companies that will serve a move in Maryland. An interstate move into or out of Maryland 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 Maryland move?
The dividing line is the shipment, not the mover's office. A move that begins and ends inside Marylandfollows the state authorisation described above. A move from Maryland 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.