New Hampshire long distance
Long-distance moving companies in New Hampshire
New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau requires New Hampshire household goods carrier certificate or permit for household goods work inside New Hampshire. New Hampshire moved household goods carriers to the Department of Safety in 2023 and the Road Toll Bureau's published licensee lists cover fuel distributors and transporters, not movers, so a mover's certificate is confirmed with the bureau rather than looked up online. 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 New Hampshire?
New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau regulates household goods movers operating inside New Hampshire, and sits within the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Administration. Movers are licensed under RSA 359-T, Carriage of Household Goods for Hire by Motor Vehicle. The operating rules sit in N.H. Admin. Code Saf-C 4600, Carriage of Household Goods by Motor Vehicles. Moves crossing the New Hampshire state line fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration instead, a separate authorisation with separate requirements.
Source: New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau
What authorisation must a New Hampshire mover hold?
A mover doing work inside New Hampshire must hold the New Hampshire household goods carrier certificate or permit, issued by New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau. It exists specifically for household goods movers, whatever its title. The requirement sits in RSA 359-T, Carriage of Household Goods for Hire by Motor Vehicle. An interstate carrier holding only a federal USDOT number is not authorised for New Hampshire intrastate work by that number alone.
Source: Agency licensing page
How can I verify a New Hampshire mover before booking?
New Hampshire moved household goods carriers to the Department of Safety in 2023 and the Road Toll Bureau's published licensee lists cover fuel distributors and transporters, not movers, so a mover's certificate is confirmed with the bureau rather than looked up online. For a move leaving New Hampshire, check the company's USDOT record in FMCSA SAFER as well. Holding one authorisation does not imply the other.
How do I file a complaint against a New Hampshire mover?
Complaints about a move inside New Hampshire go to New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau through New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau complaint, New Hampshire Department of Safety feedback form. A complaint about a move that crossed the New Hampshire state line goes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through the National Consumer Complaint Database instead.
New Hampshire complaint channelFMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database
Which agency governs a New Hampshire mover today?
The New Hampshire Department of Safety, and not since long. Responsibility for household goods movers in New Hampshire moved from the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission to the New Hampshire Department of Safety with effect from 1 January 2023. Guidance written before that date names the earlier agency, so a page telling you to contact the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission about a New Hampshire mover is out of date rather than wrong about the state.
RSA 359-T, Carriage of Household Goods for Hire by Motor Vehicle
Which New Hampshire agency oversees movers now?
The Department of Safety, and only since 1 January 2023. New Hampshire repealed RSA 375-A, the public utilities chapter under which the Public Utilities Commission oversaw household goods carriers, and re-enacted the subject as RSA 359-T under trade and commerce, whose first section states that department means the department of safety. Guidance written before 2023 sends a New Hampshire consumer to the Public Utilities Commission, which no longer runs the programme.
Source: RSA 359-T
What does a New Hampshire mover have to file each year?
New Hampshire keeps a live paperwork obligation on a mover after it is authorised. A carrier applies on form DSAD 5-H with the fee set by RSA 359-T, transfers its operating authority on form DSAD 5-HT, and files an annual report on form DSAD 5-HAR by 1 July each year. A mover's authority in New Hampshire can therefore lapse on a missed annual report rather than on anything a customer would see.
Source: N.H. Admin. Code Saf-C 4605
What does New Hampshire require of a permitted mover?
New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau publishes what applies to a company moving household goods in New Hampshire. Each of the following comes from the agency's own pages:
- New Hampshire registers a household goods carrier's vehicles under its own rule part, Saf-C 4606, separately from the carrier's certificate.
- The 2022 Act that moved the programme, HB 207-FN, is titled an Act repealing the regulation of household goods carriers, and it took effect on 1 January 2023.
- The Public Utilities Commission's rule filing history still lists its superseded household goods rule, which is why old New Hampshire references point at that agency.
New Hampshire Department of Safety, Road Toll Bureau moving companies pageNew Hampshire consumer information for movers
What is different about an interstate move from New Hampshire?
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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire licensing
- https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/359-T/359-T-mrg.htm
- https://www.gc.nh.gov/rules/state_agencies/saf-c.html
- https://www.administration.dos.nh.gov/road-toll/rules-regulations
- https://gc.nh.gov/rules/filing_history/sourcepuc.html
Last verified against agency pages: 2026-08-11
What does the federal count say about New Hampshire?
Of the 178 household goods registrants filed at a New Hampshireaddress, 118 carry the federal census classification for interstate operations. That is 66% of the state-address total. The other 60 do not carry that classification in this snapshot. Neither group is a list of movers serving every address inNew Hampshire: 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 inNew Hampshire without interstate classification does not substitute for that check.
How many licensed moving companies are registered in New Hampshire?
The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 178 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in New Hampshire, and 118 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists a New Hampshire address, which is not the same as the number of companies that will serve a move in New Hampshire. An interstate move into or out of New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire move?
The dividing line is the shipment, not the mover's office. A move that begins and ends inside New Hampshirefollows the state authorisation described above. A move from New Hampshire 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.
