Auto transport: shipping a vehicle with your move
Car shipping is a separate transaction from a household-goods move, under separate federal rules. The difference decides who is liable when something goes wrong.
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
Auto transport is arranged in one of two ways: by a carrier, which owns the truck and physically moves the vehicle, or by a broker, which sells the job and then places it with a carrier. Both must be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to operate in interstate commerce, and both appear identically in search results, which is why the distinction has to be checked rather than assumed.
Vehicle transport is not a household-goods shipment. The federal consumer-protection rules in Part 375, including the estimate, delivery and arbitration duties, apply to interstate household-goods shipments; a vehicle moved on its own is not a household-goods shipment. That means the estimate, delivery-window and arbitration duties that protect an interstate furniture move do not attach to a car moved on its own, and the contract is what governs instead.
Broker or carrier: how to tell before you book
Anyone transporting or arranging transport of property for compensation in interstate commerce must register with FMCSA and hold operating authority before doing so. Both roles hold a USDOT number, so the number alone does not tell you which one you are dealing with; the authority type recorded against it does.
A broker must hold a surety bond or trust fund of at least $75,000 (49 CFR 387.307). The bond is the consumer's recourse when a broker takes a deposit and the vehicle is never collected, and it is the single most useful thing to verify before paying anything.
- Ask for the USDOT number in writing, then read the authority type on the federal record rather than the company's own description.
- Ask whether the company will carry the vehicle itself or place it with another carrier.
- If it is a broker, ask which carrier is assigned and confirm that carrier's own registration before the pickup date.
What the federal moving rules do not cover
The consumer protections most people have read about apply to household goods: 49 CFR 375.101 sets that scope. A car shipped separately falls outside it, so there is no federal 110 percent delivery cap, no prescribed written-estimate format and no mandatory arbitration programme attached to the vehicle leg.
Where a van line moves the car inside a household-goods shipment, it travels on the household-goods bill of lading and the Part 375 duties do apply to that shipment. Which document the vehicle is listed on therefore decides which rules you have.
What this site does and does not publish
We hold no sourced pricing data for vehicle transport, so this page publishes none. Route-level car-shipping prices move with fuel, carrier capacity and season, and a figure typed here without a stored source would be a guess presented as a fact.
For the same reason there are no scores or rankings for auto-transport companies here. What we can check, and what the questions below are for, is registration status and role.
- • Long-distance moves where driving the vehicle is impractical
- • Households moving more vehicles than they have drivers
- • Moves where the vehicle can travel on the household-goods shipment itself
- • Short moves where driving is cheaper than shipping
- • Anyone who needs the vehicle available on a fixed date and cannot absorb a delivery window
What to ask before you book
- Get the USDOT number in writing before paying a deposit.
- Confirm on the federal record whether the company is registered as a broker or as a carrier.
- If it is a broker, get the assigned carrier's name and registration before pickup.
- Ask for the cargo insurance limit that applies to the vehicle, in writing.
- Photograph the vehicle at pickup and delivery, and read the condition report before signing it.
- Check whether the vehicle is listed on the household-goods bill of lading or a separate contract.
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Frequently asked questions
Is car shipping covered by the federal moving rules?
What is the difference between an auto-transport broker and a carrier?
How much does it cost to ship a car?
Do I need to check registration if I book through a broker?
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