Guides

What to know before you book, and what to do if it goes wrong

Not a blog. 13 pages covering what the federal record can and can’t tell you about a moving company, the vocabulary it uses, and the rights you have on an interstate move. They don’t change often, because the rules don’t.

Checking a company

• How to verify a mover before you book

  How do I check whether a moving company is legitimate?

  The five-minute check that catches most of what goes wrong: find the USDOT number, confirm the authority is active and for household goods, check insurance and complaints, and make sure the company on the paperwork is the company on the truck.

• What a USDOT number is, and how to find one

  What is a USDOT number and where do I find a mover’s?

  The permanent federal identifier every interstate mover must have and display. Where it appears, why it is the only identifier worth searching on, and what it means when a company won’t give you one.

• MC numbers and how they differ from USDOT

  What is an MC number and how is it different from a USDOT number?

  Two federal numbers that do different jobs: one identifies the company, the other records its permission to haul for hire. Why a mover can hold one without the other, and what that tells you.

• How interstate moving scams actually work

  What are the warning signs of a moving scam?

  The recognisable shapes: the sight-unseen estimate, the large deposit, the blank paperwork, the company that has changed names four times. What each one looks like from the customer’s side, and which are checkable in the federal record before you sign.

• Red flags in a moving quote

  How do I tell if a moving quote is a scam?

  The estimate in front of you, checked against the patterns federal rules already name. An interactive checklist covering how the price was set, binding versus non-binding, deposit size and payment method, the USDOT number, the rights booklet, and whether the paperwork will be complete before loading — naming what matched and why, and scoring nothing.

• Does a mover have to be based near you?

  Does an interstate moving company have to be based near me?

  No — and the assumption that it does is why people hire the wrong company. Interstate household goods authority is national, so a carrier’s address is where it files with the government, not a service area. What being nearby genuinely gets you, what it doesn’t, and who regulates a move that never crosses a state line.

Reading the federal record

• Operating authority, explained

  What does it mean when a mover’s operating authority is revoked?

  The federal permission slip that lets a company move households across state lines for money. What it requires, how it is lost, and why "revoked" and "voluntarily surrendered" describe very different situations.

• Insurance filings and valuation coverage

  What insurance is an interstate mover required to carry?

  Two separate things people constantly conflate: the liability and cargo insurance a carrier must keep on file with FMCSA, and the valuation coverage that determines what you actually get paid if your things are damaged.

• Reading a USDOT safety rating

  What does a Satisfactory, Conditional or Not Rated safety rating mean?

  Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory — and "Not Rated", which is what most carriers are and the one people misread most often. What a rating actually measures, and what it doesn’t.

• What an out-of-service order means

  What is an out-of-service order?

  The most serious thing that can appear on a carrier’s record. What triggers one, what it legally prohibits, and why "the order was rescinded" is a meaningfully different situation.

• FMCSA glossary for people hiring a mover

  What do the terms on an FMCSA carrier record mean?

  Plain-language definitions for the vocabulary that appears on a carrier record and a moving contract — BIPD, BOC-3, MCS-150, bill of lading, tariff, binding estimate, and the rest.

Your rights and what to do

• Protect Your Move: your federal rights

  What rights do I have when hiring an interstate mover?

  The consumer protections that attach to every interstate household goods move: the booklet you must be given, the estimate rules, the delivery obligation, and the complaint channels that exist when a mover ignores them.

• If a mover is holding your goods hostage

  What do I do if a mover refuses to deliver my belongings?

  What federal law entitles you to, the 110% rule, and the exact federal hotline and complaint channel to use — plus the documents to have in front of you when you call.