Vetting checklist
How to Choose an Interstate Moving Company
Long-distance moving is one of the most lightly-regulated, complaint-heavy service industries. Here’s how to separate licensed carriers from rogue brokers and outright scammers.
Know who you’re actually hiring
🚚 Motor carrier
Owns the trucks, employs drivers and crews, executes the move. Fully accountable.
📞 Broker
A middleman that takes your booking, marks it up, and sells the contract to whichever carrier bids lowest.
The takeaway
Brokers aren’t inherently bad — but you deserve to know which you’re hiring. Always ask: “Are you the carrier or a broker?”
Five mandatory checks
- USDOT number — verify at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov
- MC number — status must be “Authorized For HHG”
- Insurance on file — FMCSA database shows current cargo and liability insurance
- BBB profile — check at bbb.org
- Online reviews — Google reviews; ignore curated review sites the company hosts itself
What a legitimate quote looks like
Inventory required
video survey or virtual walkthrough. No legitimate carrier quotes interstate without seeing what’s being moved.
Written estimate
Federal regulations require it. Should be itemized.
Binding vs. non-binding
Binding locks the price (best for consumer). Non-binding can adjust if weight differs by 10%+.
“Your Rights” booklet
Federal carriers must give you the FMCSA booklet. If they don’t, that’s a violation.
Eight red flags
- 🚩 No physical address on website
- 🚩 Demands a large cash deposit
- 🚩 Quote much lower than competing quotes
- 🚩 Won’t do an inventory survey
- 🚩 No written estimate before move day
- 🚩 Trucks unmarked or rented from Penske/U-Haul
- 🚩 Won’t disclose USDOT or MC number
- 🚩 Pressure tactics — “Book today or rate goes up”
Questions to ask every mover
- “Are you the actual carrier or a broker?”
- “What is your USDOT and MC number?”
- “Binding or non-binding estimate?”
- “What’s your delivery window — earliest and latest?”
- “What valuation level is included? Upgraded coverage cost?”
- “What’s your claims process and timeline?”
- “References from recent customers on a similar route?”
- “Same crew loads and delivers, or transferred to linehaul driver?”