Check a moving broker and the company that will physically transport your household goods as two separate businesses. Ask whether you are speaking with a broker or the mover, obtain each company’s legal name and USDOT/MC numbers, and verify both records in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Protect Your Move search. Confirm that the transporting company is registered and authorized for interstate household-goods service, then review the broker’s required disclosures, estimate terms and contract before paying.
A broker can be legitimate while the carrier it selects is unsuitable, and an FMCSA registration is not a guarantee of good service. The checks below are designed for U.S. interstate household-goods moves. If your move stays within one state, use that state’s transportation regulator and consumer-protection office as well as any applicable federal guidance.
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Understand what a moving broker actually is
FMCSA states plainly: “A moving broker is not the same thing as a mover.” A household-goods broker arranges transportation; it does not necessarily own the truck, employ the crew or take possession of your shipment. The carrier or mover is the company that performs pickup, transport and delivery.
Some businesses have both brokerage and carrier operations. Do not decide a company’s role from its website, a logo on a truck or a sales representative’s wording. Ask the company to identify its role in writing and compare that answer with its FMCSA record and your contract.
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| Question | Broker | Transporting mover or carrier |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Arranges transportation with a carrier | Performs pickup, line-haul transportation and delivery |
| Who should be named before payment | The brokerage’s legal business name and identifiers, plus the actual carrier’s name and identifiers | The carrier’s legal business name and USDOT/MC identifiers |
| Estimate basis | Must base an estimate on the tariff of the mover that will transport the shipment | Applies its own tariff and performs the transportation |
| Physical survey | Must arrange for the transporting mover to conduct a survey when the applicable requirements call for one; you may waive the survey | Conducts or arranges the survey as the transporting company |
| FMCSA role to verify | Registered broker status | Registration and authority to transport household goods |
A broker should accurately disclose its broker status in advertising. Be cautious if a salesperson avoids the word “broker,” refuses to name the carrier or says the carrier will be chosen only after you pay.
Collect the identities before you discuss price
Write down the exact legal name, physical business location, MC number and USDOT number for the broker. Then request the same information for the company that will pick up and transport your belongings. A trade name, shortened web address or telephone number is not enough to distinguish related companies.
Ask this direct question
Use wording such as: “Are you the moving company that will transport my household goods, or are you a broker arranging the move?” Follow with: “What is the transporting mover’s legal name and USDOT and MC numbers?” Ask for the answers by email or in the quote.
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Match every document
Compare the names and numbers on the advertisement, quote, broker disclosures, written agreement, bill of lading and inventory with the FMCSA records. A changed company name, a new carrier appearing only after you pay, or numbers that do not match are reasons to stop and verify rather than sign immediately.
Search the official FMCSA records
For an interstate move, use FMCSA’s Protect Your Move “Search Movers/Brokers & Complaint History” tool. FMCSA says the search accepts a company name, USDOT number or MC number.
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- Search the broker. Confirm that the legal name and identifiers match the company soliciting your business and that the record identifies the correct role.
- Read the registration information. Note whether the record is for a broker, a carrier or an entity with both operations. Keep a copy or screenshot with the date of your check.
- Review the available complaint history. Treat it as one screening source, not a complete record of every consumer experience. The tool does not capture every online review and a clean result does not prove that a company is safe.
- Search the transporting mover separately. Use the carrier’s own name and USDOT/MC numbers, not only the broker’s record. Confirm that the carrier you were promised is the one in the paperwork.
Registration is not the same as authority
FMCSA’s consumer wording is important: “An FMCSA registered moving company is different from an FMCSA authorized moving company.” Registration alone does not establish that a company is authorized to transport household goods.
For the carrier, look for the authority applicable to interstate household-goods transportation. A broker’s registration does not give it the carrier’s authorization, because a broker arranges transportation rather than performing it. Do not treat a broker’s record as proof that the separate carrier is authorized.
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Check the broker’s required disclosures and paperwork
For interstate household-goods brokerage, FMCSA describes several duties. Before committing, ask for each item and retain it with your move records.
- Proof that the broker is registered with FMCSA.
- The consumer booklet Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.
- The Ready to Move brochure.
- A list of the moving companies the broker uses.
- The broker’s physical business location, MC number and broker status in its advertising.
- A written agreement with the movers it uses.
- An estimate based on the tariff of the mover that will transport your shipment, identified as binding or non-binding.
Ask which company’s tariff supports your estimate and who will handle pickup, line-haul transportation, storage if needed and delivery. The answers should appear in writing, not only in a sales call.
Understand the physical-survey rule
FMCSA’s FAQ describes a physical survey requirement when the household is within a 50-mile radius of the mover or its agent’s location, whichever is closer, when the other conditions for the rule apply. The consumer may waive the survey. Because the precise circumstances matter, check the current FMCSA materials and your signed documents rather than assuming every move requires or is exempt from a survey.
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Read the estimate type
A binding estimate fixes the transportation price under the terms stated in the documents; additional services or changed circumstances can still create charges described in the agreement. A non-binding estimate is an approximation based on the shipment and services described. FMCSA’s FAQ says that, under applicable interstate household-goods rules, a mover generally may not require more than 110% of a non-binding estimate at delivery. For a binding estimate, the cited limit is 100% at delivery, with additional charges billed later under the described federal protections. Check the current FMCSA guide and your signed estimate before relying on these limits, and keep proof of what was included.
Evaluate the quote for clarity, not just the lowest number
A low initial price can reflect a smaller inventory, fewer services, a different tariff or an estimate that another company will not honor. Compare the practical terms before comparing totals.
- Which rooms, items, weights or cubic measurements are included?
- Are packing, stairs, long carries, elevator reservations, disassembly, reassembly, storage, shuttle service and insurance or valuation options listed?
- Which mover’s tariff supports the estimate?
- Is the estimate binding or non-binding, and what events can change the amount?
- Who will collect payment and issue the bill of lading?
- Who will handle pickup and delivery, and is that carrier named now?
- What are the cancellation, deposit and dispute terms?
Insist that material answers be written into the estimate or agreement. A verbal promise that is absent from the paperwork is difficult to enforce or prove later.
Recognize warning signs of a possible moving scam
FMCSA identifies deliberate low-balling followed by a demand for much more money, and withholding belongings until significantly more than the quoted amount is paid, as examples of moving fraud. FMCSA also describes broker complaints involving estimates far below the eventual moving company’s charges and operation without required authority or registration.
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Use these behaviors as screening cues. They are reasons to pause and verify, not by themselves a legal finding of fraud.
- The salesperson will not identify the carrier before taking a deposit.
- The company’s legal name or identifier changes between the quote, contract and bill of lading without a clear explanation.
- You are pressured to pay immediately or discouraged from reading the agreement.
- The quote is dramatically below competing written estimates without a specific inventory and tariff explanation.
- The broker refuses to provide its mover list, required consumer materials or a written agreement.
- The carrier shown in the paperwork does not match the FMCSA record or lacks the applicable household-goods authority.
- After pickup, the company demands a substantially larger payment and threatens to withhold delivery.
If any of these occurs, stop sending money until you have checked both records and obtained advice. Preserve messages, revised estimates and payment requests.
Compare hiring a broker with hiring a mover directly
A broker can help arrange transportation, but it adds another party whose role you must understand. A direct mover may still subcontract or use other service providers, so the same identity checks remain useful.
| Comparison point | Broker arrangement | Direct-mover arrangement |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs or provides the initial agreement | Broker, with the transporting mover identified in the required documents | The mover or carrier you hire |
| Who physically transports the shipment | A separate carrier arranged by the broker | The named mover, subject to the contract and any disclosed subcontracting |
| Identity to verify | Broker and carrier separately | The mover, plus any carrier named in the paperwork |
| Estimate support | The transporting mover’s tariff | The mover’s own tariff |
| Questions to ask before payment | Is the carrier named? Did I receive the mover list, disclosures and written agreement? | Does the FMCSA record match the company and show the required authority? |
Choose the structure you can understand and document. A broker is not automatically illegitimate, and a direct-mover label is not a substitute for checking the actual carrier.
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Build a document file before pickup
Keep one chronological file—digital, paper or both—for the entire move. An expanding file folder is an optional way to organize documents; it cannot authenticate a company and does not replace the free FMCSA lookup.
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Save these records
- Advertisements, emails, text messages and call notes identifying the broker and carrier.
- The broker’s list of movers and required consumer booklets or brochures.
- Every version of the estimate, including inventory pages and notes about surveys or waivers.
- The written agreement, bill of lading and any valuation or liability selections.
- Photographs or video of valuable items and their condition before loading.
- Receipts, deposit confirmations, credit-card records and requests for additional payment.
- Pickup and delivery dates, addresses, driver information and records of damage or missing items.
Record the date you performed each FMCSA search and the exact results you saw. Keep originals and send important notices in a way that creates a delivery record.
Report suspected violations with useful evidence
FMCSA’s Complaint Center and hotline, 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238), accept reports about moving brokers and motor carriers. FMCSA asks complainants to be prepared with:
- The company’s contact details and legal name.
- USDOT and MC numbers, if available.
- The shipment’s origin and destination.
- A concise description of the alleged violation, with dates and amounts.
- Relevant documents, including the estimate, bill of lading and inventory pages.
Describe what happened in chronological order. State what you were promised, what document says, what changed and what payment or delivery demand followed. Attach copies rather than originals.
FMCSA says complaints and other information help it decide which companies to investigate. Filing a complaint does not establish that a violation occurred, guarantee enforcement or resolve a private claim. For suspected fraud, your state attorney general or consumer-affairs agency may also be relevant. USAGov maintains a directory for locating a state consumer-protection office.
What to do if your move is intrastate
The federal checks in this guide focus on interstate household-goods transportation. A move that begins and ends within one state may be governed primarily by that state’s transportation regulator, licensing rules and consumer-protection laws. The sources cited here do not establish one licensing rule for every intrastate move.
- Identify the state where the move occurs.
- Find that state’s transportation or public-utilities regulator and verify the mover or broker under the state’s rules.
- Check the state consumer-protection office for complaint procedures and required contracts.
- Still ask who will transport the goods, obtain the carrier’s legal identity and keep the same estimate and inventory records.
If the shipment crosses a state line, use the interstate FMCSA process even if the distance is short.
A final go/no-go checklist
Do not pay a deposit or authorize pickup until you can answer “yes” to the checks that apply to your move:
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- I have the legal name, physical location and USDOT/MC identifiers for the broker.
- I have the legal name and identifiers for the carrier that will pick up and deliver my goods.
- I searched both entities in FMCSA’s Protect Your Move tool and the records match their stated roles.
- I confirmed the transporting mover’s applicable household-goods authority, not merely registration.
- I received the broker’s mover list, consumer materials and written disclosures.
- I know whether my estimate is binding or non-binding, which tariff supports it and what services are included.
- Any physical-survey requirement or waiver is documented.
- The payment, cancellation, delivery and additional-charge terms are in writing.
- I saved the estimate, inventory, bill of lading, messages and payment records.
If a company cannot supply the identity, authority or paperwork needed for these checks, do not let a low quote or a deadline substitute for verification. Move to another provider or obtain guidance from the appropriate regulator before proceeding.
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