How to hire and check a moving company

How do you hire a moving company, step by step?

Get written estimates from several movers. The FTC advises that a mover should look at your property in person before it prices the job, and for an interstate move the federal rule requires a written estimate based on a physical survey of the goods unless you waive the survey in writing before loading (49 CFR 375.401).

For a move across state lines, check that each mover is registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation: take the USDOT number from the estimate and look it up, as the sections below explain. For a move within one state, the FTC suggests asking the state consumer protection office whether it has rules for movers.

Read reviews, and search each company’s name with words like “complaint” or “scam.” Ask each mover what it charges to insure your goods and what it pays for damage; the guide on insurance and valuation explains the two levels an interstate mover must offer.

Say no to a mover that asks you to sign paperwork with blank spaces, that demands cash or a big deposit before the move, or that moves goods across state lines without DOT registration; those are the three warning signs the FTC lists.

If something goes wrong, the FTC sends problems with an in-state mover to the state enforcement agency and problems with an interstate or international mover to DOT, and asks that any scam also be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Start with the document, not the brand

Ask for a written estimate that shows a legal name and a USDOT number. Trade names collide, and legal names collide too, which is why the number matters. A mover advertising interstate household-goods service is required to print its registered name and its USDOT number in every advertisement (49 CFR 375.207), so a company that cannot produce the number on request is already outside the rule.

Enter that number in Mover Check, then confirm the record still matches the paperwork before you pay a deposit: the same legal name, the same city, and household-goods authority in the company’s own name.

Can moving company reviews tell you whom to trust?

Reviews describe reported customer experiences; they do not establish the legal entity or its current operating authority. The FTC recommends checking several sources, review recency and reviewer history, and watching for bursts of reviews. A star average is not an FMCSA safety rating or proof of registration.

Search the company's name with “complaint” or “scam,” as the FTC advises for movers. Then compare the USDOT number on the written estimate with FMCSA's live record. The number connects the paperwork to a registered legal entity more precisely than a shared trade name or a review page.

What you are looking at

Mover Check reads the FMCSA Company Census File, the public copy of the registration record that FMCSA updates daily. It is not a review site. A blank safety rating is not a hidden F, and a Satisfactory code is not an YardPermit endorsement; the guide on safety ratings explains what each code is.

Confirm whether the company is listed as interstate, whether the household-goods cargo flag is present, and whether the name on the estimate matches the census legal name. Carriers update their own records by filing an MCS-150 series form and must do so at least every two years, so a stale address on a record means a stale filing, not necessarily a closed business.

Check the authority, not only the record

A census record proves registration. Carrying your goods for pay across state lines, or arranging for someone else to carry them, also requires operating authority from FMCSA, identified by an MC, FF or MX docket, and the type of authority decides what the company may do. Mover Check reads FMCSA’s MOTUS authority history for the record you open and shows every authority with its status and date.

If the only active authority is broker authority, the company arranges moves and another carrier will haul your goods. Get that carrier’s USDOT number and check it the same way.

Where FMCSA publishes the current rating

The regulation on unsatisfactory-rated carriers states that information on motor carriers, including their most current safety rating, is available from FMCSA’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov or by telephone at (800) 832-5660 (49 CFR 385.13). The census file Mover Check reads carries the rating code and its dates, but a rating can change after a follow-up review, so the FMCSA record is the one to confirm before booking.

What this does not prove

Registration is not a character reference, and absence from a cached snapshot is not proof of fraud. For current operating authority and insurance, use FMCSA’s own tools rather than a screenshot of any page on this site. YardPermit shows the official fields and stops there.

Sources

• How To Evaluate Online Reviews

  Federal Trade Commission · checked Sep 26, 2026

  Used for: Read several sources and inspect recency, reviewer history, and sudden review bursts.

• Avoid scams when you hire a moving company

  Federal Trade Commission · checked Oct 16, 2026

  Used for: Written estimates from several movers and an in-person look; DOT registration; insurance and damage terms; searching the name with complaint or scam; no blank forms, cash or big deposit; where to report.

• 49 CFR 375.401 — Must I estimate charges?

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: A written estimate based on a physical survey, unless the shipper waives it in writing before loading.

• 49 CFR 375.207 — What items must be in my advertisements?

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: Every advertisement must carry the registered name and the USDOT number.

• Company Census File

  U.S. Department of Transportation open data (FMCSA) · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: The registration records Mover Check queries, including the safety rating code and its dates.

• Motus AuthHist - All With History

  U.S. Department of Transportation open data (FMCSA) · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: Each operating authority a company holds, with its type, status and status date.

• Get Operating Authority (Docket Number)

  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: Carrying others’ goods for pay, or arranging it, across state lines requires operating authority; the MC, FF and MX docket types.

• Updating Your Registration or Authority

  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: Records are changed by filing an MCS-150 series form and must be updated every two years.

• 49 CFR 385.13 — Unsatisfactory rated motor carriers; prohibition on transportation

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: When an unsatisfactory-rated carrier must stop operating (the 46th or 61st day after the notice), the possible 60-day extension, and where FMCSA says the current rating is published.