How to compare moving quotes

Same job first

An interstate estimate is supposed to rest on a physical survey of the goods, or on your written waiver of one (49 CFR 375.401), so two estimates can only be compared if they describe the same inventory, the same pickup and delivery periods and the same services. An estimate that leaves packing or a shuttle out is not cheaper; it prices a smaller job.

Type before amount

The estimate type decides the most a mover may demand when the truck arrives. On a binding estimate that maximum is the estimate itself; on a non-binding estimate it is 110 percent of the figure, in both cases plus services you request after the bill of lading and impracticable operations within a 15 percent limit (49 CFR 375.703). A $5,000 non-binding estimate can therefore be collected at up to $5,500 at delivery before a $5,200 binding estimate is more expensive.

Fields to line up

Amount and type; packing, storage, stairs and any other listed service; deposit and whether it is refundable; the agreed pickup and delivery dates or periods; the USDOT number of the mover and of any other carrier that will take part; the form of payment honored at delivery; and the valuation choice, since the bill of lading must record whether you chose Full Value Protection or waived it for the released rates (49 CFR 375.505).

The last two are easy to skip and expensive to discover late. A mover that accepts only cash or a certified check at delivery, or a released-rates valuation of a few cents per pound, changes what the amount on the page is worth.

What a lower number can hide

A non-binding figure competing with a binding one; a survey that never happened; an inventory shorter than your home; dates promised by phone but absent from the paper; or a broker’s estimate for a carrier that has not been named. None of these is a sign of fraud on its own. Each is a reason the numbers are not yet comparable.

Using Compare Quotes

Compare Quotes puts up to four estimates in columns and reports what can be counted: the lowest starting amount, how many are binding, and how many leave out a USDOT number or a delivery window. It applies no market index and never names a winner. When the differences are down to type and included services, Quote Check shows the delivery arithmetic for any one of them.

Sources

• 49 CFR 375.401 — Must I estimate charges?

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: Physical survey and its written waiver, the definitions of binding and non-binding estimates, and the form of payment.

• 49 CFR 375.703 — Maximum collect-on-delivery amount at the time of delivery

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: The exact estimate on a binding estimate, 110 percent on a non-binding one, plus later-requested services and impracticable operations capped at 15 percent.

• 49 CFR 375.505 — Must I write up a bill of lading?

  Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked Sep 12, 2026

  Used for: The 17 items a bill of lading must contain, including participating carriers’ USDOT numbers, dates, the maximum demanded at delivery and the valuation statement.