YardPermit

How interstate household-goods estimates work

For a qualifying interstate move, federal rules decide what a mover must give you before loading, how much it may demand at delivery, and how anything left over is billed. None of that is a promise about your final bill.

DueRiva · updated Oct 16, 2026 · previous full source review Sep 12, 2026

Who the rules cover

49 CFR Part 375 governs movers transporting household goods for individual shippers in interstate commerce. A shipment that never leaves a state is governed mainly by that state’s law, which this site does not apply. Whether a particular move qualifies depends on facts about the shipment and the carrier, so read the sections below as what the rule says, not as a finding about your move.

What must happen before loading

The mover must give you a written estimate based on a physical survey of the goods, unless you waive the survey in writing before loading, and the estimate must say whether it is binding or non-binding (49 CFR 375.401). With it come two FMCSA publications, “Ready to Move?” and “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move,” as copies or links, and before the bill of lading the mover must also furnish the estimate, a notice that its tariff is available, a summary of its arbitration program and a summary of its complaint procedures (49 CFR 375.213).

The bill of lading itself must be issued before the mover receives the shipment and must list, when known, the names and USDOT numbers of every carrier taking part (49 CFR 375.505).

The 110 percent provision, scoped

On a non-binding estimate, the most a mover may demand at delivery is 110 percent of the estimate, plus charges for services you requested after the bill of lading was issued and, if the tariff defines them, impracticable operations, which are capped at delivery at 15 percent of the other charges then due (49 CFR 375.703). Once you pay up to that amount the mover must release the shipment, and refusing counts as a failure to transport with reasonable dispatch; on a partial delivery only a prorated share may be demanded (49 CFR 375.407).

Do not read that as “the final bill cannot exceed 110 percent.” It limits what can be collected at the door. YardPermit is not a law firm, a regulator or an FMCSA service, and rules change; verify the current text before relying on it.

Additional services and the rest of the bill

If the mover believes additional services are necessary after the bill of lading has been issued, it must tell you what they are before performing them and allow you at least one hour to decide. If you agree, you sign a written attachment to the bill of lading; if you do not, the mover performs only what is needed to complete the delivery. Either way the mover bills those additional services after 30 days from delivery, apart from impracticable-operation charges within the 15 percent limit that may be collected at the door (49 CFR 375.403 and 375.405).

On a non-binding estimate the final charges for the listed services are the tariff charges, which may exceed the estimate; a mover using a volume-based estimate that converts to a weight rate must explain the conversion formula in writing (49 CFR 375.405). Charges not collected at delivery are billed afterwards under the invoice rules below. Quote Check prints the delivery arithmetic on the figure you enter; it does not predict the later invoice.

Binding estimates

On a binding estimate the delivery maximum is the estimate itself plus the same additions, and the mover may not collect more than the original binding amount unless a new estimate is signed or additional services are agreed in writing (49 CFR 375.403 and 375.703). The estimate must state on its face that it binds both parties and that its charges cover only the services it lists.

What must the invoice show, and when is it due?

The mover must issue an honest, truthful invoice, and every rate and charge on it, including the method of payment, must follow the mover's published tariff (49 CFR 375.215). The invoice must also carry what a carrier's freight or expense bill carries: the names of shipper and receiver, the shipment date, origin and destination, the number of packages, a description of the goods, the weight, volume or measurement where it sets the rate, the exact rates assessed, the total due with the nature and amount of any special-service charge and where it was performed, the route and every carrier that took part, any transfer points, and the address for payment (49 CFR 373.103).

When a balance is still owed after delivery, the mover must present the invoice within 15 days of delivery, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays. The credit period is then seven days. The mover's tariff must extend it automatically to 30 calendar days for anyone who has not paid within the seven, with a service charge of 1 percent of the invoice, at least $20, for each 30-day extension the charges stay unpaid, and must refuse further credit to a shipper who has not paid a properly presented invoice within the 30 days (49 CFR 375.801 and 375.807).

Those 15 days sit beside a different timing for additional services, which the estimate rules say the mover bills after 30 days from delivery (49 CFR 375.403 and 375.405). The rule text does not say how the two fit on one bill, so if a later invoice includes additional services, ask which provision each line follows. The form of payment accepted at delivery must be named on the estimate and again on the bill of lading, and honored unless you agree to a change in writing (49 CFR 375.217).

What must the mover tell you before storage in transit ends?

If the mover is holding your goods in storage-in-transit and that period is about to run out, it must tell you in writing four things: the date the goods convert to permanent storage, that you then have nine months to file claims for loss or damage that happened in transit or during storage-in-transit, that its liability is ending, and that your goods become subject to the warehouse's rules, regulations and charges (49 CFR 375.609).

The notice is due at least 10 days before the agreed storage period or the tariff's maximum storage-in-transit period runs out, or one day before the end when the storage lasts less than 10 days, and it must go by fax, email, overnight courier, or certified mail with a return receipt. If the mover does not notify you, its carrier liability continues until the end of the day after it actually gives notice. Permanent storage must be placed in your name, with your phone number, mailing address or email (49 CFR 375.609).

Part 375 sets no price for storage. Ask for the storage-in-transit rate in the mover's tariff before you agree to it, and for the warehouse's charges before the conversion date.

Sources