YardPermit

Mover versus broker

If you cannot tell whether the company on the estimate will haul the shipment or only arrange it, you do not yet know who you are moving with.

DueRiva · checked against sources Sep 12, 2026

The distinction

A household-goods motor carrier takes possession of the goods and operates the vehicle under its own operating authority. A broker arranges transportation by a motor carrier and never takes possession. Both need FMCSA registration and operating authority for interstate work, but the authorities are different types, and the rules that apply to each are different parts of the regulations: Part 375 for movers, Part 371 Subpart B for household-goods brokers.

What a broker must tell you

A household-goods broker must prominently display, in its advertisements and on its website, the physical location where it does business, its USDOT and MC numbers, its status as a broker, and a statement that it will not transport your goods but will arrange for an FMCSA-authorized household-goods carrier to do so, with charges set by that carrier’s published tariff (49 CFR 371.107). It may show a carrier’s name or logo only when it has a written agreement with that carrier.

To each potential shipper who contacts it, a broker must provide a list of every authorized carrier it uses, with their USDOT and MC numbers, and a statement that it is not a motor carrier authorized to transport your goods (49 CFR 371.109). A company that resists naming the carrier is not meeting that rule.

Reading the authority record

The federal record answers the question directly. FMCSA’s MOTUS authority history lists each authority a company holds by type — household-goods motor carrier, broker, freight forwarder and others — with a status and a status-change date. A company can hold more than one. Mover Check shows every active type on the record, collapsed to the latest row per docket and type.

If the only active authority is broker authority, the company is registered to arrange transportation, not to carry your goods under its own authority. If household-goods motor-carrier authority is active, the company may operate the truck, and may still hand your shipment to another carrier, which is why the bill of lading question below still matters.

What to put in writing

Ask: “Will your company operate the truck, or will another USDOT appear on the bill of lading?” The bill of lading must list the names and USDOT numbers of the carriers that will take part in the move when they are known (49 CFR 375.505), so the answer belongs on paper before pickup, not on the day.

If you are dealing with a broker, get the carrier’s USDOT number from the list the broker is required to give you, run that number through Mover Check, and check that the carrier, not the broker, holds household-goods motor-carrier authority.

Sources