Quote Check reads the figures on a written moving estimate and returns them in three separate piles: the facts as you entered them, the arithmetic on those facts, and the questions the estimate leaves open. For a non-binding estimate between two states it also works out the amount a mover can generally require at delivery.
It does arithmetic on your document; it does not appraise it. It has no market prices, it does not read the estimate for you, and it cannot decide whether a federal rule covers your particular shipment.
How to use it
- 01
Copy the estimate type
Choose binding, non-binding or binding not-to-exceed exactly as the estimate states it. If the paper does not say, leave it as unknown: the type decides what can be collected at delivery, and Quote Check turns a missing type into a question for the mover.
- 02
Enter the amount and both states
The delivery arithmetic runs only when an amount is entered, the origin and destination states differ, and the estimate is non-binding. A ZIP code is kept as a fact from the estimate; it does not change any calculation.
- 03
Tick only the services the estimate lists
Packing, storage, stairs, a long carry, a shuttle and the other services are facts about the paper, not wishes. Anything left unticked stays unconfirmed, and packing that is not listed becomes a question to ask.
- 04
Read the fuel terms
Mark whether fuel is included, separately listed, subject to a written adjustment, or unclear. A weekly diesel benchmark does not tell you what any mover may add. Get the total, the tariff clause and any revision in writing.
- 05
Add what else is written down
A USDOT number, the weight, the delivery window and the deposit each sharpen the result. Each of them that is missing becomes its own question to ask before booking.
How the math works
The delivery figure on a non-binding estimate
For a $4,850 non-binding estimate between two states, Quote Check shows $5,335, which is $4,850 × 1.10. Under 49 CFR 375.703, 110 percent of a non-binding estimate is the most a mover may demand at delivery, plus charges for services you request after the bill of lading is issued and, where the mover’s tariff defines them, impracticable operations.
Impracticable operations
Charges for impracticable operations that can be collected at delivery are capped at 15 percent of all the other charges due at that point. Anything above the cap is not waived: the mover bills it after delivery under Subpart H of Part 375 (49 CFR 375.407).
Binding estimates
On a binding estimate the most that can be demanded at delivery is the estimate itself, plus the same later-requested services and impracticable operations (49 CFR 375.703). Quote Check therefore does not multiply a binding estimate by 1.10: enter the same $4,850 as binding and no 110 percent figure is shown.
Partial deliveries
If a mover delivers only part of a shipment, it may demand only a prorated share. The regulation’s own example: for 2,500 pounds of a 5,000-pound shipment, 50 percent of no more than 110 percent of the non-binding estimate (49 CFR 375.407). Quote Check does not prorate, so do that arithmetic from the weights on your paperwork.
Deposits
A stated deposit is subtracted from the estimate as plain arithmetic: $4,850 minus a $500 deposit shows $4,350. That is the difference between two numbers on the paper, not a statement of what you will owe.
Where the result goes wrong
- Reading 110 percent as a cap on the final bill. It limits what can be demanded at delivery; later-requested services and impracticable operations can be added.
- Using the rule for a move within one state. Federal household-goods rules generally concern interstate moves, and a move that stays inside one state is governed mainly by that state’s law.
- Leaving the type as unknown and assuming the estimate is non-binding. Binding and non-binding estimates create different obligations.
- Comparing a binding and a non-binding estimate by the headline number alone. The non-binding one can be collected at up to 110 percent of its figure at delivery.
- Entering numbers someone told you instead of numbers printed on the estimate. Quote Check can only check what is in writing.
- Applying a pump-price increase as the same percentage increase to every moving estimate. Carrier terms and the written total determine what is being quoted.
Keep going
- Compare two to four estimates
- Look up the USDOT number on the estimate
- Binding vs non-binding estimates
- Insurance versus valuation
- How interstate household-goods estimates work
- What belongs on an estimate
- How the calculations are documented
Primary sources
What this page was checked against
- 49 CFR 375.703: What is the maximum collect-on-delivery amount I may demand at the time of delivery?
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked 2026-09-12
Used for: The most a mover may demand at delivery: the binding estimate, or 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, plus later-requested services and impracticable operations capped at 15 percent of the other charges due.
- 49 CFR 375.407: Under what circumstances must I relinquish possession of a collect-on-delivery shipment transported under a non-binding estimate?
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked 2026-09-12
Used for: Handing over the shipment once up to 110 percent is paid, the prorated amount for a partial delivery, and billing impracticable-operation charges not collected at delivery.
- 49 CFR Part 375, Subpart D: Estimating Charges
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations · checked 2026-09-12
Used for: The rules for providing binding estimates (§ 375.403) and non-binding estimates (§ 375.405).
- National Consumer Complaint Database
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration · checked 2026-09-12
Used for: Where complaints against moving companies and brokers are filed.
- Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
U.S. Energy Information Administration · checked 2026-09-28
Used for: Weekly, dated on-highway diesel price benchmark; not a carrier surcharge or household-goods moving rate.