How to Choose a Moving Company: 9 Checks Before You Book

Hiring a mover is one of the few purchases where you hand strangers everything you own and hope for the best. Most bad moving experiences trace back to a single mistake: booking on price alone. This guide gives you a nine-step vetting system that takes about thirty minutes and filters out the rogue operators, the brokers pretending to be carriers, and the crews that show up two people short. Work through it for every company on your shortlist before you sign anything.

1. Verify the USDOT number first

Every legitimate interstate mover is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and has a USDOT number it must print on its website, trucks and paperwork. This is your single most powerful check, because registration records cannot be faked. Run the number through a free USDOT number lookup, which pulls the carrier’s official registration record, or use the FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot. Confirm three things: the record is active, the company name matches the name on your quote, and the carrier is authorized for household goods. A mismatch on any of the three is disqualifying.

2. Confirm you are talking to a carrier, not a broker

Brokers sell your move to whichever carrier buys the lead, which means the crew that shows up may be a company you never vetted. Brokers are legal, but they must disclose their status. The FMCSA explains the difference on its movers vs. brokers page. If a company will not answer “will your own trucks and employees carry my shipment?” directly, treat it as a broker.

3. Check the safety and complaint record

The registration record you pulled in step one also shows fleet size, inspection history and safety rating. A carrier rated Satisfactory with a real fleet behind it is a very different bet than a six-month-old registration with one truck. You can also search past consumer complaints in the FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database.

4. Get three surveys, not three phone quotes

A serious mover looks at your belongings — in person or by video — before naming a price. Estimates given over the phone without a survey are guesses, and guesses get revised upward on moving day. Collect three surveyed quotes and compare them line by line against the typical ranges in our 2026 moving cost guide.

5. Demand a written, itemized estimate

The estimate should list crew size, truck count, valuation coverage, and every surcharge: stairs, long carries, packing materials, specialty items. Ask whether it is binding or non-binding — a binding estimate fixes the price for the listed inventory, while a non-binding estimate can change at the scale. Verbal promises are worth nothing once your sofa is on the truck.

6. Read reviews for patterns, not scores

Ignore the star average and read the one-star reviews. One angry customer is noise; five reviews describing the same behavior — price raised after loading, no-show crews, unreachable dispatch — is the company’s operating model. Cross-reference the company name and its DBA, since problem operators often run under several names; the registration record from step one lists both.

7. Understand the coverage you are buying

Federal rules include basic released-value protection at just 60 cents per pound per article in every interstate move. Full Value Protection costs more and obligates the mover to repair or replace damaged items at current value. For anything beyond a studio apartment, price both options — our long-distance guide walks through how valuation works and when third-party insurance makes sense.

8. Watch the deposit

Reputable movers charge little or nothing up front — typically a small reservation fee at most. A demand for a large cash deposit or a wire transfer before moving day is one of the strongest single predictors of trouble, and it features in nearly every complaint pattern we describe in our guide to avoiding moving scams.

9. Confirm the paperwork before the truck arrives

Before moving day you should have: the written estimate, the order for service, and the FMCSA’s Your Rights and Responsibilities booklet, which interstate movers are required to provide. On the day itself you will sign a bill of lading — read the valuation section before signing, not after.

Common questions

How far in advance should I book?

For summer or month-end dates, book four to six weeks out; the best crews sell out first and last-minute availability skews toward companies that could not fill their calendar. In the off-season, two to three weeks is usually enough. Booking early also gives you leverage: you can hold a second-choice company’s quote while your first choice matches a term you care about, like a binding estimate or a specific arrival window.

Is a marketplace or lead site the same as a mover?

No. Sites that promise “five quotes in five minutes” typically sell your phone number to brokers and carriers alike, which is why the calls start immediately and do not stop. There is nothing wrong with using a marketplace for research, but vet whichever company actually shows up on your paperwork exactly as if you had found it yourself — steps one through three take minutes and apply regardless of where the lead came from.

What if a company fails one check but looks fine otherwise?

Weight the checks by what they cost the company to fake. Reviews can be bought and websites redesigned in a weekend, but a federal registration record with years of inspection history cannot be manufactured. A friendly salesperson does not offset an inactive USDOT number; an old-fashioned website does not disqualify a carrier with twenty years of clean records. When in doubt, trust the registration data over the marketing.

Start with a vetted shortlist

The fastest way to run this process is to start from carriers that are already registered and active. Our directory lists every USDOT-registered household-goods mover in the country, organized by state and city with fleet sizes and credentials on every profile — start with movers in your state, shortlist three, and put each one through the nine checks above. Thirty minutes of verification is the cheapest moving insurance you will ever buy.