How to Choose a Moving Company You Can Trust

Published Read 8 min read

Handing your belongings to strangers who will load them onto a truck and drive away is one of the more nerve-wracking parts of any move. The good news is that picking a mover you can trust is a process, not a gut feeling. Work through it in order, write things down, and lean on official records instead of slick advertising, and you can sort the legitimate companies from the ones that will cause you grief. This guide walks you through that process step by step, from the first round of research to signing with the company you choose.

Before you start, it helps to know who polices this. For moves that cross state lines, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) registers and oversees household goods movers and runs a consumer program called Protect Your Move. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also publishes guidance on avoiding moving scams. Both agencies point in the same direction, so you are not guessing about what “trustworthy” looks like. You are matching a company against published standards.

Start With Research and Referrals

A trustworthy mover usually has a trail of satisfied people behind it. The simplest place to begin is the people you already know. FMCSA’s moving checklist suggests asking neighbors, friends, and relatives for recommendations, since someone who recently moved can tell you how a company actually behaved on move day, not just how it markets itself. A personal referral gives you a real starting list rather than whatever shows up first in a search.

From there, widen the net. Look the company up by name and see how long it has been operating, whether it has a real physical address, and whether the details are consistent across its website, its paperwork, and any directory listing. FMCSA’s checklist also recommends checking with the Better Business Bureau. Reading what past customers say can reveal patterns, but treat reviews carefully and learn to read them critically rather than counting stars (see our guide on reading moving reviews without being misled, post 025).

One distinction matters from the very beginning: figure out whether you are talking to a mover or a broker. According to FMCSA, a broker does not assume responsibility for and is not authorized to transport your household goods. Brokers book your move and arrange for an actual moving company to do the work, and they do not own trucks or employ the crew. A broker can be perfectly legitimate, but you want to know which one you are dealing with, because the company that quotes you may not be the company that shows up. FMCSA requires brokers to disclose in their advertising that they are a broker that arranges service rather than transports goods, along with their physical location and MC number. If a company is vague about whether it will actually carry your shipment, slow down and ask directly.

Verify Licensing and Insurance

Once you have a short list, confirm that each company is who it claims to be on paper. For interstate moves, FMCSA requires household goods movers and brokers to be registered with the federal government, and a registered interstate mover is assigned a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) number. That number is your anchor for everything else. A legitimate interstate mover will give it to you without hesitation, and you can use it to look the company up.

FMCSA lets you verify a mover’s status through its Protect Your Move website, where you can confirm whether an interstate company is registered, carries the proper insurance, is authorized to transport household goods, and has complaints on file. You can also reach FMCSA by phone for licensing and insurance information. The point is to check the official record yourself rather than take the company’s word for it. A mover that is happy to be looked up is showing you something important about how it operates.

For a local move within a single state, the rules work differently, because intrastate moving is generally regulated at the state level rather than by FMCSA. The principle is the same even when the agency changes: confirm that the company is licensed and insured under whatever authority applies where you live. We cover how registration lookups and the mechanics of mover licensing work in more depth in our dedicated guide (post 029); for choosing a company, the takeaway is simpler. Verify before you go further, and drop any company you cannot confirm.

Insurance deserves its own check. Ask each mover what it does if your belongings are lost or damaged, and what coverage is included versus what costs extra. The FTC advises asking exactly this when you compare companies. You are not buying coverage yet at this stage, but you are confirming that the company has a clear, written answer about liability, which is itself a sign of a serious operation.

Get and Compare Multiple Estimates

Never hire off a single number. Both FMCSA and the FTC recommend getting written estimates from several movers so you have something to compare. FMCSA’s checklist specifically suggests obtaining estimates from at least three movers and comparing the cost along with all the other services each one will provide. Three is a reasonable floor, not a magic figure, but it gives you enough to see whether a price is in a normal range or wildly off.

How a company produces that estimate tells you a lot. A trustworthy mover bases the estimate on an actual look at your belongings rather than a number pulled out of the air over the phone. FMCSA requires interstate movers to provide an estimate based on a physical survey of your household goods, which can be done on-site or virtually, unless you waive that survey in writing. The FTC echoes this, saying a company should look at your property in person or have you fully describe it before sending an estimate. If a company is willing to quote a firm price without ever seeing what you own, that is a reason to be cautious.

Make sure each estimate is in writing and that you understand whether it is binding or non-binding, because those carry different rules about what you can be charged at delivery. We walk through the specific method of lining quotes up side by side and reading the line items in a separate guide (post 022). For the choice itself, focus on getting comparable written quotes from companies you have already verified, then weigh price against service, reputation, and how the company has treated you so far. The cheapest number is not automatically the best deal, and an unusually low quote can be a warning rather than a bargain.

Watch for Red Flags

Most of the trouble people run into traces back to signals that were visible before the truck ever arrived. FMCSA and the FTC both flag a short list of behaviors that should make you walk away.

The first is a demand for a large deposit or cash up front. The FTC advises against hiring anyone who demands cash or a big deposit before the move. A reputable mover does not need a hefty prepayment to hold your slot, so a heavy demand for money before any work happens is a classic warning sign.

The second is blank or incomplete paperwork. FMCSA warns that dishonest movers may ask you to sign estimates that are blank or mostly incomplete, then fill them in later with terms that drive up the cost. The FTC’s version is just as blunt: do not hire anyone who asks you to sign paperwork with blank spaces where prices, dates, signatures, or other important information should be. Read everything before you sign, and never sign a blank or partly filled document.

Other signals point the same direction. Be wary of a company that refuses to provide a written estimate, that will not give you a USDOT number for an interstate move, that has no verifiable physical address, or that pressures you to commit immediately. FMCSA notes that among the most common moving complaints are shipments being held hostage, loss or damage, unauthorized movers, and deceptive practices such as overcharges, and the prevention for most of those starts at the hiring stage. For a fuller breakdown of how moving scams operate and how to spot a rogue operator, see our guide on avoiding moving scams (post 028). When you are choosing a company, treat any single red flag as a reason to pause and any cluster of them as a reason to move on.

Making the Final Decision

By now you should have a short list of companies that are verified, insured, and willing to put a real estimate in writing, with no red flags waving. The final decision is about weighing what is left.

Lay your verified options side by side and look past the price tag. Compare the services each company includes, how each one answered your questions about liability and claims, how clearly each communicated, and what its track record looks like in reviews and in the FMCSA complaint history. A company that was responsive, transparent, and easy to pin down on details is more likely to behave the same way on move day. One that was slippery during the sales process rarely improves once it has your deposit.

Before you commit, read the paperwork in full and make sure the written estimate and any contract match what you were told, with nothing left blank. Confirm the dates, the services, and the price terms you discussed. If anything was promised verbally, get it in writing. When the documents line up with the conversation and the company has cleared every check above, you can sign with reasonable confidence that you have chosen a mover you can trust.

This article is general information to help you evaluate moving companies, not legal or professional advice. Rules differ between interstate and local moves and can change, so verify a company’s current registration, insurance, and any state requirements through the official sources below before you hire.

Sources

  • Steps to Select a Mover, FMCSA, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/select-mover
  • Moving Checklist, FMCSA Protect Your Move, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/moving-checklist
  • Search for a Registered Mover, FMCSA, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/search-mover
  • Movers vs. Brokers, FMCSA, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/movers-vs-brokers
  • Spot the Red Flags, FMCSA, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/red-flags
  • Blank Document Warning, FMCSA, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/blank-document-warning
  • What is a binding move estimate?, FMCSA, https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/consumer-protection/protect-your-move/what-binding-move-estimate
  • Avoid scams when you hire a moving company, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/09/avoid-scams-when-you-hire-moving-company

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