When you hire movers for an out-of-state move, get a binding estimate in writing before anything goes on the truck. A binding estimate fixes the price for the move it describes. A non-binding one is only the mover’s best guess, and the final bill can run higher.
A mover that doesn’t offer a binding estimate must give you a non-binding one, so ask for a binding estimate by name. Rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) require every estimate in writing, signed by you and the mover.
By our arithmetic, a $4,000 non-binding estimate lets the mover require up to $4,400, or 110% of the estimate, before handing over your belongings. The mover bills the rest after 30 days. On a $4,000 binding estimate, $4,000 is the price for the move as estimated.
Loading day is the deadline for changes. If you add items or services, you and the mover can keep the binding estimate, sign a new one, or convert it to non-binding, but only before loading. Once the truck is loaded with no new written estimate, the original binding price stands.
Before you book, take four steps.
- Look up the mover in FMCSA’s mover search tool by name or USDOT number, the federal ID every interstate mover must have. Confirm it’s registered and check its complaint record.
- Insist on the in-person or video survey FMCSA requires, and don’t sign a waiver that skips it.
- Tell the mover about stairs, elevators, and parking permits at your new home, since the survey can’t show them. The mover can bill destination surprises like these after delivery, even on a binding estimate.
- Don’t balk at a fee. Movers can charge to prepare a binding estimate, while a non-binding one must be free.
Walk away if a mover prices the job by phone or online without seeing your things, demands cash or a large deposit, asks you to sign blank documents, or arrives on moving day in a rental truck. FMCSA lists each as a red flag.
FMCSA’s rules apply only to interstate moves. For a move within one state, check your state’s rules and ask for the same written, binding terms anyway.
Compare movers only on estimates they’ll sign as binding. A non-binding number can’t tell you what you’ll owe.
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