How to verify a commercial mover
What you can check in a public federal database, what the household goods rules do not give you, and what you therefore have to put in the contract yourself.
There is a large body of consumer protection around interstate moving, and almost none of it covers a business move. Knowing exactly where the line falls tells you which checks are free and which protections you have to negotiate.
The scope rule that most guides skip
The federal consumer protection regulations for interstate moving are 49 CFR Part 375. The regulation defines its own reach in its first substantive section, and it is narrow: a carrier is subject to it only when transporting household goods for individual shippers by motor vehicle in interstate commerce.
A company relocating an office is not an individual shipper, and office furniture, workstations and server racks are not household goods. So the familiar protections attached to that regulation, including the Rights and Responsibilities booklet and the household goods estimate rules, are not protections your business move inherits.
This is not a loophole or bad behaviour by movers. It is the stated scope of the rule. It just means the advice written for household moves does not transfer.
What you can still verify, free, in public records
| What to check | Where | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| USDOT number | FMCSA registration guidance | Any company operating commercial vehicles hauling cargo in interstate commerce must be registered and hold a USDOT number. |
| Registration status | FMCSA mover database | Whether the company is currently registered, and its headquarters location and contact details. |
| Business type | FMCSA mover database | Whether the entity is a carrier, a broker or a freight forwarder. This is the single most useful field and the one most people never look at. |
| Complaint history | FMCSA mover database | Complaints recorded against the company. |
| Safety record | FMCSA mover database | Safety information held on the carrier. |
Two minutes of database checking rules out the most common failure mode, which is discovering after the fact that you contracted a broker believing you had contracted a carrier.
Source: FMCSA, Search for a Registered Mover and FMCSA, Do I Need a USDOT Number?
What no rule gives you, so put it in the contract
Because Part 375 does not apply, the following are contract terms rather than entitlements. If they are not written down, you do not have them.
- The liability standard for damage, and the per-pound or per-item limit that applies. Default carrier liability is typically far below the replacement value of IT and lab equipment.
- Whether the estimate is binding, and what specifically can change it.
- Insurance covering the declared value of what is actually moving, not a nominal figure.
- Who is liable for business interruption if the move overruns, and whether there is any downtime remedy at all.
- Whether a physical survey happens before the price is fixed. Nothing requires one on a commercial move.
- Chain of custody and access control for anything containing data.
- Who disconnects, reconnects and tests equipment, and who certifies it working at the other end.
The order to do this in
- Look the company up in the FMCSA mover database before the first call, and note whether it is a carrier or a broker.
- Ask directly whether your work will be subcontracted, and to whom.
- Ask for a certificate of insurance showing limits against the declared value of your equipment.
- Ask whether the estimate is binding and what voids it.
- Get the liability limit in writing, then decide whether you need separate transit insurance.