Reference
Glossary
Plain definitions of the terms movers, rental companies, regulators and this manual use.
Each term as this manual uses it, with the page that explains it. Where a regulation or a state defines a term its own way, the page that explains it gives that definition and its source. Terms marked as this manual's method (room code, box register, open-first box) are ours, not an industry standard.
| Term | Meaning | Explained in |
|---|---|---|
| Accessorial charge | A charge for a service beyond carrying the goods from door to door: stairs, an elevator, a long carry, a shuttle, packing. On an interstate move the mover is to ask about these before the bill of lading. | Hiring a mover |
| Anchoring kit | Two brackets, one for the furniture and one for the wall, joined by a strap, used to keep a dresser, bookcase or TV from tipping. Its weight rating should exceed the furniture's weight. | Unpacking in order |
| Appliance dolly | A tall hand truck with a strap, for moving a refrigerator, washer or safe on wheels. | Moving it yourself |
| AR-11 | The USCIS form a noncitizen uses to report a new address, within 10 days of moving, with some exceptions USCIS lists. | Changing your address |
| Arbitration | A decision on a dispute by a neutral person outside court. An interstate mover must offer a program; at the shipper's request it is binding for claims of $10,000 or less. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| Back weigh | Weighing a loaded truck at destination and then empty after unloading, to find the shipment's weight. | Hiring a mover |
| Bill of lading | The receipt and the contract for a hired move. For an interstate move it must reach you at least 3 days before loading, and it records the valuation you chose. | Hiring a mover |
| Binding estimate | A written estimate that fixes the price for the goods and services it lists. If you add goods, the mover can re-estimate before loading. | Hiring a mover |
| Box register | This manual's list of every box by number, with its room code, contents and priority, checked off at loading, delivery and unpacking. | The packing system |
| Broker | A company that arranges a move and hands it to a carrier, without carrying the goods itself. Its estimate binds a carrier only under a written agreement. | Hiring a mover |
| Carrier | The company that actually transports your goods and is liable for them under the bill of lading. | Hiring a mover |
| Carry list | This manual's short list of what travels with you, not on the truck: documents, medicines, keys, valuables. | Your inventory |
| Certificate of insurance | A document from an insurer showing a mover or helper carries insurance; some buildings ask for one before a move. | Moving it yourself |
| Certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI) | Often called a health certificate: a form an accredited veterinarian signs after examining an animal. Some destination states ask for one. | Children, pets and older relatives |
| Certified scale | A scale certified for trade, on which an interstate mover weighs a truck for a weight-based move. | Hiring a mover |
| Change of address (USPS) | An order telling the Postal Service to forward mail from the old address to the new one. It changes only the Post Office's record. | Changing your address |
| Claim | A written demand to the mover for loss, damage or delay, identifying the shipment and asking for an amount. On an interstate move you have at least 9 months to file. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| Clothing storage unit | In the federal tip-over rule, free-standing furniture meant for storing clothing, such as a dresser or chest. The rule covers units made from September 1, 2023. | Unpacking in order |
| Collect on delivery (COD) | A shipment paid in full at delivery, before the goods are released. | Hiring a mover |
| Commercial zone | A city and the area around it that federal trucking rules treat as one place. A move inside one commercial zone is outside the federal household goods rules. | Moving services compared |
| Concealed damage | Our term for damage found only when a box is opened after delivery. The federal rules set no separate, shorter claim window for it. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| Constructive weight | A weight worked out from volume, at a set number of pounds per cubic foot (7 in California's and Washington's tariffs), instead of a scale. | Your inventory |
| Cubic foot | A volume one foot on each side. Furniture, boxes, trucks and containers are compared in cubic feet. | Your inventory |
| Declared value | The value you state for your whole shipment under full value protection. The mover's liability is capped at it. | Hiring a mover |
| Deductible | The part of a loss you bear before the mover pays under full value protection; movers offer a range. | Hiring a mover |
| Deemed weight | A weight a tariff assigns to a carton for settling a claim, so a lost box has a weight without anyone weighing it. | The packing system |
| Delivery receipt | The paper you sign at delivery. Write damage and missing items on it, or on the inventory, before you sign. | Moving day |
| Depreciation | A reduction in what a claim pays to account for an item's age and wear; the federal claims rule allows it. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| Disallowance | A mover's written notice that it declines all or part of a claim. The 2-year period to sue starts from it. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| Dish pack | A double-wall box made for dishes and glass. California's tariff deems one to weigh 60 pounds for claims. | Fragile, heavy and awkward things |
| Door-post label | The label on a truck's door frame that gives its gross vehicle weight rating and axle ratings. It settles what that truck may carry. | Moving it yourself |
| Edge Crush Test (ECT) | A rating printed on a box of how much its board withstands on edge, the load a box carries at the bottom of a stack. Higher is stiffer. | The packing system |
| Essentials box | The box packed the day before and carried with you: medicines, documents, chargers, bedding, basic tools, payment for the mover. | Unpacking in order |
| Extended Mail Forwarding | A paid USPS option that adds 6, 12 or 18 months of forwarding. | Changing your address |
| Extraordinary value | An article worth more than $100 a pound. Under full value protection, list such items in writing, or the mover can limit liability for each to $100 a pound. | Hiring a mover |
| First-day box | A box of the things a child wants first at the new home, opened before anything else. | Children, pets and older relatives |
| Fixed-term lease | A lease that runs to a stated end date; its own terms say whether and when notice is due. | The move calendar |
| Flight charge | A charge for carrying goods up or down stairs, set by a mover's tariff per flight. | Mover paperwork and terms |
| Floater | An insurance policy that covers listed high-value items. | Moving services compared |
| Full value protection | The valuation level under which an interstate mover is liable for the replacement value of lost or damaged goods, up to the declared value, with a minimum set by the Surface Transportation Board. The mover chooses repair, replacement or cash. | Hiring a mover |
| Full-service move | A move in which the company packs, loads, drives and unloads. | Moving services compared |
| Gap (between homes) | Days when you hold neither home, so your goods and household need somewhere to be. | The move calendar |
| GAWR (gross axle weight rating) | The most weight one axle of a vehicle is rated to carry, printed on the door-post label. | Moving it yourself |
| Gross weight | The weight of the loaded truck. | Hiring a mover |
| GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) | The most a vehicle is rated to weigh loaded, including itself. A commercial driver's license applies at 26,001 pounds and over for commercial vehicles. | Moving it yourself |
| Hard deadline | A date set by a lease, a law or regulation, a city or building, an agency, or a company you have a contract with. It does not move because you are busy. | The move calendar |
| Hazardous material | Anything flammable, explosive, corrosive, poisonous or under pressure. Movers and rental companies list what they refuse. | Your inventory |
| Held goods | A shipment a mover keeps until charges are paid. Refusing to release it after the required amount is paid is hostage-holding under federal law. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| Home-base room | One room at the new home set up with a pet's bed, food, water and litter box before the rest of the home is opened to it. | Children, pets and older relatives |
| Household goods motor carrier | In the federal rules, a mover of household goods for individual shippers. Part 375 applies to it on interstate moves only. | Moving services compared |
| Household hazardous waste | Leftover household products that can catch fire, react or explode, or are corrosive or toxic, such as paint, solvents and pool chemicals. Local collection programs take them. | Your inventory |
| Impracticable operations | Extra work the mover could not foresee and that the bill of lading allows it to charge for, such as a shuttle when the truck cannot reach the door. At delivery it can collect at most 15 percent of the other charges due. | Hiring a mover |
| Individual shipper | In the federal rules, a person who owns the goods and pays the moving charges; an employer-paid move is outside Part 375. | Moving services compared |
| Interstate commerce | For the mover rules, a move between places in two states, or between two places in one state through another state. | Moving services compared |
| Inventory (mover's) | The written list a mover makes at loading of every carton and uncartoned item, with a number on each and notes on condition. You may watch it being written and get a signed copy. | Moving day |
| Labor only | Hired helpers who load and unload while you provide and drive the truck or container. | Moving services compared |
| Lead time | How far ahead a task is worth starting. A judgment, not a rule; the calendar's weeks are our suggestion. | The move calendar |
| Legionella | Bacteria that can grow in water heaters and plumbing. | Unpacking in order |
| Lifting index | In NIOSH's lifting equation, the weight lifted divided by the recommended weight limit. A workplace measure, not a household limit. | Moving it yourself |
| Load constant | The 51-pound starting weight in NIOSH's lifting equation, reduced by six multipliers. It is not a safe weight for any person. | Moving it yourself |
| Long carry | A charge for carrying goods farther than a set distance between the truck and the door. | Mover paperwork and terms |
| Low-tack tape | Tape made to peel off cleanly, used in museum practice across non-laminated glass. | Fragile, heavy and awkward things |
| Manufacture date (alarm) | The date printed on the back of a smoke or CO alarm. Smoke alarms are replaced 10 years after it. | Unpacking in order |
| MC number | The operating authority number FMCSA issues to for-hire carriers and brokers. Look it up with the USDOT number. | Hiring a mover |
| Microchip | A small implant holding only an identification number, read by a scanner and looked up in a registry. It is not a GPS tracker. | Children, pets and older relatives |
| Mixing valve | A valve at or near the faucet that blends hot and cold water, so the water at the tap is cooler than in the tank. | Unpacking in order |
| Month-to-month tenancy | A tenancy with no end date that renews each rent period. State notice defaults are written for it. | The move calendar |
| Move calendar | This manual's single list of every task, dated from moving day, with a column that says who set each date. | The move calendar |
| Move manager | A person or company that plans and runs the parts of a move around the truck: sorting, a floor plan, overseeing movers, unpacking. Only some are movers. | Moving services compared |
| Move Validation Letter | A USPS letter sent to the old address after a change of address is filed, so a change you did not make shows up. | Changing your address |
| Net weight | Gross weight minus tare weight: the weight of your goods. | Hiring a mover |
| New resident | Someone who has moved into a state and must get that state's license and plates within its window. | Changing your address |
| New World screwworm | A livestock and animal pest whose 2026 spread led some states to add pet entry requirements. | Children, pets and older relatives |
| Non-binding estimate | The mover's written estimate of what the move will cost, with the bill following the actual weight and services. At delivery an interstate mover can require at most 110 percent of it plus stated extras; the rest is billed after 30 days. | Hiring a mover |
| Not to exceed | A state term (California, Texas) for an estimate the final bill may not exceed. It is not an estimate type in the federal rules. | Hiring a mover |
| Notice to vacate | The written notice a tenant gives the landlord to end the tenancy. The lease sets how much and in what form. | The move calendar |
| Open-first box | The box for each room that is opened before any other there: what the room needs on the first night or day. | The packing system |
| Order for service | The form that once listed the services ordered on an interstate move. The 2022 federal rule folded it into the bill of lading; New York still uses one for moves within the state. | Mover paperwork and terms |
| Origin weigh | Weighing the empty truck before loading and the loaded truck after. | Moving day |
| Overhead clearance | The height a truck needs to pass under something. It differs by company and model; many obstructions are not posted. | Moving it yourself |
| Overlap (between homes) | Days when you hold both homes. | The move calendar |
| Partial packing | A full-service move in which the movers pack only the rooms or items you name. | Moving services compared |
| Payload | The weight a truck or container is rated to carry in addition to its own weight. | Moving it yourself |
| Portable container | A box a company delivers for you to load, then moves and delivers; you unload it. A container you load and unload yourself is outside the federal household goods rules. | Moving services compared |
| PPQ Form 377 | APHIS's self-inspection checklist for outdoor household articles moved out of a spongy moth quarantine area. Sign it and carry it in the vehicle. | Your inventory |
| Pre-move-out inspection | A walk-through with the landlord before a tenancy ends, where a state provides one, with a list of what the landlord would deduct for. | Moving day |
| Process agent | The person each interstate carrier names in each state to receive legal papers. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| PS Form 3575 | The USPS change of address form, filed in person for free. | Changing your address |
| Quarantine area | An area under a federal or state order that restricts moving plants, firewood or outdoor articles that could carry a pest. | Your inventory |
| Recommended weight limit | In NIOSH's lifting equation, the load constant after the six multipliers: a job-design figure for healthy workers. | Moving it yourself |
| Rekeying | Changing a lock's pins so old keys no longer work, without replacing the lock. For a tenant, the lease and state law decide. | Unpacking in order |
| Release language | Wording on a delivery receipt that says you give up a claim or that the mover is no longer responsible. The federal rules tell you to strike it out. | Moving day |
| Released value | The valuation level under which an interstate mover pays at most 60 cents a pound per article. It must be chosen in writing, and it is not insurance. | Hiring a mover |
| Reweigh | A second weighing you can ask for before an origin-weighed shipment is unloaded, when the billed weight looks wrong. Charges are based on the reweigh. | Hiring a mover |
| Room code | This manual's short label (A, K, R1) for a room in the new home, written on every box going to that room and posted on its door. | The packing system |
| Run sheet | The moving-day list of times, tasks, a name on each, and the phone numbers the day depends on. | Moving day |
| Scope | The set of jobs a company takes on in a move: packing, loading, driving, unloading. | Moving services compared |
| Service area | The area where a health plan is offered. Moving out of it can open a special enrollment period. | Changing your address |
| Set by | The move calendar column that says whose deadline a row is: a lease, a law, a city or building, an agency, a company, or our suggestion. | The move calendar |
| Settling time | How long a refrigerator or freezer stands upright at the new home before it is plugged in. Makers' figures run from minutes to 24 hours. | Fragile, heavy and awkward things |
| Shuttle | A smaller vehicle used when the moving truck cannot reach the door, billed as an extra service. | Mover paperwork and terms |
| Special enrollment period | A window outside the yearly enrollment season in which you may change health plans, for example after a move. | Changing your address |
| Specialty mover | A mover for one kind of item a household crew may not take: a piano, a large safe, fine art. | Moving services compared |
| Spongy moth | A tree pest (formerly called gypsy moth) whose egg masses ride on outdoor articles; federal rules restrict moving those articles out of quarantine areas. | Your inventory |
| Storage-in-transit | Short-term storage by the mover during the move. It turns into permanent storage after a period, and the mover must give 10 days' written notice first. | Moving services compared |
| Survey | The mover's inspection of your goods, in person or by live or recorded video, on which a written estimate for an interstate move is based. | Hiring a mover |
| Table of measurements | A list of standard cubic-foot figures per item used for estimating. California's tariff prints the only regulator table we found. | Your inventory |
| Tare weight | The weight of the empty truck, subtracted from the loaded (gross) weight to give the shipment's net weight. | Hiring a mover |
| Tariff | A mover's published rates, rules and charges. You can ask to see the parts that apply to your move. | Mover paperwork and terms |
| Transit bolts | Bolts that hold a front-load washer's drum still in shipping. Makers differ on whether to reuse them for a move. | Fragile, heavy and awkward things |
| Trip transit insurance | Insurance bought for the move. Triple-I says it covers theft, disappearance or fire, not breakage. | Damage, delays and disputes |
| USDOT number | The number FMCSA assigns to a motor carrier. An interstate mover's ads must show it; look it up in FMCSA's search. | Hiring a mover |
| Utility dolly | A hand truck for boxes. | Moving it yourself |
| Valuation | The level of a mover's liability for loss or damage you choose on the bill of lading: full value protection or released value. It is not insurance. | Hiring a mover |
| Wardrobe box | A tall box with a hanging bar for clothes. | The packing system |
| Weight ticket | The signed record of a weighing: the scale, date, tare and gross weights, vehicle and bill of lading number. You get copies with the bill. | Hiring a mover |
| Written estimate | The mover's written price for your move, based on a survey. On an interstate move it must say whether it is binding or non-binding. | Mover paperwork and terms |