Reference
Mover paperwork and terms
Each document and term a mover uses, from the written estimate to the delivery receipt, with what it means and the rule behind it; then five states' rules side by side as examples.
A hired move runs on paper: an estimate, a bill of lading, an inventory, weight tickets, a delivery receipt and, if something goes wrong, a claim. Each entry below says what a document or term means as the rule that sets it uses it, and links that rule. Unless an entry names a state, the rule is the federal one for interstate moves by a household goods carrier, 49 CFR Part 375; moves within one state follow that state's rules, and the state examples at the end show how five states differ. Hiring a mover walks through the documents in order, and cost checks does the delivery-day arithmetic.
Jump to: Estimates and surveys · The bill of lading and the inventory · Weight · Charges · Valuation · Who you are dealing with · Delivery and claims · State examples
Estimates and surveys
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Written estimate | The mover's written statement of the charges for your move, dated and signed by both of you, based on a survey of your goods. On an interstate move it is required, and it must say whether it is binding or non-binding. A price given by phone or online is a rate quote, not an estimate. With the estimate the mover gives you two federal booklets, "Ready to Move?" and "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move," as copies or links. | 49 CFR 375.401; 49 CFR 375.213; Part 375, Appendix A |
| Binding estimate | An estimate that fixes the total cost for the goods and services it lists, whatever the shipment weighs. The mover may charge for preparing one. If you add goods or services, the mover does not have to honor it; before loading the two of you reaffirm it, write a new binding estimate, or agree in writing to treat it as non-binding. Once the truck is loaded without a new estimate, the original stands. | 49 CFR 375.403 |
| Non-binding estimate | The mover's estimate of the cost, which is not binding on the mover. It is free. The final bill follows the actual weight, the services provided and the tariff. At delivery the mover can require at most 110 percent of the estimate, plus services you asked for after the bill of lading and impracticable-operations charges up to 15 percent of the other charges due then. The rest is billed later and is still owed. | 49 CFR 375.405 and 375.407; 49 CFR 375.703; 49 U.S.C. 13707 |
| Not to exceed (a state term) | A maximum price. Federal rules define only binding and non-binding estimates; "binding not to exceed" is not a federal estimate type, so ask the mover what its tariff says the phrase means. California puts a Not to Exceed Price on every in-state Agreement for Moving Services. Texas defines a not-to-exceed proposal: the most you can be charged, and the mover may charge less. | 49 CFR 375.401; California Maximum Rate Tariff 4; Texas DMV, Don't Make a Move Without Us |
| Survey (physical or virtual) | The mover's look at your goods before it estimates. Since 2022 the federal rule allows it on site or by live or recorded video that lets the mover clearly identify the goods. You can waive it only in writing, signed before loading. California requires a visual inspection for in-state estimates; Florida's agency says the estimator should see the items. | 49 CFR 375.103; 49 CFR 375.401; California BHGS guide; Florida FDACS, Moving Within Florida |
The bill of lading and the inventory
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of lading | The receipt for your goods and the contract for moving them. On an interstate move you get it at least 3 days before loading, sign and date it, and can cancel it without penalty within 3 days of signing. It lists 17 items, among them the participating carriers and their USDOT numbers, the pickup and delivery dates or periods, the form of payment, the most the mover can require at delivery, your valuation choice, and the estimate and inventory as attachments. You cannot be made to sign a blank one; it may be incomplete only for facts not known before loading, such as the actual weight. Keep it until delivery, payment and any claim are settled. | 49 CFR 375.505; 87 FR 24431 (2022 rule) |
| Order for service | A separate form listing the services ordered. The federal rule deleted it in 2022 and moved its contents into the bill of lading, so an interstate mover no longer issues one. New York still requires one before a mover takes goods on a move within New York. Older guides, including some FMCSA pages, still describe the old sequence. | 87 FR 24431 (2022 rule); NYSDOT Mover's Guide (2024) |
| Inventory | The mover's itemized list of every carton and every uncartoned item, each with a matching number on the article and a note of its condition. You can watch it being made, and you get a copy signed by both of you before or at loading. At delivery you can check items against it, write down missing and damaged ones, and get a copy of those notes. Texas makes an inventory optional for in-state moves. Your own box register and photos support a claim; they do not replace the mover's inventory. | 49 CFR 375.503; Texas DMV, Don't Make a Move Without Us |
| Tariff | The mover's published rates, rules and charges. Your estimate, added services and many limits (deductibles, impracticable operations) refer to it. You can examine the parts that apply to your move, or ask for copies. California and Washington also publish state tariffs that set maximum rates and rules for in-state moves. | 49 CFR 375.103; 49 CFR 375.213; California Maximum Rate Tariff 4; Washington Tariff 15-C |
Weight
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Weight ticket | The scale's record of a weighing, signed by the weigh master. It shows the scale's name and location, the date, whether each figure is tare, gross or net, the truck's identification, your last name and the bill of lading number. True copies come with the bill. You have the right to watch every weighing, and the mover must tell you where and when. | 49 CFR 375.513 to 375.519 |
| Tare weight, gross weight, net weight | Tare is the truck's weight without your goods; gross is its weight with them; net, the gross minus the tare, is your shipment's weight. The truck is weighed both times with its pads, dollies and ramps aboard, nobody on it, and the fuel tanks full (or no fuel added between weighings). The mover weighs at origin (tare before loading, gross after) or at destination (gross before unloading, tare after). | 49 CFR 375.509 (from 375.513) |
| Reweigh | A second weighing you can demand, before unloading, of a shipment weighed at origin. The charges then follow the reweigh, even if it comes out higher. Federal Appendix A says the mover may not charge for it; the regulation itself is silent on cost. States differ: in Washington you pay the scale fees, plus a reweigh charge unless the weights differ by more than 100 pounds (shipments of 5,000 pounds or less) or 2 percent (heavier ones); California's booklet charges nothing extra only past the same differences, and uses the lower weight. | 49 CFR 375.517 (from 375.513); Part 375, Appendix A; Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 180; California booklet (Tariff 4, Item 470) |
| Constructive weight | A weight worked out from volume instead of a scale: Washington's tariff defines it as seven pounds per cubic foot of properly loaded van space, and California's estimate form uses the same seven pounds. An interstate mover may estimate by volume if it explains in writing how volume converts to weight. Seven pounds is the tariffs' convention, not a measurement of your load. Convention | Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 10; California Maximum Rate Tariff 4; 49 CFR 375.401 |
Charges
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Accessorial charges | Charges for added services, such as packing, unpacking, appliance servicing or piano carrying, that you ask for or that landlord rules or special conditions require. Charges for elevators, long carries and the like are to be settled before the bill of lading; if the mover did not ask about them, it delivers and bills you after 30 days. | Part 375, Appendix A; 49 CFR 375.401(f) |
| Long carry | An added charge when the crew has to carry goods a long way between the truck and the door. Washington's tariff and California's booklet both draw the line at 75 feet. | Washington Tariff 15-C, Items 10 and 160; California booklet (Tariff 4, Item 470) |
| Flight charge | An added charge for carrying items up or down flights of stairs. Washington's tariff counts a flight as the stairs from one full floor to the next, or 8 to 20 steps outside; fewer than 8 steps is not a flight. | Part 375, Appendix A; Washington Tariff 15-C, Items 10 and 165 |
| Shuttle | A smaller vehicle, or extra labor, that moves your goods between the home and the big truck when the truck cannot get close: a narrow street, a low branch, a sharp turn. Washington and California set it out in their tariffs as an added service with its own charge. | Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 15; California Maximum Rate Tariff 4, Item 184 |
| Elevator charge | An added charge for using an elevator at pickup or delivery. Washington's tariff charges it per 100 pounds and, where both stairs and an elevator are available, uses whichever costs you less. | Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 165; 49 CFR 375.401(f) |
| Impracticable operations | Conditions that make it physically impossible to pick up or deliver with the mover's usual truck, so it needs special equipment or extra labor. The mover may charge for them even if you did not ask; its tariff says which services count. At delivery these charges are capped at 15 percent of the other charges due then; any rest is billed later. | Part 375, Appendix A; 49 CFR 375.703 |
| Storage-in-transit | Temporary storage in the mover's warehouse during the move, under the mover's liability. Before it becomes permanent storage, the mover must tell you in writing at least 10 days ahead (1 day ahead if the storage is shorter than 10 days); you then have 9 months to claim for loss or damage, and the warehouse's rules apply. California and Washington allow up to 90 days within the state. | 49 CFR 375.609 (in Part 375); California booklet (Tariff 4, Item 470); Washington UTC guide |
Valuation
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Valuation | The level of the mover's liability for loss or damage, which you choose on the estimate and the bill of lading. It is not insurance; Triple-I calls it "not technically insurance." Your homeowners or renters policy is a separate question for your insurer. | 49 CFR 375.201; Triple-I, insurance for moving |
| Full value protection | The interstate default. The mover is liable for the replacement value of lost or damaged goods, up to the shipment's declared value, and chooses whether to repair, replace with like kind and quality, or pay. The minimum value is $6.00 a pound times the shipment's weight, or $6,000, whichever is higher (Surface Transportation Board, RR 999, 2012, the newest decision we found). Deductibles and exceptions are in the mover's tariff, and the federal claims rule applies a depreciation factor to replacement cost. | 49 CFR 375.201; Part 375, Appendix A; STB, RR 999 (Amendment No. 5); 49 CFR 370.9 |
| Released value | The minimum level, at no added charge: at most 60 cents a pound per article. A 10-pound item worth $1,000 gets $6.00. You get it only by waiving full value protection in writing, on a statement on the bill of lading. | Part 375, Appendix A; FMCSA, Liability and Protection; STB, lost or damaged items |
| Declared value | The value you state for the whole shipment. Under full value protection it caps what the mover pays. You can declare more than the minimum, at an added cost. | 49 CFR 375.201; Part 375, Appendix A |
| Deductible | The part of a loss you bear before full value protection pays. The STB allows movers to offer a range of deductibles, which lower the charge; the levels are in the mover's tariff. Washington's in-state replacement-cost option has a $300 deductible on the whole shipment; its tariff's example pays $200 on a $500 loss. | STB, RR 999 (Amendment No. 5); Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 90 |
| Extraordinary value | An article worth more than $100 a pound: Appendix A's examples include jewelry, silverware, china, furs, antiques and oriental rugs. List such items in writing before the move; otherwise the mover can limit what it pays for each to $100 a pound. | 49 CFR 375.203; Part 375, Appendix A |
Who you are dealing with
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier (the mover) | The company that transports your goods. FMCSA describes a mover as one that owns trucks, employs moving staff and estimates from its own tariff. The carrier is the one liable for loss and damage. The bill of lading names every carrier that takes part. | FMCSA, Movers vs. Brokers; 49 CFR 375.201 |
| Broker | A company that arranges your move with a carrier and does not transport goods. A broker may give an estimate only under a written agreement with the carrier, from that carrier's tariff and a survey by that carrier. It must give you a list of the carriers it uses with their USDOT and MC numbers, and state that it is not a carrier. Florida bars brokers from estimating moves within Florida. | FMCSA, Movers vs. Brokers; 49 CFR Part 371, subpart B; 49 CFR 375.409; Florida Statutes ch. 507 |
| USDOT number | The federal identifying number for a company that moves goods interstate. An interstate mover's advertisements must show it as "U.S. DOT No." followed by the number. Look it up in FMCSA's mover search; the bill of lading lists it for each carrier. | 49 CFR 375.207; FMCSA, Search for a Registered Mover |
| MC number | The number for a company's operating authority, which FMCSA's search also takes. A broker's ads must show its MC number along with its USDOT number. FMCSA notes that a company can be registered but not authorized to move household goods; brokers do not receive an "authorized" designation. | 49 CFR Part 371, subpart B; FMCSA FAQ, Protect Your Move; FMCSA, Search for a Registered Mover |
Delivery and claims
| Term | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery receipt | The paper you sign when the goods arrive. It may say the goods were received in apparent good condition except as noted. Note missing and damaged items on the inventory before you sign. In Texas, signing at delivery does not release the mover from liability. | 49 CFR 375.701 (from 375.703); 49 CFR 375.503; Texas DMV, Don't Make a Move Without Us |
| Release language | Wording on a delivery receipt that would release the mover from liability. The federal rule does not allow it on an interstate delivery receipt; Appendix A tells you to strike it out or refuse delivery. | 49 CFR 375.701 (from 375.703); Part 375, Appendix A |
| Claim | A written demand to the mover that identifies the shipment, says the mover is liable, and asks for a specific amount of money. A damage note on the delivery receipt, on its own, is not a claim. The mover cannot set a filing period shorter than 9 months from delivery. It must acknowledge a claim within 30 days and pay, decline or make a firm offer within 120 days. FMCSA says a claim need not be on the mover's own form. | 49 CFR Part 370; 49 U.S.C. 14706; FMCSA, What if there are problems? |
| Disallowance | The mover's written notice declining a claim. You have at least 2 years from it to sue. A compromise offer is not a disallowance unless it says so in writing with its reasons. | 49 U.S.C. 14706 |
| Arbitration | A neutral program, which every interstate mover must offer, for loss and damage disputes and for charges billed after delivery. The mover must tell you about it before you sign the bill of lading, cannot make you agree to it before a dispute arises, and on a claim of $10,000 or less the result binds the mover if you ask for arbitration. You pay at most half the cost of starting it. The statute ties the program to collect-on-delivery moves. | 49 CFR 375.211; 49 U.S.C. 14708 |
| Held goods | Goods a mover keeps instead of delivering. A mover may hold goods when charges that are owed have not been paid. Refusing to deliver after you have tendered 100 percent of a binding estimate, or up to 110 percent of a non-binding one plus the permitted extras, is holding goods hostage, a federal violation with a civil penalty of at least $20,537 for each violation in FMCSA's current schedule. Report it to FMCSA at 1-888-368-7238. | 49 U.S.C. 14915; 49 CFR Part 386, Appendix B; FMCSA FAQ, Protect Your Move; FMCSA, What if there are problems? |
State examples
These are examples of how five states handle moves within their own borders, read from each state's agency page, tariff or statute on 2026-11-02, with the federal interstate rule in the first row for comparison. They are not a summary of your state's law, and they change. A move into or out of a state is interstate and follows the federal row, though California's bureau also takes complaints about moves into or out of California. Ask the regulator
| Where | Regulator | Estimates | Valuation if you choose nothing | Release at delivery | Claim window and response | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal (interstate) | FMCSA; it does not resolve individual claims. | Written, after a survey; binding or non-binding. | Full value protection, at least $6.00 a pound times the weight or $6,000. Released value (60 cents a pound per article) only if you waive in writing. | 100 percent of a binding estimate, or up to 110 percent of a non-binding one, plus services you added after the bill of lading and impracticable operations up to 15 percent. | At least 9 months to file; acknowledgment in 30 days; pay, decline or offer in 120. | Part 375, Appendix A; 49 CFR 375.703; STB, RR 999; FMCSA, Protect Your Move |
| California | Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS); movers within, into or out of California need a BHGS license. | Written estimates are binding on the mover and follow a visual inspection. Every Agreement for Moving Services carries a Not to Exceed Price, given at least 3 days before the move unless booked inside 3 days or waived. | Actual cash value up to $20,000. Basic protection is 60 cents a pound per article. | Once authorized charges are paid, the mover must release all the goods. Its lien does not reach food, medicine, medical or disability devices, or items for the care of a minor child. | Written claim within 9 months; acknowledgment in 30 days; pay, decline or offer in 60. Pay all charges first, or the mover may not honor the claim. | California BHGS guide; California booklet (Tariff 4, Item 470) |
| Texas | Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV); movers must hold an active TxDMV certificate. | A written proposal before loading that states the maximum amount: binding (an exact price) or not-to-exceed (the most, and the mover may charge less). | Whatever the two of you agree, which can be no liability. TxDMV's example: at 60 cents a pound, a 50-pound TV gets $30. | The proposal's maximum governs. Signing at delivery does not release the mover from liability. | Written claim within 90 days; acknowledgment in 23 days unless resolved in 20; disposition in 90. Free TxDMV mediation if requested within 35 days of an unsatisfactory answer. | Texas DMV, Don't Make a Move Without Us |
| New York | New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). | An order for service before goods are taken. Binding estimates are optional for movers, valid at least 30 days, with a 10 percent band either way. | Hourly moves: $2,500 for the shipment if you write nothing; released value is 30 cents a pound per article. Weight moves: 60 cents, or the declared value or $1.25 times the weight. | Non-binding hourly moves: the estimate plus 25 percent. Weight moves and binding-estimate disputes: plus 10 percent. The rest is deferred at least 15 days. | A claim "should be filed within 90 days"; acknowledgment in 30 days; disposition in 90. NYSDOT says it has no authority to decide liability. | NYSDOT Mover's Guide (updated February 28, 2024) |
| Florida | Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS); movers register with the state. | A written estimate and contract, signed by both before any service. Brokers may not estimate. | No default level found. A mover may not limit its liability below 60 cents a pound per article; a lower term is void. | The mover must release the goods once the contract amount is tendered, and may not withhold prescription medicines or goods for children under any circumstances. | No claim deadline on the state's page or in chapter 507. Read the contract and ask FDACS. | Florida FDACS, Moving Within Florida; Florida Statutes ch. 507 |
| Washington | Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC); it sets minimum and maximum rates in Tariff 15-C, effective January 1, 2026, and temporary supplements change the maximums. | A free written estimate. A non-binding final bill can be at most 25 percent over the estimate and any supplemental estimate. | Replacement cost with a $300 deductible for the whole shipment. The other options are basic protection at 60 cents a pound per item, and replacement cost with no deductible; both replacement options use a value of at least $9.16 times the net weight. | Binding: the estimate. Non-binding: 110 percent, with at least 30 days to pay the rest. | Written claim within 9 months of delivery, after paying all legal charges; the UTC's guide says the mover acknowledges within 10 days. | Washington Tariff 15-C; Washington UTC guide |
Your own state. Search for your state's name with "household goods mover" and "license"; where a state licenses movers, the agency's page names the rules and a lookup. For a move within one state, the FTC says to ask your state consumer protection office (FTC, Avoid scams when you hire a moving company). Write the regulator and its lookup on the quotes sheet beside each company.
Limits
These definitions and examples help you read the paper and ask. They are not legal advice, and they do not say whether a charge on your bill is owed or a claim will be paid. The federal rules cover interstate moves by a household goods carrier only; a move within one state follows that state's rules, and a rental truck or container you load yourself follows its contract. For a held shipment, a disputed bill or a refused claim, the route is in Damage, delays and disputes: the mover's own process, arbitration, the regulator or state attorney general, and a lawyer where needed.