Reference
Moving services compared: the table
One row per way of moving a household: who packs, who loads, who drives, whose rules apply, who is liable for damage, and how it is priced. Filter by what you want to do yourself.
Each row is one way to move a household. The columns say who does the work, whose rules cover it and who pays if something breaks. Read across the row for the scope you are pricing, then read the whose-rules and liable columns again before you sign anything. Moving services compared explains how to choose between rows; the quotes sheet holds the prices you collect.
The tags filter the rows: they pack (someone else can pack), they load (someone else loads and unloads), you load (you or your friends load), federal mover rules apply (the federal household goods rules can cover this scope on an interstate move), and contract only (a company's written terms are the main rules). A row can carry more than one tag.
| Scope | Who packs | Who loads and unloads | Who drives | Whose rules apply | Who is liable, and how | How it is priced | Fits when | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full service | The mover. Unpacking is an added service you can ask for. | The mover's crew. | The mover, or another carrier it hands the shipment to; the bill of lading names each carrier. | Interstate: 49 CFR Part 375, when the mover is a household goods carrier and you pay for your own move. Within one state: that state's rules, where it has them. An employer-paid move falls outside Part 375. | The mover, at the valuation level you choose. On an interstate move that is full value protection unless you waive it in writing for released value (60 cents a pound per article). Ask your insurer what your own policy adds. | Interstate: weight (or volume converted to weight, explained in writing) and distance under the mover's tariff, on a binding or non-binding estimate, plus added services. Within a state: the state's rules; California's booklet allows hourly pricing for moves of 100 miles or less, Washington's tariff for moves of 55 miles or less. | Little time, nobody who can lift, a long distance, and a budget that allows it. | 49 CFR Part 375; 49 CFR 375.401, estimates; California Maximum Rate Tariff 4 (2026); Washington UTC guide |
| Partial packing | The mover packs the rooms or items you name (a kitchen, the fragile things); you pack the rest. | The mover's crew. | The mover. | As full service. | As full service. FMCSA lists packing your own boxes among the things that can make a claim harder to establish, because the mover did not see what went in. | As full service, with packing charged as an added service for the part the mover packs. | You can pack most of the home yourself but not the fragile or awkward things in the time left. | FMCSA, Liability and Protection; Part 375, Appendix A (added services) |
| Labor only | You. | A hired crew, at one end or both, into equipment you booked. | You, or the container or freight company you booked. The crew drives nothing of yours. | The crew's written terms. Part 375 is written for carriers that transport household goods; we found no federal rule for a crew that only loads. Ask your state regulator whether it licenses labor-only crews. | Whatever the crew's terms say it pays, and its insurance if it has any: ask both in writing. Ask your insurer what your policy covers while hired helpers handle your goods. | By the hour per worker, or a flat price for the job. Ask which, and the minimum. | A truck or container is booked and you need lifting help. | 49 CFR Part 375 (scope); Triple-I, insurance for moving |
| Rental truck with hired helpers | You. | Hired helpers. | You. | The rental contract for the truck; the helpers' terms for their work. | You are responsible for the truck under the rental contract. Triple-I says your car policy's collision and comprehensive cover likely do not transfer to a moving van, and that homeowners and renters policies cover belongings in transit but not damage done while movers handle them. Ask your insurer which applies to hired helpers. | Rental rate (days, miles, fuel, any damage waiver) plus the helpers' hours. | A local or short move, a driver comfortable with the truck size, and someone else to lift. | U-Haul truck user instructions; Budget 26-foot truck and rental terms; Triple-I, insurance for moving |
| Rental truck with friends | You. | You and the people you ask. | You. | The rental contract. Budget's terms, for example, bar people and animals in the cargo section and loading past the truck's rated weight. | You, under the rental contract, and your own insurance. NAIC (2011) says a personal auto policy may not cover a rented truck and names the rental company's supplemental liability and damage waiver options. | Rental rate plus fuel, supplies and whatever you give your helpers. | A small household, a short distance, and people who can lift and carry. | Budget 26-foot truck and rental terms; NAIC, Leaving Home (2011) |
| Portable container | You. | You, or a labor-only crew you hire. | The container company moves the container. | The container company's contract. Part 375 leaves out a carrier whose containers are entirely loaded and unloaded by the customer. If the company's own workers load, ask which rules then apply. | Whatever the contract says the company pays, and your own insurance. Ask both in writing before you load. | Ask what the quote includes: delivery, transport, pickup at the far end, and each month the container waits. | A gap between homes, loading over several days. PODS loads at ground level; it gives 4,200 pounds as the guideline limit for its 16-foot container. A U-Box holds 257 cubic feet, up to 2,000 pounds. | 49 CFR Part 375 (scope); PODS container sizes; U-Box dimensions |
| Trailer or cube, "you pack, we drive" | You. | You, or a labor-only crew. | A freight carrier. | The carrier's contract; the same Part 375 exclusion for customer-loaded trailers applies. | Whatever the contract says the carrier pays, and your own insurance. | U-Pack, for example, prices by the cube or by the linear feet of trailer you use, down to 5 feet behind a bulkhead. | A long move without driving a truck. A ReloCube holds 308 cubic feet and up to 2,500 pounds; U-Pack's trailer about 1,944 cubic feet, about 48 inches off the ground with a ramp. | U-Pack ReloCube size; U-Pack trailer size |
| Parcel shipping | You. | You hand the boxes over. | The parcel carrier. | The carrier's own service terms. Part 375 is written for household goods carriers. | What the carrier's terms say it pays, plus any extra coverage you buy; your own insurance. | Per box, by weight, size and distance. | A few boxes, or a move by plane with no furniture. | No source in this manual; read the carrier's terms before you ship. |
| Specialty mover (piano, safe, art) | The specialist (crating, padding). | The specialist. | The specialist, or a household mover after the specialist prepares the item. | As any mover: Part 375 on an interstate move by a household goods carrier, the state's rules within a state. Washington's tariff, for example, sets its own piano handling and per-flight charges. | The mover's valuation. List any item worth more than $100 a pound in writing, or recovery for it can be limited to $100 a pound. | Per item, with handling and stair charges. | Liberty Safe recommends hiring professionals for a safe over 500 pounds, or for stairs or tight spaces. | 49 CFR 375.201 to 375.203; Washington Tariff 15-C; Liberty Safe, Can I Move My Safe? |
| Move manager | Sorts, packs and unpacks, as the contract says. | A mover: NASMM says some move managers are also movers and others work with a local moving company. | That mover. | The move manager's contract for the planning and sorting; the mover's rules for the move itself. We found no regulator that licenses move managers. | The move manager's contract and insurance (NASMM suggests asking about liability and workers' compensation insurance), and the mover's valuation for the goods in transit. | Hourly, or one package price. NASMM says its members give a written estimate before you pay. | Downsizing, an older relative's move, a full house to sort. | NASMM FAQs |
| Storage, including storage-in-transit | Whoever packs for the move. | The mover (storage-in-transit) or you (a storage unit). | The mover, or you. | Storage-in-transit on an interstate move: Part 375. The mover gives written notice at least 10 days before it becomes permanent storage, and you then have 9 months to claim. California and Washington allow up to 90 days of storage-in-transit within the state. A storage unit: the facility's contract; California's BHGS says it does not regulate storage facilities. | The mover, until storage-in-transit becomes permanent storage; then the warehouse's rules. Washington's guide says the mover's liability ends at midnight on day 90. A storage unit: the contract and your own insurance (Triple-I says homeowners and renters policies cover belongings in storage facilities; ask what yours covers). | By the day or month under the mover's tariff; a storage unit by the month. | A gap between moving out and moving in. | 49 CFR 375.609 (in Part 375); California Maximum Rate Tariff 4 (2026); California BHGS guide; Washington UTC guide; Triple-I, insurance for moving |
How to read the table
- Interstate. A move is interstate when it crosses a state line, and also when it runs between two places in one state by way of another state (49 CFR 390.5). A move across a state line inside one commercial zone is not covered by the federal household goods rules; the federal booklet's example is Brooklyn, New York, to Hackensack, New Jersey (Part 375, Appendix A; 49 CFR 372.241).
- Federal mover rules apply marks the rows where Part 375 can cover the move: a hired household goods carrier, an interstate move, and a person paying for their own move. It does not cover containers or trailers you load and unload entirely yourself, store furniture delivery, or employer-paid moves (49 CFR 375.101 and 375.103).
- Contract only marks the rows where a company's written terms are the rules you read first. Get them before you book, and keep a copy in your binder.
- Liable is not the same as insured. A mover's valuation is its liability for your goods; Triple-I calls it "not technically insurance." Your homeowners or renters policy is a separate question for your insurer.
- How it is priced names the method, not a price. Put real quotes on the quotes sheet, and check delivery-day and valuation figures in cost checks. The words on an estimate are on Mover paperwork and terms.
- Checking the company. Interstate movers and brokers are in FMCSA's mover search by name, USDOT number or MC number; FMCSA says it does not endorse any company from those results. In-state movers are in each state's lookup (Hiring a mover).
Limits
This table lays out who does what and which rules can apply. It does not recommend a company, a scope or a price. Whether your move is interstate can depend on the route; the test is in 49 CFR 390.5, and FMCSA or your state's regulator settles a particular case. Company figures are as each company published them on 2026-11-02 and change; the company's own page and your contract decide.