Interstate moving estimates and protection

For a household move across state lines, review how your estimate handles added items, what is due at delivery and the protection selected for your belongings.

Authority and insurance

Verify the actual carrier’s active household-goods operating authority and insurance with FMCSA. A USDOT number identifies a business; it is not, by itself, proof of active authority for your shipment. Broker authority is different from carrier authority. Check FMCSA’s mover records.

FMCSA’s filing chart lists $750,000 bodily-injury/property-damage coverage and $5,000 cargo coverage for household-goods carriers using vehicles rated at 10,001 pounds or more. These carrier filing minimums do not determine your item’s replacement value. Federal insurance filing requirements.

What if the volume or inventory changes on moving day?

A binding estimate covers the listed goods and services. If you add furniture, boxes or services before loading, the mover can reaffirm it, negotiate a revised written binding estimate, or agree with you in writing to make it nonbinding. Resolve that before loading; the estimate cannot simply be rewritten after the truck is loaded.

Compare the actual inventory with the estimate: extra items and a different assessment of the same items are not the same change. Ask what changed, how the charge is calculated and which document you are being asked to sign. A nonbinding estimate is not a fixed price; final charges follow the applicable tariff and actual shipment/services. FMCSA’s estimate and revision rules.

What must be paid at delivery?

For the estimated goods and services, the delivery-payment limit is 100% of a binding estimate or 110% of a nonbinding estimate. Additional services you request after the contract and qualifying tariff-defined impracticable operations can add to that amount. Impracticable-operation charges collected at delivery are limited to 15% of other charges due.

The 110% rule is not a cap on the final bill: billing for the remaining ordinary nonbinding charges must be deferred for at least 30 days. Keep the estimate, inventory, signed revisions and receipts. FMCSA’s delivery-payment rules.

Insurance and valuation are different

Full Value Protection is the default interstate liability option unless you waive it in writing. It provides repair, replacement or settlement under the agreed terms, with possible deductibles and special rules for high-value items. Released Value limits liability to 60 cents per pound per article: a 20-pound item would have a $12 limit.

These are mover liability options, not insurance policies. Separate transit insurance and a building’s certificate of insurance serve different purposes. Confirm your selected protection before loading. FMCSA’s liability and protection guide.

Sources reviewed October 6, 2026.