Is Your Mover Legit? Here’s an Easy Way to Tell.

You’ve sold your home. You’re about to move to your new place and it’s amazing. Now you’re getting estimates from several different movers. There’s one price in particular that’s really competitive. I mean, unusually low. Somewhere in the back of your mind you’re thinking that something isn’t right. I mean, the guy you talked to was nice and all but this is your home we’re talking about. Is this mover legit?

How do you know? Angie’s List? Google Reviews?

The good news is that moving is a regulated business. The government keeps tabs on moving companies to make sure they’re following the rules. “The rules“, as it were, ensure that your goods are insured, that the company is properly licensed, and that moving regulations that protect you are followed.

Here at Few Moves Moving Company, we’re based in North Carolina. We, and all other moving companies in the state, are governed by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. And the NCUC, as all the cool kids call them, keeps a list of all of the moving companies that are registered with the state. You can download the PDF here.

For interstate moves, which is any move that crosses state lines, now we’re talking about Federal jurisdiction. In this case, movers are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration. To legally move between states, a company must be registered with the FMCA as well as the US Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation has a website that lets you look up a company to verify their information, and their legitimacy. It’s called by the slightly-tortured-so-we-can-call-it-by-an-acronym name of the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System.

You should verify that your moving company is properly licensed at both the State and the Federal level. Checking the above links is a super quick and easy way to find out. If they are missing, or if there are red flags, you’ll see. And once you verify that the company you’d like to choose is properly licensed, you can rest easy knowing that they are legit.