Interstate Moving: Rules, Rights, and USDOT Verification
The moment your move crosses a state line — Tacoma to Portland counts just as much as Tacoma to Miami — it falls under federal jurisdiction. Interstate movers must be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and carry an active USDOT number.
That registration is your first and best screening tool, and checking it takes about a minute. This page walks through how, and what protections federal rules give you.
Verify before you sign
Every legitimate interstate mover displays a USDOT number on its website, trucks, and paperwork. Enter that number into the FMCSA's public mover search to confirm the registration is active, the company is authorized for household goods, and the complaint history isn't alarming. If a company won't give you its USDOT number, that conversation is over.
Federal rules also entitle you to a copy of the booklet 'Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move' before your shipment loads. A mover who provides it unprompted is following the rules; a mover who's never heard of it is telling you something.
Brokers versus carriers
Some companies quoting interstate moves are carriers — they own the trucks that will haul your shipment. Others are brokers who arrange the move and hand it to a carrier you may never have spoken to. Both are legal, but federal rules require brokers to disclose that they're brokers. Always ask which one you're dealing with, and get the name of the actual carrier before loading day.
Red flags worth walking away from
Be wary of quotes delivered over the phone with no inventory review, demands for large cash deposits, contracts with blank spaces, and companies whose name on the paperwork doesn't match the name on the truck. Hostage-load situations — where a mover inflates the price after loading and won't deliver until you pay — almost always trace back to skipping the USDOT check at the start.