Questions to resolve before hiring a mover

Who will actually carry the shipment?

Ask whether you are speaking with a mover or a broker, and ask for the business name that will appear on the transportation documents. For interstate service, use FMCSA’s lookup to check the company’s registration and household-goods authority. A number printed on a website is not your completed verification.

Keep a note of the company name searched, the lookup date, and any mismatch that needs explanation. If a different carrier is assigned later, repeat the check for that carrier before relying on the earlier result.

What exactly are we agreeing to?

Read back your inventory and the services you expect. Ask who handles disassembly, packing, appliance preparation, stairs, elevator reservations, long carries, shuttle service, storage, and debris removal. Mark each answer as included, separately priced, or unresolved.

Ask for the pickup window and the delivery window separately. Identify the person you can reach if either changes. Decide how you would manage essential medicines, work equipment, bedding, and temporary accommodation if your belongings arrive later than you do.

What are the protection and payment choices?

FMCSA describes Full Value Protection and Released Value for interstate movers. These are mover-liability options; they are not interchangeable with a separate insurance policy. Ask what your selected option costs, what documentation is required for valuable items, and how to report loss or damage.

Request the deposit, credit toward the final bill, cancellation terms, accepted payment methods, and timing in writing. Do not treat a verbal promise as a resolved comparison field. Keep the estimate and each revision so that you can track what changed.

Make a decision only after closing the gaps

Compare the answers against your priorities: timing, service scope, handling needs, and budget. An unanswered question may matter more than a small price difference. For a move entirely within one state, use the state consumer-protection authority to establish which local rules apply.

Close the call with decisions and unanswered questions

Read the important answers back before ending the call. State the inventory version, pickup access, destination access, requested services and date or window you discussed. Ask who will send the written estimate and how changes will be documented. Record the next action and the person responsible for it. An answer such as 'we usually handle that' still needs a clear written scope when the service affects your price or timing.

Use your early cost estimate to prioritize questions, not to negotiate from an assumed market price. If storage is likely, ask how the first month, later months, retrieval and delivery are handled. If you need packing, ask whether the price covers both labor and materials. For a building move, explain stairs, elevator booking, loading distance and parking rules. For a piano, safe or another specialty item, request a specific handling and cost answer rather than applying an ordinary-box allowance. Save confirmations beside the original documents so a future carrier change or revised inventory does not erase the earlier conditions.

• Write down who supplies the final written estimate
• Assign an owner and due date to every unanswered item
• Confirm the scope of packing, access, storage and specialty handling
• Review interstate-mover resources before making a commitment