Moving Company Regulations and Permits | Moving Company License
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The moving business is regarded as a highly regulated industry. There are many good reasons for this and they can be summed up as regulations intended primarily to protect the general public. For example you are allowing movers to come into your home and touch, arrange, pack and transport your personal belongings. Then of course, once your possessions are on the truck and being transported by the moving company there is a risk of damage or even of holding your items hostage for additional monies. One other reason is to keep out scam or fraudulent movers and moving companies as these damage the reputation of the entire moving industry. Thus in many states a moving company is required to have a moving company license. In the case of crossing a state line while transporting household goods, a company is required to carry a US DOT number which is the federal moving company license number.
If the move has its origin and destination within the same state the moving company will be regulated by that particular state. If the move crosses state lines then the move is regulated by the Federal Government. It may seem odd, but a move of 500 miles from San Diego to San Francisco is still an intrastate move (within the same state), whereas a move of 10 miles from Bethesda, MD to McLean VA requires a Federal License. Thus the type of license or regulatory agency first depends on if a state line is crossed or not.
Is A Moving Company License Required?
Well if you can imagine, it depends. Â It depends on the state where the move is taking place. Â On top of that, some states may require a federal license, others may require bonding on top of the state license and others might just look to certain types of vehicle registrations. Â There is no way to list all of the requirements to obtain or hold a license and all the possible state laws and regulations for the transportation of used household goods. However, we have put together this handy list of State regulatory agencies.
Who Regulates Interstate Moving Companies?
Like mentioned above, the minute a moving truck crosses a state line transporting household goods, it now requires a US DOT number. Â If a company is making an intrastate or in-state move, it is not required to have a federal license, regardless of the distance involved.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides ways to search your mover by Name or U.S. DOT#.  You can research any interstate moving company here https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/hhg/search.asp
DOT Regulations for Moving Companies
There are quite a few DOT moving company regulations.  Many of these are referred to as Consumer Protection Regulations.  If you want to read more or actually look up the DOT regulations for moving companies, we would direct you to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration page where you can find all of them.
What is The Difference Between a DOT Number and an MC Number?
Don’t worry you are not the first person to wonder about this! Both are license numbers that identify interstate commerce.  In the instance of transporting household goods (moving companies) a DOT license is required, not an MC license. So if you are working with a moving company, check to make sure they have a valid DOT license number.
An MC, or Motor Carrier license is required for transporting regulated commodities across state lines or for transporting passengers in interstate commerce.
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We hope you enjoyed this post. By the way, some have reached out to us for help in getting a moving company license. That is not something we do, sorry. Â
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