The default liability on your belongings is 60 cents per pound, per article. A 40-pound television is covered for $24. That is not an insurance policy, it is the free protection every interstate mover includes unless you buy full value protection, and it is the widest gap in this trade between what people think they bought and what they actually bought. A local move averages $1,696.
| Service | Typical |
|---|---|
| Local move, within 100 milesNational range | $876 to $2,548 per move |
| Long-distance move, over 100 milesNational range | $2,700 to $10,000 per move |
Ranges last checked September 2026. They come down automatically when they are due to be rechecked.
Every figure above comes from a named source we can link to, with the date we last checked it. We publish ranges rather than single prices because a range is what a provider will actually give you: the same job moves with what is being worked on, the materials, how hard it is to get at and how busy the trade is locally. Treat these as the order of magnitude to expect before you call, not as a quote.
The figures here are national. Where a source publishes figures state by state, the state pages carry that local figure instead of this one. We do not scale a national number by a multiplier of our own invention.
Every range carries a review date. When that date passes the number comes down until it is rechecked, rather than sitting here undated.
Released-value protection is the default on every interstate move, it is free, and the mover assumes liability for no more than 60 cents per pound per article. Weigh the thing that worries you and do the arithmetic. A 40-pound television is covered for twenty-four dollars. A 15-pound laptop is nine.
Full value protection is the alternative, and it obliges the mover to repair the item, replace it with like kind and quality, or pay cash. It costs extra. The decision has to be made before the move, in writing, and a mover who does not raise it has left you on the default.
Under 49 CFR 375.403 a binding estimate must be in writing and based on a physical survey, and the carrier may not collect more than the amount of the original binding estimate. Two things can change that: services you request after the bill of lading is issued, which requires a fresh binding estimate that you sign, and impracticable operations charges, which are capped at not more than 15 percent of all other charges due at delivery.
A non-binding estimate is not a guarantee at all. What it does give you is a ceiling on the day: the mover cannot require you to pay more than 110 percent of a non-binding estimate at the time of delivery. The rest can be billed afterward.
Binding not-to-exceed is a phrase you will hear, and it is not a federal category. It does not appear in 49 CFR 375.403 and it is not defined in the FMCSA's own booklet. It is a real defined term in some states: Texas requires a written proposal that is either binding at an exact price or not-to-exceed at a maximum. If someone uses the phrase, ask which of the two federal estimate types the document actually is.
An interstate mover must furnish the FMCSA publication Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move, either as a copy or as a hyperlink, before the move and alongside the written estimate. It is not a brochure they may include. A mover who never gave it to you has failed a compliance obligation before the truck arrived, which is useful information at the point where you still have a choice.
This is the one to memorize, because it is stated in the federal booklet without hedging. Your mover must give you possession of your shipment if you pay 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, or 100 percent of a binding estimate, plus 15 percent of any impracticable operations charges. If the mover does not relinquish possession at that point, the mover is holding your shipment hostage in violation of federal law.
Knowing the number in advance changes the conversation on the day, because it turns an argument about fairness into a statement about a rule.
Interstate household goods movers and brokers must be registered with the FMCSA, and both are searchable by USDOT number at protectyourmove.gov. Do that before any money moves. A broker is not a mover, and a company that turns out to be a broker will be arranging a carrier you have not vetted.
Refrigerated truckload freight is priced per mile and moves monthly with the market rather than sitting still like a household rate card. In July 2026 the national reefer spot average was $3.42 a mile including fuel, and $2.75 a mile linehaul; contract rates were $3.29 and $2.62. Dry van spot ran $3.01 with fuel. Those are index numbers, not a quote, and a shipper reading them a quarter later is reading history.
Decide on protection before you compare prices. Two quotes that look the same are not the same if one assumes released value and the other includes full value protection, and the cheaper one is usually the one leaving your goods at sixty cents a pound.
Insist on a physical survey for anything larger than a studio. A binding estimate has to be based on one, and an estimate given over the phone from a room count is the kind that grows.
Ask which of the two federal estimate types you are being given, in those words. If the answer is a phrase that is neither, ask again.
Look up the USDOT number at protectyourmove.gov before paying a deposit, and check whether the company is a carrier or a broker.
Get the specialty items priced individually and in advance. Pianos, safes, hot tubs and pool tables are where a clean estimate turns into a surprise, and every one of them is knowable beforehand.
Know the hostage-goods number for your estimate type before delivery day, because that is the day you will need it.
By default, 60 cents per pound per article. That is released-value protection, it is free, and it is not insurance. A 40-pound television is covered for $24. Full value protection costs extra and obliges the mover to repair, replace or pay cash.
An average of $1,696, with most falling between $876 and $2,548 within 100 miles. Three published guides describe the hourly rate three incompatible ways, so this page publishes the job figure and lists their hourly bands rather than reconciling them.
About $2,700 to $10,000 and up. Real quotes from one source for a three-bedroom run $3,753 at 365 miles, $5,930 at 1,367 miles and $7,713 at 2,343 miles. Interstate moves are priced on weight rather than hours.
On a binding estimate the carrier may not collect more than the estimate, subject to services you add after the bill of lading and a 15 percent cap on impracticable operations. On a non-binding estimate the mover cannot require more than 110 percent at delivery, and can bill the rest afterward.
Not a federal category. It does not appear in 49 CFR 375.403 and is not defined in the FMCSA booklet. Some states define it, Texas among them. Ask which of the two federal types your document actually is.
Pay 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, or 100 percent of a binding one, plus 15 percent of any impracticable operations charges, and the mover must give you possession. Refusing at that point is holding your shipment hostage in violation of federal law.
Look up the USDOT number at protectyourmove.gov before you pay a deposit. Interstate movers and brokers must both be registered, and it is worth confirming which of the two you are hiring.
A written estimate and the FMCSA publication Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move, as a copy or a link. It is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.