Start here · cornerstone
How We Vet Movers, the 5-Point Standard
The published methodology behind every match: license, insurance, complaint history, review quality, and years in business, plus the public data sources you can check yourself.
Read the standardWhat actually goes wrong
Five failure modes, and the guide for each
Moving complaints look varied and are not. Nearly all of them are one of five things, and each has a point earlier in the process where it was still cheap to catch.
1.The company is not who it says it is
A national brand whose local branch is a separate business, an operator trading under a name that does not appear on any licence record, or a broker presenting itself as the carrier. The name on the advert and the entity on the truck are often two different things, and only one of them is answerable.
Moving Broker vs Carrier: Who's Actually Moving You2.The price was never real
A quote given without a survey is a number, not an estimate. It exists to win the booking, and it grows once your belongings are on the truck. The lowest quote in a set is usually the one that was scoped least honestly.
Moving Scams: 11 Red Flags to Watch For3.The goods become leverage
The worst version of the above: the load goes on, the price balloons, and delivery is withheld until you pay. It is a recognisable sequence with recognisable warning signs, and almost all of them appear before anything is loaded.
How to Spot (and Avoid) a Hostage-Load Scam4.Something breaks and nothing covers it
The default liability on a household move is calculated by weight and pays out far less than people expect. It is usually the pre-ticked option, it is chosen in a signature that takes four seconds, and it is discovered after the damage.
Moving Insurance & Valuation, Explained5.Somebody gets hurt, or the building does
An uninsured crew injured on your staircase, or a damaged lift in a building that required a certificate nobody filed. This is the check that gets skipped most often because it never comes up until it does.
Certificate of Insurance for Movers: What Buildings Require
Evidence, and its limits
Which record proves which claim
Four sources carry almost all of the verifiable evidence about a moving company. Each one answers a narrow question well and a broad question badly, and knowing the difference is most of the skill.
FMCSA SAFER
Proves
That a USDOT number exists, which legal entity holds it, whether the operating status is active, and whether the authority covers household goods rather than general freight.
Cannot tell you
Tell you whether a company is any good, or cover a purely intrastate mover in a state that does not require federal registration.
The National Consumer Complaint Database
Proves
That complaints have been filed against an interstate carrier, and what kind. It is also where you file one yourself.
Cannot tell you
Show you complaints that were never filed. A clean record is weaker evidence than a bad record is.
Your state's regulator
Proves
Whether an intrastate household-goods mover holds the authority your state requires — where your state requires one at all, which varies considerably.
Cannot tell you
Be assumed to exist. Some states license movers and publish a searchable register; others require nothing beyond ordinary business registration.
The certificate of insurance
Proves
That named coverage was in force on the date the certificate was issued, for the named legal entity, at stated limits.
Cannot tell you
Prove coverage today. Ask for a current certificate naming the specific entity, not a screenshot of a policy number.
Federal records are searchable at FMCSA's SAFER database, and complaints at the National Consumer Complaint Database. Both are free and neither requires an account.
Where to start
Read by how far along you are
Still shortlisting
Work out what you are checking for before you speak to anyone. Most of the damage is done at this stage, by choosing on price.
Comparing quotes
This is when the licence check takes two minutes and is worth more than any review page.
About to book
The last point at which coverage and paperwork are still your decision rather than a signature you already gave.
Something feels wrong
If the price has moved, the paperwork will not come, or delivery is being held, read this first.
The library
Scam-avoidance & vetting guides
- Moving Scams: 11 Red Flags to Watch ForThe eleven clearest warning signs a mover is a scam, and how to protect yourself before you sign.7 min read
- Check a Mover’s USDOT Number and RegistrationCheck a mover's USDOT number, authority, insurance, and complaints on FMCSA SAFER in minutes.8 min read
- 12 Questions to Ask Before Hiring MoversThe exact questions to ask before you book, and the answers a legitimate mover gives.6 min read
- Moving Insurance & Valuation, ExplainedValuation vs insurance, released value vs full-value protection, and the 60¢-per-pound trap.6 min read
- How to Spot (and Avoid) a Hostage-Load ScamHow the hostage-load scam works, the warning signs, and your rights if it happens to you.6 min read
- USDOT Number vs MC Number: What a Legitimate Mover HoldsWhat a USDOT number proves, what an MC number adds, and why household-goods authority is the part that matters.7 min read
- How to Check If a Moving Company Is LicensedFederal or state? How to find the right regulator and confirm a mover is actually licensed to do your job.7 min read
- Certificate of Insurance for Movers: What Buildings RequireWhat a COI is, what your building will demand, and how to make sure your mover can produce one in time.6 min read
- Moving Broker vs Carrier: Who's Actually Moving YouThe company you booked isn't always the crew that arrives. How to tell, and why it changes your recourse.6 min read
Applying it
The rest of the site, from here
- The member carrier directory — which authority each category of mover has to hold, by move type.
- Best movers by city — the same method applied to the companies that operate everywhere.
- Moving services — what each kind of job includes, and which documents decide liability.
- Vetted movers by location — state, county and city directories, with the local regulatory note.
Trust & vetting, frequently asked
What is the single most useful check?
Getting the operating entity's legal name in writing, then looking that name up rather than the brand. Almost every failure mode starts with a mismatch between the company you researched and the company that actually turns up — a franchisee, a marketplace provider, a broker's subcontracted carrier. Once you have the right name, every other check becomes possible; without it, none of them mean much.
Is a mover without a USDOT number a red flag?
Not on its own. Federal registration attaches to interstate operation, and some states additionally require intrastate carriers to hold a USDOT number while others do not. So a purely local mover may legitimately have none. What is a red flag is a company that cannot tell you clearly which authority it does hold, or gives you a number that turns out to belong to a different entity.
Does Union Verified mean a mover is guaranteed?
No, and we are careful about the wording for that reason. It means a company cleared all five points of our published standard at the time of review — licence, insurance, complaint history, review quality and tenure. It is evidence gathered from records you can read yourself, not a warranty on the outcome of your move. Confirm the licence before you book regardless of who told you it was fine.
Why does this site publish its own methodology?
Because a vetting claim that cannot be checked is just a badge. Every point in the standard names the record it reads and where you can read it, which means you can either use the network or ignore it and run the same checks yourself. That is the intended trade: the guides are useful whether or not you ever use the match form.