Moving Estimate Charges: What to Check Before You Sign

For interstate moves, FMCSA requires a written estimate of transportation and related charges. Here is how to turn that requirement into something you can actually use when reading your paperwork.

Start with the total, then work backward

Find the estimate total first. Then scan every service, fee, rate table, footnote, and addendum that could feed into that number.

For each charge or service you find, put it in one of four buckets:

1. Priced: the document gives a dollar amount, rate, or calculation you can understand.
2. Included: the document clearly says the service is included in the quoted total.
3. Conditional: the charge applies only if a stated condition happens.
4. Unclear: the service is named, but the paperwork does not make the price treatment clear.

The fourth bucket is where a follow-up question is useful. “Unclear” does not automatically mean improper. It means the estimate leaves you without a clear answer about how the charge would be calculated or whether it is already part of the total.

Transportation charges

Transportation is the core cost of moving the shipment. Depending on the estimate and tariff, the paperwork may describe weight, distance, volume, minimum charges, line-haul charges, discounts, or another pricing basis.

On a non-binding interstate estimate, federal rules tie final charges to the actual weight of the shipment and applicable tariff provisions. If the estimate uses volume that will later be converted to weight, 49 CFR 375.401 requires a written explanation of the conversion formula and says the final charges will be based on actual weight and services, subject to the delivery-payment rules for non-binding estimates.

What to check:

• Is the shipment basis stated clearly?
• Is there a minimum weight or volume charge?
• If a discount is shown, can you see what it is being applied to?
• Does the estimate say whether the total is binding or non-binding?

Extra services and “accessorial” charges

You may see the word “accessorial” in moving paperwork. It is industry language for services beyond the basic transportation of your shipment. FMCSA’s rules and consumer materials use the term, and the FMCSA glossary gives examples such as stair carries and bulky-article charges.

Examples you may see include:

• stairs or flight charges
• long carry
• elevator service
• shuttle service when a large truck cannot reach the residence
• bulky or specialty-item handling
• extra labor
• packing or unpacking
• crating
• storage in transit
• warehouse handling

Seeing one of these services on the estimate is not the problem. What matters is whether you can tell how it affects the price.

A line that says “shuttle may apply” is different from a line that gives a shuttle rate or clearly states that shuttle service is included. A packing-material schedule with per-carton prices is different from a general note that packing supplies may be charged.

Packing and materials

Packing charges can appear in several forms: labor, cartons, tape and other materials, crating, unpacking, or a bundled packing service.

Check whether the estimate distinguishes between:

• packing labor and materials
• mover-packed and customer-packed items
• included materials and separately billed materials
• fixed charges and per-unit rates

If the document contains a packing rate table, check whether the estimate says which quantities are expected. A price list alone may not tell you how much packing is included in the quoted total.

Storage and warehouse charges

Storage may be described as storage in transit, warehouse handling, pickup or delivery from storage, or another service defined in the mover’s tariff.

Look for:

• the storage period included, if any
• a daily, monthly, weight-based, or other storage rate
• warehouse handling charges
• transportation charges into or out of storage
• conditions that trigger storage

If storage is listed but you cannot find a rate or an explanation of what is included, ask how it would be calculated before you sign.

Advance charges

FMCSA also refers to “advance charges.” These are charges for services performed by someone other than the mover when the mover arranges the service and bills the customer for it.

If an estimate includes an outside service, ask:

• who is expected to perform it
• whether the amount is already included in the estimate total
• whether the amount is fixed or only estimated

Some charges only apply if something happens

Some charges depend on facts that are not known until later. A conditional charge is much easier to plan for when the estimate tells you what triggers it and how the price is calculated.

For example, a document might state that a stair charge applies beyond a certain number of flights, or that a shuttle is charged when the tractor-trailer cannot access the property. That is different from simply naming the service with no explanation of when or how it is charged.

Do not assume every conditional charge is a problem. Instead, identify which conditions could realistically apply at your origin or destination and ask the mover to explain them in writing.

What to ask when a charge is named but not clearly priced

You can keep the question simple:

Is this service included in the estimate total? If not, what rate or formula would be used, and what condition would trigger the charge?

For a specific item:

The estimate mentions a shuttle charge, but I cannot find a price. Is shuttle service included in the total? If not, what would the charge be and when would it apply?

The goal is not to negotiate every line. It is to know what the paperwork currently says before you agree to it.

One important limit of the 110% rule

One common misunderstanding is that the 110% rule puts a hard 10% cap on the final bill. It does not.

The rule applies to the amount a mover may demand at delivery on a non-binding estimate for the services and quantities covered by that estimate. It is not a promise that the final bill can never exceed the estimate by more than 10 percent.

Additional services requested later and certain “impracticable operations” have separate treatment under the federal rules. See The 110% Rule for Interstate Moving Estimates for the full explanation.