How to Start a Moving Company: A Complete Guide

Starting a moving company is more regulated than most trades realize going in — but the regulation exists for good reason, and skipping it can end your business before it starts. Here's what actually matters.

Decide your scope: local, long-distance, or both

This decision drives almost everything else about your setup:

• Local/intrastate moves (within one state) are regulated by state agencies, not federal ones. Requirements vary widely — California, for example, requires a Cal-T number from the CPUC; other states have lighter requirements.
• Interstate moves (crossing state lines) require federal registration: a USDOT number and, if you're moving household goods for the public, motor carrier (MC) authority through the FMCSA. This isn't optional and isn't fast — plan for weeks of processing time, plus proof of insurance filed with the FMCSA before you're authorized to operate.

Most new companies start local-only while building the fleet, crew, and cash reserves interstate authority and long-haul operations require.

Get the right insurance before your first truck moves

• Cargo insurance — covers customers' belongings while in your possession; often required by law for household goods movers and always expected by customers
• General liability — covers property damage at pickup/delivery locations (a scraped doorframe, a damaged floor)
• Commercial auto — required for your trucks; personal auto policies exclude commercial use
• Workers' compensation — required in nearly every state once you have employees, and moving has real injury exposure — back injuries and strains are the most common claim in this trade

Understand valuation coverage — it's not the same as insurance

Federal regulations require interstate movers to offer customers two valuation options: released value protection (the default, covering 60 cents per pound per item — nearly worthless for anything valuable) and full value protection (covers repair, replacement, or cash settlement based on the item's value, usually at a cost to the customer). Know these terms cold — customers will ask, and getting it wrong on a contract is a common source of disputes and complaints.

Build your equipment list realistically

At minimum: a properly sized box truck (16–26 ft for most residential moves), furniture dollies, moving blankets/pads, shrink wrap, hand trucks, tie-down straps, and basic tools for disassembling furniture. Renting a truck for your first few jobs while you validate demand is smarter than buying before you have a proven route of work.

Price your first jobs by real cost, not guesswork

Local moves are typically priced hourly (commonly $100–$200/hour for a 2-person crew and truck, more for larger crews or specialty items like pianos). Long-distance moves are priced by weight and distance, or cubic feet. Build your rate from labor cost, truck cost, fuel, and insurance overhead — not from what a competitor's flyer says.

Set up operations before you're overwhelmed

New movers often run the whole business from text messages and a notebook until it collapses under its own growth. Getting scheduling, binding/non-binding estimates, and invoicing set up early avoids the chaos that hits right when you're finally busy. ServiQ helps moving companies quote jobs, schedule crews, and invoice customers from one place, so the back office scales with the truck count instead of falling behind it.