FMCSA Household Goods Mover Rules: Estimates and Claims

The truck is at the curb in Columbus, the family has keys to an empty house, and the driver says the balance is $8,050 against a written estimate of $6,200. Dispatch tells him to hold the load until the card clears. Two hours later the goods are on their way to a storage warehouse, and the mover has just turned a pricing argument into a federal delay claim and an angry customer with a regulator's complaint form.

Interstate household goods work runs on a short list of fixed numbers: 110% of a non-binding estimate, 15% for impracticable operations, 15 business days to invoice, 30 and 120 days to handle a claim. A mover that builds those numbers into its estimating, dispatch and billing screens stops relying on a driver's judgement at the door, and most collection disputes never start.

• What this guide covers: which moves 49 CFR Part 375 governs, binding and non-binding estimates, the delivery collection cap, weighing, the bill of lading and inventory, day-of-move changes, delay notices, Part 370 claims and arbitration.
• What it adds: a worked delivery bill in dollars, an Indian contrast in rupees, a collection-cap formula, a failed and a controlled delivery traced by the hour, and a controls checklist for compliance and finance teams.

Which moves fall under Part 375 and which follow other rules

Part 375 applies only when a household goods motor carrier moves goods for an individual shipper by motor vehicle in interstate commerce. Section 375.101 says so in one sentence, and it decides more than any later rule. A corporate relocation billed to an employer, a move inside one state, or a load of office furniture each needs a different rulebook, so the first field in the order should be the shipper type.

• Individual shipper: the person whose goods move and who pays for the move, which is why consumer-protection duties sit on top of ordinary carrier liability.
• Two federal booklets: with the written estimate the mover must supply "Ready to Move?" and "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move", as copies or website links, under 49 CFR 375.213(a).

Recordkeeping is fixed per document. Estimates, inventories, bills of lading and delay notices each have to be kept for at least one year. The table below shows who produces each record, who must sign it and how long it stays in the shipment file.

Binding and non-binding estimates: what each one locks in

A binding estimate fixes the total cost for the goods and services it lists; a non-binding estimate is the mover's reasonable forecast, and the final bill follows actual weight and the tariff. Both must be in writing, signed by both parties, and issued before the bill of lading under 49 CFR 375.401(b) and (h). The mover may charge for a binding estimate. It may not charge for a non-binding one.

Both kinds rest on a physical survey, which the definitions in Part 375 allow to be on site or by live or pre-recorded video that lets the mover clearly identify the goods. A shipper may waive the survey only in writing, signed before loading, and the waiver then travels with the bill of lading. An estimate may be amended by mutual agreement before loading, never after it.

• Binding estimate face: must state that it binds both mover and shipper and that the charges apply only to the services it names, under 375.403(a)(4).
• Non-binding estimate face: must state that it is not binding and that the shipper will not have to pay more than 110% of it at delivery, under 375.405(b)(5).
• Volume-based quotes: an estimate built on cubic feet and later converted to a weight-based rate needs a written explanation of the conversion formula, under 375.401(e).
• Accessorial pricing: elevators, long carries and similar services must be priced before the bill of lading; if the mover fails to ask, it delivers and bills those charges after 30 days, under 375.401(f).

Applying the 110 percent delivery cap to a real bill

On a non-binding estimate, the mover must release the goods once the shipper pays up to 110% of the estimate, plus charges for services the shipper asked for after the bill of lading, plus impracticable-operation charges of no more than 15% of all other charges due at delivery. Refusing that payment is a failure of reasonable dispatch under 375.407(b), which exposes the mover to a delay claim under Part 370.

On a binding estimate the ceiling is the exact estimate plus the same two additions, under 375.703(a). Partial deliveries are prorated by weight: delivering 2,500 of 5,000 pounds allows a demand of 50% of the capped amount. Whatever cannot be collected at the door is invoiced within 15 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays, with a 7-day credit period that the tariff must extend to 30 days.

Maximum collect-on-delivery amount, 49 CFR 375.407 and 375.703

  Base   = 1.10 x N            (non-binding estimate)
         = B                   (binding estimate)
  Base_p = Base x (W_d / W_t)  (partial delivery only)
  COD_max = Base_p + A + min(I, 0.15 x (Base_p + A))

  N   = non-binding estimate total, USD
  B   = binding estimate total, USD
  W_d = weight delivered on this vehicle, lb
  W_t = total shipment weight, lb
  A   = services the shipper requested after the bill of lading was issued
  I   = impracticable-operation charges defined in the mover's tariff

  Balance = Final tariff charges + A + I - amount collected at delivery
  Invoice due: within 15 days of delivery (excluding Sat, Sun, federal holidays)
  Credit: 7 days, extended to 30 days; service charge 1% per 30-day extension, $20 minimum

The worked example below uses illustrative figures. The US column follows Part 375 line by line; the Indian column shows the same household move priced by a domestic packer-mover, where no statutory delivery cap exists and the contract and the Carriage by Road Act decide what is owed.

Interstate household goods delivery collection under 49 CFR 375.407 is capped at 110% of the non-binding estimate plus shipper-requested extras and impracticable-operation charges of no more than 15% of other charges due; on a $6,200 estimate the base ceiling is $6,820, and the balance is invoiced within 15 business days.

Weighing a household shipment so the bill survives a challenge

A non-binding move is only as good as its weight tickets. Section 375.507 requires a certified scale and a weight determined before any charge is assessed, and 375.509 allows two methods: origin weigh, where tare is taken before loading and gross after, or back weigh, where gross is taken on arrival and tare after unloading. Shipments of 3,000 pounds or less may use a certified platform or warehouse scale instead.

• Equipment on board: pads, dollies, hand trucks and ramps must be on the vehicle at both weighings, so the difference is the goods alone.
• Nobody aboard: the driver and other people must be off the vehicle for each weighing.
• Fuel discipline: tanks must be full at each weighing, or, on origin weighing with tare first, no fuel may be added between the two.
• Ticket content: scale name and location, date, tare, gross or net label, vehicle number, the shipper's last name and the bill of lading number, signed by the weigh master.
• Shipper rights: the shipper may watch every weighing and, on an origin-weighed load, demand a reweigh after being told the charges and before unloading starts; the reweigh weight then sets the bill.

If the shipper asked to be told the actual weight and charges, the notice must reach them at least one full 24-hour day before delivery is tendered, excluding weekends and federal holidays. Three exceptions apply under 375.521(c): back-weighed loads, two-consecutive-weekday moves where the shipper agrees, and non-binding moves where the shipper waives notice because the 110% cap already limits the payment.

Bill of lading, inventory and the three-day signing window

The bill of lading is the contract, and Part 375 lists 17 items it must carry, from the mover's registered name and USDOT details to the maximum amount demanded at delivery on a collect-on-delivery move. The estimate and the inventory become attachments and part of the contract, and the bill must state that it incorporates every service on the estimate.

Timing is now a control in its own right. Section 375.505(h) requires the bill to be provided to, signed and dated by the shipper at least three days before the scheduled loading, and gives the shipper three days to rescind it without penalty. A new estimate prepared on moving day for extra goods or services changes the bill without restarting the three-day period.

• No blank signatures: a shipper may be asked to sign an incomplete document only where the missing data is the actual weight on a non-binding move or charges that arise in transit.
• Driver custody: a copy of the bill of lading must stay with the shipment, and the driver must hold it before the truck leaves the origin residence.
• Refused safety services: if the shipper declines a special service the mover reasonably believes is needed to move the goods safely, the mover must refuse the shipment and record the refusal.
• Numbered inventory: every carton and every uncartoned item gets an identification number that matches the written inventory, and both parties sign it at loading.

At delivery, 375.503(d) gives the shipper the chance to check that the same numbered articles arrive and to note missing or damaged items in writing, with a copy of those notes. That delivery notation is evidence for a later claim, but on its own it is not a claim, a distinction the claims section below returns to.

Day-of-move changes after the truck starts loading

Extra goods or services discovered on moving day must be dealt with before loading, or the original estimate stands. If the mover services the shipment, it can reaffirm the estimate, write a new one signed by the shipper, or, for a binding estimate, agree in writing to treat it as non-binding. Once loading starts without any of those, the original estimate is reaffirmed under 375.403(a)(7) and 375.405(b)(8).

Services the mover believes are needed after the bill of lading issues follow a different path. The shipper must be told what they are and given at least one hour to decide. If the shipper agrees, a signed attachment is added and the charge is billed after 30 days from delivery; if not, the mover performs only what is needed to finish the delivery and bills those after 30 days.

Moving-day changes on a household goods order under 49 CFR 375.405(b)(7) and (8) must be settled before loading through a reaffirmed or new signed estimate; once loading starts without one, the original estimate governs, and a mover that then demands more than 110% at delivery risks a Part 370 delay claim.

The trace below follows one move where that sequence broke, then shows the controlled version. Order and document numbers are illustrative.

1. Day 1, 07:40 at origin: the crew loads a garage bay of shelving and a treadmill that the video survey never showed. No new estimate is written, so order HHG-24-0917 keeps its $6,200 non-binding estimate as the governing figure.
2. Day 1, 11:05 at the scale: origin weigh tickets show 9,400 pounds net. The billing screen rates the load at $7,480 and prints that total as "due at delivery".
3. Day 4, 14:10 at destination: the driver demands $8,050: the $7,480 tariff total, a $250 extra stop the shipper requested in transit and a $320 long carry. The shipper offers $7,390, the correct ceiling, and asks for the goods.
4. Day 4, 14:25 in dispatch: the dispatcher orders a hold. The trailer goes to a storage warehouse, a failure of reasonable dispatch under 375.407(b), and the shipper files a delay claim with receipts for hotel nights.
5. Controlled version: the billing screen computes the ceiling from the estimate type, collects $7,390, releases the goods at 14:20 and issues invoice INV-0917-B for $660 on day 6, inside the 15-business-day window.

Delay notices, early arrival and storage you pay for yourself

When a pickup or delivery cannot happen on the dates in the bill of lading, the mover must tell the shipper as soon as the delay is apparent, at its own expense. Section 375.605 lists six permitted channels, from telephone and email to certified mail, and requires a written record of the date, time and manner of the notice and of the amended dates, kept for one year.

• Early arrival request: a truck able to deliver more than 24 hours before the agreed date may ask the shipper to accept early delivery, under 375.607(a).
• Storage at the mover's cost: if the shipper declines, the mover may store the goods near destination on its own account and must name the warehouse and its address to the shipper.
• Charges stay with the mover: redelivery, handling and storage remain the mover's expense until final delivery, under 375.607(b).

The split between rules a system can apply and decisions a person must make is sharper here than in most freight. The table separates them by the actual task, including where software that reads survey video or inventory photos may help without deciding.

Loss and damage claims under Part 370: nine months, 30 days, 120 days

A household goods claim must be written, identify the shipment, assert liability and ask for a specified or determinable amount; anything less is not a claim. Appendix A to Part 375 gives the shipper 9 months from delivery to file, or from the date delivery should have happened if the whole shipment was lost. Section 370.3(c) adds that damage notes on an inventory or delivery receipt do not, standing alone, meet the filing requirement.

The mover's clock is equally fixed. It must acknowledge the claim in writing within 30 days unless it pays or declines first, open a numbered claim file, and within 120 days pay, decline or make a firm compromise offer. If it needs longer, it must write to the claimant at 120 days and every 60 days after, explaining why. For household goods, 370.9(b) uses replacement cost less depreciation as the settlement base.

• Full Value Protection: the default under 375.201(b); the mover repairs, replaces or pays to do either, up to the declared value, and Appendix A sets the minimum valuation at $6.00 per pound of shipment weight.
• Released value waiver: the shipper may waive Full Value Protection in writing for the Surface Transportation Board released rate of 60 cents per pound per article, so an 85-pound dresser recovers at most $51.
• High-value articles: under 375.203(b), if the shipper does not list in writing articles worth more than $100 per pound, liability for each may be limited to $100 per pound.
• Undisclosed hazardous items: perishable or dangerous articles packed without the mover's knowledge fall outside its liability under 375.203(a).

A shipper who packed a 20-pound painting worth $3,000 shows how the high-value rule bites: at $150 per pound it exceeds the threshold, so without a written declaration the mover's exposure may be limited to $2,000. For the wider theory of released rates and declared value across freight modes, see our guide to carrier liability limits; for building the evidence file itself, the freight claim evidence workflow covers the operational side.

Household goods loss and damage claims under 49 CFR 370.5 and 370.9 must be acknowledged within 30 days and paid, declined or answered with a firm offer within 120 days, with status letters every 60 days after that; the shipper has 9 months from delivery to file in writing.

Arbitration, the $10,000 line and a 60-day decision

Every interstate household goods mover must run a neutral arbitration program for loss and damage disputes and for disputes over charges billed after delivery. Section 375.211 sets eleven minimum elements, and two of them shape a claims budget: the shipper never pays more than half the cost of starting the case, and arbitration is binding on the mover at the shipper's request for claims of $10,000 or less.

Above $10,000, arbitration is binding only if the shipper asks and the mover agrees. The mover must describe the program before the bill of lading is signed, cannot make the shipper agree to arbitration before a dispute exists, and must use an arbitrator independent of both parties. The arbitrator decides within 60 days of written notice of the dispute, extendable if either side is slow to provide information.

Turning Part 375 into dispatch, yard and finance controls

Compliance improves fastest when each rule becomes a field, a block or a date in the systems people already use. The estimate type should drive the delivery ceiling; the bill of lading signature date should drive the earliest load date; the delivery date should drive invoice and claim clocks. Treat the checklist below as the acceptance test for an estimating, dispatch or claims system, or for an audit of a van line agent.

Most of these controls live in software a mover already licenses, but few are switched on by default. For the wider pattern of turning carrier rules into system checks, our logistics and supply chain hub collects related guides. If you are replacing an estimating or dispatch platform and want these rules written into the requirements, you can share your requirements with us and we will map each control to an acceptance test.