Consumer protectionMove registry

Register Your Move

A free, independent record of what you were quoted, by whom, and for what route.

If something goes wrong later, the file already exists — created before anyone had a reason to dispute it. And every registered move adds to the only thing that reliably separates a good mover from a bad one at scale: what companies actually charge, against what they said they would.

Free, and no obligation. USMPO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — we take no commission on your move and your details are never sold to lead generators.

What goes on file

Four things, and none of them are difficult to find

Registration takes a couple of minutes. Everything we ask for is already on the paperwork your mover has given you.

Who is moving you

The carrier or broker name exactly as it appears on your paperwork, and its USDOT number. This is what lets us match your move to the federal complaint record for that company.

The route and the dates

Origin and destination, your pickup date and the delivery window you were given. Delivery windows are where long-haul moves most often come apart.

What you were quoted, and how

The dollar figure, and whether the estimate is binding, non-binding or not-to-exceed. That distinction decides what a mover may lawfully collect at delivery.

What happened afterwards

If you tell us what you were finally charged, the file becomes a matched pair: quote against invoice. That pair is the single most useful piece of data anyone can give us.

Stated plainly

What we can do, and what we cannot

USMPO is a nonprofit, not a government agency. We have no power to fine anyone, and you should be sceptical of any organisation in this industry that suggests otherwise. Here is the honest boundary.

What we can do

Keep a dated, independent record of what you were quoted and by whom
Help you assemble the paperwork and escalate it in the right order
Contact the mover on your behalf, in writing, as a third party
Open an investigation where a pattern shows up across several moves
Add what happened to that carrier's record in our directory
Point you to the federal complaint process and help you file it properly

What we cannot do

Impose a fine, penalty or sanction on any moving company
Compel a mover to deliver, refund, discount or settle
Override or rewrite a contract you have already signed
Act as your attorney, or give you legal advice
Guarantee any particular outcome to a dispute

Enforcement authority over interstate movers sits with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and in some matters with your state attorney general. Where a complaint belongs with them, we will tell you so and help you file it properly rather than keep it with us.

Why we ask about price

The industry is opaque because nobody publishes what moves actually cost

Carriers know their own numbers. Consumers see one quote at a time and have nothing to measure it against. Registration is how that asymmetry closes — one move at a time.

What a route actually costs

Prices for the same shipment on the same route vary far more than most people expect. Enough registered moves and the real spread on a given lane stops being a guess and becomes a number you can check a quote against.

Which carriers raise the price after booking

A quote is only as good as the invoice that follows it. Matched quote-and-invoice pairs are the only way to tell a company that prices honestly from one whose business depends on the gap.

Patterns no single complaint reveals

One late delivery is an anecdote. Forty on the same lane, from the same company, in the same quarter is a pattern — and a pattern is something we can investigate and publish.

Which movers deserve the recommendation

Increasingly, people are pointed to a mover by a search result or an assistant rather than a neighbour. Those systems learn from whatever data exists, and today most of it is marketing. Independent pricing and performance data is how that changes.

People are increasingly pointed to a mover by a search result or an assistant rather than by someone they know. Those systems learn from whatever data exists — and right now, most of what exists is advertising.

If it goes wrong

What actually happens when you call us

Tell us what happened, with the file already open

Because the quote, the carrier and the dates are on record from before the move, nobody has to reconstruct them afterwards from memory or a deleted email thread.

We help you put it in order

Bill of lading, inventory, estimate, invoice, and the dates each was signed. Most disputes are lost on paperwork rather than on the merits, and this is the part people get wrong under pressure.

We can approach the mover on your behalf

A documented enquiry from a third party asking a specific question about a specific file is answered differently from a frustrated phone call. It is not leverage we can enforce, but it is often enough.

We help you escalate to the people who can act

FMCSA for interstate carriers, your state attorney general, the carrier's own arbitration programme. We help you file properly and, where a pattern exists, we open our own investigation alongside it.

None of this requires you to have used a mover we audited, and none of it costs anything. It only requires that the move is on record.

Common questions

Before you register

What is registering a move?

It creates a dated, independent record of your relocation before it happens: who is moving you, their USDOT number, the route and dates, and what you were quoted. The file is held by USMPO rather than by your mover, so if the two accounts diverge later there is a version that predates the dispute.

Does it cost anything?

No. Registration is free to consumers, with no membership and no obligation. USMPO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by grants, individual donations, and fees paid by moving companies for audit and verification. We take no commission on any move.

Can USMPO make my mover pay me back?

No, and it matters that we say so. USMPO is not a regulator. We cannot impose fines, compel a refund, or force a carrier to deliver or settle. What we can do is keep the record, help you organise and escalate the claim, contact the mover on your behalf, and open an investigation where a pattern appears across several moves.

What is registration actually good for, then?

Two things. For you, an independent record that already exists when you need it, plus help escalating to the bodies that do have authority. For everyone else, a data point: enough registered moves and we can show what a route really costs and which carriers bill above their own quotes.

Can I register after I have already booked, or after the move?

Yes. Registering before pickup is more useful, because the quote is on record before anyone has a reason to dispute it. But a move registered afterwards still counts, and if you can tell us both what you were quoted and what you were finally charged, that pair is more valuable to the data than an unresolved quote alone.

Who sees my information?

Your details are not sold and are not passed to lead generators. Pricing and carrier-performance data is used in aggregate for our published research; individual moves are not identified in anything we publish.

Do I have to be using a USMPO-audited carrier?

No. Register whoever is moving you. A move with a carrier we have never audited is arguably more useful to the record, not less, because it tells us something we did not already know.

Keep reading

Check a mover's recordComplaint history, USDOT number and authority status for carriers in our directory.
What movers charge per cubic footHow a long-distance quote is built, and why three quotes can differ by thousands.
How to file a complaintThe federal process, what it can do, and how to file it so it is not dismissed.
Interstate moversWhy the final bill so often differs from the estimate, from the federal record.

Put the move on record before it starts.

Two minutes, free, and it is there if you ever need it.