You find a moving company online, get a low quote over the phone and pay a deposit. Then on moving day a truck shows up with a different company's name on it, and the price is different too. This is often what it looks like when a moving broker presents itself as the mover.
Using a broker is legal. Hiding it isn't.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) separates the two. A moving company owns trucks and has staff who do your move. A broker is a sales operation that books your move and sells the job to a moving company that does the physical work. According to FMCSA, brokers also have to register, but a broker isn't authorized to transport your belongings and doesn't take responsibility for them. Legitimate brokers exist. The scam is the disguise.
How the tactic works, step by step
- It looks like a mover. The website and ads look like a moving company's. The phone may be answered with a generic "Movers" instead of a company name, which is a red flag on the Transportation Department Inspector General's list.
- You get a quote without anyone seeing your stuff. The low price comes over the phone or online, and nobody inspects what you own.
- It takes a deposit before naming a carrier. You pay up front without being told which licensed company will move your things.
- It sells the job. The broker passes the job to whichever carrier will take it. You've had no say in who that is.
- The price changes on moving day. A company you've never heard of arrives and may ask for more money than you were quoted.
- Each blames the other. The broker points you to the carrier. The carrier points you to the broker, and the deposit is hard to get back.
What federal rules say
Under 49 CFR 371.7, a broker "shall not, directly or indirectly, represent its operations to be that of a carrier," and its advertising has to show that it's a broker. Brokers for household moves have extra rules in Part 371, Subpart B:
- Ads and websites must clearly say the company is a household goods broker. They must also say it won't move your goods itself but will arrange for an FMCSA-authorized carrier to do it, with charges set by that carrier's published tariff.
- Ads must show the broker's USDOT number, its MC license number and a physical business address.
- Brokers must give you FMCSA's booklets Ready to Move? and Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.
- Brokers can only work with carriers that have active USDOT numbers and FMCSA authority to move household goods.
- An FMCSA filing that summarizes these rules says that before taking a deposit, a broker must give you a written agreement and its refund and cancellation policy.
Enforcement is real, but it's slow. In 2024 FMCSA launched Operation Protect Your Move. It came after 2023 broker-focused operations in Nevada, New York/New Jersey and Florida, which together with a spring 2023 sweep of moving companies found more than 1,000 violations. FMCSA has also told Congress that it can't impose civil penalties for these violations on its own. It has to refer cases to the Justice Department, which it called "a significant barrier to enforcement."
A recent case: Florida's action against the Gold Standard group
In March 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced five consent judgments against a group of moving brokers. They included Gold Standard Moving and Storage, along with names such as Simple Path Moving, National American Van Lines, Razor Van Lines, Spartan Moving and Storage, United American Moving and Us Pro Moving and Logistics. The attorney general's office said the companies told customers they were professional movers offering door-to-door service. In fact, it said, they were online brokers that gave low quotes to get large deposits and handed the work to unvetted carriers, and many customers then faced demands for more money. The judgments bar the defendants from the moving broker industry in Florida for life and total $4,139,239, including $1,120,239 in consumer relief. When the state first filed the case, it said more than 400 Floridians had been deceived.
Warning signs
- The website has no local address and no USDOT number or registration type (broker or carrier).
- The ads have no MC number. FMCSA's fraud prevention guide says to avoid brokers whose ads don't show one.
- You get a quote over the phone without anyone seeing your belongings.
- You're asked for a large deposit before you're told which carrier will move you.
- You didn't get the two FMCSA booklets.
- The company's FMCSA record says it's a broker, but the sales pitch says "our crews" and "our trucks."
If it happens to you
- On moving day, write down the name and USDOT number on the truck and on every document. Don't sign blank or incomplete paperwork.
- If a mover won't deliver after you've paid 110% of a non-binding estimate or 100% of a binding one, FMCSA says it has broken federal rules.
- File a complaint with FMCSA at protectyourmove.gov or call 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238). You can complain about the broker, the carrier or both.
- Contact your state attorney general. FMCSA's Ready to Move brochure notes that state attorneys general and consumer agencies pursue suspected moving fraud. For legal questions, talk to those agencies or a lawyer.
- Keep every receipt, text, email and estimate.
How to check a mover before you sign
Before you pay anything, ask the company in writing: "Are you a broker or a carrier, and which licensed carrier will move my things?" Then look up both companies' USDOT records. You can do that with FMCSA's search at protectyourmove.gov, or with the free lookup at movepricer.com/check, which shows a mover's USDOT record. Make sure the name on your contract, the number in the ads and the company on the truck all match.