Most people booking a long-distance move believe they are hiring a moving company. Sometimes they are actually hiring a sales operation. Household goods brokers are legal and must register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). What federal rules forbid is a broker presenting itself as the mover, collecting a deposit and then handing the job to a company the customer has never heard of.
What a broker is, according to FMCSA
FMCSA describes moving brokers as sales teams that book your move and sell it to a moving company. A broker does not take responsibility for your belongings and is not authorized to transport them. Brokers handling interstate moves may only use movers registered with FMCSA. The agency also warns that a broker sometimes can't sell the job at all, because the estimate was too low or no carrier is available. When that happens, the customer can be left without a mover on moving day.
How the tactic works, step by step
- The pitch. A website or ad looks like a full-service moving company and promises professional, door-to-door service. The broker disclosure the law requires is missing or hard to find.
- The low quote. The estimate comes in well below other bids, often without anyone looking at your belongings.
- The deposit. You're asked to pay a large deposit up front to hold your date.
- The handoff. The job goes to an outside carrier. Whichever company accepts it is the one that shows up, and you never got a chance to check it out.
- The surprise. The crew brings new paperwork and a higher price, and your deposit may not count toward it. Or no truck comes at all.
A real case: Florida's action against the "Gold Standard Enterprise"
In December 2022, the Florida Attorney General's Office sued a group of moving brokerage companies, including Gold Standard Moving and Storage, along with the people who ran them. The complaint alleged that since at least 2019 the defendants had presented themselves as movers when they were brokers that did not perform moves. It also alleged they took deposits before knowing which mover would do the job or what that mover would charge. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General investigated with the AG and FMCSA. It said many consumers later learned their deposit had nothing to do with who performed the move, and that a single call center posed as numerous companies.
In March 2025, the AG announced five final consent judgments that permanently ban the defendants from the moving broker industry in Florida. The monetary judgments total $4,139,239, including $1,120,239 in consumer relief. According to the AG, the companies told consumers they were professional door-to-door movers. In fact, the AG said, they were online brokers that used low quotes to get large up-front deposits and outsourced the work to unvetted carriers.
Federal regulators have gone after brokers too. In 2023, FMCSA ran three broker-focused enforcement operations, in Nevada, New York/New Jersey and Florida. Counting a mover-focused sweep the same year, the agency reported finding more than 1,000 violations.
What the law says
The federal rules for brokers are in 49 CFR Part 371. The central rule reads:
A broker shall not, directly or indirectly, represent its operations to be that of a carrier. (49 CFR 371.7(b))
Under 49 CFR 371.107, a household goods broker's ads and website must prominently show its physical address and its USDOT and MC numbers. They must also state that it is a broker, that it will not transport your goods itself and that an FMCSA-authorized carrier will do the move. A broker may only display the names or logos of carriers it has a written agreement with. A 2010 FMCSA rule also requires brokers to give you estimates, their policies on deposits, cancellations and refunds, and FMCSA's consumer booklets. FMCSA says a broker must also give you a list of the movers it uses.
These federal rules apply to interstate moves. Moves within a single state fall under state law, so check with your state attorney general.
Warning signs
- The website has no local address and no USDOT number or registration type. The DOT inspector general lists both as fraud red flags.
- The phone is answered with a generic "Movers" or "Moving Company" instead of a business name.
- The company can't or won't say which carrier will do your move.
- You're asked for a large deposit before you know who the mover is.
- The quote is far below other bids and nobody took an inventory of your belongings.
- The crew that arrives works for a different company than the one you booked.
If it happens to you
- Keep everything: ads, screenshots, estimates, receipts and messages, plus the name and USDOT number of every company involved.
- File a complaint with FMCSA's National Consumer Complaint Database, either online or by calling 1-888-368-7238. FMCSA can't resolve your individual claim, but it uses complaints to decide which companies to investigate. A shipment held for payment of more than 110% of a non-binding estimate is one of the problems you can report.
- Contact your state attorney general's consumer-protection office. You can also report moving fraud to the DOT Office of Inspector General.
This article is not legal advice. For questions about your options, contact FMCSA or your state attorney general.
How to check a mover before you sign
Ask the company directly: are you the moving company or a broker? Then look up its USDOT number and see whether it's registered as a carrier, a broker or both, and compare that with what the website says. You can search FMCSA's records or use MovePricer's free lookup at movepricer.com/check. If the company is a broker, get the name of the carrier that will do your move and look that company up too, before you pay a deposit.