Moving Day Payment Safety Calculator
Is your mover demanding more than federal law allows? Check your delivery-day charges against the FMCSA’s 100%/110% rule, get the exact legal maximum, and a ready script to get your shipment released.
Payment breakdown
- Confirmed whether your move is interstate or intrastate, since the rule that protects you depends on it
- Got the estimate in writing and know whether it’s binding or non-binding
- Verified the mover’s USDOT/MC number on FMCSA’s SAFER system before booking
- Received the FMCSA “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet (required for interstate moves)
- Have a copy of the bill of lading and original estimate saved on my phone, not just on paper in a box
Myth: “If they loaded the truck, you have to pay whatever they ask.” Fact: federal law sets a hard ceiling on what a mover can collect at delivery, and it has nothing to do with what’s written on the truck or what the crew tells you at the door.
Myth vs. fact, in order
Myth: a non-binding estimate is just a starting point with no real limit.
Fact: 110% of that estimate is the hard ceiling at delivery. Not 120%, not “close enough” — 110%, under 49 CFR Part 375. Anything above that line gets billed later, with at least 30 days before you owe it.
Myth: a binding estimate has the same 10% cushion as a non-binding one.
Fact: it doesn’t. A binding estimate locks in 100% of the price you signed for. There’s no 10% buffer at all, aside from documented add-on services or a capped impracticable-operations charge.
Myth: “impracticable operations” charges (shuttle truck, long carry, no elevator) can be added on top of everything else without limit.
Fact: that category is capped at 15% of the other charges due at delivery. Anything the mover claims beyond that 15% has to wait for a separate bill — it cannot be used to hold your shipment hostage today.
Myth: this protection applies to any move, anywhere in the country.
Fact: it only applies to interstate moves — shipments that cross a state line. A move that starts and ends in the same state falls under that state’s own regulator instead (California’s CPUC, Texas’s TxDMV, and so on), and those agencies don’t use the 100%/110% framework at all.
| Estimate type | Max collectible today | Beyond that |
|---|---|---|
| Binding | 100% of agreed price | Not legally collectible at delivery |
| Non-binding | 110% of estimate | Billed separately, due 30+ days later |
| Impracticable ops | Capped at 15% of other delivery charges | Overflow billed 30+ days later |
The one distinction that trips people up: carrier vs. broker
This rule governs the carrier — whoever is physically holding your shipment. If a broker quoted you a low price over the phone weeks ago and a different company shows up charging more, that’s a separate problem (commonly bait-and-switch pricing), and it usually happens before loading, not at the door with a full truck. The 100%/110% math in this calculator is specifically for the moment of delivery.
A $5,000 non-binding estimate with a $6,500 demand at delivery isn’t a grey area — the legal ceiling is $5,500, and the $1,000 gap is the exact definition of an overcharge under federal rule.
Why most guides on this topic are incomplete
Most articles about moving scams mention the 110% figure correctly and stop there. Two things usually go missing: the 15% cap on impracticable-operations charges (which lets movers quietly stack extra fees on top of an otherwise-legal 110%), and the interstate/intrastate split, which determines whether this federal rule even applies to your move in the first place.
One more gap most guides skip entirely: what happens if you offer the legal amount and the mover still won’t release your goods. At that point, document the refusal — photos, timestamps, the exact figure offered — then file a complaint with FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database (nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov) and contact local law enforcement. Withholding goods after a lawful payment offer is treated as a serious federal violation, not a civil dispute to sort out later on your own.