· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Mover
A move from Nashville to Atlanta, Chicago or Denver is a different contract from one across Davidson County. Once the truck crosses a state line, the job falls under federal household goods rules, and on a non-binding estimate the bill is set by what your shipment weighs on a scale, not by the hours the crew spends. Two moments in a long-distance move are where the questions come up: the weighing, which happens out of sight, and delivery day, when the driver asks for payment before the furniture comes off. Here is how both are supposed to work under 49 CFR Part 375, what you are entitled to see, and what the mover owes you when the truck is late. Our long-distance moving page covers how we plan and price an interstate move from the start.
The survey sets the estimate, and the estimate sets the rules
Under 49 CFR 375.401 on the eCFR, an interstate mover has to look at what is going before it puts a number in writing. The survey can be done in the house or over a video call, and the written estimate has to be based on it. You can waive the survey, but only in writing, signed before loading starts. We would rather walk the house: the upstairs closets, the garage shelving and the shed behind a house in Antioch or Bellevue are where the weight hides.
The same section requires the estimate to say whether it is binding or non-binding before the bill of lading is signed. A binding estimate guarantees the total for the items and services it lists. A non-binding estimate is billed on the actual weight and the mover’s tariff in effect, the mover may not charge you for writing it, and it has to be reasonably accurate; an estimate that comes in too low can limit what the mover is allowed to collect at delivery. If your mover estimated by cubic feet, the rule says it has to explain in writing how the volume becomes a weight and state that the final charge rests on the real weight. The choice between the two types is laid out in binding, non-binding and why quotes change. The rest of this post is about the non-binding kind, because that is the one the scale decides.
How the truck is weighed, and your right to watch
For a non-binding estimate that depends on weight, 49 CFR 375.507 says the mover has to weigh the shipment on a certified scale before it charges you anything that turns on that weight. In practice that means the truck crosses a scale empty and again loaded, and the difference is your shipment.
You do not have to take the number on faith. 49 CFR 375.513 gives you the right to be present for every weighing, and the mover has to tell you where and when it will happen. If you do not go, the rules treat that as giving up the right to watch, and if you decline a reweigh, that has to be in writing. Ask for the scale’s location when the crew starts loading, so you can decide then rather than find out afterward.
Every weighing produces a ticket. Under 49 CFR 375.519, each one is separate and signed, and it has to carry the scale’s name and location, the date, the empty, loaded and net weights, the vehicle’s identification, your last name and the shipment number. True copies of every ticket have to come with the freight bill. Check that the last name and shipment number are yours and that the net weight is the loaded figure minus the empty one.
- The scale’s name and location, and the date
- Tare (empty), gross (loaded) and net weights
- The truck’s identification number
- Your last name and the shipment number
- A signature, and a copy attached to the freight bill
Delivery day and the 110 percent limit
This is where a non-binding estimate protects you most. Under 49 CFR 375.703, the most a mover can require at delivery on a non-binding estimate is 110 percent of that estimate, plus the same additional charges allowed on any estimate. If the scale says your shipment ran well over, the amount above that cap is not due at the door.
49 CFR 375.407 goes further. If you offer up to 110 percent of the non-binding estimate plus those add-ons, the mover has to release your goods. Holding them anyway is treated as a failure of reasonable dispatch, which opens the mover to a cargo delay claim under Part 370. If only part of the shipment arrives, the mover can demand only a prorated share. Have the estimate and the bill of lading in hand when the truck pulls up, work out the 110 percent figure the night before, and read the weight tickets before you pay. If something arrives broken, that is a separate claim settled under your valuation level, covered in what moving coverage actually pays.
When the truck is late
Unless you paid for guaranteed dates, an interstate mover owes you what the rules call reasonable dispatch service, and it has to pick up and deliver on the date agreed or within the period written on the bill of lading. That bill has to show the agreed pickup and delivery dates or windows, along with the registered name and USDOT number of every carrier on the job. Read those lines before you sign; they are what any delay is measured against.
When a mover cannot make a pickup or delivery date, 49 CFR 375.605 requires it to tell you at its own expense, by phone, in person, fax, email, overnight courier or certified mail, give you new dates or a new period, and keep a written record of the notice for a year. A truck that simply does not show, with no call and no new date, is not how the rules say a late delivery is handled. Write down when you were told and what you were told.
If you are moving out of Nashville and Davidson County to another state and want the weighing, the delivery window and the payment terms laid out on paper before anything is loaded, ask us for a free written estimate and we will walk the house first.
Sources
- FMCSA, Protect Your Move: Delivery of My Shipment (Subpart G) — On a non-binding estimate the most due at delivery is 110 percent of the estimate, plus added services and capped impracticable-operation charges.
- 49 CFR 375.401, Must I estimate charges? (eCFR) — The survey, written estimates, binding and non-binding, reasonable accuracy, and converting a volume estimate to weight.
- 49 CFR 375.507, weighing before charges are assessed (eCFR) — A weight-dependent non-binding shipment must be weighed on a certified scale before charges are assessed.
- 49 CFR 375.513, the right to observe weighings (eCFR) — The shipper may be present for every weighing and must be told where and when.
- 49 CFR 375.519, weight tickets (eCFR) — What each signed weight ticket must show, and true copies with the freight bill.
- 49 CFR 375.703, maximum collect-on-delivery amount (eCFR) — At most 110 percent of a non-binding estimate plus allowed add-ons at delivery.
- 49 CFR 375.407, releasing a shipment on a non-binding estimate (eCFR) — Release on payment of 110 percent; refusal as failure of reasonable dispatch; prorated partial delivery.
- 49 CFR 375.605, notice when dates cannot be met (eCFR) — Notice at the mover’s expense, new dates, and written records kept one year.