The cheapest quote is often from the company least equipped to honor it, and moving is one of the few purchases where you hand over everything you own before you find out. Florida regulates the industry precisely because of that. Premier Movers is a registered, insured Jacksonville moving company, and the checks below are ones we would encourage you to run on us as readily as on anyone else. Here is what to look up, where, and what your paperwork is legally required to say.
Two regulators, two different numbers
Which agency covers your move depends on where it starts and ends.
A move that begins and ends inside Florida is an intrastate move, regulated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Under Chapter 507 of the Florida Statutes, anyone engaged in intrastate moving has to register with FDACS, and so do moving brokers. Registration is renewed every two years, and failing to comply can bring a cease-and-desist order and fines of up to $5,000. Registered movers are issued an IM number.
A move that crosses a state line is an interstate move, regulated federally by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which issues USDOT numbers. If you are planning an interstate relocation, that is the number that matters, and you should confirm it before you commit to anything.
Premier Movers holds Florida Mover Registration IM 3668 and USDOT number 3914973. Both are public records.
Run the check in five minutes
- Ask for the legal business name and the registration number in writing. A company that hesitates has already answered the question.
- Search the FDACS Check-A-License tool by company name or IM number and confirm the status reads active.
- For an interstate move, look up the USDOT number through the FMCSA and confirm the company is registered to transport household goods.
- Compare the name on the search result with the name on your estimate, your contract and the truck. They should all match.
- Ask directly whether the company is the carrier performing your move or a broker arranging it.
Mover or broker: the answer decides who shows up
This is the distinction that catches people out. A carrier owns trucks and employs crews. A broker sells you a move and then hands the job to whichever company takes it, which means the business you researched may not be the business that arrives. Brokers have to register too, and the honest ones will tell you what they are when asked.
Ask who physically performs the move, whose name is on the truck and whether the crew are employees or subcontractors. Premier Movers staffs every residential move with its own background-checked, uniformed employees, so the company you vet is the company that turns up.
What Florida law requires your paperwork to contain
This is the part most people skip, and it is the part with teeth. Section 507.05 of the Florida Statutes requires that before any moving or accessorial service is provided, the mover gives the customer a written contract and estimate, signed and dated by both the mover and the shipper. It has to include the mover’s name, telephone number and the physical address where the company’s employees are available during normal business hours, along with the customer’s name and address, the pickup and delivery addresses and a contact number.
Read what that rules out. A verbal price is not an estimate. A number texted without an inventory is not an estimate. A blank form you are asked to sign on moving day is the opposite of what the statute describes.
For interstate moves the federal requirements add to this: movers must provide the Ready to Move brochure and the Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move handbook, both of which are free to download and worth reading before you sign anything.
Red flags worth walking away from
- A price quoted with no inventory, no walkthrough and no questions about access
- A large deposit demanded up front, particularly in cash
- No written estimate, or a refusal to itemize what the price covers
- Blank or partially completed paperwork you are asked to sign
- A company name on the truck that does not match the contract
- No physical business address, only a phone number and a web form
- A price that rises sharply once the truck is loaded
- Reluctance to give a registration number when asked plainly
Questions to ask before you sign
- Are you the carrier performing the move, or a broker arranging it?
- What are your Florida IM number and your USDOT number?
- Are the crew employees or subcontracted labor?
- How is time billed, and is there a minimum?
- What is included in the hourly rate, and what is billed separately?
- What valuation coverage comes as standard, and what else is available?
- What happens if the date has to change, on either side?
- How do I file a claim, and who handles it?
The same checks apply to business moves
Commercial customers tend to assume the vetting is different. It is not. If anything the exposure is larger, because an office move involves equipment, records and downtime. Building management will usually require a certificate of insurance before a truck is allowed near a freight elevator, and an unregistered operator will not be able to produce one. Ask for the registration number, the insurance certificate and the after-hours plan before you book commercial moving for a suite or a whole floor.
If something does go wrong
Start with a written claim to the moving company itself, keeping copies of everything, including the signed estimate, the inventory and any photographs you took. For an intrastate move, FDACS accepts complaints about movers and operates a consumer helpline at 1-800-HELP-FLA. For an interstate move, complaints go to the FMCSA through its Protect Your Move program. Neither agency can litigate a damage claim for you, but a documented complaint is how patterns of bad behavior get found.
Where to run the checks
- FDACS Moving Within Florida sets out your rights, the contract requirements and the complaint process for a move inside the state.
- FDACS Check-A-License confirms whether a Florida mover or broker is currently registered.
- The FDACS Moving Companies page covers Chapter 507 registration requirements and the penalties for operating without them.
- FMCSA Protect Your Move covers interstate moves, mover-versus-broker guidance and the red flags of moving fraud.
- The FMCSA consumer rights page hosts free downloads of the Ready to Move brochure and the Rights and Responsibilities handbook.
Check us, then call us
A legitimate mover has nothing to lose from a license check and everything to gain from a customer who has done one. Premier Movers is registered in Florida as IM 3668, operates under USDOT 3914973, is fully insured and puts every price in writing before any work starts. Look us up first, then call 904-666-0423 for a free estimate.
