The Department of Transportation regulates household goods movers. The mover must publish their tariff with the DOT, and this tariff outlines all of the services and charges for the movers, and the DOT holds all movers in the state of New York responsible for following by their published rates, policies, and procedures. Some movers publish their tariff through the New York Tariff Bureau or The Long Island Rate Bureau, and some on their own.
In the state of New York, the mover is required to have proper operating authority, and is required to have T # on all of their paperwork. A DOT # is required on their vehicles. Local moves are less than 40 miles and some follow the 100 mile radius and may be priced on an hourly basis (depending on what is in their tariff), if the move is over 40 miles (intrastate) it is priced by weight and distance unless the moving company has special specifications in their tariff. Binding estimates can be issued as long as it is a guideline in the movers tariff and a walk through is required to give a binding estimate. In order to have a licence the mover is required to have liability, cargo, and workers compensation insurance within compliance.
One important thing to remember is that you make sure your local mover carries workers compensation insurance and the proper licensing on equipment and vehicles.
To verify if a moving company is licensed and regulated, you can call the:
Department of Transportation 1-800-786-5368 (leave a message and someone should call you back in a couple hours with the company you want to verify) https://www.nysdot.gov/index New York State Movers &Warehousemen’s Association
PO Box 277
East Greenbush, NY 12061
Phone: 518 477-5389 www.newyorkstatemovers.com Long Island Moving & Storage Association
29 Urban Drive, Selden, NY 11784
Message Center and Fax (631) 980-3882 http://www.limsa.com Long Island Rate Bureau 29 Urban Drive Selden, NY 11784 631-506-8921 fax: 631-980-3882 www.limsa.com Better Business Bureau of New York www.newyork.bbb.org 257 Park Avenue South, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10010-7384
Office Hours: 9-5 Monday through Friday
212.533.6200
Fax: 212.477.4912
Inquiry@newyork.bbb.org http://search.bbb.org/search.html (Reliability Report)
INTERSTATE MOVES:
For any questions on interstate movers, and finding a licensed mover, you may contact the:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration www.fmcsa.dot.gov 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 1-800-832-5660 Protect Your Move (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) www.protectyourmove.gov US Department of Transportation www.dot.gov 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 1-800-877-8339 1-866-377-8642 American Moving & Storage Association www.moving.org 1611 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 1-800-849-2672The following is a list of related moving contacts:
Attorney General of New York www.oag.state.ny.us The CapitolAlbany, NY 12224-0341 General Helpline: 1-800-771-7755 TDD/TTY Toll Free Line: 1-800-788-9898 Immigration Fraud Hotline: 212-416-6149 Healthcare Hotline: 1-800-428-9071 Medicaid Fraud Control Unit: 212-417-5397 Greater New York Chamber of Commerce www.chamber.com 20 West 44th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10036
Phone 212-686-7220
Fax 212-686-7232