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Notes from running the company.
What is working, what is not, and what it costs. Written by Jacob, from the jobs. 23 posts, sorted by what you are trying to do.
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How to start a moving company: twelve steps, in the order we would do them again
How to start a moving company without buying a truck first. Twelve steps in the order that works, what each one costs, and the numbers from our own company in upstate New York.
10 min read · by JacobStarting out
Licensing, insurance, the truck question, and the order we would do it in again.
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Arizona: no state license, the hostage load law, what it costs, and what to do this weekArizona is one of the few states with no household goods mover license at all. What governs you instead is a 2017 consumer statute on contracts and hostage loads, ADOT's commercial registration and weight fees, and the ordinary rules on insurance, tax and employees. What each one requires, what it costs, and the work you can take this week.11 min read · Oct 27, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Georgia: the DPS household goods certificate, the maximum rate tariff, what it costs, and what to do this weekGeorgia licenses movers through the Department of Public Safety and publishes the maximum rate every mover may charge. What the household goods certificate costs, the insurance it requires, the state's hourly ceilings and minimums, the paperwork every Georgia move needs, and the work you can take before any of it.13 min read · Oct 27, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Illinois: the ICC license, the hearing, what it costs, and what to do this weekIllinois licenses movers through the Illinois Commerce Commission, and it is one of the few states that makes you prove a public need at a hearing, pass a written exam and file a rate tariff before the first paid move. What the license costs, the insurance it requires, the rules on estimates and liability, and the work you can take before any of it.13 min read · Oct 27, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in North Carolina: the certificate of exemption, the maximum rate tariff, what it costs, and what to do this weekNorth Carolina licenses movers through the Utilities Commission and publishes the maximum hourly rate every mover may charge. What the certificate of exemption costs, the insurance it requires, the state's rate ceilings and estimate rules, and the work you can take before any of it.13 min read · Oct 27, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Ohio: the PUCO certificate, what it costs, and what to do this weekOhio licenses movers through the Public Utilities Commission, and the certificate is cheap, online and quick. What it costs, the insurance it requires, the tariff you write yourself, the paperwork every Ohio move needs, and the work you can take before any of it.12 min read · Oct 27, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Washington: the UTC permit, Tariff 15-C, what it costs, and what to do this weekWashington licenses movers through the Utilities and Transportation Commission, and it is the one state that sets both a floor and a ceiling on what you may charge. What the household goods permit costs, the insurance it requires, how Tariff 15-C prices a local move, the paperwork every Washington move needs, and the work you can take before any of it.14 min read · Oct 27, 2026
Starting outJunk removal or moving: which business to start, and what we got wrong about itJunk removal is the side business everyone online is recommending. Here is how it compares to moving on skill, risk, reviews and how many jobs it takes to make a living, including the numbers junk owners sent back when we got it wrong.5 min read · Oct 13, 2026
Starting outCan you use a rental truck for a moving business? What the rental terms actually sayMost start-a-moving-company advice says to rent a truck for your first jobs. Before you do, read the rental agreement. Here is what U-Haul's terms say, which rental desks are set up for moving businesses, and the insurance questions to ask before the first paid move.4 min read · Oct 13, 2026
Starting outDo you need a license to start a moving company? What the rules actually requireWhich moving jobs need a USDOT number, federal operating authority or a state household goods permit, which ones need nothing, and what each one costs, from a licensed carrier that started with none of it.7 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in California: the household mover permit, what it costs, and the four-month windowCalifornia requires a Bureau of Household Goods and Services permit for every paid move, with fingerprints, $600,000 in liability coverage and $20,000 in cargo coverage. What it costs, how long it takes, and what you can do while you wait.6 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Florida: the FDACS registration, what it costs, and the catch about labor-onlyFlorida registers movers through the Department of Agriculture, not the DOT, and its definition of a mover includes loading. What the registration costs, the insurance it requires, the IM number rule, and what you can do this week.7 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Starting outHow to start a moving company in Texas: the TxDMV certificate, what it costs, and what to do this weekTexas requires every household goods mover to register with TxDMV, even with a pickup. What the certificate costs, the insurance it requires, the paperwork every Texas move needs, and the work you can take before any of it.6 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Starting outLabor-only moving: how to start a moving company without a truckWhat labor-only moving is, why it is the first job most new movers can take this week, how to price it from your own costs, and where the customers who already have a truck go looking for help.6 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Starting outMoving company insurance: what you need, in what order, and what it costsThe insurance a new moving company actually needs, in the order to buy it: general liability, cargo, commercial auto and workers' comp, with real monthly costs and how we handle damage when it happens.6 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Starting outThe truck is the last thing you buyEverybody thinks they need $30,000 for a truck before they can take a single job. That belief is the only thing standing between most people and their first paid move.5 min read · Sep 14, 2026
Pricing
What to charge, flat or hourly, deposits, and the single-item jobs most companies start on.
PricingFlat rate or hourly? The rule we use on every moving quoteWhen to quote a moving job flat and when to quote it hourly, portal to portal. The two-part rule we use, four real jobs from one August that show it working, and the one time the rule failed.7 min read · Sep 16, 2026
PricingHow to price a single-item move: couches, safes, stoves and the $75 boxSingle-item jobs are how most moving companies get their first customers and how many lose money. How we price a couch across town, a 321-pound wood stove, a hot tub, and why the same item can be pure margin at the end of another move.7 min read · Sep 16, 2026
PricingThe deposit: how much to ask for, when, and what it changesWhy a moving company should take a deposit on every booked job, how much (ours is 20 percent of the low end), how to ask for it without sounding pushy, and what happened in one August to the jobs that had one versus the jobs that did not.6 min read · Sep 16, 2026
PricingWhat to charge for a two-bedroom moveThe most common job you will ever quote, priced two ways. What we charged for one in August, what you should charge on your first one, and how to know which number to say on the phone.7 min read · Sep 15, 2026
Getting customers
Where the first leads come from when nobody knows your name yet.
Hiring and crew
What movers make, and how to hire the first one without losing the second.
Hiring and crewHiring movers: your first helper, your first foreman, and when to stop carrying the couchWhen a new moving company should hire, what to pay a helper and a foreman, why the first real hire is a foreman and not a helper, and the four things to have in place before anyone starts.5 min read · Oct 11, 2026
Hiring and crewHow much do movers actually make? Crew wages, owner pay, and the math between themWhat we pay our movers, what a helper on your first jobs should cost, and what the owner of a two-man moving company actually keeps on a $900 job. Real numbers from upstate New York, not a salary website.7 min read · Sep 16, 2026