A two-person crew with a 20-foot truck can gross $900 on a Saturday in most US cities, and tens of millions of Americans move every year. Those two facts recruit a lot of people into the moving business. What they leave out: a single dropped dresser can erase a day’s margin, licensing is more involved than for almost any other local service, and the busy season is five months long.
This guide covers how to start a moving company in 2026, from the cheapest way in (labor-only, with the customer’s rental truck) to a full-service company with your own box truck: the state and federal licensing you actually need, what commercial auto and cargo insurance cost, a realistic equipment budget, how hourly pricing works, and how to get your first jobs the week your website goes live. It is written for an owner who plans to be on the truck for the first year.
What running a moving company actually looks like
Moving is a labor business dressed up as a trucking business. Your day starts at 7 a.m. loading pads and dollies, and a good day is two moves: a two-bedroom apartment in the morning, a small house in the afternoon. Between jobs you are quoting tomorrow’s moves by video, confirming crews, and answering the customer who wants to know whether you can also take the piano.
Seasonality is brutal and predictable: roughly 60 percent of moves happen between May and September, the last week of every month is slammed, and a Tuesday in February can be empty. Companies that survive fill winter with labor-only jobs, office moves, and storage work.
Two market signals. A local two-bedroom move with two movers and a truck takes 4 to 6 hours and bills $600 to $1,100 in most metros. And demand arrives with almost no lead time: about half of local moving customers book within two weeks of their move date, which means the company that answers the phone at 6 p.m. on a Thursday gets the job.
The people who thrive are physically durable, calm with customers on a bad day, and disciplined about pads, wrap, and inventory. What kills moving companies: damage claims from rushing, a no-show mover on a three-job Saturday, underpricing to win leads, and an uninsured truck accident.
Step 1: Choose your model
You can enter at three levels, and many companies move up through all three.
- Labor-only. Customers rent a U-Haul or a pod; your crew loads and unloads. No truck, no commercial auto policy, no motor carrier authority. Rates of $80 to $140 an hour for two movers, and marketplaces such as U-Haul’s Moving Help and HireAHelper deliver jobs from day one for a commission. Many of today’s larger local movers started here.
- Local full-service. Your truck, your crew, moves within your state, typically within 50 to 100 miles. The core of the industry. Requires state household-goods authority in many states, commercial auto, and cargo coverage.
- Long-distance and interstate. Higher tickets ($4,000 to $10,000) and federal FMCSA authority with its filings and paperwork. Add this after a year of local work, or partner with a licensed interstate carrier for a referral fee.
Specialties raise the average ticket: senior moves (priced with packing and unpacking), office moves (after-hours work at premium rates), piano and safe moving ($300 to $800 per item), and packing. Advertise one specialty from the start; “we do everything” wins nothing on a search page.
Step 2: Set up the legal side, including motor carrier authority
Entity and basics
Form an LLC ($50 to $500 by state); you will be driving a 12,000-pound truck full of a stranger’s belongings, and a sole proprietorship puts your house behind every mile. Get a free EIN from the IRS and open a business bank account. Register for a sales tax permit if your state taxes moving services or if you sell boxes, which most movers do.
Intrastate (within your state) authority
This is where beginners get caught. Moving household goods for hire within a state is regulated by that state, and requirements vary enormously:
- Heavily regulated states such as California (Bureau of Household Goods and Services permit), Texas (TxDMV motor carrier registration), Florida (FDACS intrastate mover registration), New York (NYSDOT household goods authority), and Illinois (Illinois Commerce Commission license) require an application, proof of specific insurance, and sometimes a tariff or a test, with fees from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 and processing times of weeks to months.
- Lightly regulated states require only general business registration and a USDOT number for heavier trucks.
Search “[your state] household goods mover license” and call the agency listed, usually the state DOT, public utilities commission, or consumer affairs department. Ask what authority you need, what insurance minimums apply, and how long processing takes. Operating without required authority draws fines and, in some states, impounded trucks.
USDOT number and federal rules
Any truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more used in interstate commerce needs a USDOT number (free, through FMCSA’s Unified Registration System), and most states require one for intrastate trucks of that size too. Above 10,001 pounds you also need driver qualification files, a DOT medical card for interstate drivers, and inspection records. A CDL is only required at 26,001 pounds and above, which is why 26-foot box trucks are rated just under it.
Crossing state lines with household goods adds FMCSA operating authority (an MC number with household goods designation, $300 application fee), a BOC-3 process agent filing, insurance filings from your carrier (public liability of at least $750,000 plus cargo), enrollment in an arbitration program, a published tariff, and consumer paperwork including written estimates and the federal “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet. Budget 8 to 12 weeks and $1,500 to $3,000, and consider a compliance service the first time.
Watch out: Consumer protection rules for movers are strict because the industry has a history of hostage-load scams. Give written estimates, never demand more than the estimate plus allowed charges on delivery, and offer the required valuation options (released value at 60 cents per pound per article versus full-value protection).
Step 3: Get insured before the first job
Moving is a high-risk class and premiums reflect it.
- Commercial auto. The big one: $6,000 to $15,000 a year per truck for a new venture with a clean driver, at $1 million combined single limit. Personal auto and rental-truck insurance do not cover commercial moving.
- Cargo (motor truck cargo). Covers the customer’s goods in transit. $1,000 to $3,000 a year for $50,000 to $100,000 in coverage; required by most states with mover authority and by FMCSA.
- General liability. Covers the gouged hardwood floor and the wall your dolly went through. $1,500 to $4,000 a year for $1 million per occurrence. Property managers will ask for a certificate naming them.
- Workers’ compensation. Required in most states once you have employees, and movers are an expensive class: $6 to $12 per $100 of payroll, or $5,000 to $10,000 a year for two full-time movers. Do not classify movers as contractors to avoid it; states audit moving companies for exactly this.
- Hired and non-owned auto if you rent trucks at first: $500 to $1,500 a year.
- Umbrella, $1 million over auto and GL: $1,000 to $2,500 a year, wise in year two.
Total for a one-truck company with two employees: $15,000 to $30,000 a year. Labor-only without a truck: $2,000 to $5,000. Use an agent who writes movers specifically; general agents often cannot place the auto policy.
Step 4: Buy equipment and budget the startup
| Item | Lean start (labor-only) | Full setup (one truck) |
|---|---|---|
| LLC, EIN, local license, state mover authority | $200–$800 | $600–$2,500 |
| Insurance (year one, paid or financed) | $2,000–$5,000 | $15,000–$30,000 |
| Truck: used 16–26 ft box truck with ramp or liftgate | $0 (customer rents) | $22,000–$50,000 (or lease $1,200–$2,200/month) |
| Furniture pads (48–72 quilted) | $600–$1,000 | $900–$1,400 |
| Dollies: 2 four-wheel, 2 hand trucks, 1 appliance dolly | $400–$800 | $600–$1,200 |
| Straps, ratchets, forearm straps, shrink wrap, tape, tools | $200–$400 | $400–$800 |
| Floor runners, door jamb protectors, mattress bags | $150–$300 | $300–$600 |
| Box and packing inventory for resale, uniforms | $350–$800 | $900–$2,000 |
| Website, domain, business email, phone line | $150–$400 | $300–$900 |
| Moving software or CRM (Jobber, SmartMoving, Supermove) | $0–$600 | $1,800–$4,800 |
| Marketing: Google Business Profile, marketplace listings, lead credits | $200–$500 | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Total | $4,250–$10,600 | $44,300–$97,200 (less with a lease) |
Buy the pads and dollies new and the truck used with a service history; a 2018 to 2021 26-foot truck with 100,000 to 150,000 miles is the standard first truck. Many owners rent commercially ($100 to $200 a day plus mileage) for the first six months of full-service work while they see whether the phone rings.
Step 5: Price by the hour, and know your minimum
Local moving is priced by the hour, with adjustments. Long-distance is priced by weight or cubic feet.
| Service | Typical 2026 price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 movers + truck, local | $130–$190/hour | 2–3 hour minimum; higher in coastal metros |
| 3 movers + truck, local | $180–$260/hour | Standard for 3-bedroom homes |
| Labor-only, 2 movers | $80–$140/hour | 2 hour minimum |
| Travel fee or double drive time | Flat $75–$200, or drive time billed both ways | California requires double drive time |
| Packing labor | $40–$60/hour per packer | Plus materials at 2–3× cost |
| Piano, safe, hot tub | $300–$800 per item | Often subcontracted |
| Stairs, long carry, shuttle | $50–$150 per flight or occurrence | Stated in advance |
| Long-distance (1,000+ miles) | $0.70–$1.20 per pound, or per cubic foot | 2-bedroom typically $4,500–$8,000 |
The math
Your fully loaded cost for two movers and a truck runs $55 to $80 an hour: wages of $18 to $25 each plus payroll taxes and workers’ comp, fuel at $15 to $25 an hour of operation, insurance and maintenance spread across billable hours. Charging $150 an hour leaves $70 to $95 before overhead and claims. Charging $110 to win a lead leaves almost nothing once a claim arrives.
A one-truck company averaging 5 jobs a week at 4.5 billable hours and $150 an hour, plus a $100 travel fee, grosses about $3,900 a week, roughly $185,000 a year with a slow winter factored in. Labor at 35 percent, fuel and maintenance at 10, insurance at 12, marketing and software at 8, and claims at 2 leave about 33 percent, or $60,000, before the owner’s own wage. Run the truck yourself and that wage is yours too.
Tip: Quote every job over a two-bedroom by video call or in-home survey, and quote a range. A crew that arrives to a “two-bedroom” with a full garage and a packed basement loses the afternoon job and the customer’s trust at once.
Step 6: Get online and look legitimate
Moving is a trust purchase. Customers search “movers near me” with a two-week deadline and a fear of scams, so your site must answer four questions in ten seconds: are you licensed and insured (state authority and USDOT numbers displayed), what do you charge (hourly rates, minimum, and travel fee published), where do you work, and are you real (photos of your actual truck and crew, and reviews).
That means a home page, a services page (residential, apartment, labor-only, packing, your specialty), a pricing page, a service-area page, a photo gallery, reviews, and a get-a-quote form asking for move date, origin and destination, home size, and stairs or elevator. You can have Restart build it: describe the business, your services, your rates, your service area, and how you want people to reach you, and it builds the pages, writes the copy, designs the site, and publishes it to a real URL. Change anything afterward by asking. It is the same approach Restart takes for other local businesses.
Then claim your Google Business Profile in the Mover category with real truck photos and get reviews early; the profile with 15 reviews outranks the one with 3 regardless of who has been around longer. And answer the phone: the customer is calling three companies in a row, and voicemail at 5 p.m. loses the job.
Step 7: Get your first jobs
Moving has an advantage most local services lack: marketplaces with immediate demand.
- Labor-only marketplaces. U-Haul’s Moving Help and HireAHelper list your crew to customers who have already rented a truck. Set an hourly rate ($90 to $130 for two movers is competitive), the platform takes a commission, and jobs arrive within days of approval. This is the fastest first-week revenue in the industry.
- Lead platforms. Thumbtack and Angi sell shared moving leads for $20 to $80 each. Respond within five minutes with a specific rate and an available date and you will close 20 to 30 percent. A bridge, not a strategy.
- Google Local Services Ads. A “Google Guaranteed” badge after a background check and license verification; movers pay $30 to $100 per lead.
- Referral sources that last. Apartment leasing offices (offer a move-in special for residents), real estate agents (bring donuts to a brokerage sales meeting), senior living communities, storage facilities, and property managers. One busy leasing office can send you 10 moves a month.
- Neighborhood channels. Nextdoor and local Facebook groups, where “any movers you’d recommend?” is posted daily. Answer as the owner with a photo of your truck.
- Adjacent services. Junk removal and cleaning companies meet people the week they move. Trade referrals.
For your first five jobs, price at the low end of your market’s range (say $130 an hour for two movers and a truck), not below it, and ask for a Google review before the truck leaves. Customers who choose on price alone file the most claims and leave the fewest reviews.
Step 8: Run the operation and add the second truck
Systems that prevent claims
Pad and wrap every piece, every time; the customer watching you shrink-wrap a $200 dresser is the customer who leaves five stars. Photograph pre-existing damage at load and note it on the inventory. Use floor runners and door jamb protectors on every job. Have the customer walk the truck before you close the door and sign the bill of lading. Claims still happen, so write a claims process (acknowledge within days, resolve within 30) and build a reserve into your pricing.
Crew
Movers earn $18 to $25 an hour plus tips, and the good ones are the whole business. Hire for reliability over strength, pay above the local warehouse rate, and pay weekly. Run background checks and motor vehicle reports on anyone who will drive. Keep a bench of two or three part-timers for Saturdays, because a no-show with three jobs booked is a disaster.
What breaks at 2×
The second truck doubles revenue and triples management. You are no longer on every job, so quality control moves to a crew lead paid $25 to $32 an hour, a checklist, and photos texted from every job. Dispatch, quoting, and phones become a full-time role, and moving software with crew scheduling ($150 to $400 a month) pays for itself here. Most owners add a second truck in year two, once the first is booked five days a week from April to October and winter is covered by labor-only and commercial work.
How much can you make?
| Level | Jobs per week (peak / off-season) | Average ticket | Annual gross | Costs (labor, fuel, insurance, marketing, claims) | Net before tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor-only side business (weekends) | 3 / 1 | $350 | $36,000 | $14,000 | ~$22,000 |
| One truck, owner on the truck | 6 / 3 | $750 | $185,000 | $120,000 | ~$65,000 plus owner’s wage |
| Two trucks, owner managing | 12 / 6 | $800 | $390,000 | $290,000 | ~$100,000 |
The one-truck ceiling is around $150,000 in owner income if you drive it yourself, book a full peak season, and keep claims and labor in check. Beyond that, income comes from more trucks or commercial contracts, and margins per truck fall as you hire managers.
Mistakes that sink new moving company owners
- Skipping state authority. A competitor reports you and the state fines you or impounds the truck mid-move. Fix: get the permit before the first paid job, even if it takes eight weeks.
- Running on personal auto or rental insurance. One fender-bender with a loaded truck ends the business. Fix: commercial auto and cargo bound before the first job.
- Underpricing to win leads. $95 an hour covers wages and fuel and nothing else. Fix: know your loaded hourly cost and set a floor $50 above it.
- Skipping pads and wrap to save time. One scratched table costs more than ten minutes of wrapping on every job that month. Fix: pad and wrap everything; make it visible to the customer.
- Classifying movers as 1099 contractors. States audit moving companies for this and back-charge workers’ comp and payroll taxes with penalties. Fix: W-2 employees from the first hire.
- Quoting by phone without seeing the home. The job runs three hours over and the afternoon customer cancels. Fix: video survey for anything over a studio.
- Ignoring the off-season. $25,000 in July and $4,000 in January kills you in February. Fix: labor-only, commercial, and storage work booked for winter by October.
Your first 30 days
Week 1
- Choose labor-only or full-service to start; pick one specialty to advertise.
- Form your LLC, get your EIN, open a business bank account, and register for a sales tax permit if required.
- Call your state agency about household goods mover authority and start the application.
- Get insurance quotes from an agent who writes movers; bind general liability now if starting labor-only.
Week 2
- Buy pads, dollies, straps, wrap, floor runners, and uniforms; if full-service, shop trucks or arrange a rental.
- Apply for your USDOT number if your truck is 10,001 pounds or more.
- Build the website on Restart with your services, hourly rates, service area, and quote form; set up a business phone line you answer.
- Write your estimate, bill of lading, and inventory forms and your claims process.
Week 3
- Claim your Google Business Profile in the Mover category with real photos; apply for marketplace listings (Moving Help, HireAHelper) and set your rate.
- Hire one or two movers; run background checks and MVRs; set up payroll and workers’ comp.
- Do two moves for friends or family at your introductory rate in exchange for reviews and photos.
- Visit three apartment leasing offices with rate cards and a certificate of insurance.
Week 4
- Bind commercial auto and cargo if you are going full-service; put your authority numbers on the truck and the website.
- Turn on a small Thumbtack or Local Services Ads budget and respond to every lead within five minutes.
- Complete your first five paid jobs; ask for a Google review before the truck leaves each one.
- Review jobs, average ticket, billable hours, claims, and labor percentage; set your rate for month two.
