43814 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Parts 371 and 375 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2020–0205] 

RIN 2126–AC35 

Implementation of Household Goods 

Working Group Recommendations 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA proposes to update 

the Transportation of Household Goods 

regulations to incorporate 

recommendations from the Household 

Goods Consumer Protection Working 

Group (Working Group) contained in 

the Recommendations to the U.S. 

Department of Transportation to 

Improve Household Goods Consumer 

Education, Simplify and Reduce 

Paperwork, and Condense FMCSA 

Publication ESA 03005 

(Recommendations Report). The Agency 

proposes to update the regulations to 

reflect those aspects of the 

Recommendations Report which require 

a rulemaking to implement and are 

within the Agency’s authority. The 

proposed updates based on these 

recommendations would result in an 

aggregate reduction in costs for 

household goods motor carriers and 

provide clarity for individual shippers. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 12, 2021. Comments 

on the information collection must be 

received on or before October 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket Number FMCSA– 

2020–0205 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ 

docket/FMCSA-2020-0205/document. 

Follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail: Dockets Operations, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets 

Operations, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590–0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or 

(202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets 

Operations. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Monique Riddick, Commercial 

Enforcement and Investigations 

Division, Office of Enforcement and 

Compliance, Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001; (202) 366–0073; 

Monique.riddick@dot.gov. If you have 

questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Dockets 

Operations, (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

is organized as follows: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

A. Submitting Comments 

B. Viewing Comments and Documents 

C. Privacy Act 

D. Advance Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking Not Required 

E. Comments on the Information Collection 

II. Executive Summary 

A. Purpose of the Amendments 

B. Summary of the Major Provisions 

C. Costs and Benefits 

III. Abbreviations 

IV. Legal Basis 

V. Background 

VI. Discussion of Proposed Rulemaking 

VII. International Impacts 

VIII. Section-by-Section Analysis 

IX. Regulatory Analyses 

A. E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and 

Review), E.O. 13563 (Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review), and 

DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

B. Congressional Review Act 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (Small 

Entities) 

D. Assistance for Small Entities 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

F. Paperwork Reduction Act 

G. E.O. 13132 (Federalism) 

H. Privacy 

I. E.O. 13175 (Indian Tribal Governments) 

J. National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

A. Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

NPRM (Docket No. FMCSA–2020– 

0205), indicate the specific section of 

this document to which your comment 

applies, and provide a reason for each 

suggestion or recommendation. You 

may submit your comments and 

material online or by fax, mail, or hand 

delivery, but please use only one of 

these means. FMCSA recommends that 

you include your name and a mailing 

address, an email address, or a phone 

number in the body of your document 

so that FMCSA can contact you if there 

are questions regarding your 

submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

FMCSA-2020-0205/document, click on 

this NPRM, click ‘‘Comment,’’ and type 

your comment into the text box on the 

following screen. 

If you submit your comments by mail 

or hand delivery, submit them in an 

unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 

11 inches, suitable for copying and 

electronic filing. If you submit 

comments by mail and would like to 

know that they reached the facility, 

please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 

postcard or envelope. 

FMCSA will consider all comments 

and material received during the 

comment period and may make changes 

based on your comments. 

Confidential Business Information 

CBI is commercial or financial 

information that is both customarily and 

actually treated as private by its owner. 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt 

from public disclosure. If your 

comments responsive to the NPRM 

contain commercial or financial 

information that is customarily treated 

as private, that you actually treat as 

private, and that is relevant or 

responsive to this NPRM, it is important 

that you clearly designate the submitted 

comments as CBI. Please mark each 

page of your submission that constitutes 

CBI as ‘‘PROPIN’’ to indicate it contains 

proprietary information. FMCSA will 

treat such marked submissions as 

confidential under the FOIA, and they 

will not be placed in the public docket 

of the NPRM. Submissions containing 

CBI should be sent to Mr. Brian Dahlin, 

Chief, Regulatory Analysis Division, 

Office of Policy, Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. Any comments FMCSA receives 

which are not specifically designated as 

CBI will be placed in the public docket 

for this rulemaking. 

FMCSA will consider all comments 

and material received during the 

comment period. 

B. Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view any documents mentioned as 

being available in the docket, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

FMCSA-2020-0205/document and 

choose the document to review. To view 

comments, click this NPRM, and click 

‘‘Browse Comments.’’ If you do not have 

access to the internet, you may view the 

docket online by visiting Dockets 

Operations in Room W12–140 on the 

ground floor of the DOT West Building, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001, between 9 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43815 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 366–9317 or (202) 366– 

9826 before visiting Dockets Operations. 

C. Privacy Act 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), 

DOT solicits comments from the public 

to better inform its rulemaking process. 

DOT posts these comments, without 

edit, including any personal information 

the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

D. Advance Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking Not Required 

This rulemaking is under the 

authority of several provisions in title 

49 U.S.C., subtitle IV, part B and is not 

a safety rule under title 49 U.S.C., 

subtitle VI, part B. This rulemaking is 

therefore not subject to the requirement 

under 49 U.S.C. 31136(g) to publish an 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

or proceed with a negotiated 

rulemaking. 

E. Comments on the Information 

Collection 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the information 

collection discussed in this NPRM 

should be sent to FMCSA within 60 

days of publication using any of the 

methods described in ‘‘Public 

Participation and Request for 

Comments’’ above. 

II. Executive Summary 

A. Purpose of the Amendments 

FMCSA proposes to incorporate 

certain recommendations from the 

Working Group’s Recommendations 

Report into the regulations at 49 CFR 

part 375. These recommendations, when 

implemented, would offer streamlined 

documentation requirements and 

provide opportunity for increased 

efficiency for the transportation of 

household goods for individual shippers 

by interstate household goods motor 

carriers and service by household goods 

brokers, improve consumer education 

and protection for individual shippers 

in need of their services, and combat 

fraud. The Working Group was 

established and provided 

recommendations pursuant to section 

5503 of the Fixing America’s Surface 

Transportation Act (FAST Act), Public 

Law 114–94, 129 Stat. 1312, 1551 (Dec. 

4, 2015). 

B. Summary of the Major Provisions 

The proposed rule would implement 

the majority of the Working Group’s 

recommendations that require a 

rulemaking. These recommendations 

would update a variety of regulatory 

requirements under 49 CFR part 375. 

The first recommendation from the 

Working Group that is being proposed 

in this NPRM is to revise Appendix A 

to part 375 with an updated version of 

the Your Rights and Responsibilities 

When You Move booklet (Rights and 

Responsibilities). The updated Rights 

and Responsibilities booklet would 

contain the same information as the 

2013 version of the booklet with some 

modifications to conform with the other 

proposed changes in this NPRM, which 

are discussed below, and to increase 

clarity of the information contained in 

the booklet. Additionally, FMCSA is 

proposing to implement the Working 

Group’s recommendation to require 

motor carriers to provide the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet at the same 

time as the estimate instead of at the 

time of the order for service as currently 

required. These changes to Appendix A 

and the Rights and Responsibilities 

booklet would ensure that the appendix 

matches the information contained in 

the booklet and that the booklet presents 

individual shippers with clear and 

accurate information earlier in the 

moving process. FMCSA is also 

proposing to remove the requirement in 

section 375.213(e) for a waiver if the 

individual shipper accesses either 

Ready to Move? or the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet via a hyperlink. 

The next recommendation from the 

Working Group that is being proposed 

in this NPRM is to remove the ability of 

the motor carrier or individual shipper 

to revise a binding estimate or a nonbinding estimate. Instead, FMCSA 

would require the preparation of a new 

binding estimate or new non-binding 

estimate when the individual shipper 

tenders additional items or requests 

additional services. This would 

incorporate into the regulations certain 

provisions from the FMCSA guidance 

titled Regulatory Guidance Concerning 

Household Goods Carriers Requiring 

Shippers To Sign Blank or Incomplete 

Documents (76 FR 50537, Aug. 15, 

2011) (2011 guidance). FMCSA is also 

proposing to incorporate other 

provisions from the 2011 guidance that 

clarify that an individual shipper may 

never be required to sign a blank 

document, and that the shipper may be 

required to sign an incomplete 

document only when it is missing 

certain information that cannot be 

determined before the document must 

be signed. These proposed changes 

would increase protection of individual 

shippers by ensuring that any 

documents they are required to sign be 

as accurate as possible at the time those 

documents are signed. 

This proposal would also implement 

the Working Group’s recommendation 

to allow for virtual surveys of household 

goods. By updating the definition of 

physical survey to include virtual 

surveys, this proposed change would 

allow an option for motor carriers and 

individual shippers to use live video to 

conduct surveys, rather than requiring 

motor carriers to survey the household 

goods to be moved in-person. A related 

recommendation to require motor 

carriers to conduct surveys beyond a 

50-mile radius is also being proposed. 

Based on the availability of virtual 

surveys, this would ensure that every 

individual shipper has the option of a 

survey of their goods prior to the 

preparation of an estimate. The 

implementation of these two 

recommendations, as proposed, would 

reduce the burden on motor carriers for 

moves originating within 50 miles of the 

motor carrier agent’s location by 

allowing them to conduct surveys 

remotely, while enhancing protection of 

individual shippers who are beyond 50 

miles from the motor carrier agent’s 

location by offering the option for a 

survey regardless of where the 

household goods are located. 

This proposal would also implement 

the Working Group’s recommendations 

to remove the requirement for an order 

for service, update the requirements in 

the bill of lading, and require the bill of 

lading to be provided earlier in the 

moving process. This proposal 

incorporates all of the requirements that 

are currently part of the order for service 

into the bill of lading. FMCSA also 

proposes to require the bill of lading to 

be signed at least 3 days before the 

scheduled date of the move in order to 

ensure that the bill of lading is provided 

earlier in the moving process. This 

would reduce the paperwork burden on 

motor carriers while ensuring that 

individual shippers would be given the 

same level of protection as they are 

under the current regulations. 

FMCSA is also proposing to 

implement the Working Group’s 

recommendation to replace the 

requirement for a freight bill with an 

invoice. This proposed change would 

increase clarity for individual shippers 

regarding any outstanding balances that 

must be paid while reducing repetitive 

paperwork for motor carriers. 

This proposal would implement the 

Working Group’s recommendation to 

require all motor carriers who have a 


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43816 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

website to display prominently, at their 

option, a link to either Ready to Move? 

on the FMCSA website or to a true and 

accurate copy of Ready to Move? on 

their own websites. This would increase 

the opportunity for individual shippers 

to become aware of the information 

contained in Ready to Move? earlier in 

the moving process. 

In addition to proposing to implement 

the Working Group’s recommendations, 

FMCSA is proposing additional minor 

changes to the regulations which are 

intended to increase clarity and 

consistency. 

C. Benefits and Costs 

This proposed rule would affect 

household goods motor carriers and 

individual shippers. Some provisions in 

this rule would result in costs for motor 

carriers (i.e., providing the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet earlier in the 

process, and providing either in-person 

or virtual surveys at locations beyond 50 

miles from the motor carrier agent’s 

location), and some provisions would 

result in negative costs, or cost savings 

(i.e., allowing virtual surveys in place of 

in-person surveys, and eliminating the 

order for service document and 

including its information in the bill of 

lading). The motor carrier efficiencies 

discussed would not negatively impact 

shippers, as the services and 

information received today would not 

change under the proposed rule. 

FMCSA does not anticipate that 

shippers would incur costs as a result of 

this proposed rule. FMCSA estimates 

the total 10-year costs of this rule, if 

finalized as proposed, at ¥$1.6 million 

(or $1.6 million in cost savings) 

discounted at 3 percent, and ¥$1.3 

million (or $1.3 million in cost savings) 

discounted at 7 percent. Expressed on 

an annualized basis, this equates to 

¥$188,000 in costs (or $188,000 in cost 

savings) at both a 3 and 7 percent 

discount rate. 

FMCSA does not expect this rule to 

impact safety. FMCSA does expect that 

it would result in benefits related to 

consumer protection and potentially 

motor carrier fuel savings. The proposal 

would result in shippers receiving 

accurate and clear information earlier in 

the process, enabling them to make 

more informed and better decisions 

regarding which household goods motor 

carrier to hire. Additionally, the 

proposal would aid in obtaining more 

accurate estimates of moving fees based 

on physical surveys for those interstate 

moves that are beyond 50 miles from a 

motor carrier agent’s location. 

III. Abbreviations 

AMSA American Moving and Storage 

Association 

ATA American Trucking Associations 

ATRI American Transportation Research 

Institute 

CAGR Compound Average Growth rate 

CE Categorical Exclusion 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

DOT Department of Transportation 

E.O. Executive Order 

FAST Act Fixing America’s Surface 

Transportation Act 

FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

FOIA Freedom of Information Act 

FR Federal Register 

HHG Household goods 

ICC Interstate Commerce Commission 

MAP–21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 

21st Century Act 

MCMIS Motor Carrier Management 

Information System 

MCSAP Motor Carrier Safety Assistance 

Program 

NAICS North American Industry 

Classification System 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

PIA Privacy Impact Assessment 

PII Personally Identifiable Information 

PTA Privacy Threshold Assessment 

SAFETEA–LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users 

Secretary Secretary of Transportation 

STB Surface Transportation Board 

U.S.C. United States Code 

IV. Legal Basis for the Rulemaking 

The purpose of this rulemaking is to 

propose changes in the regulations in 49 

CFR part 375 applicable to the 

transportation of household goods for 

individual shippers in interstate 

commerce. Most of the proposed 

changes involve FMCSA’s 

implementation of the 

recommendations of the Working 

Group, which was established pursuant 

to section 5503 of the Fixing America’s 

Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), 

Public Law 114–94, 129 Stat. 1312, 1551 

(Dec. 4, 2015). Additional changes are 

being proposed by FMCSA to update 

provisions in part 375 and its appendix 

A. 

FMCSA’s authority to provide 

protection for individual shippers of 

household goods is found in several 

sections of 49 U.S.C. subtitle IV, part B. 

The sections primarily involved in this 

rulemaking are 49 U.S.C. 13704, 13707, 

and 14104. They govern guaranteed 

service and charges for transportation, 

payment of rates, and surveys, 

estimates, and weighing of shipments, 

respectively. The Secretary of 

Transportation (the Secretary) has 

specific authority to issue regulations, 

including regulations protecting 

individual shippers, in order to carry 

out 49 U.S.C. subtitle IV, part B with 

respect to the transportation of 

household goods by motor carriers (49 

U.S.C. 14104(a)). The Secretary also has 

broad authority to prescribe regulations 

to carry out 49 U.S.C. subtitle IV, part 

B. 49 U.S.C. 13301(a). This authority has 

been delegated by the Secretary to 

FMCSA (49 CFR 1.87(a)). 

V. Background 

FMCSA is an operating 

administration of the United States 

Department of Transportation (USDOT). 

FMCSA’s primary mission is to reduce 

crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving 

large trucks and buses. 

In addition to its primary safety 

mission, FMCSA is responsible for a 

national household goods transportation 

and consumer protection program that 

promotes increased compliance through 

data analysis, investigations, 

enforcement, and public education and 

outreach activities, and is responsible 

for licensing and regulating more than 

5,000 interstate household goods motor 

carriers, freight forwarders, and brokers. 

Historically, the Interstate Commerce 

Commission (ICC) regulated all aspects 

of the interstate moving process from 

assessing the need to permit entities to 

participate in the industry, to pricing, to 

establishing how claims would be 

handled. When Congress terminated the 

ICC in 1995 (ICC Termination Act of 

1995, Pub. L. 104–88, 109 Stat. 803 

(Dec. 29, 1995)), it transferred 

household goods regulation to the 

USDOT. Congress established FMCSA 

in 2000 to carry out the regulation of 

commercial motor vehicles, specifically 

large trucks and buses. Congress also 

granted the Agency authority over 

consumer protection of individual 

household goods shippers. 

Since FMCSA’s inception, Congress 

has addressed the regulation of 

household goods movers through 

legislation to improve consumer 

protection and regulatory authority to 

ensure compliance by motor carriers, 

brokers, and freight forwarders. The 

legislation is briefly outlined below: 

• Sections 4201–4216 of the Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users (SAFETEA–LU), Public Law 109– 

59, passed in 2005. These sections of 

SAFETEA–LU are also referred to as the 

‘‘Household Goods Mover Oversight 

Enforcement and Reform Act of 2005;’’ 

• Sections 32921–32923 of the 

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st 

Century Act (MAP–21), Public Law 

112–141, passed in 2012. MAP–21 

brought about significant updates to 

licensing requirements for household 

goods motor carriers; and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43817 

1Available at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/fastact/ 

fast-act-hhg-working-group-reportrecommendations. The Recommendations Report is 

also in the docket for this rulemaking. 

• Section 5503 of the FAST Act, 

Public Law 114–94, passed in 2015. The 

FAST Act called for the formation of the 

Working Group to develop 

recommendations on how best to 

convey relevant information to 

consumers with respect to Federal laws 

that pertain to the interstate 

transportation of household goods by 

motor carriers. 

The rationale for this rulemaking to 

update 49 CFR part 375 is that the rules 

contained therein are outdated. 

Additionally, Appendix A: Your Rights 

and Responsibilities When You Move is 

outdated. The Protect Your Move 

website (http://

www.protectyourmove.gov) displays the 

2013 version of the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet, which did not 

undergo change through the rulemaking 

process. The booklet was instead 

approved by the FMCSA Administrator 

for distribution to the household goods 

industry and their customers. The 

booklet was shortened in 2013 to 

enhance readability and contained new 

regulatory language from the Surface 

Transportation Board (STB) regarding 

valuation and insurance and the 

placement of this language on FMCSArequired transportation documents. 

As stated above, the FAST Act 

required FMCSA to establish a working 

group to provide specific 

recommendations as outlined below. 

The Working Group was comprised of 

representatives of the Agency, consumer 

affairs experts, educators with expertise 

in how people learn most effectively, 

and representatives of the household 

goods moving industry. These members 

represented all facets of the household 

goods industry and worked vigorously 

to produce the Recommendations 

Report. 

Specifically, the FAST Act directed 

the Working Group to develop 

recommendations for FMCSA in the 

following areas: 

1. Condense FMCSA publication ESA 

03005 (Ready to Move?) into a format 

more easily used by consumers; 

2. Use state-of-the-art education 

techniques and technologies, including 

optimizing the use of the internet as an 

educational tool; and 

3. Reduce and simplify the paperwork 

required of motor carriers and shippers 

in interstate transportation. 

The Working Group produced a 

Recommendations Report 1 with 19 

recommendations for FMCSA, stating: 

1. Develop and maintain modern 

communications tools, platforms, and 

partnerships to educate consumers. 

2. Develop online (and other) 

education modules that are short and 

easily understood, and aligned with the 

different phases of the moving process. 

3. Develop and maintain modern tools 

to assist the moving industry with its 

efforts to educate consumers. 

4. Provide additional funding for staff 

and resources dedicated to household 

goods consumer education. This 

funding would allow FMCSA to: 

• Procure full time, year-round, 

dedicated resources and personnel 

(either Federal or contracted) with the 

expertise needed to implement state-ofthe-art education utilizing the internet 

as a tool for the purpose of consumer 

protection education and outreach 

efforts. 

• Collect data (such as intake 

interviews) to ensure that education and 

outreach efforts are effective and 

continuously improving. 

• Collaborate and build partnerships 

with industry, the public, and other 

organizations. 

• Develop content delivery and 

messaging tactics for consumer 

protection education and outreach. 

5. This Working Group recommends 

the following with regard to FMCSA– 

ESA–03–006, Your Rights and 

Responsibilities When You Move: 

• The 2013 version should be 

formally adopted by rulemaking to 

officially replace the pre-2013 version 

which FMCSA currently permits movers 

to choose to use in lieu of the formally 

approved wording. 

• FMCSA should look for 

opportunities to further condense and 

streamline this document. 

• If applicable, and as other 

recommendations are adopted in the 

future, the contents of this document 

should be updated to reflect the changes 

that are implemented as a result of this 

Working Group’s efforts. 

• It should be acceptable for movers 

to provide this document electronically 

without requiring the shipper to provide 

written consent to waive their right to 

a hard copy. 

• Movers should be required to 

provide this document earlier in the 

move process (along with the estimate 

instead of before the order for service). 

6. FMCSA’s guidance should be 

formally adopted that if a consumer 

tenders additional items or requests 

additional services prior to load, and the 

mover agrees to such additions, the 

mover should prepare a completely new 

estimate (instead of amending the 

existing one). Additionally, the mover 

should maintain a record of the date, 

time, and manner that the new estimate 

was accepted by the shipper. 

7. Change the requirement for a 

‘‘physical’’ survey to a ‘‘visual’’ survey. 

The term ‘‘visual survey’’ should 

include both physical and virtual 

surveys. 

8. Movers should be required to offer 

visual surveys for all household goods 

shipments, including those that are 

located over 50-miles from the mover’s 

location. Consumers should continue to 

have the option to waive in writing the 

visual survey if they choose, but movers 

must offer them the option of a visual 

survey regardless of distance. 

9. The requirement for an order for 

service should be eliminated, and the 

unique, critical items from the order for 

service should be moved to the bill of 

lading. (Note: The Working Group is 

recommending eliminating the order for 

service as a requirement of all movers, 

but movers that prefer to use an order 

for service should still be allowed to do 

so.) 

10. The following changes should be 

made to the bill of lading requirements: 

• The carrier’s physical address, 

telephone number, and DOT number 

should be added to the bill of lading 

requirements. 

• The bill of lading should continue 

to require the carrier’s name, and either 

the legal or trade name registered with 

FMCSA should be acceptable. 

• The requirement to provide names, 

addresses, and telephone numbers of 

additional motor carriers involved in 

the move should be eliminated. 

(However, movers should still be 

allowed to provide this information if 

they choose to.) 

• Any reference to the order for 

service should be removed from the bill 

of lading. 

• Add ‘‘Any identification or 

registration number you assign to the 

shipment’’ to the bill of lading 

requirements (carried over from the 

current order for service requirements). 

• A statement should be added that 

the bill of lading incorporates by 

reference all of the services and charges 

printed on the estimate. 

11. The bill of lading should be made 

available to consumers prior to the date 

of load, at least as early as the time 

when the order for service was 

previously provided (before a mover 

receives a shipment from an individual 

shipper). 

12. Remove the requirement for a 

freight bill, and the written notices for 

a freight bill should be transferred to an 

invoice. 

13. Finalize the proposed rulemaking 

published at 79 FR 23306 (4/28/14) to 


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43818 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

2See Household Goods Consumer Protection 

Working Group Report To Congress. Available at 

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/mission/policy/ 

household-goods-consumer-protection-workinggroup-report-congress. The Household Goods 

Consumer Protection Working Group Report To 

Congress is also in the docket for this rulemaking. 

allow for electronic delivery of all 

required documents. 

14. Eliminate the current requirement 

for consumers to sign a written waiver 

in order to receive their documents 

electronically. 

15. Movers should be required to 

provide FMCSA publication ESA 03005 

(Ready to Move?) when the visual 

survey is either scheduled or waived by 

the consumer. 

16. The title of FMCSA publication 

ESA 03005 should be changed from 

Ready to Move? to Choose Your Mover. 

17. ESA 03005 should be made 

available electronically and should be 

printable. It should fit on a standard 

desktop or laptop screen without 

requiring scrolling, and it should also be 

mobile-friendly. Consideration should 

be given to how the brochure can be 

both visually appealing and also direct 

consumers’ attention to the right places. 

18. All movers who have a website 

should be required to prominently 

display, at their option, either a link to 

the brochure (ESA 03005) on the 

FMCSA website or a true and accurate 

copy of ESA 03005 on their own 

websites. 

19. ESA 03005 should be condensed 

to include only the content found in 

Appendix H. 

The Recommendations Report 

includes a discussion of potential 

benefits to both motor carriers and 

consumers, which are attributed to the 

reduction in paperwork motor carriers 

are required to issue. The 

recommendations of the Working Group 

seek to provide clarity for consumers, 

allowing them to move with confidence 

and make their moves more successful. 

Finally, the Recommendations Report 

states that these updates would provide 

the opportunity for motor carriers to 

create a smooth moving experience for 

consumers. 

VI. Discussion of Proposed Rulemaking 

FMCSA has reviewed the 

recommendations contained in the 

Recommendations Report and is now 

proposing changes to 49 CFR part 375 

to implement those recommendations 

that FMCSA believes require a 

rulemaking. After considering the 

recommendations, FMCSA found that 

recommendations 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 

12, 14, 15, and 18 would require a 

change to the regulations at 49 CFR part 

375 to implement.2 Those 11 

recommendations are therefore 

considered in this proposed rule, 

including recommendation 15 discussed 

below, which FMCSA lacks statutory 

authority to implement. The Agency 

will address the remaining 

recommendations separate from this 

rulemaking. 

The specific proposed changes based 

on the Recommendations Report are 

described below. 

A. Recommendations 5 and 14— 

Appendix A and Electronic Documents 

Recommendation 5 suggests that 

FMCSA incorporate the 2013 version of 

the Rights and Responsibilities booklet 

into appendix A to part 375. 

Recommendation 5 also suggests that 

FMCSA look for ways to further 

condense and streamline the 2013 

booklet, update the document with any 

changes to part 375 from the 

Recommendations Report, and require 

movers to provide this booklet earlier in 

the moving process. 

Under current guidance titled 

Guidance on FMCSA’s Publication: 

Your Rights and Responsibilities When 

You Move, FMCSA permits distribution 

of both the 2013 and the pre-2013 

version of the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet (78 FR 25782, 

May 2, 2013). The Working Group noted 

that the 2013 version is much more 

streamlined than the pre-2013 version, 

which the Working Group stated is long, 

cumbersome, and less helpful to 

consumers. The Working Group also 

determined that the 2013 version can be 

further condensed and would need to be 

updated to conform with any changes to 

the regulations in 49 CFR part 375. 

FMCSA proposes to revise appendix 

A to part 375 to formally adopt an 

updated version of the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet. Appendix A 

currently contains the contents of the 

pre-2013 version of the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet. The updated 

version of the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet that would be 

incorporated into appendix A would 

contain the same information as the 

2013 version of the booklet, with further 

updates to reflect the changes to 49 CFR 

part 375 proposed by this rulemaking, 

as discussed below. These edits would 

ensure that the content of the booklet 

conforms with the updated regulations. 

The updated Rights and Responsibilities 

booklet, and therefore appendix A, 

would also include various minor 

changes intended to increase the clarity 

of the information in the booklet for 

individual shippers. These changes 

would ensure that the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet and appendix A 

are consistent and contain the most upto-date information for individual 

shippers. 

The updated Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet would contain 

the same information provided in the 

proposed contents of appendix A in this 

rulemaking. Any comments received on 

the proposed appendix A below which 

result in changes in a final rule would 

therefore be reflected in the final 

version of the updated Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet. If this NPRM is 

finalized, motor carriers would be 

required to provide the updated Rights 

and Responsibilities booklet in order to 

satisfy the requirements under 49 CFR 

375.213. Accordingly, the Agency 

would rescind the guidance titled 

Guidance on FMCSA’s Publication: 

Your Rights and Responsibilities When 

You Move (78 FR 25782, May 2, 2013) 

because the pre-2013 and 2013 versions 

of the Rights and Responsibilities 

booklet would be inaccurate due to the 

changes to 49 CFR part 375 in this 

rulemaking, resulting in individual 

shipper being misinformed about their 

regulatory rights and responsibilities 

under 49 CFR part 375. 

FMCSA proposes to amend 49 CFR 

375.213 to require motor carriers to 

provide individual shippers with the 

Rights and Responsibilities booklet at 

the time the estimate is provided. The 

regulations at 49 CFR 375.213 currently 

require the Rights and Responsibilities 

booklet to be provided along with the 

order for service. The statute at 49 

U.S.C. 14104(b)(2) states, in part: 

Before the execution of a contract for 

service, the motor carrier shall provide the 

shipper copy of the Department of 

Transportation publication OCE 100, entitled 

‘‘Your Rights and Responsibilities When You 

Move’’ required by section 375.213 of title 

49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

successor regulation). 

FMCSA is proposing to require the 

Rights and Responsibilities booklet be 

provided along with the estimate, which 

is prior to the execution of a contract for 

service (the bill of lading under the 

proposed changes in this rulemaking). 

Motor carriers would likely see an 

increased burden under this proposed 

change because they would be required 

to provide the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet earlier in the 

moving process and more often than 

they are currently required. This 

proposed change, however, would also 

increase the likelihood that individual 

shippers would become aware of the 

consumer protection information in the 

booklet earlier in the moving process, 

when it would be more helpful for them 

to understand their rights and 

responsibilities. 


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3Section 375.213(e) is proposed to be 

renumbered as section 375.213(f) with substantive 

changes to allow the proposed insertion of a new 

paragraph (e). 

The Working Group Report, in its 

Recommendations 5 and 14, also 

suggests that FMCSA should revise its 

regulations to make it acceptable for 

motor carriers to provide documents, 

including the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet, electronically 

without requiring the shipper to provide 

written consent to waive their right to 

a hard copy. These recommendations 

were considered by FMCSA after the 

Working Group Report in the 

rulemaking titled ‘‘Electronic 

Documents and Signatures’’ (NPRM, 79 

FR 23306, (April 28, 2014), and final 

rule, 83 FR 16210 (April 17, 2018)) 

which implemented provisions similar 

to the related recommendation 13 by 

‘‘eliminating the requirement in 

§ 375.213 for the Ready to Move 

brochure and Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet to be provided 

only in paper copy or retrieved at a 

URL.’’ See 83 FR at 16214. 

The Electronic Documents final rule 

retained the provisions of 49 CFR 

375.213(e), which provides that a 

shipper may elect to waive receipt of a 

copy of either Ready to Move? or the 

Rights and Responsibilities booklet and 

elect to access the same information via 

a hyperlink on the carrier’s website to 

the FMCSA web page. 49 CFR 

375.213(a) and (b)(1). When the shipper 

elects to receive these documents via 

the hyperlink, the motor carrier is 

required to obtain a signed and dated 

receipt that includes ‘‘verification of the 

shipper’s agreement to access the 

Federal consumer protection 

information on the internet.’’ 49 CFR 

375.213(e)(2). 

FMCSA is proposing to remove the 

requirement in section 375.213(e)(1) for 

a waiver in order for the individual 

shipper to have the option to access 

either Ready to Move? or the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet via a hyperlink. 

FMCSA is not proposing to change the 

requirements of section 375.213(e)(2) 

and (3) for the motor carrier to obtain 

and retain proof that the shipper agreed 

to access one or both of these 

publications via the internet.3 The 

proposed change would no longer 

require a waiver for the individual 

shipper to access documents 

electronically through a hyperlink, but 

would still require the motor carrier to 

obtain a signed receipt as proof of the 

individual shipper’s acknowledgment 

that they have received access to the 

electronic copies of these documents. 

These documents are important to 

educate individual shippers, and it is 

necessary ensure that the motor carrier’s 

records are clear that the shipper was 

able to access to these documents 

through the provided hyperlink. 

B. Recommendation 6—Estimates 

Recommendation 6 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA eliminate the motor carrier’s 

ability to revise a binding estimate or a 

non-binding estimate and, if additional 

items are tendered, require that a new 

binding estimate or new non-binding 

estimate be prepared. The Working 

Group explained that, while this 

practice has been adopted in FMCSA 

guidance titled, Regulatory Guidance 

Concerning Household Goods Carriers 

Requiring Shippers To Sign Blank or 

Incomplete Documents (76 FR 50537, 

Aug. 15, 2011) (2011 guidance), it 

should be formally adopted into the 

regulations. 

FMCSA proposes to amend 49 CFR 

375.403(a)(6)(ii), (a)(9), and 49 CFR 

375.405(b)(7)(ii) to clarify that a motor 

carrier must prepare a new binding or 

non-binding estimate when an 

individual shipper tenders additional 

household goods or requests additional 

services. This proposed change would 

update the regulatory language for 

consistency with FMCSA’s 

interpretation of the regulations issued 

in response to question 3 in the 2011 

guidance. 

Additionally, FMCSA is proposing to 

incorporate the rest of the 2011 

guidance into the regulations in 49 CFR 

part 375. The 2011 guidance refers to 

the regulations at § 375.501(d) when 

discussing blank documents, 

incomplete documents, and revised 

estimates. As discussed in section VI.D. 

below, FMCSA is proposing to remove 

49 CFR 375.501 from the regulations 

and move certain items from 49 CFR 

375.501 to 49 CFR 375.505, including 

the requirements that are currently 

located at § 375.501(d). Accordingly, the 

edits incorporating FMCSA’s 

interpretation of § 375.501(d) found in 

the 2011 guidance would be made to 

paragraph § 375.505(g). FMCSA is 

proposing to add subparagraph (3) to 

proposed paragraph (g) of § 375.505, 

which would prevent a motor carrier 

from requiring an individual shipper to 

sign a blank document. The Agency is 

also proposing an additional sentence to 

paragraph (g)(2) of § 375.505 which 

would allow motor carriers to omit from 

documents only that information that 

cannot be determined before loading, 

such as actual shipment weight or 

unforeseen charges incurred in transit. 

These additional changes clarify how 

blank and incomplete documents may 

be involved in the moving process. 

Blank and incomplete documents may 

both be provided to the individual 

shippers for informational purposes. 

Motor carriers may never require an 

individual shipper to sign a blank 

document. Motor carriers may however 

require individual shippers to sign 

incomplete documents only when the 

information omitted from the 

documents cannot be determined before 

loading, such as actual shipment weight 

or unforeseen charges incurred in 

transit. 

These proposed changes fully 

incorporate FMCSA’s interpretation of 

the regulations from the 2011 guidance 

into 49 CFR part 375. The proposed 

changes would protect individual 

shippers from motor carriers that 

attempt improperly to utilize blank 

documents, incomplete documents, or 

revised estimates when such use is a 

violation of the regulations in 49 CFR 

part 375 and would provide additional 

clarity to motor carriers regarding 

proper use of blank and incomplete 

documents. FMCSA would rescind the 

2011 guidance if the proposed changes 

discussed above are finalized. 

C. Recommendations 7 and 8—Surveys 

of Household Goods 

Recommendation 7 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA change the requirement for a 

physical survey to a visual survey. The 

Working Group stated that the term 

visual survey should include both 

physical and virtual surveys. The 

Working Group determined that the 

term visual survey was necessary to 

ensure that movers actually see what 

they would be moving before preparing 

an estimate, while recognizing that 

technological advances would allow 

remote surveys through the use of video 

capability in addition to physical 

surveys. 

FMCSA proposes to define the term 

physical survey to include both on-site 

and virtual surveys. The requirement for 

a physical survey originates in 49 U.S.C 

14104(b)(1)(A), which states: 

Except as otherwise provided in this 

subsection, every motor carrier providing 

transportation of household goods described 

in section 13102(10)(A) as a household goods 

motor carrier and subject to jurisdiction 

under subchapter I of chapter 135 shall 

conduct a physical survey of the household 

goods to be transported on behalf of a 

prospective individual shipper and shall 

provide the shipper with a written estimate 

of charges for the transportation and all 

related services. 

However, there is no definition for the 

term physical survey in the statute and 

FMCSA has not established a definition 


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of the term in the regulations under 49 

CFR 375. FMCSA therefore proposes a 

reasonable interpretation of the 

statutory term physical survey in order 

to give a clear meaning to the term and 

to resolve any ambiguity. FMCSA would 

not change the term physical survey to 

visual survey as recommended by the 

Working Group because FMCSA does 

not believe that it can replace the 

statutory term with a new term. 

However, FMCSA has sufficient 

authority to propose a reasonable 

interpretation of the term which meets 

the functional intent of the Working 

Group’s recommendation. 

FMCSA proposes to define physical 

survey in 49 CFR 375.103 as ‘‘a survey 

which is conducted on-site or virtually. 

If the survey is performed virtually, the 

household goods motor carrier must be 

able to view the household goods 

through live video that allows it to 

clearly identify the household goods to 

be transported.’’ The proposed 

definition of physical survey would 

allow for virtual surveys with a live 

video component that would permit 

motor carriers to see the household 

goods that are the subject of the survey 

as if the motor carrier were performing 

the survey on-site. Any survey 

conducted without a video component, 

such as verbally over the phone or 

through filling out a form, would not be 

acceptable under this proposed change. 

This definition requires both the motor 

carrier and the individual shipper to be 

physically present on a live video in 

order to perform a virtual survey. 

This proposed change recognizes the 

significant technological advances (e.g., 

use of smart phones, tablets, faster 

computers) that have occurred since the 

passage of SAFETEA–LU and its 

implementing regulations, which allow 

for clear live videos between motor 

carriers and individual shippers. 

Allowing motor carriers to use this 

technology to conduct remote surveys of 

household goods reduces the burden of 

those surveys on the motor carriers. 

Requiring a live visual component to the 

survey process ensures that motor 

carriers provide consumers with 

estimates that are as accurate as those 

prepared following an on-site survey. 

Recommendation 8 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA require movers to offer visual 

surveys for all household goods 

shipments, including those that are 

located over 50 miles from the motor 

carrier agent’s location. The Working 

Group determined that, with the 

availability of virtual surveys, 

consumers’ ability to obtain a visual 

survey should no longer be limited 

because of distance. 

FMCSA proposes to remove the 

provision under 49 CFR 375.401(a)(1) 

that excepts from the physical survey 

requirement those surveys where the 

household goods are located more than 

50 miles from the motor carrier agent’s 

location. FMCSA also proposes to 

remove similar language from 49 CFR 

371.113(a) to ensure consistency in the 

regulations relating to household goods 

brokers. The statutory language in 49 

U.S.C. 14104(b)(1)(C) states that the 

written estimate given to an individual 

shipper shall be based on a physical 

survey of the household goods if the 

household goods are located within a 

50-mile radius of the location of the 

carrier’s agent preparing the estimate. 

Congress enacted this provision in 

section 4205 of SAFETEA–LU, Public 

Law 109–59, 119 Stat. 1144 at 1753–54 

(Aug. 10, 2005). Both the statute and 

legislative history are silent on whether 

an estimate should be based on a 

physical survey when the household 

goods are located more than 50 miles 

from the location of the carrier’s agent. 

(Id., see also Sen. Rep. 109–120 at 47– 

48 (July 29, 2005), and H. Conf. Rep. 

109–203 at 1009–1010 (July 28, 2005)). 

But the Senate report on SAFETEA–LU 

also noted that: 

Inaccurate estimates based on an inventory 

provided by a prospective customer over the 

telephone or the internet are the source of 

many complaints and disputes. It is hoped 

that requiring an estimate be based on a 

visual inspection of the goods to be moved 

prior to the execution of a contract will 

significantly reduce such disputes. 

In 2007, FMCSA adopted regulations 

to implement this statutory provision, 

among others, in Amendments To 

Implement Certain Provisions of the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users (SAFETEA–LU), 72 FR 36760. The 

Agency stated that: 

The statute permits two exceptions to the 

requirement for a physical survey. First, the 

motor carrier need not conduct a physical 

survey if the household goods are located 

beyond a 50-mile radius of the location of the 

carrier’s household goods agent preparing the 

written estimate provided to the individual 

shipper. 

72 FR at 36764. Because the statute 

permitted, but did not require, that 

estimates for household goods located 

more than 50 miles from the motor 

carrier agent’s location be based on a 

physical survey, the implementing 

regulation, in § 375.401(a)(1) provides: 

If the household goods are located beyond 

a 50-mile radius of the location of the 

household goods motor carrier’s agent 

preparing the estimate, the requirement to 

base the estimate on a physical survey does 

not apply. 

See also 72 FR at 36766. Even though 

household goods carriers and their 

agents are not required to perform a 

physical survey on goods located more 

than 50 miles from the motor carrier 

agent’s location, neither the statute nor 

the regulation precludes carriers from 

conducting a physical survey in such 

circumstances, if they choose to do so. 

For similar reasons, the statute also does 

not preclude the consideration of a 

regulatory requirement for physical 

inspection of household goods located 

beyond the 50-mile radius. 

Recommendation 8 in the 

Recommendations Report states: 

Movers should be required to offer visual 

surveys for all household goods shipments, 

including those that are located over 50-miles 

from the mover’s location. Consumers should 

continue to have the option to waive in 

writing the visual survey if they choose, but 

movers must offer them the option of a visual 

survey regardless of distance. 

As the Recommendations Report 

explained: 

The Working Group also discussed the 

current exception to the survey requirements 

for consumers who are over 50 miles from 

the HHG carrier’s agent. The reason for this 

exception is because consumers living in 

remote areas may not be able to obtain one 

or more estimates if movers were required to 

travel long distances to physically inspect 

shipments. The Working Group determined 

that since virtual surveys are a realistic 

possibility, that consumers’ ability to obtain 

a visual survey should not now be waived 

automatically because of distance. Rather, if 

consumers’ goods are located more than 50 

miles from the mover’s agent that is 

providing the estimate, they should be given 

the option of a visual survey. Consumers 

should continue to have the option to waive 

the visual survey if they choose, but movers 

must offer them the option of a visual survey 

regardless of distance. Movers will be 

required to perform a visual survey unless 

the consumer decides to voluntarily waive 

the right for such survey. 

Report at 30–31 (emphasis in original). 

In the Report to Congress in response to 

the Working Group’s recommendations 

(submitted in September 2019 as 

required by section 5503 of the FAST 

Act), FMCSA addressed 

Recommendation 8 as follows: 

FMCSA is evaluating the working group’s 

recommendation. If deemed appropriate by 

the Administrator/Secretary, FMCSA will 

develop proposed regulatory changes for 

notice and comment rulemaking. This 

recommendation would add a potential 

benefit to the consumer by preventing 

unexpected charges for additional household 

goods. 

Report at 4. 

As recognized in the passage above 

from the Senate Report on SAFETEA– 

LU, a physical inspection of the 


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household goods to be moved is 

important because it provides an 

accurate inventory, permits the creation 

of a meaningful estimate (whether 

binding or non-binding), and minimizes 

the opportunity for both fraudulent 

actions by the carriers or their agents 

and/or disputes with consumers. The 

development of technology that allows 

virtual surveys to be conducted 

accurately and efficiently by remote 

electronic means that can be included 

within the scope of physical surveys (as 

proposed in the NPRM) enables the 

requirement to be extended to 

household goods shippers located more 

than 50 miles from the motor carrier 

agent’s location. FMCSA is proposing to 

adopt this requirement because it has 

concluded that 49 U.S.C. 14104(b) does 

not preclude the application of a 

requirement of a physical survey (either 

on-site or virtual, as discussed earlier in 

this proposal). Even if the carrier would 

be required to offer a physical survey to 

all individual shippers, those individual 

shippers could still waive the physical 

survey, if desired. 

In addition, 49 U.S.C. 14104(a) 

includes a general delegation of 

authority to the Agency to adopt 

regulations for the protection of 

individual shippers of household goods. 

By expanding the required use of 

physical surveys (either on-site or 

virtual) to individual shippers located 

beyond 50 miles, the proposed 

amendment would provide more 

shippers with protections and increase 

the competitive alternatives available to 

them. Requiring a physical survey 

beyond 50 miles could result in motor 

carriers performing more surveys of 

household goods than they perform 

under the current regulations. FMCSA 

estimates however that all shippers 

located beyond 50 miles from the motor 

carrier agent’s location would take 

advantage of the virtual survey option, 

as discussed in section IX.A. 

D. Recommendations 9, 10, and 11— 

Order for Service and Bill of Lading 

Recommendation 9 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA should eliminate the order for 

service and add any items on the order 

for service that are not already on the 

bill of lading to that document. The 

Working Group explained that the 

requirement for an order for service 

results in an additional paperwork 

burden for motor carriers without 

providing any additional protection for 

individual shippers. The Working 

Group stated that the information 

required by the bill of lading and order 

for service is very similar, therefore they 

could be combined to reduce the 

paperwork burden for motor carriers. 

FMCSA proposes to remove the 

requirement for an order for service for 

the shipment of household goods under 

Part 375. This proposed change 

recognizes the significant overlaps in 

the current order for service 

requirements in § 375.501 and the bill of 

lading requirements in § 375.505. 

Additionally, FMCSA proposes to 

remove all references to the order for 

service from Part 375 and replace them 

with references to the bill of lading. 

FMCSA proposes to delete 49 CFR 

375.501 and, as discussed below, to 

update 49 CFR 375.505 with all of the 

requirements currently found in 

§ 375.501. 

Recommendation 10 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA make a variety of updates to the 

bill of lading requirements: 

• Add the carrier’s physical address, 

telephone number, DOT number, any 

identification or registration number 

assigned to the shipment, and a 

statement that the bill of lading 

incorporates by reference all of the 

services and charges printed on the 

estimate; 

• Continue to require the carrier’s 

name on the bill of lading, and provide 

that either the legal or trade name (i.e., 

doing business as name) registered with 

FMCSA is acceptable for use; 

• Eliminate the requirement that 

names, addresses, and telephone 

numbers of additional motor carriers 

involved in the move be provided; and 

• Remove references to the order for 

service; 

Recommendation 11 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA should require movers to 

provide the bill of lading to consumers 

prior to the date of loading. 

FMCSA proposes to update the 

requirements for a bill of lading under 

49 CFR 375.505 to include requirements 

currently found in an order for service. 

The proposed bill of lading 

requirements would offer the same level 

of protection, but with a lesser 

paperwork burden. These updates to the 

bill of lading requirements include 

almost all of the recommended changes 

in recommendation 10. FMCSA is not 

proposing to eliminate the requirement 

to provide names, addresses, and 

telephone numbers of additional motor 

carriers involved in the move, because 

this requirement provides the 

individual shipper with information 

that is often necessary to understand 

which motor carriers are involved in the 

shipment of their household goods. 

FMCSA proposes to update 

§ 375.505(b) by adding the requirements 

currently found in § 375.501(a) which 

are not already covered by § 375.505(b). 

This proposed change ensures that 

§ 375.505(b) would require the same 

information on a bill of lading currently 

required in an order for service. By 

ensuring that all the information from 

both documents would be included in 

the bill of lading, the proposed change 

would provide the same level of 

consumer protection while only 

requiring a single document and 

therefore reducing the burden on motor 

carriers. 

FMCSA also proposes to update 49 

CFR 375.505 by adding the 

requirements that are currently in 49 

CFR 375.501(b) through (e). Under the 

proposed change, these sections would 

be moved to § 375.505(e) through (h). 

These sections would also be updated to 

replace references to an order for service 

with references to a bill of lading. 

FMCSA also proposes an additional 

update to the new § 375.505(f) to clarify 

that the bill of lading must be signed at 

both the origin and the destination of 

the shipment by the motor carrier and 

the individual shipper. These proposed 

changes would ensure that the 

regulatory requirements that are 

currently in 49 CFR 375.501 are fully 

incorporated into 49 CFR 375.505 and 

would not be lost by removing the 

requirement for an order for service. 

Additionally, FMCSA proposes to add 

§ 375.505(h) to require movers to 

provide the bill of lading to consumers 

prior to the date of load. The Working 

Group recommended that the bill of 

lading be provided before the date of the 

load, at least as early as the order for 

service was provided. The current 

regulations do not have a specific 

requirement for when the order for 

service must be provided to an 

individual shipper. However, 

§ 375.501(e) mentions allowing for a 3- 

day period, if possible, for the 

individual shipper to rescind the order 

for service after it is provided by the 

motor carrier. FMCSA proposes to 

require motor carriers to provide a bill 

of lading to individual shippers at least 

3 days prior to the date the shipment is 

scheduled to be loaded. This proposed 

approach implements recommendation 

11 and ensures that individual shippers 

will have sufficient time to fully read 

and understand the bill of lading and 

decide if they want to rescind it. 

FMCSA specifically requests public 

comment on whether the bill of lading 

should be provided more or fewer than 

3 days before the date the shipment is 

scheduled to be loaded. 


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E. Recommendation 12—Invoice 

Recommendation 12 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA remove the requirement for a 

freight bill, and replace references in the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations to a freight bill with 

references to an invoice. The Working 

Group stated that the freight bill 

requirement is repetitive and 

unnecessary, evidenced by the fact that 

movers typically combine it with the 

bill of lading. The Working Group 

explained that customers who have 

already paid in full for their charges 

find a freight bill confusing, while 

customers with a balance due after their 

deliveries better understand an invoice 

as a request for payment. 

FMCSA proposes to replace the 

requirement for a freight bill in Subpart 

H of 49 CFR part 375 with a requirement 

for an invoice. This proposed change 

would reduce the need for essentially 

duplicative documents, while 

increasing clarity regarding outstanding 

charges for individual shippers. 

Accordingly, FMCSA proposes to 

replace the term ‘‘freight bill’’ with the 

word ‘‘invoice’’ throughout 49 CFR 375. 

F. Recommendations 15 and 18—Ready 

To Move 

Recommendation 15 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA require movers to provide 

FMCSA publication ESA 03005 (Ready 

to Move?) when the physical survey is 

either scheduled or waived by the 

consumer. The Working Group 

determined that consumers are not 

currently receiving the brochure at the 

right time in the moving process, and 

that consumers should receive the 

information contained in the brochure 

earlier in the process, before picking a 

mover. The Working Group explained 

that the brochure provides critical 

information about how to select a mover 

and the best time for consumers to 

receive this information is during the 

very early stages of the process. 

FMCSA is not proposing to 

implement recommendation 15. FMCSA 

does not believe that the statute at 49 

U.S.C. 14104(b)(2) allows Ready to 

Move? to be provided earlier than at the 

time the estimate is provided. That 

statutory provision states, in part: 

At the time that a motor carrier provides 

the written estimate required by paragraph 

(1), the motor carrier shall provide the 

shipper a copy of the Department of 

Transportation publication FMCSA–ESA– 

03–005 (or its successor publication) entitled 

‘‘Ready to Move?’’. 

FMCSA believes this language explicitly 

requires Ready to Move? to be provided 

when the motor carrier provides the 

estimate to the individual shipper. For 

this reason, FMCSA is not proposing to 

implement recommendation 15 at this 

time. 

Recommendation 18 from the 

Recommendations Report suggested that 

FMCSA should require all household 

goods motor carriers that have a website 

to display prominently, at their option, 

either a link to Ready to Move? on the 

FMCSA website or a true and accurate 

copy of Ready to Move? on their own 

websites. The Working Group 

determined that this requirement would 

allow consumers to have access to this 

information as soon as they start 

searching for movers and would ensure 

broader distribution. 

FMCSA proposes to update 49 CFR 

375.213 to include a requirement for a 

motor carrier that has a website to 

display prominently either a link to 

Ready to Move? on the FMCSA website 

or a true and accurate copy of Ready to 

Move? on their own website. This 

proposed change would only apply to 

motor carriers that already have a 

website and does not impose any 

requirement for motor carriers to create 

a website. Requiring motor carriers to 

update their existing website including 

the hyperlink or electronic document 

ensures that individual shippers are 

more likely to become aware of Ready 

to Move? earlier in the process when 

they are initially looking for motor 

carriers to contact. The Agency 

specifically requests public comment on 

whether the term ‘‘display prominently’’ 

provides sufficient clarity to motor 

carriers regarding where to include 

either a link to Ready to Move? on the 

FMCSA website or a true and accurate 

copy of Ready to Move? on their own 

website. If the term does not provide 

sufficient clarity, the Agency 

specifically requests public comment on 

alternative language to ensure that 

individual shippers can easily find the 

required link to Ready to Move? on the 

FMCSA website or a true and accurate 

copy of Ready to Move? on a motor 

carrier’s website. 

G. Additional Proposed Changes 

FMCSA proposes to make clarifying 

changes to 49 CFR part 375 in addition 

to the recommendations from the 

Working Group. The Agency proposes 

to define bill of lading as ‘‘both the 

receipt and the contract for the 

transportation of the individual 

shipper’s household goods.’’ This 

proposed definition would provide 

additional information regarding the 

role of the bill of lading in the 

household goods moving process in 

light of the removal of the order for 

service requirement. 

FMCSA proposes to update the 

definition of Surface Transportation 

Board in 49 CFR 375.103 to reflect that 

the STB is no longer an agency within 

DOT and is an independent 

establishment of the United States 

government. See 49 U.S.C. 1301. 

FMCSA proposes to require that 

motor carriers provide a direct 

hyperlink to Ready to Move? and the 

Rights and Responsibilities booklet on 

the Agency’s website if they use a 

hyperlink to provide those documents 

to individual shippers under 49 CFR 

375.213. This proposed revision would 

specify that the hyperlinks be direct to 

each document and not to FMCSA’s 

website generally, in order to ensure 

that individual shippers who are 

provided with those hyperlinks are able 

to access the required documents 

without needing to search FMCSA’s 

website for the required information. 

The Agency recognizes that the location 

of documents on its website may change 

as the website is updated and would 

ensure that their location is not affected 

by website updates or updates to the 

documents themselves. 

FMCSA proposes to revise the title of 

49 CFR 375.801 to read ‘‘What types of 

charges are subject to subpart H?’’ 

instead of ‘‘What types of charges apply 

to subpart H?’’ This would clarify that 

49 CFR 375.801 discusses which types 

of charges are subject to the 

requirements of subpart H. 

Overall, the implementation of the 

proposed changes discussed in this 

NPRM are expected to reduce 

paperwork burden, save money on 

printing materials, and save time for 

regulated entities and stakeholders. 

Consumers would have fewer 

documents to review, approve, and sign 

and potentially experience less 

confusion in a stressful situation. 

VII. International Impacts 

The regulations in 49 CFR parts 371 

and 375 apply only within the United 

States (50 states and the District of 

Columbia). Motor carriers and drivers 

are subject to the laws and regulations 

of the countries in which they operate, 

unless an international agreement states 

otherwise. Drivers and carriers should 

be aware of the regulatory differences 

among nations. 

VIII. Section-by-Section Analysis 

This section-by-section analysis 

describes the proposed changes in 

numerical order. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43823 

A. Section 371.113 May I provide 

individual shippers with a written 

estimate? 

Paragraph (a) of this section would be 

revised to remove the requirement for 

household goods to be within 50 miles 

of the motor carrier agent’s location 

before a physical survey is required. 

B. Section 375.103 What are the 

definitions of terms used in this part? 

In this section, a definition for bill of 

lading would be added to clarify the 

role of the bill of lading as both a 

contract and a receipt in the 

transportation of household goods. The 

current definition for order for service 

would be removed. A definition for 

physical survey would also be added, 

which would allow for virtual surveys. 

The current definition for reasonable 

dispatch would be revised to remove 

the reference to the order for service. 

The current definition for Surface 

Transportation Board would be updated 

to reflect that the STB is no longer an 

agency within DOT, but is instead an 

independent agency. 

C. Section 375.211 Must I have an 

arbitration program? 

In paragraph (a) subparagraph (2), the 

term ‘‘order for service’’ would be 

removed and replaced with ‘‘bill of 

lading.’’ 

D. Section 375.213 What information 

must I provide to a prospective 

individual shipper? 

In this section, the introductory text 

of paragraph (a) would be revised and 

subparagraphs (1) and (2) would be 

added. The new paragraph (a) would 

require both Ready to Move? and the 

Rights and Responsibilities booklet to be 

provided to the individual shipper 

along with the estimate. Subparagraphs 

(1) and (2) would also include a 

requirement for motor carriers providing 

a hyperlink for either of the documents 

to the individual shipper to provide a 

hyperlink directly to those documents 

on the FMCSA website. 

In the introductory text of paragraph 

(b), the term ‘‘order for service’’ would 

be removed and replaced with ‘‘bill of 

lading’’ and the word ‘‘five’’ would be 

removed and replaced with ‘‘four.’’ 

Paragraph (b)(1) would be deleted and 

paragraphs (b)(2) through (b)(5) would 

be renumbered as (b)(1) through (b)(4). 

Paragraph (e) would be redesignated 

as paragraph (f) and a new paragraph (e) 

would be added, which would require 

motor carriers that have a website to 

display prominently either a link to the 

Ready to Move? document on the 

FMCSA website or a true and accurate 

copy of that document on their own 

websites. 

E. Section 375.215 How must I collect 

charges? 

In this section, the requirement for a 

freight or expense bill in the first 

sentence would be replaced with a 

requirement for an invoice. 

F. Section 375.217 How must I collect 

charges upon delivery? 

In paragraph (b), the language 

regarding an order for service would be 

removed. 

G. Section 375.221 May I use a charge 

or credit card plan for payments? 

In paragraph (c), the phrase ‘‘for a 

freight or expense bill’’ would be 

removed and replaced with the phrase 

‘‘an invoice.’’ 

H. Section 375.401 Must I estimate 

charges? 

In this section, the introductory text 

of paragraph (a) would be revised to 

require a physical survey for all 

shipments unless waived, and to state 

that the only way to waive the physical 

survey of household goods is through a 

written agreement between an 

individual and a motor carrier. 

Additionally, paragraph (a) would be 

further revised so that paragraphs 

(a)(2)(i) through (a)(2)(iii) would be 

redesignated as (a)(1) through (a)(3). 

Paragraph (b) would be revised by 

removing the phrase ‘‘an order for 

service’’ and replacing it with ‘‘a bill of 

lading.’’ In paragraph (f), the phrase 

‘‘the order for service and’’ would be 

removed in both places it appears. 

I. Section 375.403 How must I provide 

a binding estimate? 

In this section, paragraph (a)(1) would 

be revised to reflect that 49 CFR 

375.401(a) would allow for only one 

waiver procedure under the proposed 

changes discussed above. Paragraphs 

(a)(6)(ii) and (a)(9) would be revised to 

no longer allow for a revised binding 

estimate and instead require the 

preparation of a new binding estimate 

when an individual shipper tenders 

additional household goods or requires 

additional services related to the 

transportation of the household goods. 

J. Section 375.405 How must I provide 

a non-binding estimate? 

In this section, paragraph (b)(7)(ii) 

would be revised to no longer allow for 

a revised non-binding estimate and 

would instead require the preparation of 

a new non-binding estimate when an 

individual shipper tenders additional 

household goods or requires additional 

services related to the transportation of 

the household goods. 

In paragraph (c) the language 

regarding an order for service would be 

removed. 

K. Section 375.501 Must I write up an 

order for service? 

This section would be deleted in its 

entirety. 

L. Section 375.505 Must I write up a 

bill of lading? 

In this section, paragraph (a) would be 

revised to clarify that a motor carrier 

must prepare and issue a bill of lading 

at least 3 days before receiving a 

shipment of household goods to 

transport for an individual shipper. 

Additionally, the last three sentences in 

the paragraph would be removed. 

Removing these sentences would delete 

a discussion of incomplete bills of 

lading, which would be addressed 

under paragraph (h), as well as a 

reference to an order for service. 

Paragraph (b) would be revised to 

require a bill of lading to contain 17 

items, instead of the 14 items a bill of 

lading is currently required to contain. 

The additional three items, as well as 

updates to the other items listed in 

paragraph (b)(1) through (b)(17), 

incorporate requirements currently 

found in 49 CFR 375.501(a). 

In paragraph (d), the word ‘‘bills’’ 

would be removed and replaced with ‘‘a 

bill of lading.’’ 

New paragraph (e), which would 

mirror current paragraph 49 CFR 

375.501(b), would be added to this 

section. 

New paragraph (f), which would 

mirror current paragraph 49 CFR 

375.501(c), would be added to this 

section with updates to replace all 

references to an order for service with 

language regarding a bill of lading. 

New paragraphs (g)(1) through (g)(3) 

would be added to this section. 

Paragraphs (g)(1) and (g)(2) would 

mirror current paragraphs 49 CFR 

375.501(d)(1) and (2) with updates to 

remove the reference to an order for 

service in subparagraph (1) and 

replacing ‘‘at origin’’ with ‘‘before the 

shipment is loaded’’ in subparagraph 

(2). Subparagraph (3) would be added to 

state that a motor carrier cannot require 

an individual shipper to sign a blank 

document. 

A new paragraph (h) would be added 

to this section to require the motor 

carrier to provide the bill of lading at 

least 3 days before loading and provide 

the individual shipper a 3-day period 

after the individual shipper signs the 

bill of lading to rescind the bill of 

lading. It would also require a motor 


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43824 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

4See 49 U.S.C. 31102(c)(2)(Q). 

5U.S. Census Bureau. 2018: ACS 5-Year Estimates 

Data Profiles. Available at: https://data.census.gov/ 

cedsci/table?d=ACS%205-

Year%20Estimates%20Data%20Profiles&

table=DP02&tid=ACSDP5Y2018.DP02&vintage=

2018&hidePreview=true (accessed October 6, 2020). 6The AMSA will become a conference of the 

ATA. AMSA to Become Conference of American 

Trucking Associations (Aug. 7, 2020), available at 

https://www.moving.org/amsa-to-becomeconference-of-american-trucking-associations/. 

carrier to provide the individual shipper 

with the opportunity to rescind the bill 

of lading without any penalty for a 3- 

day period after the individual shipper 

signs the bill of lading. Paragraph (h) 

would also state that, if a new estimate 

is prepared under §§ 375.403(a)(6)(ii) or 

375.405(b)(7)(ii), ‘‘the corresponding 

changes to the bill of lading from the 

new estimate do not require a new 3-day 

period as otherwise required in this 

paragraph (h).’’ 

M. Section 375.605 How must I notify 

an individual shipper of any service 

delays? 

In paragraph (a), the term ‘‘order for 

service’’ would be removed and 

replaced with the term ‘‘bill of lading.’’ 

N. Section 375.801 What types of 

charges apply to subpart H? 

The title of this section would be 

changed to read ‘‘What types of charges 

are subject to subpart H?’’ to clarify that 

49 CFR 375.801 discusses which types 

of charges are subject to the 

requirements of subpart H. 

Additionally, the term ‘‘invoice’’ would 

replace the term ‘‘freight bill’’ in 

paragraph (a). 

O. Section 375.803 How must I present 

my freight or expense bill? 

In this section, the term ‘‘invoice’’ 

would replace the term ‘‘freight bill’’ 

everywhere it appears, including in the 

section title. The new title would read 

‘‘How must I present my invoice?’’ 

P. Section 375.805 If I am forced to 

relinquish a collect-on-delivery 

shipment before the payment of ALL 

charges, how do I collect the balance? 

The term ‘‘invoice’’ would replace the 

term ‘‘freight bill.’’ 

Q. Section 375.807 What actions may 

I take to collect the charges upon my 

freight bill? 

In this section, the term ‘‘invoice’’ 

would replace the term ‘‘freight bill’’ 

everywhere it appears, including in the 

section title. The new title would read 

‘‘What actions may I take to collect the 

charges upon my invoice?’’ 

R. Appendix A to Part 375—Your Rights 

and Responsibilities When You Move 

This appendix would be replaced in 

its entirety with the information 

contained in the updated Your Rights 

and Responsibilities When You Move 

booklet, which would conform with the 

other revisions to part 375 discussed in 

this proposal. 

IX. Regulatory Analyses 

A. Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 

(Regulatory Planning and Review), E.O. 

13563 (Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review), and DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

Under section 3(f) of E.O. 12866 (58 

FR 51735, October 4, 1993), Regulatory 

Planning and Review, as supplemented 

by E.O. 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 

2011), Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review, this NPRM does not 

require an assessment of potential costs 

and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of 

E.O. 12866. Accordingly, the Office of 

Management and Budget has not 

reviewed it under those Orders. In 

addition, this rule is not significant 

within the meaning of DOT regulatory 

policies and procedures. 

Affected Entities 

This proposed rule affects household 

goods motor carriers covered by the 49 

CFR part 375 regulations. These 

regulations are based on the commercial 

statutes with special provisions for 

household goods carriers that authorize 

States, at their discretion, to enforce 

Federal rules, but only for interstate 

household goods transportation. The 

motor carrier safety assistance program 

(MCSAP) statutes do not require 

MCSAP grant recipients to adopt 

compatible commercial regulations for 

intrastate transportation not related to 

safety.4 Therefore, FMCSA anticipates 

that this rule would affect interstate 

household goods motor carriers, and 

does not include intrastate household 

goods motor carriers in the counts of 

affected entities. 

FMCSA obtained motor carrier count 

information from the Motor Carrier 

Management Information System 

(MCMIS), which includes information 

submitted to FMCSA by motor carriers 

the first time they apply for a DOT 

number, and then biennially thereafter. 

The table below shows the counts of 

household goods motor carriers in 2019 

and estimates of the number of carriers 

that would be affected by this rule 

annually during the analysis period of 

2022 to 2031. 

FMCSA estimated the future baseline 

number of motor carriers by developing 

a compound average growth rate 

(CAGR) using historical counts from 

2014 through 2019. There were 3,472 

active household goods motor carriers 

in 2014, and 4,297 active household 

goods motor carriers in 2019, resulting 

in a CAGR of 4.36 percent. 

This rule would also affect shippers, 

or consumers who hire household goods 

motor carriers. The U.S. Census Bureau 

estimates that approximately 7.4 million 

people moved interstate during 2018, 

and that the average household 

contained 2.63 people. Therefore, we 

can estimate that approximately 2.8 

million households participated in 

interstate moves during 2018 (7,443,306 

÷ 2.63 = 2,830,154).5 However, most 

interstate moves do not involve a forhire mover, and thus would not be 

affected by this rule. As discussed 

below, the American Moving and 

Storage Association (AMSA) estimated 

that approximately 20 percent of 

interstate household good moves are 

completed by for-hire movers.6

TABLE 1—INTERSTATE HOUSEHOLD

GOODS (HHG) MOTOR CARRIERS

Year Interstate HHG 

motor carriers 

2019 ...................................... 4,297 

2020 ...................................... 4,484 

2021 ...................................... 4,680 

2022 ...................................... 4,884 

2023 ...................................... 5,097 

2024 ...................................... 5,319 

2025 ...................................... 5,551 

2026 ...................................... 5,793 

2027 ...................................... 6,046 

2028 ...................................... 6,309 

2029 ...................................... 6,584 

2030 ...................................... 6,871 

2031 ...................................... 7,171 

Analysis Inputs 

Motor Carrier Profit per Hour 

Broadly speaking, the opportunity 

cost to the motor carrier (the firm) of a 

given regulatory action is the value of 

the best alternative that the firm must 

forgo in order to comply with the 

regulatory action. In this analysis, 

FMCSA follows the methodology used 

in the Entry-Level Driver Training 

rulemakings published in 2016 and 

2018 and values the change in time 

spent in nonproductive activity as the 

opportunity cost to the firm, which is 

represented by the now attainable profit, 

using three variables: The marginal cost 

of operating a CMV, an estimate of a 

typical average motor carrier profit 

margin, and the change in 

nonproductive time. 

The American Transportation 

Research Institute (ATRI) report, An 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43825 

7ATRI. An Analysis of the Operational Costs of 

Trucking: 2019 Update. October 2019. Table 10, pg. 

19. Available at: https://truckingresearch.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/11/ATRI-Operational-Costsof-Trucking-2019-1.pdf (accessed December 11, 

2019). Source data are assumed to be presented in 

2018 dollar terms. 

8ATA. American Trucking Trends 2015. Page 79. 

9Armstrong & Associates, Inc. Carrier 

Procurement Insights. 2009. Pages 4–5. Available at: 

https://www.3plogistics.com/product/carrierprocurement-insights-trucking-company-volumecost-and-pricing-tradeoffs-2009/ (accessed January 

5, 2016). 

10Transport Topics. 2014. Top 100 For-Hire 

Carriers. Available at: http://ttnews.com/top100/forhire/2014 (accessed November 19, 2018). 11Transport Topics. 2018. Top 100 For-Hire 

Carriers. Available at: https://www.ttnews.com/ 

top100/for-hire/2018 (accessed November 19, 2018). 12Forbes. Trucking Companies Hauling in Higher 

Sales. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ 

sageworks/2018/03/04/trucking-companieshauling-in-higher-sales/#40e0012f3f27 (accessed 

November 19, 2018). 13Transport Topics. 2019. Top 100 For-Hire 

Carriers. Available at: https://www.ttnews.com/ 

top100/for-hire/2019 (accessed October 14, 2020). 

14U.S. Census Bureau. 2018: ACS 5-Year 

Estimates Data Profiles. Available at: https://

data.census.gov/cedsci/table?d=ACS%205-Year

%20Estimates%20Data%20Profiles&table=

DP02&tid=ACSDP5Y2018.DP02&vintage=

2018&hidePreview=true (accessed October 6, 2020). 

15 0.08 percent = (average households that moved 

interstate in 2018 ÷ average household that moved 

interstate in 2010) (1⁄8)¥1∧. 

16American Moving and Storage Association. 

Newsroom: About our Industry. https://

www.moving.org/newsroom/data-research/aboutour-industry/ (accessed December 29, 2020). 

Analysis of the Operational Costs of 

Trucking: 2019 Update, found that 

marginal operating costs were $71.78 

per hour in 2018.7 These marginal costs 

include vehicle-based costs (e.g., fuel 

costs, insurance premiums, etc.), and 

driver-based costs (i.e., wages and 

benefits). 

Next, the Agency estimated the profit 

margin for motor carriers. Profit is a 

function of revenue and operating 

expenses, and the American Trucking 

Associations (ATA) defines the 

operating ratio of a motor carrier as a 

measure of profitability based on 

operating expenses as a percentage of 

gross revenues.8 Armstrong & 

Associates, Inc. (2009) states that 

trucking companies that cannot 

maintain a minimum operating ratio of 

95% (calculated as operating costs ÷ net 

revenue) will not have sufficient 

profitability to continue operations in 

the long run.9 Therefore, Armstrong & 

Associates states that trucking 

companies need a minimum profit 

margin of 5% of revenue to continue 

operating in the future. Transport 

Topics publishes data on the ‘‘Top 100’’ 

for-hire carriers, ranked by revenue.10

For 2014, 39 of these Top 100 carriers 

also have net income information 

reported by Transport Topics. FMCSA 

estimates that the 39 carriers with both 

revenue and net income information 

have an average profit margin of 

approximately 4.3 percent for 2014. For 

2018, 33 of these Top 100 carriers have 

net income information reported by 

Transport Topics, with an average profit 

margin of approximately 6 percent for 

2018.11 The higher profit margin 

experienced in 2018 is reinforced by a 

Forbes article that found net profit 

margin for freight trucking companies 

‘‘expanded to 6 percent in 2018, 

compared with an annual average of 

between 2.5 percent and 4 percent each 

year since 2012.’’ 12 In 2019, the data 

provided by Transport Topics shows a 

similar pattern based on the 28 

companies that provided net income 

information, with an average profit 

margin of 5.8 percent.13 It is uncertain 

whether the recent surge in net profit 

margin will continue through the 

analysis period, so FMCSA assumes the 

lower profit margin of 5 percent for 

motor carriers for purposes of this 

analysis. 

Using the assumed profit margin of 5 

percent for motor carriers, FMCSA 

estimated the revenue gained per hour 

for motor carriers by multiplying the 

marginal cost per hour by the profit 

margin. This calculation resulted in a 

profit per hour of $3.59. 

Number of Interstate Moves per Year 

FMCSA estimates the number of 

interstate moves by for-hire movers 

using U.S. Census Bureau data based on 

the number of people moving interstate, 

the average number of people per 

household, and an AMSA estimate of 

the number of moves that involved forhire moving services. The U.S. Census 

Bureau estimates that approximately 7.4 

million people moved interstate during 

2018, and that the average household 

contained 2.63 people. Therefore, we 

can estimate that approximately 2.8 

million households participated in 

interstate moves during 2018 (7,443,306 

÷ 2.63 = 2,830,154).14 FMCSA estimates 

the growth in interstate moves using the 

same Census data from 2010 through 

2018, and finds an annual average 

growth rate of 0.08 percent.15 AMSA 

estimated that 550,000, or 

approximately 20 percent, of the 

interstate household goods moves in 

2017 were completed by for-hire 

movers.16

Some impacts of the proposed rule 

would be based on the distance of the 

shipper’s location from the motor 

carrier. For instance, moves that are 

within 50 miles of the motor carrier 

agent’s location must receive a physical 

survey unless the shipper signs a 

waiver. The information collection 

request (ICR) supporting statement, 

published in November 2019, estimated 

that the motor carrier agent is within 50 

miles of the shipper’s location for 95 

percent of interstate moves, and beyond 

50 miles for 5 percent of moves. The 

table below shows the number of 

household interstate moves by for-hire 

movers, and those that are within and 

beyond 50 miles from the motor carrier 

agent’s location. 

TABLE 2—NUMBER OF INTERSTATE MOVES BY: HOUSEHOLDS, FOR-HIRE MOVERS, WITHIN AND BEYOND 50 MILES OF THE

MOTOR CARRIER AGENT LOCATION

Year 

Total number of 

interstate 

moves by 

households 

Number of 

household 

interstate moves 

by for-hire movers 

Number of 

interstate moves 

by for-hire movers 

within 50 miles 

Number of 

interstate moves 

by for-hire movers 

beyond 50 miles 

A B = A × 20% C = B × 95% D = B × 5% 

2018 ......................................................................................... 2,830,154 556,621 528,784 27,837 

2019 ......................................................................................... 2,832,418 557,066 529,207 27,859 

2020 ......................................................................................... 2,834,684 557,512 529,630 27,882 

2021 ......................................................................................... 2,836,952 557,958 530,054 27,904 

2022 ......................................................................................... 2,839,221 558,404 530,478 27,926 

2023 ......................................................................................... 2,841,493 558,851 530,902 27,949 

2024 ......................................................................................... 2,843,766 559,298 531,327 27,971 

2025 ......................................................................................... 2,846,041 559,745 531,752 27,993 

2026 ......................................................................................... 2,848,318 560,193 532,177 28,016 


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TABLE 2—NUMBER OF INTERSTATE MOVES BY: HOUSEHOLDS, FOR-HIRE MOVERS, WITHIN AND BEYOND 50 MILES OF THE

MOTOR CARRIER AGENT LOCATION—Continued 

Year 

Total number of 

interstate 

moves by 

households 

Number of 

household 

interstate moves 

by for-hire movers 

Number of 

interstate moves 

by for-hire movers 

within 50 miles 

Number of 

interstate moves 

by for-hire movers 

beyond 50 miles 

A B = A × 20% C = B × 95% D = B × 5% 

2027 ......................................................................................... 2,850,596 560,641 532,603 28,038 

2028 ......................................................................................... 2,852,877 561,090 533,029 28,061 

2029 ......................................................................................... 2,855,159 561,539 533,456 28,083 

2030 ......................................................................................... 2,857,443 561,988 533,882 28,106 

2031 ......................................................................................... 2,859,729 562,438 534,309 28,128 

2032 ......................................................................................... 2,862,017 562,888 534,737 28,151 

Cost Impacts 

Recommendation 5—Appendix A 

FMCSA is proposing to adopt the 

working group recommendation that 

would require the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet to be provided 

earlier in the process—at the time the 

estimate is provided to the shipper. This 

document contains useful information 

to assist a shipper in making a 

determination regarding which 

household goods motor carrier to hire. 

However, requiring the document 

earlier in the process, prior to when a 

shipper has chosen a carrier, would 

result in providing an additional two 

documents per interstate move, as 

FMCSA estimates that shippers request 

an estimate from three household goods 

carriers and only contract with one. 

Therefore, while FMCSA considers it 

important to require this information 

early enough in the process for the 

information to inform the shipper’s 

decision on which household goods 

carrier to choose, the proposed 

requirement would result in costs equal 

to the increase in the time required to 

print the additional hard-copy Rights 

and Responsibilities booklets provided. 

FMCSA estimated this cost by first 

determining the increase in the number 

of hard-copy Rights and Responsibilities 

booklets printed each year. This can be 

determined by subtracting the number 

of estimates provided from the number 

of orders for service provided, and 

adjusting for the preference to receive 

electronic documents. The number of 

orders for service provided is equal to 

the number of household interstate 

moves by for-hire movers from Table 2. 

The number of estimates provided is 

equal to the number of orders for service 

provided multiplied by three, 

accounting for the fact that shippers 

likely request estimates from more than 

one motor carrier. In the ICR supporting 

statement, FMCSA previously estimated 

that 40 percent of shippers prefer to 

receive information in hard copy form, 

and that 60 percent prefer to receive 

electronic information. 

As shown in columns A and B of 

Table 3 below, FMCSA multiplied the 

number of interstate moves per year by 

40 percent to estimate the number of 

hard-copy Rights and Responsibilities 

booklets provided to shippers under the 

existing requirements, and multiplied 

the number of orders for service where 

hard-copies are provided by three (to 

account for the assumption that 

shippers seek an estimate from three 

different household goods carriers) to 

estimate the number of hard-copy Rights 

and Responsibilities booklets that 

would be provided under the proposed 

rule. The difference between these two 

variables (column C) represents the 

increase in the number of hard-copy 

Rights and Responsibilities booklets that 

would be printed as a result of this rule. 

The ICR supporting statement 

estimated that a carrier could print 

roughly 1,600 pages per hour, and that 

each Rights and Responsibilities booklet 

consists of 25 pages. Thus, the increase 

in the number of hours needed to print 

hard-copy Rights and Responsibilities 

documents is equal to the number of 

Rights and Responsibilities documents 

from Table 3, Column C, multiplied by 

25 pages per document, and divided by 

1,600 pages per hour. Column D shows 

this maximum increase in hours spent 

printing. 

The time spent printing additional 

copies of the Rights and Responsibilities 

booklet is time not spent in other 

revenue producing activities. As shown 

in Table 3, Column E, FMCSA 

quantifies this opportunity cost of time 

using the previously discussed estimate 

of the motor carrier profit per hour, 

$3.59, resulting in total 10-year costs of 

$251,000, or $218,000 discounted at 3 

percent, and $179,000 discounted at 7 

percent. On an annualized basis, the 

costs would be $26,000 discounted at 3 

percent and $26,000 discounted at 7 

percent. 

TABLE 3—RECOMMENDATION 5: MOTOR CARRIER OPPORTUNITY COST RESULTING FROM INCREASED PRINTING OF YOUR

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES BOOKLET

Year 

Number of 

orders for 

service with 

hard copy 

YRR c provided 

Number of 

estimates with 

hard copy of 

YRR provided 

Maximum 

increase in 

number of 

hard copies 

provided 

Maximum 

increase in 

total hours 

spent printing 

Motor carrier 

increase in 

cost for 

hours spent 

printing 

A = Interstate 

moves by forhire movers 

× 40% 

B = A × 3 C = B ¥ A D = C × 25 

÷ 1600 

E = D × $3.59 

2022 ....................................................... 223,362 670,085 446,723 6,980 $25,051 

2023 ....................................................... 223,540 670,621 447,081 6,986 25,071 

2024 ....................................................... 223,719 671,158 447,438 6,991 25,092 

2025 ....................................................... 223,898 671,695 447,796 6,997 25,112 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43827 

TABLE 3—RECOMMENDATION 5: MOTOR CARRIER OPPORTUNITY COST RESULTING FROM INCREASED PRINTING OF YOUR

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES BOOKLET—Continued 

Year 

Number of 

orders for 

service with 

hard copy 

YRR c provided 

Number of 

estimates with 

hard copy of 

YRR provided 

Maximum 

increase in 

number of 

hard copies 

provided 

Maximum 

increase in 

total hours 

spent printing 

Motor carrier 

increase in 

cost for 

hours spent 

printing 

A = Interstate 

moves by forhire movers 

× 40% 

B = A × 3 C = B ¥ A D = C × 25 

÷ 1600 

E = D × $3.59 

2026 ....................................................... 224,077 672,232 448,155 7,002 25,132 

2027 ....................................................... 224,257 672,770 448,513 7,008 25,152 

2028 ....................................................... 224,436 673,308 448,872 7,014 25,172 

2029 ....................................................... 224,616 673,847 449,231 7,019 25,192 

2030 ....................................................... 224,795 674,386 449,590 7,025 25,212 

2031 ....................................................... 224,975 674,925 449,950 7,030 25,232 

Total 10-Year Cost ......................... .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. 251,418 

Total Annualized Cost .................... .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. 25,142 

Notes: 

aTotal cost values may not equal the sum of the components due to rounding. (The totals shown in this column are the rounded sum of 

unrounded components.) bValues shown in parentheses are negative values (i.e., less than zero) and represent a decrease in cost or a cost savings. cThe Rights and Responsibilities booklet is abbreviated as YRR for the purposes of the tables in this section. 

FMCSA also proposes to adopt the 

recommendation to make it acceptable 

for motor carriers to provide documents, 

including the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet, electronically 

without requiring the motor carrier to 

include a waiver statement on the 

written estimate. Under the existing 

requirements, when the shipper elects 

to receive these documents via the 

hyperlink, the motor carrier is required 

to obtain a signed waiver of the 

shipper’s right to a hard copy via a 

statement on the written estimate, as 

well as a signed and dated receipt that 

includes ‘‘verification of the shipper’s 

agreement to access the Federal 

consumer protection information on the 

internet.’’ The proposal would remove 

the requirement in 49 CFR 375.213(e)(1) 

for the shippers to include a waiver 

statement on the written estimate, but 

would retain the requirement to obtain 

a receipt. FMCSA expects that removing 

the waiver statement would be a de 

minimis one-time cost savings for motor 

carrier, but requests comment on the 

current process for obtaining the waiver 

statement and receipt required in 49 

CFR 375.213(e), and whether removing 

the requirement to obtain a waiver 

would result in measurable cost savings. 

Recommendation 7—Survey of 

Household Goods 

In agreement with the 

recommendations, FMCSA proposes to 

change the requirement to conduct a 

survey of the shipper’s goods by 

redefining a ‘‘physical survey’’ to 

include both an ‘‘in person’’ and a 

‘‘virtual’’ survey. The physical survey 

would include in-person surveys and 

virtual surveys. This change does not 

require that shippers receive only 

virtual surveys, but it does provide the 

option and allows the shipper to 

determine whether a physical or virtual 

survey would better suit their needs. 

In the event of a virtual survey, the 

motor carrier would likely spend the 

same amount of time completing the 

survey but would not need to travel to 

and from the shipper’s location. This 

reduction in travel would allow that 

time to be put to other productive uses, 

resulting in a motor carrier cost savings 

equal to the now attainable profit that 

can be earned during that time. FMCSA 

estimates this cost savings using three 

variables; the reduction in travel time 

per completed survey, the number of 

completed surveys that would now be 

virtual, and the motor carrier hourly 

profit. The distance and time required to 

travel to and from a move site varies 

with each survey. However, the survey 

requirement is in place for moves 

originating within 50 miles from the 

motor carrier agent’s location. 

Therefore, we can estimate that the time 

savings would accrue to those moves 

originating within 50 miles. FMCSA 

estimated the average round-trip travel 

time for a move originating within 50 

miles of the motor carrier agent would 

be approximately 1 hour. 

Under the current requirements, 

physical surveys must be completed for 

all moves originating within 50 miles of 

the motor carrier agent’s location, unless 

the physical survey is waived by the 

individual shipper. FMCSA assumes 

that under the proposal, some portion of 

shippers would voluntarily request a 

virtual survey but is unable to estimate 

the exact number of virtual surveys that 

would be conducted under the proposal. 

FMCSA developed an estimate of the 

number of surveys that would be 

conducted virtually using a range from 

25 percent to 75 percent, with a primary 

estimate of 50 percent. As shown in the 

table below, the motor carrier cost 

savings are estimated by multiplying the 

number of virtual surveys originating 

within 50 miles, by the 1 hour of time 

savings, and by the motor carrier profit 

per hour of $3.59. FMCSA estimates that 

providing virtual surveys would result 

in in costs of $9.6 million over 10 years 

(or $9.6 million in cost savings), $8.1 

million (or $8.1 million in cost savings) 

discounted at 3 percent, and $6.7 

million (or $6.7 million in cost savings) 

discounted at 7 percent. On an 

annualized basis, the costs would be 

$955,000 (or $955,000 in cost savings) 

discounted at 3 percent and $955,000 

(or $955,000 in cost savings) discounted 

at 7 percent. 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3
43828 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

TABLE 4—RECOMMENDATION 7: MOTOR CARRIER OPPORTUNITY COST SAVINGS FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL SURVEYS

WITHIN 50 MILES

Year 

Number of virtual 

surveys 

(low) 

Number of virtual 

surveys 

(primary) 

Number of virtual 

surveys 

(high) 

Motor carrier 

opportunity 

cost 

(low) 

Motor carrier 

opportunity 

cost 

(primary) 

Motor carrier 

opportunity 

cost 

(high) 

A B C D = A × $3.59 × ¥1 hour E = B × $3.59 × ¥1 hour F = C × $3.59 × ¥1 hour 

2022 ...................................................... 132,619 265,239 397,858 ($475,971) ($951,942) ($1,427,914) 

2023 ...................................................... 132,726 265,451 398,177 (476,352) (952,704) (1,429,056) 

2024 ...................................................... 132,832 265,663 398,495 (476,733) (953,466) (1,430,199) 

2025 ...................................................... 132,938 265,876 398,814 (477,114) (954,229) (1,431,343) 

2026 ...................................................... 133,044 266,089 399,133 (477,496) (954,992) (1,432,488) 

2027 ...................................................... 133,151 266,302 399,452 (477,878) (955,756) (1,433,634) 

2028 ...................................................... 133,257 266,515 399,772 (478,260) (956,521) (1,434,781) 

2029 ...................................................... 133,364 266,728 400,092 (478,643) (957,286) (1,435,929) 

2030 ...................................................... 133,471 266,941 400,412 (479,026) (958,052) (1,437,078) 

2031 ...................................................... 133,577 267,155 400,732 (479,409) (958,818) (1,438,228) 

Total 10-Year Cost Savings ........... .............................. .............................. .............................. (4,776,884) (9,553,767) (14,330,651) 

Total Annualized Cost Savings ...... .............................. .............................. .............................. (477,688) (955,377) (1,433,065) 

Notes: 

aTotal cost values may not equal the sum of the components due to rounding. (The totals shown in this column are the rounded sum of unrounded components.) 

bValues shown in parentheses are negative values (i.e., less than zero) and represent a decrease in cost or a cost savings. 

Recommendation 8—Survey of 

Household Goods; beyond 50 miles 

In agreement with the 

recommendations, FMCSA is proposing 

to require that movers offer physical 

surveys for all household goods 

shipments, including those that are 

located over 50 miles from the motor 

carrier agent’s location. 

Currently, motor carriers are not 

required to offer physical surveys for 

household goods shipments that are 

located beyond 50 miles from the motor 

carrier agent’s location. Often, a 

consumer will discuss the shipment 

load and the mover will provide an 

estimate based on the discussion, 

without visually inspecting the amount 

or weight of goods for transport. The 

purpose of the survey is to develop a 

more accurate estimate of moving fees 

and to prevent unexpected charges from 

surfacing later in the move process. 

Because FMCSA lacks data on how 

behavior would change, FMCSA 

estimates that all shippers located 

beyond 50 miles from the motor carrier 

agent’s location would take advantage of 

the virtual survey option. These surveys 

would take about 1.5 hours each, and 

FMCSA monetizes this time using the 

motor carrier profit margin of $3.59 per 

hour. As shown below, FMCSA 

estimates the cost of providing virtual 

surveys to be approximately $1.5 

million over 10 years, $1.3 million at a 

3 percent discount rate, and $1.1 

million at a 7 percent discount rate. On 

an annualized basis, the cost would be 

$151,000 annualized at both a 3 and 7 

percent discount rate. 

TABLE 5—RECOMMENDATION 8: MOTOR CARRIER OPPORTUNITY COST FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL SURVEYS BEYOND 50 

MILES

Year 

Number of 

moves beyond 

50 miles with a 

virtual survey 

Motor carrier 

opportunity cost 

Motor carrier 

opportunity cost 

3% discount rate 

Motor carrier 

opportunity cost 

7% discount rate 

A A = B × 1.5 hours 

× $3.59 

 

2022 ......................................................................................... 27,926 $150,342 $145,963 $140,506 

2023 ......................................................................................... 27,949 150,462 141,825 131,419 

2024 ......................................................................................... 27,971 150,582 137,804 122,920 

2025 ......................................................................................... 27,993 150,703 133,898 114,971 

2026 ......................................................................................... 28,016 150,823 130,102 107,535 

2027 ......................................................................................... 28,038 150,944 126,413 100,580 

2028 ......................................................................................... 28,061 151,065 122,830 94,076 

2029 ......................................................................................... 28,083 151,186 119,347 87,991 

2030 ......................................................................................... 28,106 151,307 115,964 82,301 

2031 ......................................................................................... 28,128 151,428 112,676 76,978 

Total 10-Year Cost Savings ............................................. .............................. .............................. 1,286,822 1,059,278 

Total Annualized Cost Savings ........................................ .............................. .............................. 150,855 150,817 

Notes: 

aTotal cost values may not equal the sum of the components due to rounding. (The totals shown in this column are the rounded sum of 

unrounded components.) bValues shown in parentheses are negative values (i.e., less than zero) and represent a decrease in cost or a cost savings. 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43829 

17FMCSA is revising the requirements for a bill 

of lading to incorporate all of the requirements from 

an order for service, including non-duplicative 

information. 

Recommendation 9—Order for Service 

In agreement with the working group 

recommendation, FMCSA is proposing 

to eliminate the order for service. Much 

of the information provided on the order 

for service is also on the bill of lading, 

and is therefore duplicative.17

Eliminating the order for service would 

reduce the amount of paperwork 

consumers are required to review, but 

would not reduce the necessary 

information they are provided. 

Currently, each interstate move requires 

both an order for service and a bill of 

lading. Each document takes 30 minutes 

to prepare. Under the proposal, a motor 

carrier would be able to save 30 minutes 

of time for each interstate move by no 

longer drafting an order for service. 

FMCSA monetized this time using the 

motor carrier hourly profit margin of 

$3.59. As shown below, FMCSA 

estimates that eliminating the order for 

service would result in costs of ¥$10 

million over 10 years (or cost savings of 

$10 million), ¥$8.6 million (or $8.6 

million in cost savings) discounted at 3 

percent, and ¥$7.1 million (or $7.1 

million in cost savings) discounted at 7 

percent. On an annualized basis, the 

costs would be ¥$1.0 million (or $1.0 

million in cost savings) discounted at 3 

percent and 7 percent. 

TABLE 6—RECOMMENDATION 9: MOTOR CARRIER OPPORTUNITY COST FOR ELIMINATING THE ORDER FOR SERVICE

Year 

Number of 

interstate moves 

by for-hire 

movers 

Motor carrier 

opportunity 

cost 

Motor carrier 

opportunity 

cost 

discounted 

at 3% 

Motor carrier 

opportunity 

cost 

discounted at 7% 

A B = A × ¥0.5 

hours × $3.59 

 

2022 ......................................................................................... 558,404 ($1,002,056) ($972,870) ($936,501) 

2023 ......................................................................................... 558,851 (1,002,858) (945,290) (875,935) 

2024 ......................................................................................... 559,298 (1,003,660) (918,491) (819,286) 

2025 ......................................................................................... 559,745 (1,004,463) (892,453) (766,300) 

2026 ......................................................................................... 560,193 (1,005,267) (867,152) (716,741) 

2027 ......................................................................................... 560,641 (1,006,071) (842,569) (670,388) 

2028 ......................................................................................... 561,090 (1,006,876) (818,682) (627,032) 

2029 ......................................................................................... 561,539 (1,007,681) (795,473) (586,480) 

2030 ......................................................................................... 561,988 (1,008,487) (772,922) (548,550) 

2031 ......................................................................................... 562,438 (1,009,294) (751,010) (513,074) 

Total 10- Year Cost Savings ............................................ .............................. .............................. (8,576,911) (7,060,287) 

Total Annualized Cost Savings ........................................ .............................. .............................. (1,005,476) (1,005,226) 

Notes: 

aTotal cost values may not equal the sum of the components due to rounding. (The totals shown in this column are the rounded sum of 

unrounded components.) bValues shown in parentheses are negative values (i.e., less than zero) and represent a decrease in cost or a cost savings. 

Document Production Cost 

The ICR supporting statement also 

estimated printing costs of $0.15 per 

page for both the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet and the Order 

for Service. FMCSA estimates the 

change in the cost of materials for 

printing the Rights and Responsibilities 

booklet and the Orders for Service by 

multiplying the change in the number of 

pages by the $0.15 cost per page. As 

shown in Table 7, FMCSA estimates a 

10-year materials cost to total $16 

million, or $13.6 million discounted at 

3 percent, and $11.2 million discounted 

at 7 percent. On an annualized basis, the 

costs would be $1.6 million discounted 

at both 3 and 7 percent. 

TABLE 7—DOCUMENT PRODUCTION COST

Year 

Recommendation 5— 

Increase in pages for 

hard copy YRR 

Recommendation 9— 

Eliminating the order 

for service 

(reduction in pages) 

Total change in 

number of pages 

Total cost for 

producing documents 

A B C = A + B D = C × $0.15 

2022 ................................................................. 11,168,084 ¥558,404 10,609,680 $1,591,452 

2023 ................................................................. 11,177,018 ¥558,851 10,618,167 1,592,725 

2024 ................................................................. 11,185,960 ¥559,298 10,626,662 1,593,999 

2025 ................................................................. 11,194,909 ¥559,745 10,635,163 1,595,275 

2026 ................................................................. 11,203,865 ¥560,193 10,643,671 1,596,551 

2027 ................................................................. 11,212,828 ¥560,641 10,652,186 1,597,828 

2028 ................................................................. 11,221,798 ¥561,090 10,660,708 1,599,106 

2029 ................................................................. 11,230,775 ¥561,539 10,669,237 1,600,386 

2030 ................................................................. 11,239,760 ¥561,988 10,677,772 1,601,666 

2031 ................................................................. 11,248,752 ¥562,438 10,686,314 1,602,947 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3
43830 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

18U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics. Table 4–23: Average Fuel 

Efficiency of U.S. Light Duty Vehicles. Available at: 

https://www.bts.gov/content/average-fuelefficiency-us-light-duty-vehicles 

TABLE 7—DOCUMENT PRODUCTION COST—Continued 

Year 

Recommendation 5— 

Increase in pages for 

hard copy YRR 

Recommendation 9— 

Eliminating the order 

for service 

(reduction in pages) 

Total change in 

number of pages 

Total cost for 

producing documents 

A B C = A + B D = C × $0.15 

Total 10-Year Cost Savings ..................... .................................... .................................... .................................... 15,971,934 

Total Annualized Cost Savings ................ .................................... .................................... .................................... 1,597,193 

Notes: 

aTotal cost values may not equal the sum of the components due to rounding. (The totals shown in this column are the rounded sum of 

unrounded components.) bValues shown in parentheses are negative values (i.e., less than zero) and represent a decrease in cost or a cost savings. 

Total Costs 

As shown below, FMCSA estimates 

the total costs of this final rule at $1.6 

million (or $1.6 million in cost savings) 

discounted at 3 percent, and $1.3 

million (or $1.3 million in cost savings) 

discounted at 7 percent. Expressed on 

an annualized basis, this equates to 

¥$188,000 in costs (or $188,000 in cost 

savings) at both a 3 and 7 percent 

discount rate. 

TABLE 8—TOTAL 10-YEAR AND ANNUALIZED COSTS OF THE PROPOSED RULE

[Thousands of 2018$] 

Year 

Rec. 5: 

Appendix 

Ac

Rec. 7: 

Virtual 

survey 

of HHG 

(primary) d

Rec. 8: 

Survey of 

HHG 

beyond 

50 miles e

Rec. 9: 

Order for 

service f

Document 

production g

Total cost 

(primary) 

Total cost 

discounted 

at 3% 

Total cost 

discounted 

at 7% 

2022 .................................................................................. $25.1 ($951.9) 150.3 (1,002.1) 1,591.5 (187.2) (181.7) (174.9) 

2023 .................................................................................. 25.1 (952.7) 150.5 (1,002.9) 1,592.7 (187.3) (176.6) (163.6) 

2024 .................................................................................. 25.1 (953.5) 150.6 (1,003.7) 1,594.0 (187.5) (171.5) (153.0) 

2025 .................................................................................. 25.1 (954.2) 150.7 (1,004.5) 1,595.3 (187.6) (166.7) (143.1) 

2026 .................................................................................. 25.1 (955.0) 150.8 (1,005.3) 1,596.6 (187.8) (162.0) (133.9) 

2027 .................................................................................. 25.2 (955.8) 150.9 (1,006.1) 1,597.8 (187.9) (157.4) (125.2) 

2028 .................................................................................. 25.2 (956.5) 151.1 (1,006.9) 1,599.1 (188.1) (152.9) (117.1) 

2029 .................................................................................. 25.2 (957.3) 151.2 (1,007.7) 1,600.4 (188.2) (148.6) (109.5) 

2030 .................................................................................. 25.2 (958.1) 151.3 (1,008.5) 1,601.7 (188.4) (144.4) (102.5) 

2031 .................................................................................. 25.2 (958.8) 151.4 (1,009.3) 1,602.9 (188.5) (140.3) (95.8) 

Total 10-Year Cost Savings ....................................... .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. (1,878.3) (1,601.9) (1,318.6) 

Total Annualized Cost Savings .................................. .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. (187.8) (187.8) (187.8) 

Notes: 

a Total cost values may not equal the sum of the components due to rounding. (The totals shown in this column are the rounded sum of unrounded components.) bValues shown in parentheses are negative values (i.e., less than zero) and represent a decrease in cost or a cost savings. c (Increase in Number of Hard Copy YRR Booklets Provided) × (25 ÷ 1600) × ($3.59). d (Number of Virtual Surveys) × ($3.59) × (¥1 hour). e (Interstate Moves beyond 50 miles by For-Hire Movers) × (¥0.5 hours) × ($3.59). f(Interstate Moves by For-Hire Movers) × (¥0.5 hours) × ($3.59). g ((Increase in Pages for YRR Booklet) + (Decrease in Pages for Elimination of Order for Service)) × $0.15. 

Benefit Impacts 

FMCSA does not expect this rule to 

impact safety, but does expect that it 

would result in benefits related to 

consumer protection and fuel savings. 

Recommendation 5 would result in 

shippers receiving accurate and clear 

information earlier in the process, 

allowing them to make more informed 

and better decisions regarding which 

household goods motor carrier to hire, 

and would allow shippers to obtain 

more accurate estimates of moving fees 

based on physical surveys for those 

interstate moves beyond 50 miles from 

a motor carrier agent’s location. The 

motor carrier efficiencies discussed 

above would not negatively impact 

shippers, as the services and 

information received today would not 

change under the proposed rule. 

FMCSA anticipates that providing 

virtual surveys for those moves within 

50 miles of a motor carrier agent’s 

location would not only result in motor 

carrier time savings quantified above, 

but could potentially result in fuel 

savings if motor carriers drive fewer 

miles, which could produce a small 

reduction in CO2 emissions. It is 

important to note that FMCSA is not 

anticipating a change in CMV vehicle 

miles traveled, as the rule does not 

affect the number of interstate moves 

occurring per year, but recognizes that 

motor carriers could reduce miles 

driven in light-duty vehicles used for 

providing estimates to shippers. The 

distance and fuel required to travel to 

and from a move site varies with each 

survey. However, the survey 

requirement is in place for moves 

within 50 miles from the motor carrier 

agent’s location, and we can estimate 

that any potential fuel savings would 

only accrue to those moves. FMCSA 

assumes the average mileage for these 

moves would be approximately 25 

miles, or 50 miles round-trip. Based on 

data provided by the Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics, light-duty 

vehicles averaged approximately 22 

miles per gallon in 2017, resulting in 

just over 2 gallons saved per trip (22.27 

miles per gallon ÷ 50 miles per trip = 

2.24 gallons per trip).18 The U.S. Energy 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS3
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 43831 

19U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

Petroleum and Other Liquids Prices, 

Transportation, Motor Gasoline: Reference Case, 

years 2022—2031, inflated to 2018$. Available at: 

https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/data/browser/#/ 

?id=12-AEO2015®ion=0-0&cases=

ref2015∼highmacro∼lowmacro∼highprice∼

lowprice&start=2020&end=2034&f=A&

linechart=ref2015-d021915a.3-12-AEO2015∼

highmacro-d021915a.3-12-AEO2015∼lowmacrod021915a.3-12-AEO2015∼highprice-d021915a.3-12- 

AEO2015∼lowprice-d021915a.3-12-

AEO2015&sourcekey=0 (accessed October, 15 

2020). 

20A ‘‘major rule’’ means any rule that the 

Administrator of Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and 

Budget finds has resulted in or is likely to result 

in (a) an annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more; (b) a major increase in costs or 

prices for consumers, individual industries, Federal 

agencies, State agencies, local government agencies, 

or geographic regions; or (c) significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United 

States-based enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises in domestic and export markets 

(5 U.S.C. 804(2)). 

21Executive Office of the President, OMB. ‘‘North 

American Industry Classification System.’’ 2017. 

Available at: https://www.census.gov/eos/www/ 

naics/2017NAICS/2017_NAICS_Manual.pdf 

(accessed January 15, 2020). 

22U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census 

Bureau. Establishment and Firm Size: Summary 

Statistics by Revenue Size of Firms for the U.S. 

Release date March, 2016. Available at: https://

www2.census.gov/econ2012/EC/sector48/ 

EC1248SSSZ4.zip (accessed September 18, 2020). 

23SBA, Office of Advocacy. ‘‘A Guide for 

Government Agencies. How to Comply with the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act.’’ 2017. Available at: 

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/ 

How-to-Comply-with-the-RFA-WEB.pdf (accessed 

on December 30, 2020). 

Information Administration forecasts 

real petroleum prices for motor gasoline, 

and estimates an average price per 

gallon over the analysis period of $3.28 

in 2018 dollars.19 Therefore, FMCSA 

estimates that each virtual survey could 

result in $7.37 in avoided fuel costs 

(2.24 gallons per trip × $3.28 per gallon). 

Any potential fuel savings would result 

from a reduction in vehicle miles 

traveled in light-duty vehicles. The 

Agency is uncertain how motor carriers 

would respond to the proposed change 

allowing virtual surveys, and whether 

they would be involved in other 

driving-related activities which could 

diminish or negate any potential fuel 

savings. For these reasons, FMCSA is 

not quantifying any potential fuel 

impacts but requests comment on how 

motor carriers would adjust their 

operations in response to this proposed 

rule. Similarly, while these potential 

fuel savings, if realized, would result in 

a reduction of CO2 emissions that is 

directly proportional to the amount of 

fuel saved, the Agency is not 

quantifying those potential savings in 

this proposed rule due to the 

aforementioned uncertainty with 

respect to how motor carriers would 

adjust their operations. If FMCSA 

receives data that enables the 

quantification of fuel savings in the 

context of the development of a 

subsequent final rule, the Agency would 

monetize the commensurate reduction 

in CO2 emissions consistent with the 

social cost of carbon values, as 

established by the White House and the 

Interagency Working Group on the 

Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases. 

B. Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act (5 U.S.C. 801, et seq.), the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

designated this rule as not a ‘‘major 

rule,’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).20

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (Small 

Entities) 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121, 

110 Stat. 857), requires Federal agencies 

to consider the effects of the regulatory 

action on small business and other 

small entities and to minimize any 

significant economic impact. The term 

‘‘small entities’’ comprises small 

businesses and not-for-profit 

organizations that are independently 

owned and operated and are not 

dominant in their fields, and 

governmental jurisdictions with 

populations of less than 50,000 (5 U.S.C. 

601(6)). Accordingly, DOT policy 

requires an analysis of the impact of all 

regulations on small entities, and 

mandates that agencies strive to lessen 

any adverse effects on these businesses. 

Section 605 of the RFA allows an 

Agency to certify a rule, in lieu of 

preparing an analysis, if the rulemaking 

is not expected to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

This rule affects shippers and 

household goods motor carriers. 

Shippers, or consumers that hire 

household good motor carriers, are not 

considered small entities because they 

do not meet the definition of a small 

entity in Section 601 of the RFA. 

Specifically, shippers are considered 

neither a small business under Section 

601(3) of the RFA, nor are they 

considered a small organization under 

Section 601(4) of the RFA. 

The SBA defines the size standards 

used to classify entities as small. SBA 

establishes separate standards for each 

industry, as defined by the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS).21 Household goods 

motor carriers would fall under 

Subsector Industry 48421, household 

good and office goods moving, which 

has an SBA size standard based on 

annual revenue of $30 million. 

FMCSA examined data from the U.S. 

Census Bureau to determine the number 

of small entities within the identified 5- 

digit NAICS industry group. The Census 

Bureau collects and publishes data on 

the number of firms, establishments, 

employment, annual payroll, and 

estimated receipts by revenue size of the 

firm. The most recent data available are 

from the 2012 County Business Patterns 

and the 2012 Economic Census.22 The 

revenue size categories used in the 2012 

Economic Census do not exactly align 

with the SBA size standard, but they do 

allow FMCSA to develop a good 

estimate of the percentage of small 

entities within the NAICS industry 

group 48421. The 2012 Economic 

Census reported that there were 5,718 

firms operating for the entire year 

within NAICS industry group 48421 

(household goods and office goods 

moving). Of those firms that operated 

for the entire year, 5,663 firms (99 

percent), had annual revenues of less 

than $25 million, and 5,692 firms (100 

percent) had annual revenues less than 

$50 million. FMCSA concludes that this 

rule will impact a substantial number of 

small entities. 

The RFA does not define a threshold 

for determining whether a specific 

regulation results in a significant 

impact. However, the SBA, in guidance 

to government agencies, provides some 

objective measures of significance that 

the agencies can consider using.23

Revenue is one measure that could be 

used to illustrate a significant impact, 

specifically, if the cost of the regulation 

exceeds one percent of the average 

annual revenues of small entities in the 

sector. 

Examining the 2012 Economic Census 

data discussed above, FMCSA found 

that affected entities had average 

revenues ranging from $55,000 to $35 

million. The cost of the regulation 

would thus need to exceed $550 per 

carrier in any one year in order to be 

considered a significant impact on the 

entities within the smallest revenue size 

category. The exact impact per motor 

carrier is dependent on many variables 

throughout the year (e.g., the number of 

hard-copy Rights and Responsibilities 

booklets provided, the number of virtual 

surveys provided for those moves 

within 50 miles of the motor carrier 

agents’ locations, and the number of 

virtual surveys completed for moves 

beyond 50 miles of the motor carrier 

agents’ locations), and cannot be 

estimated with precision. While FMCSA 

cannot provide the exact impact per 


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motor carrier, it is possible to evenly 

distribute the total cost of the rule 

across all affected motor carriers to 

determine the average impact per motor 

carrier. As shown in the table below, the 

estimated impact per motor carrier does 

not exceed $550 in any year, and 

therefore is not a significant impact. 

TABLE 8—ESTIMATED IMPACT PER MOTOR CARRIER

Year 

Household 

goods 

motor carriers 

Total cost 

(discounted at 

7%) 

Estimated 

impact 

per motor carrier 

2022 ........................................................................................................................... 4,884 ($174,909.9) ($35.8) 

2023 ........................................................................................................................... 5,097 (163,597.9) (32.1) 

2024 ........................................................................................................................... 5,319 (153,017.6) (28.8) 

2025 ........................................................................................................................... 5,551 (143,121.5) (25.8) 

2026 ........................................................................................................................... 5,793 (133,865.4) (23.1) 

2027 ........................................................................................................................... 6,046 (125,208.0) (20.7) 

2028 ........................................................................................................................... 6,309 (117,110.4) (18.6) 

2029 ........................................................................................................................... 6,584 (109,536.5) (16.6) 

2030 ........................................................................................................................... 6,871 (102,452.5) (14.9) 

2031 ........................................................................................................................... 7,171 (95,826.6) (13.4) 

Consequently, I certify that the 

proposed action would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

D. Assistance for Small Entities 

In accordance with section 213(a) of 

the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 

FMCSA wants to assist small entities in 

understanding this NPRM so they can 

better evaluate its effects on themselves 

and participate in the rulemaking 

initiative. If the NPRM would affect 

your small business, organization, or 

governmental jurisdiction and you have 

questions concerning its provisions or 

options for compliance; please consult 

the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Small businesses may send comments 

on the actions of Federal employees 

who enforce or otherwise determine 

compliance with Federal regulations to 

the Small Business Administration’s 

Small Business and Agriculture 

Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman 

and the Regional Small Business 

Regulatory Fairness Boards. The 

Ombudsman evaluates these actions 

annually and rates each agency’s 

responsiveness to small business. If you 

wish to comment on actions by 

employees of FMCSA, call 1–888–REG– 

FAIR (1–888–734–3247). DOT has a 

policy regarding the rights of small 

entities to regulatory enforcement 

fairness and an explicit policy against 

retaliation for exercising these rights. 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) requires 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their discretionary regulatory actions. In 

particular, the Act addresses actions 

that may result in the expenditure by a 

State, local, or Tribal government, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector of 

$168 million (which is the value 

equivalent of $100 million in 1995, 

adjusted for inflation to 2019 levels) or 

more in any one year. Though this 

NPRM would not result in such an 

expenditure, the Agency does discuss 

the effects of this rule elsewhere in this 

preamble. 

F. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520) requires that an 

agency consider the impact of 

paperwork and other information 

collection burdens imposed on the 

public. An agency is prohibited from 

collecting or sponsoring an information 

collection, as well as imposing an 

information collection requirement, 

unless it displays a valid OMB control 

number (5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)(vi)). 

This proposed rule would amend the 

existing approved information 

collection titled ‘‘Transportation of 

Household Goods; Consumer 

Protection,’’ OMB control number 2126– 

0025, which expires on November 30, 

2022. Specifically, FMCSA seeks 

approval for the revision of the 

information collection request (ICR) due 

to the Agency’s development of this 

NPRM. In accordance with 44 U.S.C. 

3507(d), FMCSA will submit the 

proposed information collection 

amendments to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA) at OMB for its approval. 

Title: Transportation of Household 

Goods; Consumer Protection. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–0025. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently-approved information 

collection. 

Summary: FMCSA is proposing to 

make various changes to the household 

goods regulations recommended by 

Household Goods Consumer Protection 

Working Group. These proposed 

changes include further revisions to 

streamline the Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet which would 

be incorporated in appendix A of the 

regulations, requiring new binding or 

non-binding estimates when an 

individual shipper tenders more goods 

or requests additional service instead of 

a revised estimate, allowing a motor 

carrier to provide a virtual survey, 

removing the exception from the survey 

requirement for moves where the 

household goods are located more than 

50 miles from the motor carrier agent’s 

location, eliminating the order for 

service and incorporating that document 

into the bill of lading, and making other 

minor updates to increase the clarity of 

the regulations. These proposed changes 

are intended to reduce the paperwork 

burden on household goods motor 

carriers and reduce confusion for 

individual shippers. FMCSA 

summarizes the resulting changes from 

the existing ICR below. 

IC–1: Required Information for 

Prospective Individual Shippers 

FMCSA is proposing to require the 

Rights and Responsibilities booklet to be 

provided earlier in the process, when 

the estimate is provided to the shipper, 

which would result in providing an 

additional two documents per interstate 

move. This is because FMCSA estimates 

that shippers request an estimate from 

three household goods carriers but 

contract with only one. FMCSA 

multiplied the average number of 

interstate moves per year by 40 percent 

to estimate the number of hard-copy 

Rights and Responsibilities booklets 

provided to shippers under the existing 

requirements (558,851 × 40 percent = 

223,540 copies). FMCSA then 

multiplied the number of orders for 


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24Public Law 108–447, 118 Stat. 2809, 3268, note 

following 5 U.S.C. 552a (Dec. 4, 2014). 

service where hard-copies are provided 

by three, to account for the assumption 

that shippers seek an estimate from 

three different household goods carriers, 

(223,540 × 3 = 670,621 copies). The 

number of additional hard copies that 

would be provided as a result of this 

rule is 447,081 (670,621¥223,540 = 

447,081 copies). It is estimated that a 

carrier could print roughly 1,600 pages 

per hour and each Rights and 

Responsibilities booklet consists of 25 

pages. The increase in the number of 

hours needed to print hard-copy Rights 

and Responsibilities booklets would be 

the additional hard copies multiplied by 

25 pages per document (447,081 × 25 = 

11,177,021 pages) divided by 1,600 

pages per hour (11,177,021÷ 1,600 = 

6,986 hours). The Agency assumes 

printing and storing these booklets 

would be completed by an office clerk 

with a loaded hourly wage of $33.31. 

Therefore, the increase in burden hours 

would be 6,986 and the increase in cost 

resulting from the proposed rule is 

$232,705, (6,986 burden hours × $33.31 

= $232,693). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,100. 

Estimated Responses: 447,081. 

Estimated Burden Hours: 6,986. 

Estimated Cost: $232,693. 

IC–2: Estimating Charges 

The proposed rule would require that 

movers offer surveys for all household 

goods shipments, including those that 

are located over 50 miles from the motor 

carrier agent’s location. Currently, 

household goods motor carriers are not 

required to offer surveys for household 

goods shipments that are located 

beyond 50 miles from the motor carrier 

agent’s location. FMCSA estimates that 

all shippers located beyond 50 miles 

from the motor carrier agent’s location 

would take advantage of the survey 

option. There is an annual average of 

27,949 moves beyond 50 miles, of those 

moves that currently receive nonbinding surveys. These surveys would 

take about 1.5 hours each, and FMCSA 

assumes all tasks will be completed by 

a first line supervisor of a transportation 

and material moving worker with a 

loaded hourly wage of $44.11, resulting 

in an increase of 41,923 burden hours 

and an increased cost of $1,849,045 

(27,959 × 1.5 hours × $44.11 = 

$1,849,045). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,100. 

Estimated Responses: 27,949. 

Estimated Burden Hours: 41,923. 

Estimated Cost: $1,849,045. 

IC–3: Pick Up of Shipments of 

Household Goods 

FMCSA is proposing to eliminate the 

order for service because much of the 

information provided on the order for 

service is also provided on the bill of 

lading. Currently, each interstate move 

requires both an order for service and a 

bill of lading and it takes 30 minutes to 

prepare each document. As such, 

removing the order for service form 

requirement would save 30 minutes per 

move. The Agency assumes all tasks 

would be completed by a cargo agent 

with a loaded hourly wage of $33.80. 

With the annual average of 558,851 total 

interstate moves and 30 minute time 

savings, motor carriers would save 

279,426 burden hours (558,851 

interstate moves × –0.5 hours = 

¥279,426 burden hours). The estimated 

cost savings would be $9,445,421 

(¥279,426 burden hours × $33.80 = 

¥$9,445,421). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,100. 

Estimated Responses: 558,851. 

Estimated Burden Hours: ¥279,426. 

Estimated Cost Savings: $9,445,421. 

Document Production 

The estimates of the costs of 

producing required documents is based 

on the total number of pages movers 

would need to produce multiplied by a 

flat rate of $0.15 per page. With the 

estimated annual average of 670,621 

‘‘Your Rights and Responsibilities’’ 

documents printed, there would be 

16,765,531 total pages printed (670,621 

documents printed × 25 pages per 

document = 16,765,531 total pages 

printed). The estimated total annual 

printing cost to respondents is $2.5 

million (16,765,531 total pages printed 

× $0.15 per page = $2.5 million). 

In removing the order for service 

form, which is a one page document, the 

Agency estimates that there would be 

558,851 fewer documents printed. This 

results in an estimated annual cost 

savings to respondents of $83,828 

(558,851 documents printed × 1 page 

per document × $0.15 per page = 

$83,828). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,100. 

Estimated Responses: 1,229,472. 

Estimated Cost: $2,431,002. 

FMCSA asks for comment on the 

information collection requirements of 

this proposed rule. Specifically, the 

Agency asks for comment on: (1) 

Whether the proposed information 

collection is necessary for FMCSA to 

perform its functions; (2) how the 

Agency can improve the quality, 

usefulness, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; (3) the 

accuracy of FMCSA’s estimate of the 

burden of this information collection; 

and (4) how the Agency can minimize 

the burden of the information 

collection. 

If you have comments on the 

collection of information, you must 

send those comments to FMCSA as 

outlined under the PUBLIC 

PARTICIPATION AND REQUEST FOR 

COMMENTS section at the beginning of 

this NPRM. 

G. E.O. 13132 (Federalism) 

A rule has implications for federalism 

under Section 1(a) of E.O. 13132 if it has 

‘‘substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government.’’ 

FMCSA has determined that this rule 

would not have substantial direct costs 

on or for States, nor would it limit the 

policymaking discretion of States. 

Nothing in this document preempts any 

State law or regulation. Therefore, this 

rule does not have sufficient federalism 

implications to warrant the preparation 

of a Federalism Impact Statement. 

H. Privacy 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2005,24 requires the Agency to conduct 

a privacy impact assessment (PIA) of a 

regulation that will affect the privacy of 

individuals. This NPRM would not 

require the collection of personally 

identifiable information (PII). The 

Agency will complete a Privacy 

Threshold Assessment (PTA) to evaluate 

the risks and effects the proposed 

rulemaking might have on collecting, 

storing, and sharing personally 

identifiable information. The PTA will 

be submitted to FMCSA’s Privacy 

Officer for review and preliminary 

adjudication and to DOT’s Privacy 

Officer for review and final 

adjudication. 

I. E.O. 13175 (Indian Tribal 

Governments) 

This rule does not have Tribal 

implications under E.O. 13175, 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments, because it 

does not have a substantial direct effect 

on one or more Indian Tribes, on the 

relationship between the Federal 

Government and Indian Tribes, or on 

the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian Tribes. 


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J. National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 

FMCSA analyzed this proposed rule 

for the purpose of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and determined this 

action is categorically excluded from 

further analysis and documentation in 

an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement under 

FMCSA Order 5610.1 (69 FR 9680, 

March 1, 2004), Appendix 2, paragraphs 

6.m. and 6.l. The Categorical Exclusions 

(CEs) in paragraphs 6.m. and 6.l., 

respectively, cover regulations requiring 

every motor carrier to issue and keep a 

receipt or bill of lading (or record) for 

property tendered for transportation in 

interstate or foreign commerce, and 

regulations implementing procedures 

applicable to the operations of 

household good carriers engaged in the 

transportation of household goods. The 

proposed requirements in this rule are 

covered by these CEs, and the proposed 

rule would not have any effect on the 

quality of the environment. The CE 

determination is available for inspection 

or copying in the docket. 

List of Subjects 

49 CFR 371 

Brokers, Motor carriers, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

49 CFR 375 

Advertising, Consumer protection, 

Freight, Highways and roads, Insurance, 

Motor carriers, Moving of household 

goods, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Accordingly, FMCSA proposes to 

amend 49 CFR chapter 3, parts 371 and 

375 as follows: 

PART 371—BROKERS OF PROPERTY 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 371 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 13301, 13501, and 

14122; subtitle B, title IV of Pub. L. 109–59; 

and 49 CFR 1.87. 

■ 2. Amend § 371.113 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 371.113 May I provide individual 

shippers with a written estimate? 

(a) You may provide each individual 

shipper with an estimate of 

transportation and accessorial charges. 

If you provide an estimate, it must be in 

writing and must be based on a physical 

survey of the household goods 

conducted by the authorized motor 

carrier on whose behalf the estimate is 

provided. The estimate must be 

prepared in accordance with a signed, 

written agreement, as specified in 

§ 371.115 of this subpart. 

* * * * * 

PART 375—TRANSPORTATION OF 

HOUSEHOLD GOODS IN INTERSTATE 

COMMERCE; CONSUMER 

PROTECTION REGULATIONS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 375 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 13102, 13301, 13501, 

13704, 13707, 13902, 14104, 14706, 14708; 

subtitle B, title IV of Pub. L. 109–59; and 49 

CFR 1.87. 

■ 4. Amend § 375.103 by: 

■ a. Adding, in alphabetical order, 

definitions for ‘‘Bill of lading’’ and 

‘‘Physical survey’’; 

■ b. Removing the definition for ‘‘Order 

for service’’; and 

■ c. Revising the definitions for 

‘‘Reasonable dispatch’’ and ‘‘Surface 

Transportation Board’’. 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 375.103 What are the definitions of terms 

used in this part? 

* * * * * 

Bill of lading means both the receipt 

and the contract for the transportation of 

the individual shipper’s household 

goods. 

* * * * * 

Physical survey means a survey which 

is conducted on-site or virtually. If the 

survey is performed virtually, the 

household goods motor carrier must be 

able to view the household goods 

through live video that allows it to 

clearly identify the household goods to 

be transported. 

* * * * * 

Reasonable dispatch means the 

performance of transportation on the 

dates, or during the period, agreed upon 

by you and the individual shipper and 

shown on the bill of lading. For 

example, if you deliberately withhold 

any shipment from delivery after an 

individual shipper offers to pay the 

binding estimate or 110 percent of a 

non-binding estimate, you have not 

transported the goods with reasonable 

dispatch. The term ‘‘reasonable 

dispatch’’ excludes transportation 

provided under your tariff provisions 

requiring guaranteed service dates. You 

will have the defenses of force majeure, 

i.e., superior or irresistible force, as 

construed by the courts. 

* * * * * 

Surface Transportation Board means 

an independent agency of the United 

States that regulates household goods 

carrier tariffs, among other economic 

regulatory responsibilities. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 375.211 by revising the 

introductory text of paragraph (a)(2) to 

read as follows: 

§ 375.211 Must I have an arbitration 

program? 

(a) * * * 

(2) Before execution of the bill of 

lading, you must provide notice to the 

individual shipper of the availability of 

neutral arbitration, including all three of 

the following items: 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 375.213 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a); 

■ b. Revising the introductory text of 

paragraph (b); 

■ c. Removing paragraph (b)(1); 

■ d. Redesignating paragraphs (b)(2) 

through (5) as paragraphs (b)(1) through 

(4); 

■ e. Redesignating paragraph (e) as 

paragraph (f); 

■ f. Adding new paragraph (e); and 

■ g. Revising newly redesignated 

paragraph (f). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 375.213 What information must I provide 

to a prospective individual shipper? 

(a) When you provide the written 

estimate to a prospective individual 

shipper, you must also provide the 

individual shipper with the following 

documents: 

(1) The DOT publication titled ‘‘Ready 

to Move?—Tips for a Successful 

Interstate Move’’ (Department of 

Transportation publication FMCSA– 

ESA–03–005, or its successor 

publication). You must provide the 

individual shipper with either a copy or 

provide a hyperlink on your internet 

website to the web page on the FMCSA 

website containing that publication. 

(2) The contents of appendix A of this 

part, titled ‘‘Your Rights and 

Responsibilities When You Move’’ 

(Department of Transportation 

publication FMCSA–ESA–03–006, or its 

successor publication). You must 

provide the individual shipper with 

either a copy or provide a hyperlink on 

your internet website to the web page on 

the FMCSA website with the 

publication ‘‘Your Rights and 

Responsibilities When You Move.’’ 

(b) Before you execute a bill of lading 

for a shipment of household goods, you 

must furnish to your prospective 

individual shipper all four of the 

following documents: 

* * * * * 

(e) If you have a website, you are 

required to display prominently either a 

link to the DOT publication titled 

‘‘Ready to Move?—Tips for a Successful 

Interstate Move’’ (Department of 


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Transportation publication FMCSA– 

ESA–03–005, or its successor 

publication) on the FMCSA website or 

a true and accurate copy of that 

document on your website. 

(f) If an individual shipper elects to 

access the Federal consumer protection 

information via the hyperlink on the 

internet as provided in paragraphs (a)(1) 

and (2) of this section: 

(1) You must obtain a signed, dated 

receipt showing the individual shipper 

has received either or both of the 

publications that includes verification 

of the shipper’s agreement to access the 

Federal consumer protection 

information on the internet. 

(2) You must maintain the signed 

receipt required by paragraph (f)(1) of 

this section for one year from the date 

the individual shipper signs the receipt. 

You are not required to maintain the 

signed receipt when you do not actually 

transport household goods or perform 

related services for the individual 

shipper who signed the receipt. 

■ 7. Revise § 375.215 to read as follows: 

§ 375.215 How must I collect charges? 

You must issue an honest, truthful 

invoice that includes all the information 

required by subpart A of part 373 of this 

chapter. All rates and charges for the 

transportation and related services must 

be in accordance with your 

appropriately published tariff 

provisions in effect, including the 

method of payment. 

■ 8. Amend § 375.217 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 375.217 How must I collect charges upon 

delivery? 

* * * * * 

(b) You must specify the same form of 

payment provided in paragraph (a) of 

this section when you prepare the bill 

of lading. 

* * * * * 

■ 9. Amend § 375.221 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 375.221 May I use a charge or credit card 

plan for payments? 

* * * * * 

(c) If you allow an individual shipper 

to pay an invoice by charge or credit 

card, you are deeming such payment to 

be the same as payment by cash, 

certified check, money order, or a 

cashier’s check. 

* * * * * 

■ 10. Amend § 375.401 by revising 

paragraphs (a), (b) introductory text, and 

(f) to read as follows: 

§ 375.401 Must I estimate charges? 

(a) You must conduct a physical 

survey of the household goods to be 

transported and provide the prospective 

individual shipper with a written 

estimate, based on the physical survey, 

of the charges for the transportation and 

all related services. An individual 

shipper may elect to waive a physical 

survey. The waiver agreement is subject 

to the following requirements: 

(1) It must be in writing; 

(2) It must be signed by the shipper 

before the shipment is loaded; and 

(3) You must retain a copy of the 

waiver agreement as an addendum to 

the bill of lading with the understanding 

that the waiver agreement will be 

subject to the same record retention 

requirements that apply to bills of 

lading, as provided in § 375.505(d). 

(b) Before you execute a bill of lading 

for a shipment of household goods for 

an individual shipper, you must provide 

a written estimate of the total charges 

and indicate whether it is a binding or 

a non-binding estimate, as follows: 

* * * * * 

(f) You must determine charges for 

any accessorial services such as 

elevators, long carries, etc., before 

preparing the bill of lading for binding 

or non-binding estimates. If you fail to 

ask the shipper about such charges and 

fail to determine such charges before 

preparing the bill of lading, you must 

deliver the goods and bill the shipper 

after 30 days for the additional charges. 

* * * * * 

■ 11. Amend § 375.403 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(6)(ii), and (a)(9) to 

read as follows: 

§ 375.403 How must I provide a binding 

estimate? 

(a) * * * 

(1) You must base the binding 

estimate on the physical survey unless 

waived as provided in § 375.401(a). 

* * * * * 

(6) * * * 

(ii) Prepare a new binding estimate 

prior to loading. The new estimate must 

be signed by the individual shipper. 

You should maintain a record of the 

date, time, and manner that the new 

estimate was prepared. 

* * * * * 

(9) If the individual shipper requests 

additional services after the bill of 

lading has been issued, you must inform 

the individual shipper of the additional 

charges involved. The individual 

shipper must agree to the new charges. 

You must prepare a new binding 

estimate and have the new binding 

estimate signed by the individual 

shipper. You may require full payment 

at destination for these additional 

services and for 100 percent of the 

original binding estimate. If applicable, 

you also may require payment at 

delivery of charges for impracticable 

operations (as defined in your carrier 

tariff) not to exceed 15 percent of all 

other charges due at delivery. You must 

bill and collect from the individual 

shipper any applicable charges not 

collected at delivery in accordance with 

subpart H of this part. 

* * * * * 

■ 12. Amend § 375.405 by revising 

paragraphs (b)(7)(ii) and (c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 375.405 How must I provide a nonbinding estimate? 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(7) * * * 

(ii) Prepare a new non-binding 

estimate which must be signed by the 

individual shipper. 

* * * * * 

(c) If you furnish a non-binding 

estimate, you must enter the estimated 

charges upon the bill of lading. 

* * * * * 

§ 375.501 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 13. Remove and reserve § 375.501. 

■ 14. Amend § 375.505 by revising 

paragraphs (a), (b) introductory text, 

(b)(1), (6), and (14 through (17), and (d), 

and adding paragraphs (e) through (h) to 

read as follows: 

§ 375.505 Must I write up a bill of lading? 

(a) Before you receive a shipment of 

household goods you will transport for 

an individual shipper, you must prepare 

and issue a bill of lading. The bill of 

lading must contain the terms and 

conditions of the contract. 

(b) On a bill of lading, you must 

include the following 17 items: 

(1) Your legal or trade name (i.e., 

doing business as name) as it is 

registered with FMCSA, to include your 

physical address. 

(2) The names, telephone numbers, 

addresses, and USDOT numbers of any 

motor carriers, when known, who will 

participate in transportation of the 

shipment. 

(3) The individual shipper’s name, 

address, and, if available, telephone 

number(s). 

* * * * * 

(6) For non-guaranteed service, the 

agreed date or period of time for pickup 

of the shipment and the agreed date or 

period of time for the delivery of the 

shipment. 

* * * * * 

(14) A complete description of any 

special or accessorial services ordered 

and minimum weight or volume charges 

applicable to the shipment, subject to 

the following two conditions: 


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(i) If you provide service for 

individual shippers on rates based upon 

the transportation of a minimum weight 

or volume, you must indicate on the bill 

of lading the minimum weight- or 

volume-based rates, and the minimum 

charges applicable to the shipment. 

(ii) If you do not indicate the 

minimum rates and charges, your tariff 

must provide how you will compute the 

final charges relating to such a shipment 

based upon the actual weight or volume 

of the shipment. 

(15) Each attachment to the bill of 

lading. Each attachment is an integral 

part of the bill of lading contract. If not 

provided elsewhere to the shipper, the 

following two items must be added as 

an attachment to the bill of lading. 

(i) The binding or non-binding 

estimate. 

(ii) The inventory. 

(16) Any identification or registration 

number you assign to the shipment. 

(17) A statement that the bill of lading 

incorporates by reference all the 

services included on the estimate. 

* * * * * 

(d) You must retain a copy of the bill 

of lading for each move you perform for 

at least 1 year from the date you created 

the bill of lading. 

(e) You, your agent, or your driver 

must inform the individual shipper if 

you reasonably expect a special or 

accessorial service is necessary to safely 

transport a shipment. You must refuse 

to accept the shipment when you 

reasonably expect a special or 

accessorial service is necessary to safely 

transport a shipment and the individual 

shipper refuses to purchase the special 

or accessorial service. You must make a 

written note if the shipper refuses any 

special or accessorial services that you 

reasonably expect to be necessary. 

(f) You and the individual shipper 

must sign the bill of lading prior to the 

shipment being loaded. The bill of 

lading must be signed at both the origin 

and the destination. You must provide 

a dated copy of the bill of lading to the 

individual shipper at the time you sign 

the bill of lading. 

(g)(1) You may provide the individual 

shipper with blank or incomplete 

estimates, bills of lading, or any other 

blank or incomplete documents 

pertaining to the move. 

(2) You may require the individual 

shipper to sign an incomplete document 

prior to the shipment being loaded 

provided it contains all relevant 

shipping information except the actual 

shipment weight and any other 

information necessary to determine the 

final charges for all services performed. 

You may omit only that information that 

cannot be determined before loading, 

such as actual shipment weight in the 

case of shipments moved under nonbinding estimates or unforeseen charges 

incurred in transit. 

(3) You may not require an individual 

shipper to sign a blank document. 

(h) The bill of lading must be 

provided to, signed, and dated by the 

individual shipper at least 3 days before 

the shipment is scheduled to be loaded. 

You must provide the individual 

shipper the opportunity to rescind the 

bill of lading without any penalty for a 

3-day period after the individual 

shipper signs the bill of lading. If the 

individual shipper tenders additional 

items to be moved or requires additional 

services on the day of the move, 

resulting in a new binding estimate 

under § 375.403(a)(6)(ii) or a new nonbinding estimate under 

§ 375.405(b)(7)(ii), the corresponding 

changes to the bill of lading from the 

new estimate do not require a new 3-day 

period as otherwise required in this 

paragraph. 

■ 15. Amend § 375.605 by revising 

paragraph (a) introductory text to read 

as follows: 

§ 375.605 How must I notify an individual 

shipper of any service delays? 

(a) When you are unable to perform 

either the pickup or delivery of a 

shipment on the dates or during the 

periods specified in the bill of lading 

and as soon as the delay becomes 

apparent to you, you must notify the 

individual shipper of the delay, at your 

expense, in one of the following six 

ways: 

* * * * * 

§ 375.801 [Amended] 

■ 16. Amend § 375.801 by removing the 

words ‘‘freight or expense bill’’ and 

adding, in their place, the word 

‘‘invoice’’. 

§ 375.803 [Amended] 

■ 17. Amend § 375.803 by removing the 

words ‘‘freight or expense bill’’ and 

adding, in their place, the word 

‘‘invoice’’. 

§ 375.805 [Amended] 

■ 18. Amend § 375.805 by removing the 

words ‘‘freight bill’’ and adding, in their 

place, the word ‘‘invoice’’. 

§ 375.807 [Amended] 

■ 19. Amend § 375.807 by removing the 

words ‘‘freight bill’’ and adding, in their 

place, the word ‘‘invoice’’ in the section 

heading and paragraphs (a) and (c)(1) 

through (4). 

■ 20. Revise appendix A to part 375 to 

read as follows: 

Appendix A to Part 375—Your Rights 

and Responsibilities When You Move 

General Requirements 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration’s (FMCSA) regulations 

protect consumers of interstate moves and 

define the rights and responsibilities of 

consumers (shippers) and household goods 

motor carriers (movers). 

The household goods motor carrier gave 

you this booklet to provide information about 

your rights and responsibilities as an 

individual shipper of household goods. Your 

primary responsibilities are to ensure that 

you understand the terms and conditions of 

the moving contract (bill of lading), and 

know what to do in case problems arise. 

The primary responsibility for protecting 

your move lies with you in selecting a 

reputable household goods mover or 

household goods broker, and making sure 

you understand the terms and conditions of 

your contract and the remedies that are 

available to you in case problems arise. 

Definitions and Common Terms 

Accessorial (Additional) Services—These 

are services such as packing, unpacking, 

appliance servicing, or piano carrying, that 

you request to be performed or are necessary 

because of landlord requirements or other 

special circumstances. 

Advanced Charges—Charges for services 

performed by someone other than the mover. 

A professional, craftsman, or other third 

party may perform these services at your 

request. The mover pays for these services 

and adds the charges to your bill of lading. 

Agent—A local moving company 

authorized to act on behalf of a larger 

national company. 

Appliance Service by Third Party—The 

preparation of major electrical appliances to 

make them safe for transportation. Charges 

for these services may be in addition to the 

line-haul charges. 

Bill of Lading—The receipt for your 

shipment and the contract for its 

transportation. 

Broker—A company that arranges for the 

transportation of household goods by a 

registered moving company. 

Collect on Delivery (COD)—This means 

payment is required at the time of delivery 

at the destination residence (or warehouse). 

Certified Scale—Any scale designed for 

weighing motor vehicles, including trailers or 

semitrailers not attached to a tractor, and 

certified by an authorized scale inspection 

and licensing authority. A certified scale may 

also be a platform or warehouse type scale 

that is properly inspected and certified. 

Commercial Zone—A commercial zone is 

roughly equivalent to the local metropolitan 

area of a city or town. Moves that cross state 

lines within these zones are exempt from 

FMCSA’s commercial jurisdiction and, 

therefore, the moves are not subject to 

FMCSA household goods regulations. For 

example, a move between Brooklyn, New 

York, and Hackensack, New Jersey, would be 

within the New York City commercial zone. 

Although it crossed states lines, this move 

would not be subject to FMCSA household 

goods regulations. 


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Estimate, Binding—This is a written 

agreement made in advance with your mover. 

It guarantees the total cost of the move based 

upon the quantities and services shown on 

the estimate. 

Estimate, Non-Binding—This is what your 

mover believes the cost will be, based upon 

the estimated weight of the shipment and the 

services requested. A non-binding estimate is 

not binding on the mover. The final charges 

will be based upon the actual weight of your 

shipment, the services provided, and the 

tariff provisions in effect. 

Expedited Service—An agreement with the 

mover to perform transportation by a set date 

in exchange for an agreed upon additional 

charge. 

Flight Charge—An additional charge for 

carrying items up or down flights of stairs. 

Charges for these services may be in addition 

to the line-haul charges. 

Full Value Protection—The liability 

coverage option you are to receive for your 

shipment unless you waive this option in 

writing. It means your mover will process 

your loss and damage claim by replacing or 

repairing the item to restore its original like, 

kind, and quality. 

Guaranteed Pickup and/or Delivery 

Service—An additional level of service 

featuring guaranteed dates of service. Your 

mover will provide reimbursement to you for 

delays. This service may be subject to 

minimum weight requirements. 

High-Value Article—These are items 

valued at more than $100 per pound. 

Household Goods—As used in connection 

with transportation, household goods are the 

personal effects or property used, or to be 

used, in a dwelling, when part of the 

equipment or supplies of the dwelling belong 

to an individual shipper. Transporting of the 

household goods must be arranged for and 

paid by you or another individual on your 

behalf. 

Household Goods Motor Carrier—A motor 

carrier that, in the normal course of its 

business of providing transportation of 

household goods, offers some or all the 

following additional services: (1) Binding 

and non-binding estimates, (2) Inventorying, 

(3) Protective packing and unpacking of 

individual items at personal residences, and 

(4) Loading and unloading at personal 

residences. The term does not include a 

motor carrier when the motor carrier 

provides transportation of household goods 

in containers or trailers that are entirely 

loaded and unloaded by an individual (other 

than an employee or agent of the motor 

carrier). 

Individual Shipper—Any person who: 

1. Is the shipper, consignor, or consignee 

of a household goods shipment; 

2. Is identified as the shipper, consignor, 

or consignee on the face of the bill of lading; 

3. Owns the household goods being 

transported; and 

4. Pays his or her own tariff transportation 

charges. 

Impracticable Operations—Conditions 

which make it physically impossible for the 

mover to perform pickup or delivery with its 

normally assigned road-haul equipment so 

that the mover is required to use specialized 

equipment and/or additional labor to 

complete pickup or delivery of your 

shipment. A mover may require payment of 

additional charges for services required due 

to impracticable operations, even if you do 

not request these services. The specific 

services considered to be impracticable 

operations by your mover are defined in your 

mover’s tariff. 

Inventory—The detailed list of your 

household goods showing the quantity and 

condition of each item. 

Line-Haul Charges—The charges for the 

transportation portion of your move when a 

household goods mover transports your 

shipment. 

Household goods brokers or movers must 

provide you with basic information before 

you move. You should expect to receive the 

following information: 

• A written estimate 

• The ‘‘Ready to Move’’ Brochure (or a web 

link to access the document) 

• Information about the mover’s arbitration 

program 

• Written notice about access to the mover’s 

tariff 

• The process for handling claims 

• This booklet, ‘‘Your Rights and 

Responsibilities When You Move’’ (or a 

web link to access the document) 

You should avoid brokers and movers that 

are not registered with FMCSA or refuse to 

perform a physical survey of your household 

goods. If a broker or mover requires cash, 

FMCSA advises you to retain all receipts and 

supporting documents associated with the 

transaction. 

Customer’s Responsibilities 

As a customer, you have responsibilities 

both to your mover and to yourself. They 

include: 

• Reading all moving documents issued by 

the mover or broker. 

• Being available at the time of pickup and 

delivery of your shipment. If you are not 

available, you should appoint a 

representative to act on your behalf. 

• Promptly notifying your mover if 

something has changed regarding your 

shipment (i.e., move dates, additional items). 

• Making payment in the amount required 

and in the form agreed to with the mover 

based on the bill of lading document. 

• Promptly filing claims for loss, damage, 

or delays with your mover, if necessary. 

Estimates 

The two most important things to 

understand for your interstate move are: The 

types of estimates offered and the mover’s 

liability in the event of loss or damage. As 

you read further, you will discover that 

movers offer two different types of 

estimates—binding and non-binding. The 

type of estimate you select determines how 

the charges for your shipment will be 

calculated. The estimate provided by your 

mover will notify you of the two liability 

coverage options: Option 1—Full Value 

Protection and Option 2—Waiver of Full 

Value Protection (60 cents per pound). The 

mover’s liability is discussed in detail in the 

next section. 

FMCSA requires your mover to provide 

written estimates on every shipment 

transported for you. Your mover’s verbal 

quote of charges is not an official estimate 

since it is not in writing. Your mover must 

provide you with a written estimate of all 

charges including transportation, and 

accessorial and advanced charges (defined at 

the end of this booklet). This written estimate 

must be dated and signed by you and the 

mover. 

The estimate your mover provides you will 

include a statement notifying you of two 

options of liability coverage for your 

shipment: Full Value Protection and Waiver 

of Full Value Protection, Released Value of 

60 cents per pound per article. 

Your mover must provide an estimate 

based upon a physical survey of your 

household goods. A physical survey means a 

survey which is conducted on-site or 

virtually, that allows your mover to see the 

household goods to be transported. A 

physical survey must be performed unless 

you waive this requirement in writing. 

Please be aware that a household goods 

broker may only provide an estimate on a 

mover’s behalf if the broker has a written 

agreement with the mover and uses the 

mover’s published tariff. 

You and your mover may agree to change 

an estimate of charges based on changed 

circumstances, but only before your 

shipment is loaded. Your mover may not 

change an estimate after loading the 

shipment. There is more information about 

changes to estimates in the following 

sections. 

Binding Estimates 

A binding estimate guarantees that you 

cannot be required to pay more than the 

amount on the estimate at the time of 

delivery. However, if you add additional 

items to your shipment or request additional 

services, you and your mover may: 

• Agree to abide by the original binding 

estimate; 

• prepare a new binding estimate; or 

• agree to convert the binding estimate 

into a non-binding estimate. 

If you and the mover do not agree to one 

of the three options listed above, the mover 

is not required to service the shipment. If the 

mover does not give you a new binding 

estimate in writing, or agree in writing to 

convert the binding estimate to a non-binding 

estimate before your goods are loaded, the 

original binding estimate is reaffirmed. 

Under these circumstances, your mover 

should not charge or collect more than the 

amount of the original binding estimate at 

delivery for the quantities and services 

included in the estimate. 

If there are unforeseen circumstances (such 

as elevators, stairs, or required parking 

permits) at the destination the mover can bill 

you for these additional expenses after 30 

days from delivery. Charges for services 

required because of impracticable operations 

(defined at the end of this booklet) are due 

at delivery, but may not exceed 15 percent 

of all other charges due at delivery; any 

remaining charges will be billed to you with 

payment due in 30 days from delivery. 

If you are unable to pay 100 percent of the 

charges on a binding estimate at delivery, 

your mover may place your shipment in 


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storage at your expense. In an effort to 

schedule delivery of your shipment from 

storage, you will have to pay the required 

charges and storage fees, if listed in the 

tariffs, after your shipment arrives at the 

residence. 

Your mover may charge a fee to prepare a 

binding estimate. 

Non-Binding Estimates 

A non-binding estimate is intended to 

provide you with an estimate of the cost of 

your move. A non-binding estimate is not a 

guarantee of your final costs, but it should be 

reasonably accurate. The estimate must 

indicate that your final charges will be based 

upon the actual weight of your shipment, the 

services provided, and the mover’s published 

tariff. Therefore, the amount of your mover’s 

non-binding estimate may be different than 

the amount you ultimately must pay to 

receive your shipment. 

A non-binding estimate must be in writing 

and clearly describe the shipment and all 

services provided. Under a non-binding 

estimate, the mover cannot require you to 

pay more than 110 percent of the nonbinding estimate at the time of delivery. This 

does not excuse you from paying all the 

charges due on your shipment. The mover 

will bill you for any remaining charges after 

30 days from delivery. 

On the day of pick-up, if you have 

additional items to move, your mover must 

do one of two things prior to loading: 

• Reaffirm your non-binding estimate; or 

• prepare a new non-binding estimate to 

include all the items that are being moved. 

If you and the mover do not agree to one 

of the two options listed above, the mover is 

not required to service the shipment. If you 

are unable to pay 110 percent of the charges 

on a non-binding estimate at delivery, your 

mover may place your shipment in storage at 

your expense. In order to schedule delivery 

of your shipment from storage, you will 

likely have to agree to pay the required 

charges and storage fees, if listed in the 

tariffs, after your shipment arrives at the 

residence. 

Your mover must give you possession of 

your shipment if you pay 110 percent of a 

non-binding estimate or 100 percent of a 

binding estimate, plus 15 percent of the 

impracticable operations charges (if 

applicable). If your mover does not 

relinquish possession, the mover is holding 

your shipment hostage in violation of Federal 

law. 

Your Mover’s Liability and Your Claims 

In general, your mover is legally liable for 

loss or damage that occurs during the 

transportation of your shipment and all 

related services identified on the bill of 

lading. 

The extent of your mover’s liability is 

governed by the Surface Transportation 

Board’s Released Rates Order. The Surface 

Transportation Board is an independent 

Federal agency that has jurisdiction over 

HHG motor carrier tariffs and valuation for 

lost or damaged goods. You may obtain a 

copy of the current Released Rates Order by 

visiting the Surface Transportation Board’s 

website at: https://prod.stb.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/files/docs/householdGoodsMoving/ 

41845.pdf. In addition, your mover may, but 

is not required to, offer to sell you separate 

third-party liability insurance. 

All moving companies are required to 

assume liability for the value of the 

household goods they transport. However, 

there are two different levels of liability that 

apply to interstate moves: Full Value 

Protection and Waiver of Full Value 

Protection—Released Value. It is important 

you understand the charges that apply and 

the amount of protection provided by each 

level. 

Full Value Protection 

This is the most comprehensive option 

available to protect your household goods, 

but it will increase the cost of your move. 

The initial cost estimate of charges that you 

receive from your mover must include this 

level of protection. Your shipment will be 

transported at this level of liability unless 

you waive Full Value Protection. Under your 

mover’s Full Value Protection level of 

liability, subject to the allowable exceptions 

in your mover’s tariff, if any article is lost, 

destroyed, or damaged while in your mover’s 

custody, your mover will, at its option, either 

(1) repair the article to the extent necessary 

to restore it to the same condition as when 

it was received by your mover, or pay you 

for the cost of such repairs; or (2) replace the 

article with an article of like, kind and 

quality, or pay you for the cost to replace the 

items. 

The exact cost for your shipment, 

including Full Value Protection, may vary by 

mover and may be further subject to various 

deductible levels. Full Value Protection will 

increase the cost of your move above the 

basic transportation cost. The minimum 

valuation level for determining the cost of 

Full Value Protection of your shipment is 

$6.00 per pound times the weight of your 

shipment. Your mover may use a higher 

minimum value or you may declare a higher 

value for your shipment (at an additional 

cost). The charges that apply for providing 

Full Value Protection must be shown in your 

mover’s tariff. Ask your mover for the details 

under its specific program. 

Under this option, movers are permitted to 

limit their liability for loss or damage to 

articles of extraordinary value, unless you 

specifically list these articles on the shipping 

documents. An article of extraordinary value 

is any item whose value exceeds $100 per 

pound (for example, jewelry, silverware, 

china, furs, antiques, oriental rugs, and 

computer software). Ask your mover for a 

complete explanation of this limitation 

before your move. It is your responsibility to 

study this provision carefully and to make 

the necessary declaration. 

Waiver of Full Value Protection (Released 

Value of 60 Cents per Pound per Article) 

Released Value is minimal protection; 

however, it is the most economical protection 

available as there is no charge to you. Under 

this option, the mover assumes liability for 

no more than 60 cents per pound, per article. 

For example, if a 10-pound stereo component 

valued at $1,000 was lost or destroyed, the 

mover would be liable for no more than $6.00 

(10 pounds × $ .60). Obviously, you should 

think carefully before agreeing to such an 

arrangement. 

Third Party Insurance 

If you purchase separate third party cargo 

liability insurance through your mover, the 

mover is required to issue a policy or other 

written record of the purchase and to provide 

you with a copy of the policy or other 

document at the time of purchase. If the 

mover fails to comply with this requirement, 

the mover is liable for any claim for loss or 

damage. 

Shipments transported under a mover’s bill 

of lading may be subject to arbitration in the 

event of a dispute over loss or damage 

claims. However, disputes with third party 

insurance companies are not subject to 

FMCSA regulations. 

Reducing Your Mover’s Normal Liability 

The following are some actions that may 

limit or reduce your mover’s liability for loss 

or damage to your household goods: 

1. Your acts or omissions cause the loss or 

damage to occur. For example, improper 

packing of containers you pack yourself do 

not provide sufficient protection or you 

include perishable, dangerous, or hazardous 

materials in your shipment without your 

mover’s knowledge. Federal law forbids you 

to ship hazardous materials in your 

household goods boxes or luggage without 

informing your mover. 

2. You chose the Waiver of Full Value 

Protection—Released Value level of liability 

(60 cents per pound per article) but ship 

household goods valued at more than 60 

cents per pound per article. 

3. You declare a value for your shipment 

which is less than the actual value of the 

articles in your shipment. 

4. You fail to notify your mover in writing 

of articles valued at more than $100 per 

pound. (If you do notify your mover, you will 

be entitled to full recovery up to the declared 

value of the article or articles, not to exceed 

the declared value of the entire shipment.) 

Loss and Damage Claims 

Movers customarily take every precaution 

to make sure that, while your shipment is in 

their possession, no items are lost, damaged 

or destroyed. However, despite the 

precautions taken, articles are sometimes lost 

or destroyed during the move. You have the 

right to file a claim with your mover to be 

compensated for loss or damage. 

You have 9 months from the date of 

delivery (or in the event of loss for the entire 

shipment, from the date your shipment 

should have been delivered) to file your 

claim. 

The claim must be submitted in writing to 

your mover or to your mover’s third party 

insurer for claim processing. After you 

submit your claim, your mover has 30 days 

to acknowledge receipt of it. The mover then 

has 120 days to provide you with a 

disposition. The mover might be entitled to 

60-day extensions if the claim cannot be 

processed or disposed of within 120 days. If 

an extension is necessary, your mover must 

notify you in writing. 


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Delay Claims 

Delay claims are processed when you have 

contracted with your mover for guaranteed 

service for pickup and delivery. Your mover 

will outline on the bill of lading any penalty 

or per diem entitlements when there is a 

pickup delay and/or delivery delay. 

Moving Paperwork 

Do not sign entirely blank documents. And 

only sign incomplete documents where the 

only incomplete sections are for information 

that cannot be determined prior to loading, 

specifically the actual weight of your 

shipment, in the case of a non-binding 

estimate, and unforeseen charges that occur 

in transit or at destination. 

Inventory 

Your mover must prepare an inventory of 

your shipment. This is usually done at the 

time the mover loads your shipment. The 

mover is required to list any damage or 

unusual wear to any items. The purpose is 

to make a record of the existence and 

condition of each item before it is moved. 

After completing the inventory, both you 

and the mover must sign each page of the 

inventory. It is important that before signing 

you make sure the inventory lists every item 

in your shipment and that entries regarding 

the condition of each item are correct. You 

have the right to note any disagreement. 

When your shipment is delivered, if an item 

is missing or damaged, your ability to recover 

from the mover for any loss or damage may 

depend on the notations made on this form. 

The mover will give you a copy of each 

page of the inventory. Attach the complete 

inventory to your copy of the bill of lading. 

It is your receipt for the shipment. 

At the time your shipment is delivered, it 

is your responsibility to check the items 

delivered against the items listed on your 

inventory. If new damage is discovered, make 

a record of it on the inventory form. Call the 

damage to the attention of the mover and 

request that a record of the damage be made 

on the mover’s copy of the inventory. 

After the complete shipment is unloaded, 

the mover will request that you sign the 

mover’s copy of the inventory to show that 

you received the items listed. Do not sign 

until you have assured yourself that it is 

accurate and that proper notations have been 

entered regarding any missing or damaged 

items. Movers are prohibited from having 

you sign documents that release the mover 

from all liability for loss or damage to the 

shipment in exchange for delivery. 

Bill of Lading 

Your mover is required by law to prepare 

a bill of lading for your shipment. The bill 

of lading is the contract between you and the 

mover for the transportation of your 

shipment. This document is issued at least 3 

days prior to the pickup date. The 

information on the bill of lading is required 

to include all the information and charges 

associated with the transportation of your 

shipment. The driver who loads your 

shipment must give you a copy of the bill of 

lading before or at the time of loading your 

shipment. The bill of lading is an important 

document. Do not lose or misplace your 

copy. Keep it available until your shipment 

is delivered, all charges are paid, and all 

claims, if any, are settled. 

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO READ 

THE BILL OF LADING BEFORE YOU 

ACCEPT IT 

The bill of lading requires the mover to 

provide the service you requested and 

requires you to pay the charges for the 

service. It is your responsibility to 

understand the bill of lading before you sign 

it. If you do not agree with something on the 

bill of lading, do not sign it until you are 

satisfied it is correct. 

The bill of lading serves to identify the 

mover and specifies when the transportation 

is to be performed. Be sure that the portions 

of the bill of lading that note the dates when 

pickup and delivery are to be performed are 

completed and that you agree with the dates. 

The bill of lading also specifies the terms and 

conditions for payment of the total charges 

and the maximum amount required to be 

paid at the time of delivery for shipments 

moving under a binding estimate. In the case 

of shipments moving under non-binding 

estimates, the bill of lading will not include 

a final calculation of charges because that 

cannot be determined until the shipment is 

weighed. However, the bill of lading must 

contain all relevant shipment information— 

except the shipment weight that will be 

determined after the shipment has been 

weighed and any unforeseen charges that 

occur in transit or at destination. 

The bill of lading must include the 

following 17 items: 

1. The legal or trade name (i.e., doing 

business as name) of the mover as it is 

registered with FMCSA, to include its 

physical address. 

2. The names, telephone numbers, 

addresses, and USDOT Numbers of any 

motor carriers, when known, who will 

participate in transportation of the shipment. 

3. Your name, address, and, if available, 

telephone number(s). 

4. The form of payment the mover and its 

agents will honor at delivery. The payment 

information must be the same that was 

entered on the estimate. 

5. When transportation is on a collect-ondelivery basis, the name, address, and if 

furnished, the telephone number, facsimile 

number, or email address of a person to 

notify about the charges. The notification 

may also be made by overnight courier or 

certified mail, return receipt requested. 

6. For non-guaranteed service, the agreed 

date or period of time for pickup of the 

shipment and the agreed date or period of 

time for the delivery of the shipment. 

7. For guaranteed service, subject to tariff 

provisions, the dates for pickup and delivery, 

and any penalty or per diem entitlements due 

to you. 

8. The actual date of pickup. 

9. The company or motor carrier 

identification number of the vehicle(s) that 

will transport your shipment. 

10. The terms and conditions for payment 

of the total charges, including notice of any 

minimum charges. 

11. The maximum amount your mover will 

demand at the time of delivery in order for 

you to obtain possession of the shipment, 

when you transport under a collect-ondelivery basis. 

12. The valuation statements provided in 

the Surface Transportation Board (STB)’s 

released rates order. These statements require 

individual shippers either to accept Full 

Value Protection for their liability or to waive 

the Full Value Protection in favor of the 

STB’s released rates. The released rates may 

be increased annually by the motor carrier 

based on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 

Cost of Living Adjustment. Contact the STB 

for a copy of the Released Rates of Motor 

Carrier Shipments of Household Goods. If the 

individual shipper waives your Full Value 

Protection in writing on the STB’s valuation 

statement, you must include the charges, if 

any, for optional valuation coverage (other 

than Full Value Protection). 

13. Evidence of any insurance coverage 

sold to or procured for the individual shipper 

from an independent insurer, including the 

amount of the premium for such insurance. 

14. A complete description of any special 

or accessorial services ordered and minimum 

weight or volume charges applicable to the 

shipment, subject to the following two 

conditions: 

(i) If your mover provides service for you 

on rates based upon the transportation of a 

minimum weight or volume, your mover 

must indicate on the bill of lading the 

minimum weight- or volume-based rates, and 

the minimum charges applicable to the 

shipment. 

(ii) If your mover does not indicate the 

minimum rates and charges, your mover’s 

tariff must provide information to compute 

the final charges relating to such a shipment 

based upon the actual weight or volume of 

the shipment. 

15. Each attachment to the bill of lading is 

an integral part of the contract. That includes 

the binding or non-binding estimate, 

inventory and any signed waiver documents 

associated with the shipment. 

16. Any identification or registration 

number assigned to the shipment. 

17. A statement that the bill of lading 

incorporates by reference all the services 

included on the estimate, including any new 

estimate prepared by the mover. 

The bill of lading must be signed and dated 

by you and your mover at origin and 

destination. 

Invoice 

At the time of payment of transportation 

charges, your mover must give you an 

invoice identifying the service provided and 

the charge for each service. It is customary 

for most movers to use a copy of the bill of 

lading as the invoice. 

Except in those instances where a 

shipment is moving on a binding estimate, 

the invoice must specifically identify each 

service performed, the rate or charge per 

service performed, and the total charges for 

each service. If this information is not on the 

invoice, do not accept or pay the invoice. 

Your mover must deliver your shipment 

upon payment of 100 percent of a binding 

estimate or 110 percent of a non-binding 

estimate, plus the full cost of any additional 

services that you required after the contract 

was executed and any charges for 


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impracticable operation, not to exceed 15 

percent of all other charges due at delivery. 

If you do not pay the transportation charges 

due at the time of delivery, your mover has 

the right, under the bill of lading, to refuse 

to deliver your shipment. The mover may 

place your shipment in storage, at your 

expense, until the charges are paid. 

On shipments paid in advance, your mover 

must present its invoice for all transportation 

charges within 15 days of the date your 

mover delivered the shipment. This period 

excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal 

holidays. 

On shipments paid upon delivery, your 

mover must present its invoice for all 

transportation charges on the date of 

delivery, or, at its discretion, within 15 days 

calculated from the date the shipment was 

delivered at your destination. This period 

excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal 

holidays. Bills for additional charges based 

on the weight of the shipment will be 

presented after 30 days from delivery; 

charges for impracticable operations not paid 

at delivery are due within 30 days of the 

invoice. 

Your mover’s invoice and accompanying 

written notices must state the following five 

items: 

1. Penalties for late payment 

2. The period of time for any credit extended 

3. Service or finance charges 

4. Collection expense charges 

5. Any applicable discount terms 

Weight Tickets 

Your mover must obtain weight tickets if 

your shipment is moving under a nonbinding estimate. Each time your shipment is 

weighed, a separate weight ticket must be 

obtained and signed by the weigh master. If 

both weighings are performed on the same 

scale, one weight ticket may be used to 

record both weighings. The weight tickets 

must be presented with the invoice. Each 

weight ticket must contain the following six 

items: 

1. The complete name and location of the 

scale. 

2. The date of each weighing. 

3. The identification of the weight entries 

as being the tare, gross, or net weights. 

4. The company or mover identification of 

the vehicle. 

5. The last name of the individual shipper 

as it appears on the bill of lading. 

6. The mover’s shipment registration or bill 

of lading number. 

Additional information regarding weighing 

shipments is located later in this booklet. 

Collection of Charges 

Your mover must issue you an honest and 

truthful invoice for each shipment 

transported. When your shipment is 

delivered, you will be expected to pay either: 

(1) 100 percent of the charges on your 

binding estimate, or (2) 110 percent of the 

charges on your non-binding estimate. You 

will also be requested to pay the charges for 

any services that you requested (for example, 

waiting time, an extra pickup or delivery, 

storage) after the contract with your mover 

was executed that were not included in the 

estimate, and any charges for services 

performed in conjunction with impracticable 

operations, not to exceed 15 percent of all 

other charges due at delivery. Your mover 

will bill you after your shipment is delivered 

for any remaining services. 

You should verify in advance what method 

of payment your mover will accept. Your 

mover must note in writing on the bill of 

lading the forms of payment it accepts at 

delivery. Do not assume your mover will 

accept payment by credit card unless it is 

clearly indicated on the bill of lading. 

If you do not pay the charges due at the 

time of delivery, the mover has the right to 

refuse to deliver your shipment and to place 

it into storage at your expense until the 

charges are paid. It is standard procedure for 

you to pay the charges due at delivery prior 

to the mover unloading the shipment at 

destination, in accordance with the terms 

specified on the bill of lading. 

If your shipment is transported by two or 

more trucks, the mover may require payment 

for each portion as it is delivered. You mover 

may delay the collection of all the charges 

until the entire shipment is delivered, at its 

discretion. When you confirm your shipment 

transportation with your mover, you should 

ask the mover about this policy. 

Your mover can only collect the charges on 

the percentage of the shipment that was 

successfully delivered. For example, if you 

receive a binding estimate of $1,000 to move 

1,000 pounds of your goods, and 50 percent 

of that shipment is lost, then the mover can 

only collect 50 percent of the estimate or 

$500. If the estimate is non-binding then only 

50 percent of the actual charges, not to 

exceed 110 percent of the estimate, can be 

collected, which would be $550. 

Your mover is forbidden from collecting, or 

requiring you to pay, any freight charges 

(including any charges for accessorial or 

terminal services) when your shipment is 

totally lost or destroyed in transit, unless the 

loss or destruction was due to an act or 

omission by you. However, if you receive 

Full Value Protection on your shipment, you 

will be required to pay the premium to 

process your claim for the total loss. 

Transportation of Your Shipment 

Pickup and Delivery 

Before you move, be sure to reach an 

agreement with your mover on the dates for 

pickup and delivery of your shipment. It is 

your responsibility to determine on what 

date your shipment will be picked up and the 

date or timeframe you require delivery. Once 

an agreement is reached, your mover must 

enter those dates on the bill of lading. Upon 

loading your shipment, your mover is 

contractually bound to provide the service 

described in the bill of lading. 

The mover might use the term ‘‘delivery 

spread’’ as the timeframe in which you can 

expect your shipment to be delivered. This 

means that your shipment could arrive 

anytime during the delivery spread. The 

mover is required to give you a 24-hour 

advance notice of when they plan to arrive 

with your shipment. At that time, you must 

be available to accept delivery or your 

shipment could be placed in storage at your 

expense. 

When you and the mover agree to a 

delivery date, or to a range of dates, it is your 

responsibility to be available to accept 

delivery on any of those dates. The same 

applies when you and the mover agree to 

alternate delivery dates. 

Do not agree to have your shipment picked 

up or delivered ‘‘as soon as possible.’’ The 

dates or periods you and your mover agree 

upon should be definite. 

If you request the mover to change the 

dates for your shipment, most movers will 

agree to do so if the change will not result 

in unreasonable delay to their equipment or 

interfere with another customer’s move. 

However, the mover is not required to change 

the dates and can place your shipment in 

storage at your expense if you are unwilling 

or unable to accept delivery on the agreed 

dates. 

The only reason your mover would be 

excused from providing a service as 

described in the bill of lading is because of 

‘‘force majeure.’’ This is a legal term which 

means an unforeseen change of 

circumstances beyond the control of the 

mover. For example, if there were a major 

snow storm that prevented your mover from 

servicing your shipment as outlined in the 

bill of lading, your mover would not be 

responsible for damages resulting from its 

nonperformance. 

If your mover fails to pick up or deliver 

your shipment on the agreed date or during 

the delivery spread, and you have expenses 

that you otherwise would not have, you may 

be able to recover these expenses from the 

mover through a delay of shipment claim. 

Ask your mover before you move what 

payment or other arrangements you can 

expect if your shipment is delayed through 

the fault of the mover. 

Your mover must transport your household 

goods in a timely manner. This is also known 

as ‘‘reasonable dispatch service.’’ If you have 

arranged for a guaranteed delivery date, the 

terms of that agreement with your mover 

apply. 

When your mover is unable to meet either 

the pickup or delivery dates or provide 

service during the periods of time specified 

in the bill of lading, your mover must notify 

you of the delay. The mover must advise you 

of the dates or periods of time it may be able 

to pick up and/or deliver your shipment. 

Your mover must provide this information in 

writing. 

Early Delivery 

If you are unable to accept delivery before 

the first day of the delivery spread, then your 

mover may place your shipment in storage in 

a warehouse located in proximity to the 

destination. If your mover exercises this 

option, your mover must immediately notify 

you of the name and address of the 

warehouse where your mover places your 

shipment. Your mover has full responsibility 

for the charges for re-delivery, handling, and 

storage until it makes the final delivery. 

Storage in Transit 

You may request your mover to store your 

household goods before delivering them. 

Your mover must notify you in writing or in 

person at least 10 days before the expiration 

date of: 

1. The specified period of time when your 

mover is to hold your shipment in storage. 


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2. The maximum period of time provided 

in its tariff for storage-in-transit. 

If your mover holds your household goods 

in storage-in-transit for less than 10 days, 

your mover must notify you, 1 day before the 

storage-in-transit period expires of the same 

information specified above. 

When the storage period is about to expire, 

your mover must notify you in writing about 

the following four items: 

1. The date when storage-in-transit will 

covert to permanent storage. 

2. The existence of a 9-month period after 

the date of conversion to permanent storage, 

during which you may file claims against 

your mover for loss or damage occurring to 

your goods while in transit or during the 

storage-in-transit period. 

3. When your mover’s liability will end for 

loss and damage. 

4. When your shipment will become 

subject to the rules, regulations, and charges 

of the management of the storage facility. 

Weighing Shipments 

If your mover transports your household 

goods on a non-binding estimate, your mover 

must determine the actual weight of your 

shipment on a certified scale in order to 

calculate its lawful tariff charge. If your 

mover provided a binding estimate, the 

weight of the shipment will not affect the 

charges you will pay, so there is no 

requirement to weigh shipments moving 

under binding estimates. 

Most movers have a minimum weight 

charge for transporting a shipment. If your 

shipment appears to weigh less than the 

mover’s minimum weight, your mover must 

state the minimum cost on the bill of lading. 

Should your mover fail to advise you of the 

minimum charges and your shipment is less 

than the minimum weight, your mover must 

base your final charges upon the actual 

weight, not upon the minimum weight. 

Usually, your shipment will be weighed in 

the city or local area where the shipment 

originates. The driver has the truck weighed 

before coming to your residence and then has 

it weighed again after your shipment has 

been loaded. The difference in these two 

weights is the weight of your shipment. 

The mover may also weigh your shipment 

at its destination when the shipment is 

delivered. The driver will have the truck 

weighed with your shipment on board and 

then weighed a second time after your 

shipment has been unloaded. Each time a 

weighing is performed, the driver is required 

to obtain an official weight ticket signed by 

the weigh master of a certified scale and a 

copy of the weight tickets must accompany 

your copy of the bill of lading. Shipments of 

less than 3,000 pounds may be weighed on 

a certified warehouse scale. 

You have the right, and your mover must 

inform you of your right, to observe all 

weighing of your shipment. Your mover must 

tell you where and when each weighing will 

occur. Your mover must give you a 

reasonable opportunity to be present to 

observe the weighing. You may waive your 

right to observe weighing; however, you must 

waive that right in writing. 

If your shipment is weighed at origin and 

you believe that the weight may not be 

accurate, you have the right to request that 

the shipment be reweighed before it is 

unloaded. The mover is not permitted to 

charge you for the reweighing, but the final 

charges due will be based on the reweigh 

weight, even if it is more than the initial 

weight. 

If you request notification of the actual 

weight and charges of your shipment, your 

mover must comply with your request if it is 

moving your household goods on a collecton-delivery basis. This requirement is 

conditioned upon you supplying your mover 

with contact information. 

Notification of Delivery 

You must receive the mover’s notification 

at least 24-hours before the scheduled 

delivery, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and 

Federal holidays. 

Your mover may disregard this 24-hour 

notification requirement on shipments 

subject to one of the following three 

situations: 

1. When your mover weighs your shipment 

at destination. 

2. When pickup and delivery encompasses 

two consecutive weekdays, if you agree. 

3. When the maximum payment at time of 

delivery is 110 percent of the estimated 

charges, if you agree. 

Resolving Disputes With Your Mover 

The FMCSA maintains regulations to 

govern the processing of loss and damage 

claims; however, we cannot resolve these 

claims on your behalf. If you cannot reach a 

settlement with your mover, you have the 

right to request arbitration from your mover. 

All movers are required to participate in an 

arbitration program, and your mover is 

required to provide you with a summary of 

its arbitration program before you sign the 

bill of lading. 

Arbitration gives you the opportunity to 

resolve loss or damage claims and certain 

types of disputed charges through a neutral 

arbitrator. You may find submitting your 

claim to arbitration is a less expensive and 

more convenient way to seek recovery of 

your claim than filing a lawsuit. You are not 

required to submit to arbitration in the event 

of a dispute. However, if you request 

arbitration for a claim for $10,000 or less, the 

mover must agree to arbitration and the 

arbitrator’s decision is binding on the parties. 

Further, the mover is not required to agree to 

arbitration if the claim exceeds $10,000. If 

the mover does agree, the arbitrator’s 

decision will be binding on both you and the 

mover. 

You may choose to pursue a civil action in 

a court of appropriate jurisdiction in lieu of 

arbitration. Legal action may be initiated by 

filing a claim in your State and serving 

papers on the mover’s process agent in your 

State. You may file in State court or (if the 

amount of the claim is more than $10,000) in 

Federal court. You may obtain the mover’s 

process agent information in your State by 

contacting FMCSA at (800) 832–5660. You 

may also obtain the name of the mover’s 

process agent via the internet by following 

the instructions below. 

1. Go to http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov. 

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click 

on CONTINUE. 

3. At the top of the screen click on 

CHOOSE MENU OPTION, for the drop-down 

box and select CARRIER SEARCH, then press 

GO. 

4. Type in the USDOT or MC number for 

the motor carrier. 

5. Click on HTML. 

6. Scroll to the bottom of the page, see 

BLANKET COMPANY, and click on the link. 

7. You will see a list of process agents by 

State, locate the process agent for your State. 

The FMCSA cannot settle your dispute 

with your mover. You must resolve your own 

loss and damage and/or moving charge 

disputes with your mover. 

You entered into a contractual agreement 

with your mover. Therefore, you are bound 

by each of the following terms and 

conditions: 

1. The terms and conditions you accepted 

when you signed the bill of lading. 

2. The terms and conditions you accepted 

when you signed for delivery of your 

shipment. 

3. Any additional terms and conditions 

you agreed to with your mover. 

If your mover refuses to deliver your 

shipment unless you pay an amount the 

mover is not entitled to charge, contact 

FMCSA immediately at (888) 368–7238. 

Important Points To Remember 

1. Movers must give written estimates. The 

estimates may be either binding or nonbinding. Non-binding estimates are 

‘‘approximations’’ only, and the actual 

transportation charges you are eventually 

required to pay may be higher than the 

estimated price. 

2. Do not sign blank documents. Verify the 

document is complete before you sign. In 

limited situations, it may be appropriate to 

sign an incomplete document if the only 

information that does not appear in your 

moving paperwork is the actual weight of 

your shipment (in the case of a non- binding 

estimate) and unforeseen charges that occur 

in transit or at destination. 

3. Be sure you understand the mover’s 

responsibility for loss or damage. For more 

information see FMCSA’s brochure titled, 

‘‘Understanding Valuation and Insurance 

Options’’ https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protectyour-move/valuation-insurance. 

4. Understand the type of liability to which 

you agree. Ask yourself if 60 cents per pound 

is enough coverage for your household goods 

or whether you need to purchase additional 

valuation. 

5. Notify your mover if you have high 

value items. High value items are valued at 

more than $100 per pound. 

6. You have the right to be present each 

time your shipment is weighed. You also 

have the right to request a reweigh at no 

charge. 

7. Confirm with your mover the types of 

payment acceptable prior to the delivery of 

your shipment. 

8. Consider requesting arbitration to settle 

disputed claims with your mover. 

9. You should know if the company you 

are dealing with is a household goods motor 

carrier (mover) or household goods broker, 

and if they are registered with FMCSA. Go 

to www.protectyourmove.gov for this 

information. 


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10. Do not sign the delivery receipt if it 

contains any language releasing or 

discharging your mover or its agents from 

liability. Strike out such language before 

signing, or refuse delivery if the mover 

refuses to provide a proper delivery receipt. 

Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.87. 

Meera Joshi, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13889 Filed 8–5–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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