Binding vs non-binding moving estimates, 2026
Two movers can quote you the same number and commit to completely different things. The word that decides which is printed on the estimate, and most people never read it.
Non-binding estimate, delivery ceiling
110%
On an interstate move quoted at $4,750 under a non-binding estimate, the most a mover can require you to pay before it releases your goods is $5,225. That is not a cap on the bill. Anything above it is billed to you afterwards and is due within 30 days.
Figures from our own rate model · how we calculate
Every interstate household-goods estimate is one of three things, and the difference between them is not a matter of company policy — it is set by federal regulation, the same rules every licensed interstate mover operates under. What varies between companies is which types they offer you, and whether they mention that a choice existed.
The three estimate types, side by side
The only question that separates them is what happens when the shipment does not weigh what the survey said it would, which is most of the time. Weight is measured on a certified scale, and you have the right to observe the weighing and to demand a reweigh if the number looks wrong.
| Estimate type | Shipment weighs more | Shipment weighs less | You add items on move day |
|---|---|---|---|
| BindingCertainty, in both directions. | You pay the estimate. | You pay the estimate. | The mover may write a new estimate or refuse the shipment before loading. |
| Non-bindingCheapest headline number, the most exposure. | You pay the real weight-based charge. At delivery the mover can require at most 110% of the estimate; the rest is billed within 30 days. | You pay the lower actual charge. | Normal — the estimate was never a price. |
| Binding not-to-exceedThe only one that can only move in your favour. | You pay the estimate, and no more. | You pay the lower actual charge. | Same as binding: added items entitle the mover to revise before loading. |
What 110% costs at real distances
The 110% rule is a percentage, so its dollar value scales with the size of the move. On a short interstate hop the exposure is modest. Coast to coast, for the same household, it is a different conversation. Each row below is a 3-bedroom household priced by our model at that distance, with the maximum a mover could require at delivery under a non-binding estimate.
| Distance | Typical estimate | 110% at delivery | Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbouring state (~250 mi) | $2,575 | $2,825 | +$250 |
| Regional (~600 mi) | $3,800 | $4,175 | +$375 |
| Long haul (~1,000 mi) | $4,750 | $5,225 | +$475 |
| Coast to coast (~2,700 mi) | $7,925 | $8,725 | +$800 |
Read the exposure column as the amount you could be asked for on the doorstep, in cash or certified funds, that you had not planned for — $475 on the thousand-mile example, and more than that coast to coast. It is not the ceiling on the bill. It is the ceiling on what has to be paid before the truck is unloaded, which is a materially different promise from the one most people think they are getting.
Why shipments weigh more than the survey said
Almost never because the estimator was careless. The weight that gets missed lives in the parts of a house nobody thinks of as furnished: the garage with the tools and the paint, the attic, the unfinished half of the basement, the shed, the patio set, the garage fridge. A three-bedroom house listed at 1,800 square feet can easily carry two thousand pounds that never appears in its square footage — which is exactly why a square-footage estimate is a starting point and never a price.
The second cause is timing. An estimate is a snapshot of what the estimator saw. Items bought, inherited or un-donated between the survey and move day are, in the mover's eyes, a different shipment — and adding them is the one circumstance in which even a binding estimate can legitimately be rewritten before loading. Tell the mover as soon as the inventory changes and the revision happens on paper rather than on the doorstep.
What to ask for, in order
Ask for the estimate in writing with the type stated on its face — binding, non-binding, or binding not-to-exceed — and check that the same words appear on the bill of lading you sign on move day, because the bill of lading is the contract and the estimate is attached to it. Then ask directly whether a not-to-exceed option is available for your shipment, since it is the only one of the three that cannot cost you more than quoted and it is frequently not offered unless requested.
Take the survey rather than waiving it, and take it seriously: open the garage, the attic and the basement for the estimator or the camera. A survey that sees everything turns the 110% rule into a formality. A waived survey turns it into the plan.
Finally, compare like with like. A non-binding estimate will almost always be the lowest number in a stack of three quotes, and it is the lowest number precisely because it promises the least. Our own cost calculator gives you a neutral range to hold those quotes against; a quote far under it usually means the inventory was under-counted, not that the company found a cheaper way to move your sofa.
The rules described here apply to interstate household-goods moves, which are regulated federally. Moves within a single state are governed by that state's own rules and the protections can differ. Dollar figures are informational estimates from our published model, not quotes, and nothing on this page is attributed to any named moving company.
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Moving estimate FAQ
A binding estimate is a fixed price for the inventory and services listed on it: the shipment weighing more than expected does not change what you pay. A non-binding estimate is the mover's best prediction, and the real bill is set by the actual weight of your shipment. Federal rules limit what a mover can collect at delivery on a non-binding estimate to 110% of the estimated amount — on a $4,750 move that is $5,225 — but the remaining balance is still owed and is billed to you, payable within 30 days.
It is the version that only moves in your favour. The estimate acts as a ceiling, and if the shipment turns out to weigh less than the survey predicted, you pay the lower actual charge instead. If it weighs more, you still pay no more than the estimate. Many interstate carriers offer it under names like guaranteed price or price protection; it is the estimate type worth asking for by name.
On a non-binding estimate, yes: the estimate is not a price. The protection is procedural rather than financial — the mover may not require more than 110% of the estimate before it will release your goods, so on a $4,750 estimate it cannot hold the shipment for more than $5,225. Anything above that is billed afterwards and due within 30 days. On a binding estimate the mover cannot charge more for the listed inventory, but adding items on move day lets it write a new estimate or decline the shipment.
For an interstate household-goods move, yes. The estimate has to be in writing, has to state clearly whether it is binding or non-binding, and has to be attached to the bill of lading. A verbal number over the phone is not an estimate in any sense that binds anyone, which is the single most common way people end up surprised at delivery.
For an interstate move originating within 50 miles of the mover's or its agent's location, the mover is required to offer a survey of your goods before giving an estimate, and virtual surveys by video are accepted. You can waive it in writing, and many people do to save time — but waiving the survey is precisely what produces an estimate built on a guess, and a guess is what the 110% rule then applies to.
Three things do most of the work. Get the estimate type stated in writing and ask specifically whether a not-to-exceed option is available. Show the estimator every storage zone — garage, attic, basement, shed, patio — because those are where the unaccounted weight lives. And do not add items after the survey without asking for the estimate to be revised, since added items are the one circumstance in which even a binding estimate can be rewritten.