Rights
Weighing the truck: your right to watch and to ask for a reweigh
On a weight-based interstate move, the truck is weighed empty and full on a certified scale. You may watch both weighings. You may ask for a reweigh before unloading, and the charges then follow the reweigh. That is 49 CFR 375.507 and 375.519.
Anthony BaleMoving industry professional, author and writerReviewed 29 September 2026
How the weight is taken
Tare weight: the truck before your goods, with the crew's pads and equipment aboard. Gross weight: the truck after loading. Your shipment weight is the difference. The mover must use a certified scale and give you the weight tickets on request.
You have the right to be told when and where the weighings happen so you can observe them. Ask on pickup day, not after delivery.
If no certified scale is reasonably available, the mover can use a constructive weight of 7 pounds per cubic foot of properly loaded van space. That is 375.509. It is a fallback, not a choice they get to make for convenience.
The reweigh
Before unloading, you may request a reweigh. The mover must do it, and the charges are then based on the reweigh weight, whether it goes up or down. Ask by phone as soon as they tell you the weight, and confirm in writing.
A reweigh is the cheapest audit you will ever run. If the gross weight came in 40% above the estimate with no new furniture, ask for it.
Cube moves and ocean moves
A container or a groupage move is priced by cubic metres, not pounds. A US weight ticket is the wrong unit on a port lane. Use the CBM calculator and ask for the cube survey in writing.
Official doors
Where to take a complaint
Booklet
Interstate movers must give Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move. We link it. We do not rehost it as ours.
Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (PDF)Lookup
SAFER company snapshot. Registered is not the same as authorized to haul household goods.
FMCSA SAFER company snapshot
Reviewed 29 September 2026 by Anthony Bale. Numbers on this page carry their own dates; the official pages below are the sources.
Sources
Links go to the publisher. Haulest does not add findings. Checked September 2026; if the live page moved, believe the agency.
- 49 CFR 375.507 (you may observe the weighing)ecfr.gov · Government · checked September 2026
- 49 CFR 375.519 (reweigh before unloading)ecfr.gov · Government · checked September 2026
- 49 CFR 375.509 (constructive weight, 7 lb per cubic foot)ecfr.gov · Government · checked September 2026
- Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (PDF)fmcsa.dot.gov · Government · checked September 2026
Ask out loud
Questions people ask
- Can the mover charge me for a reweigh?
- The rule says the charges follow the reweigh weight. Ask what, if anything, a reweigh costs before pickup and get it in writing.
- What if the weight tickets do not show tare and gross?
- Ask for both. A single number with no tare is not a weighing you can check.
Next steps
Next
Keep going
About Anthony Bale
A moving industry professional, author and writer. Anthony has been at different positions in the industry for the last 10 years, gaining significant knowledge on the relocation process. He himself has moved 6 times already, which helped him explore the other side of the moving process.
At Haulest he writes the US cost, hiring, and rights pages, reading the licensed review file every week so the numbers on the page are the numbers people reported.
Call for a free quote
From, then To. Date and home size after that. A person on the phone is faster if you already know the dates.
+1 (866) 961-9682Free moving quoteHaulest is not a carrier. We connect you to movers.
Haulest is a research desk and quote line. We are not a carrier.