How to Start a Moving Company: A Step by Step Guide

A small moving company is one of the most direct home service businesses there is. People need their things moved from one address to another, they need it done on one specific day, and they will pay a fair hourly rate to a crew that shows up on time and does not break anything. You do not need a warehouse or a fleet to start. Most local movers begin with one truck, two strong people and a phone.

The hard part is not lifting. It is pricing so every hour pays, holding dates so a cancellation does not empty your Saturday, and getting enough calls that the truck is out most days. Here is how to start, in order.

1. Start with local moves only

Local moves, inside your metro area, are priced by the hour and are the simplest work to win. Long-distance and interstate moves come with federal registration, weight-based pricing and a lot more paperwork. Leave those for later, or refer them out.

Decide what you will and will not do in year one:

• Yes: apartments, houses up to four or five bedrooms, labor-only loading for rental trucks and containers, small storage unit moves
• Maybe: packing service, single pianos and safes once you have the right equipment
• Not yet: interstate moves, commercial office moves, grand pianos, anything that needs a crane

2. Handle the paperwork

• Register the business with your state. An LLC is common and costs $50 to $500 depending on the state
• Get an EIN from the IRS. It is free and takes ten minutes online
• Check your state's mover rules. Rules vary a lot by state. Some states license household goods movers even for moves inside the state, others have no state license at all. Check with your state's transportation department or public utilities commission
• Interstate is federal. If you ever cross a state line with a customer's goods, you need a USDOT number and operating authority from the FMCSA first

Our guide to moving company license and insurance covers this in more detail.

3. Get insured before the first move

You need general liability for damage to homes, commercial auto for the truck, cargo coverage for the customer's goods while they are in your care, and workers' comp once you hire. Budget several thousand dollars a year to start; quotes vary widely by state and by your driving records. Do not skip cargo coverage. One dropped television costs more than a month of premiums.

4. Get a truck and the right gear

Most owners start one of two ways:

1. A used 16 to 20 foot box truck. Holds a two or three bedroom home in one trip and looks like a real company
2. Labor only, no truck. You load and unload rental trucks and containers. Low startup cost, and a good way to build reviews while you save for a truck

Then buy the gear that saves furniture and backs: 3 dozen moving blankets, two appliance dollies, two furniture dollies, straps, shrink wrap, a tool kit for taking beds apart, door jamb protectors and floor runners.

5. Set your rates before the phone rings

Local moves are priced by the hour. A common starting point for a small company in a mid-size US city is $140 an hour for two movers and a truck, with a two-hour minimum, and $110 an hour for two movers on labor-only jobs. Customers think in bedrooms, so turn your hourly math into a price by home size too:

• One bedroom: about $480
• Two bedrooms: about $930
• Three bedrooms: about $1,380

Then add stairs or an elevator (+$100), a long carry (+$75) and pianos or safes (+$250). Our guide on how much to charge for a local move walks through the math.

6. Take a deposit on every booking

A deposit of $100 to $250 turns "we'll probably use you" into a booked date. Write a short cancellation policy and send it with the deposit invoice. See moving deposits and cancellations.

7. Get your first customers

• A Google Business Profile with your service area, hours and photos of your truck and crew
• A website with prices by home size, so people who find you at night can see what it costs and pick a date
• Realtors, apartment managers and storage facilities. They see people moving every week
• Answer every call. People call three movers and book the first one that picks up

Read how to get moving leads without paying lead sites for more.

8. Write down every move

Track the home size, the crew, the hours, what you charged and anything that went wrong. After 30 moves you will know how long a two-bedroom really takes your crew, and your prices will get sharper.

How long until it pays

A two-truck company running six moves a week at a $900 average ticket brings in about $5,400 a week in season. After labor, fuel, insurance and the truck payment, many owner operators keep 20 to 35 percent. The ones who grow fastest look professional from day one: a lettered truck, a real website with prices, fast answers and a crew that wraps every piece.