How many licensed interstate movers are based in California?

13,294 companies based in California hold federal interstate household goods authority as of 2026-08-12, per the FMCSA register. 13,290 hold carrier authority and 267 hold broker authority; some companies hold both.

How do I check that a California moving company is legitimate?

Ask for their USDOT number and look up the record before paying anything. Confirm the company name matches your quote, the operating status is active, and whether the record says carrier or broker. A mover who will not give you a DOT number is not one to hire.

Are there moving brokers in California?

Yes: 267 of the 13,294 registered household goods companies in California hold broker authority. A broker arranges your move and sells the job to a carrier. That is legal, but you should know which one you are booking before you pay a deposit.

FMCSA register · data as of 2026-08-12

Licensed interstate movers in California

13,294 companies based in California hold federal household goods authority: 13,290 as carriers and 267 as brokers (2%). 199 currently show a required insurance or bond filing missing from the federal record.

What the federal register shows for California

13,294companies with household goods authority

4are broker-only: they hold no carrier authority and own no trucks for your job

Also hold broker authority267 of 13,2942.0%

A broker arranges the move and hands it to a carrier you have not met. Holding both is legal and common: ask which one your job is booked under, and get the answer in writing.

Required insurance or bond filing missing199 of 13,2941.5%

The register lists a filing as required and shows none on file. That is the single strongest signal on this page. Companies with no authority record at all are not counted here, because absent data is not the same as a missing filing.

The largest California movers on the federal record

Ordered by registered fleet size, which is a fact of the FMCSA record, not a quality rating. Click through to check any company's licence, insurance filings and authority history.

Company	City	Fleet	Authority	USDOT
MEATHEAD MOVERS	SAN LUIS OBISPO	53	Carrier	921143
WATERS MOVING & STORAGE	MARTINEZ	35	Carrier	1125579
BLVD MOVING	CHATSWORTH	35	Carrier	2892909
CITY MOVING dba MOVE HAPPY ACME	LOS ANGELES	31	Carrier	3136064
COLONIAL VAN & STORAGE	SACRAMENTO	31	Carrier	2973
WALKER BROTHERS MACHINERY MOVING	ANAHEIM	30	Carrier	1410765
CROWN WORLDWIDE MOVING AND STORAGE	UNION CITY	25	Carrier	2970
NOR-CAL MOVING SERVICES	HAYWARD	23	Carrier	1844592
AN MOVING FORWARD dba BEST CALIFORNIA MOVERS	N HOLLYWOOD	22	Carrier	3489907
LOVEJOY'S FAMILY MOVING dba REPUBLIC MOVING & STORAGE	SAN DIEGO	21	Carrier	3369820
ACKLEY ENTERPRISES dba ACKLEY MOVING SERVICES	POWAY	21	Carrier	1868365
ONTRACK MOVING	HAYWARD	20	Carrier	2551548

Source: FMCSA Company Census and MOTUS authority records, US government public domain. Selection note: this table lists companies whose registered business is household moving; the full California register, including carriers that merely hold the authority, is searchable in the free checker.

Movers by city in California

Each city page lists the companies registered there, with fleet size, carrier or broker status and insurance filings from the same federal record.

Check a California mover before you pay a deposit

Licence status, carrier vs broker, insurance on file, and any revocation history: straight from the federal record.

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A binding estimate from a licensed carrier, not a broker handing your move to whoever bids lowest.

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