Washington Moving & Household-Goods Intelligence

Who regulates intrastate household-goods movers in Washington?

The current regulator is the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Official UTC language: transportation of household goods means moving people's household items for pay on public roads in Washington. The source-native credential is a permit (Active Permit(s) such as HG###### on company detail). This page does not rename that permit as a license.

UTC Household Goods Carriers · UTC companies lookup

How many active results does the current UTC directory show?

Filter: Household Goods Carriers + Active. Official header on 2026-09-04: Displaying 1 - 50 of 284. ATH-WA-001 baseline was 285. Use the current 284. This is an active-directory result count, not all historically permitted movers and not interstate movers.

How do I verify a Washington mover?

Keep Washington UTC authority and federal interstate authority separate. A carrier that performs both may need both checks.

• Move entirely within Washington. A UTC household-goods permit is central. Verify on the official UTC companies directory. UTC Active is not quality and is not FMCSA Active.
• Move Washington → another state, or another state → Washington. FMCSA interstate operating authority is central. A UTC permit does not authorize interstate transport. Verify USDOT and operating authority on MoveTrustHub Verify DOT and protectyourmove.gov.
• UTC record with a USDOT. That USDOT is a federal identity on that record. It is not interstate operating authority by itself and does not replace the UTC permit.
• FMCSA Washington HQ record with no UTC permit shown. An FMCSA Washington HQ listing is not UTC authorized. Confirm the UTC directory separately for intrastate household-goods work.

Market findings

• The official UTC Household Goods directory, filtered to Active, currently shows 284 results in the page header (Displaying 1 - 50 of 284 as of 2026-09-04). ATH-WA-001 recorded 285. This is an active-directory result count, not a historical universe and not a combined state/federal mover number.
• No supported UTC household-goods bulk CSV, JSON API, or Socrata roster was found. UTC_HHG_BULK_ROSTER = SOURCE_NOT_ACQUIRED. The public path is OPEN_HTML_TABLE / OPEN_SEARCH_ONLY. This ticket did not scrape paginated search results.
• Washington intrastate household-goods work is a UTC permit under Tariff 15-C. Interstate work is FMCSA operating authority. A UTC Active status is not FMCSA Active authority. A USDOT number on a UTC record is a federal identity, not interstate operating authority by itself. A carrier that does both must be verified in both systems.
• Official directory columns include UTC ID, UBI, and USDOT. Company-detail samples also show Active Permit(s) (HG######) and Permanent/Temp. Those identifiers stay separate. Directory UTC ID is not the same integer as the /company/{nid} path on bounded samples.
• UTC sets minimum and maximum household-goods rates in Tariff 15-C. Official consumer rules include written estimates, a 25% cap above a non-binding estimate, hourly vs weight-and-distance splits at 55/56 miles, required Consumer Moving Guide, and a nine-month written claim window. A tariff is not an invoice. UTC does not require settlement of loss-and-damage claims.

Find movers — keep the universes separate

Never merge these into one regulatory status. Name-only matching is unsafe.

What does a UTC ID or permit prove?

The directory UTC ID identifies a UTC company row. Company detail shows Active Permit(s) (for example HG070844) and whether that permit is Permanent or Temp. A UTC ID is not a UBI. A permit number is not the UTC ID. A UTC permit is not an endorsement, not FMCSA interstate authority, and not a quality score. Current status is source-clock-specific. Do not infer approved forever.

What does a USDOT number prove?

A USDOT number is a federal census/identity number. Official UTC directory and detail pages often display it. It is not interstate operating authority by itself and is not a UTC household-goods permit. Confirm operating authority separately on FMCSA SAFER / Verify DOT.

How do state and interstate authority differ?

Federal interstate authority and Washington UTC household-goods authority are separate. UTC ACTIVE is not FMCSA ACTIVE. A USDOT number is not interstate operating authority by itself. An FMCSA Washington HQ record is not UTC authorized. UBI is a Washington business identifier, not mover authority.

What data is not available in bulk?

Coverage SOURCE_NOT_ACQUIRED. Bounded first-page check found no CSV/JSON/API/export. Directory was not paginated. Company IDs were not brute-forced. Missing is not zero.

Consumer protections

Official UTC Consumer Guide to Moving in Washington State and Household Goods Carriers pages retrieved 2026-09-04. A tariff is not an invoice and not a quote calculator. These are Washington UTC rules — not Texas or California rules copied over.

• Intrastate household-goods movers operate under UTC Tariff 15-C minimum and maximum rates. Companies choose rates inside those limits, so costs differ by company.
• Carriers must provide a written binding or non-binding estimate before the move. A non-binding estimate is not a ceiling except that official guidance caps the final cost at no more than 25% above that estimate.
• Household goods carriers must give customers the Consumer Moving Guide.
• Moves of 55 miles or less are generally hourly; moves of 56 miles or more are generally weight-and-distance.
• Valuation options in Tariff 15-C include Basic Value Protection ($0.60 per pound per item) and replacement-cost coverage with deductible. Valuation is not a quality score.
• Written loss/damage claims to the carrier are due within nine months after delivery (Tariff 15-C). UTC can help facilitate negotiations; UTC cannot require settlement of loss and damage claims.
• Work with the mover first, including a supervisor. Then the Consumer Protection Help Line 1-888-333-WUTC (9882) or file a complaint online.

Consumer Guide to Moving in Washington State

Complaints and enforcement

Coverage CONSUMER PROCESS / AGENCY-WIDE NEWS TOTALS ONLY. No household-goods complaint bulk was acquired. A complaint is not a violation. No complaint found is not a clean record. UTC can help facilitate claim negotiations; it cannot require settlement of loss and damage claims.

Enforcement bulk: DOCKET_SEARCH / PDF_ORDERS / NO_BULK_CASE_ROSTER. Adverse profile attachment requires an exact UTC ID, UBI, USDOT, or permit number. Name-only is unsafe. Attachments in this snapshot: 0.

File a UTC complaint · helpline 1-888-333-WUTC (9882)

Evidence depth

What we don't yet know

Missing is not zero.

• Complete downloadable UTC household-goods roster: SOURCE_NOT_ACQUIRED / OPEN_HTML_TABLE
• Full state UTC ↔ USDOT crosswalk: PARTIAL_RECORD_LEVEL
• Complete UTC contact census: DETAIL_FIELDS_OBSERVED / NOT_A_CENSUS
• Complete UTC enforcement / order history: DOCKET_SEARCH / SOURCE_NOT_ACQUIRED
• Household-goods complaint bulk: PROCESS_ONLY
• Historical mover universe: UNKNOWN
• Washington city/county intelligence pages: OUT_OF_SCOPE_THIS_TICKET

Semantic rules

• UTC STATE AUTHORITY != FMCSA INTERSTATE AUTHORITY
• USDOT != INTERSTATE OPERATING AUTHORITY BY ITSELF
• UBI != MOVER AUTHORITY
• UTC ACTIVE != QUALITY
• UTC PERMIT != ENDORSEMENT
• FMCSA WASHINGTON HQ != UTC AUTHORIZED
• TARIFF != QUOTE
• COMPLAINT != VIOLATION
• NO COMPLAINT FOUND != CLEAN RECORD
• MISSING != ZERO
• NO TRUST SCORE
• NO PAID RANKING

No Trust Score. No paid ranking. No Washington city or county pages in this ticket.