What Should You Ask Before You Book Movers in Las Vegas?
Every mover sounds professional on the phone. The difference shows up in the answers to five direct questions:
- Are your movers employees or subcontractors?
- What's your liability coverage?
- What's the hourly rate, in writing?
- What equipment do you bring?
- Where can I read reviews besides your own website?
A company that answers all five without hesitation has nothing to hide. A company that gets vague on any one of them is worth a second call to someone else.
Are the Movers W2 Employees or Subcontracted Day Labor?
This is the single question that predicts the rest of the experience. Some crews are assembled the morning of the job from a labor pool, with no background check and no ongoing accountability to the company that booked the job. If something goes wrong, there's no direct employer to call.
Ask directly: 'Are your movers W2 employees, or do you subcontract to day labor?' A legitimate crew will answer without hesitation. Coyotes Moving uses trained, background-checked W2 crews for every job, not day labor and not a subcontracted network. The same team member who answers the phone is accountable for the crew that shows up.
Is the Company Licensed and Insured for Your Move?
General Liability vs. Workers' Compensation
Two separate coverages matter here. General liability protects your belongings and property if something goes wrong during the job. Workers' compensation protects you: if an uninsured mover is hurt on your property, you can be held liable. A company that only carries one, or neither, is a real financial exposure for the customer, not just the mover.
What to Ask For
Ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) before move day, especially for HOA communities or gated properties that require one for building access. Coyotes Moving carries $1M in general liability coverage through Berkshire Hathaway/biBERK, plus full workers' compensation, and provides a COI on request for HOA and gated-community moves.
Does a Las Vegas Moving Company Need a CPCN License?
In Nevada, a moving company operating as a full-service carrier within the state needs a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the Nevada Transportation Authority on top of general business licensing. It's a separate, mover-specific requirement, not something every local service business needs, and it's one more thing worth confirming before you book. Coyotes Moving holds CPCN 3415. Ask every mover you're considering for their license number and confirm it before moving day, the same way you'd confirm insurance.
How Do You Know If a Mover's Pricing Is Actually Transparent?
The biggest source of moving-day disputes is pricing that was never actually in writing. Red flags include:
- No published hourly rate by crew size
- A quote that changes once the crew arrives
- Add-on fees for things like wrapping a TV, extra boxes, or stairs that should already be part of the labor time
Before booking, ask for the hourly rate by crew size, the billing increment, and the minimum hours, all in writing. Call for current pricing by crew size. Coyotes Moving bills in 15-minute increments after a 2-hour minimum and turns most quotes around in about 10 minutes. Wrapping furniture, handling stairs, and moving extra boxes are included in the labor time, not billed separately.
What Equipment Should Movers Bring on Moving Day?
A crew without the right equipment moves slower and takes more risk with your furniture and floors. Before booking, ask what the crew brings standard, not what's available for an extra fee.
Coyotes Moving crews arrive with:
- Furniture dollies
- An appliance dolly
- Moving blankets and pads
- Ratchet straps
- Floor runners
- Wall and door frame protectors
- A full tool kit for disassembly and reassembly of furniture
That's seven pieces of standard equipment on every job, not billed as an upgrade.
How Many Reviews Should a Mover Have, and Where?
A five-star average on a single platform isn't enough to judge a mover by. Check at least two independent sources, since review patterns differ by platform and a company that only shows well on one can be hiding something on another. Look for recency (reviews from the last few months, not just the last few years) and for repeated specifics like on-time arrival, careful handling, and accurate pricing rather than generic praise.
Coyotes Moving has 800+ five-star reviews across platforms, including 315+ Google reviews, giving a comparison shopper more than one place to independently verify the same reputation.
Local Labor-Only vs. Interstate Moves: What Changes in the Vetting Process?
The five checkpoints above apply to any move, but two additional questions matter depending on the move type.
Most local moves in Las Vegas are handled full-service. Labor-only is a local-only option for customers who already have a truck reserved and just need the hourly crew. Either way, confirm the hourly rate, crew size, and minimum hours up front (see Full-Service vs. Labor-Only Movers in Las Vegas for the full breakdown of when each option makes sense).
For an interstate move, ask whether the company holds active interstate operating authority, meaning a USDOT number and MC number, and whether it's the actual carrier handling your belongings from start to finish or a broker who hands the job to someone else. Coyotes Moving holds active interstate operating authority and handles interstate jobs directly, without handing the move off to a third party. Full details on service scope are on the interstate moving and local moving pages.