What Should You Ask Before Hiring a Full-Service Mover for an Interstate Move?
An interstate move is a bigger commitment than a local one. Your belongings leave the state in someone else's care, so the questions that matter go beyond price:
- Are your movers employees or subcontracted day labor?
- Do you hold active interstate operating authority?
- How does pricing work, and when do I get a number?
- What equipment do you bring on moving day?
- What's your liability and workers' compensation coverage?
- Where can I read reviews besides your own site?
A company that answers all six 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 question that predicts everything else. Some interstate movers are brokers: they take your booking, then hand your belongings off to a separate crew they don't employ and can't fully vet. If something goes wrong mid-route, there's no direct employer accountable for the people who packed your truck.
Ask directly: "Are your movers W2 employees, or do you subcontract the job?" Coyotes Moving uses trained, background-checked W2 crews for interstate moves, not day labor and not a subcontracted network. The team that quotes the walkthrough is accountable for the crew that shows up on moving day.
Does the Company Hold Active Interstate Operating Authority?
Why This Matters More Than It Sounds
Interstate moving is federally regulated. A company legally authorized to move belongings across state lines carries a USDOT number and an MC number issued for that authority. Without it, a mover has no business quoting or handling an out-of-state relocation, regardless of how professional the sales call sounds.
What to Ask For
Ask for the company's USDOT and MC numbers before booking, and confirm they're active, not just applied for. Coyotes Moving holds active interstate operating authority under USDOT 4582472 and MC1824304, and handles interstate jobs directly rather than handing the move off to a third party.
How Does the Company Handle Pricing for an Interstate Move?
Interstate pricing shouldn't come from a fast phone estimate. Too many variables affect the real cost: total distance, household size, timeline, and any specialty items. A mover who quotes a number over the phone without seeing your home is often the same mover whose price grows once the truck is loaded.
Coyotes Moving prices interstate moves after a video walkthrough or in-person visit, so the number you're given reflects the actual scope of your move rather than a rough guess that gets revised on moving day. The team collects your origin address, destination, approximate move size, timeline, and any specialty items first, then walks the space with you before locking in the number.
For a sense of where that number typically lands, see the pricing guides for Las Vegas to California, Las Vegas to Arizona, Las Vegas to Utah, and Las Vegas to Texas moves.
What Equipment and Protection Does the Crew Bring?
A crew without the right equipment moves slower and puts more risk on your furniture and floors over the course of a multi-day interstate move. Ask what's included standard, not what's available for an extra fee.
Coyotes Moving crews bring furniture dollies, an appliance dolly, moving blankets and pads, ratchet straps, floor runners, wall and door frame protectors, and a full tool kit for disassembly and reassembly. That's seven pieces of standard equipment on every job, not billed as an upgrade.
Is the Company Licensed and Insured for Interstate Work?
Two separate coverages matter here. General liability protects your belongings if something happens during the move. Workers' compensation protects you: if an uninsured mover is hurt on your property, you can be held liable. A company carrying only one, or neither, is a real financial exposure for the customer, not just the mover.
Ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) before moving day, especially if either address is in an HOA or gated community. Coyotes Moving carries $1M in general liability coverage through Berkshire Hathaway/biBERK, plus full workers' compensation, and provides a COI on request.
How Many Reviews Should a Full-Service Mover Have, and Where?
A five-star average on one platform isn't enough to judge an interstate mover by. Check at least two independent sources, since a company that looks great on one platform can be hiding something on another. Look for recency and specifics, on-time arrival, careful handling, accurate pricing after the walkthrough, rather than generic praise.
Coyotes Moving has 800+ 5-star reviews across platforms, including 315+ Google reviews, giving a comparison shopper more than one place to independently verify the same reputation.
Ready to Get Your Interstate Move Priced?
Six questions, six answers: W2 crew, active interstate operating authority, walkthrough-based pricing, standard equipment on every job, real liability and workers' comp coverage, and 800+ reviews across more than one platform. That's the checklist a full-service mover should clear before you hand over your address.
Current out-of-state moves booked through Coyotes Moving include $500 off. Share your origin, destination, and approximate move size to schedule your walkthrough and get your number.