Moving deposits and cancellation refunds: what federal rules actually require

A company asks for money before moving day. You want to know whether that payment is normal, whether you can get it back if plans change, and what happens if you cancel. For interstate household goods moves, federal rules answer some of those questions and leave others to the written deal you signed. This page separates what the rules force a company to do from what they leave to its own policy.

First: who took your money?

Start by naming the company on the receipt. Is it a household goods motor carrier (a mover with trucks and authority to haul), or a household goods broker (a company that arranges the move but does not transport your goods)? The federal rules are different for each. If you are not sure, look up the USDOT or MC number on FMCSA's mover search, and see how to tell a carrier from a broker.

If you booked through a broker

Household goods brokers have a clear disclosure duty under 49 CFR 371.117. Before a carrier is scheduled to pick up your property, the broker must prominently disclose, on its website and in its agreements with you:

• Its cancellation policy
• Its deposit policy
• Its policy for refunding deposited funds if you cancel

The broker also has to keep a record of each cancellation request and what happened to it for three years. If it refunded a deposit, that record must include proof you cashed or deposited the check or money order, or proof the refund was delivered to you.

Read what that rule does not do. It does not set a federal maximum deposit. It does not require every deposit to be refundable. It does not create a nationwide cancellation window. The protection is daylight: you are supposed to be able to read the policy before you pay. If the website and the agreement have no clear cancellation, deposit, or refund terms, that is a disclosure gap, and a good reason to walk away before money changes hands.

If you booked with a carrier

Part 375, the consumer protection rules for interstate household goods carriers, does not use the word "deposit" the way the broker rule does. There is no federal dollar cap and no federal refund deadline written into Part 375 for a pre-move payment. What governs a carrier deposit is the carrier's published tariff and the written terms you agreed to.

Two carrier rules matter when you are asked to pay early:

• 49 CFR 375.215 says all rates and charges, including the method of payment, must follow the carrier's tariff then in effect.
• 49 CFR 375.213(b)(2) says that before the bill of lading is executed, the carrier must give you notice that the applicable tariff sections for the estimate are available, and that you may examine them or have copies sent on request.

So the practical ask is short: send me the tariff pages, or the written terms, that cover this deposit and what happens if I cancel. A company that cannot point to anything written has no federal tariff rule to lean on either.

The three-day window to walk away without penalty

Current federal rules give you a concrete exit after you sign the contract. Under 49 CFR 375.505(h), the bill of lading must be provided to you, signed, and dated at least three days before the shipment is scheduled to be loaded. The carrier must give you the chance to rescind that bill of lading without any penalty for a three-day period after you sign it.

Two details worth knowing:

• If, on moving day, you add items or services and the carrier writes a new estimate under the estimate rules, the matching bill-of-lading changes from that new estimate do not restart a fresh three-day clock.
• FMCSA's Protect Your Move guidance still tells consumers to cancel promptly if plans change, and reminds them that early paperwork is not the same thing as staying locked in forever. The enforceable three-day rescission language today sits on the bill of lading rule above.

If you are still inside that three-day window, put the rescission in writing, keep a copy, and ask in the same message what happens to any money already paid.

Payment form and credit at delivery

A deposit should show up as a credit against what you owe. Under 49 CFR 375.217, the form of payment named on the estimate must be honored at delivery unless you agree in writing to change it, and the bill of lading must list the same form. At delivery, check that any deposit you already paid is subtracted from the amount the carrier demands before unloading. For how much a carrier can demand at the door on binding and non-binding estimates, see extra moving charges and the delivery cap.

Red flags before you send money

• The company wants a large wire, gift card, or cryptocurrency payment and will not put deposit and cancellation terms in writing.
• A broker's site has no prominent cancellation, deposit, or refund policy, despite 371.117.
• A carrier asks for a deposit but will not send the tariff sections that govern it.
• You are pressured to sign a bill of lading less than three days before loading, which conflicts with 375.505(h).
• The receipt names a different company than the one on the estimate or the FMCSA record.

Those patterns show up often in moving scam complaints. See also scam red flags.

If you need to cancel or chase a refund

1. Pull the estimate, agreement, deposit receipt, and any emailed policy you saved when you booked.
2. Send a dated cancellation in writing (email is fine if that is how you booked). Name the booking, pickup date, amount paid, and what you want back.
3. Ask for written confirmation that the job is cancelled and an itemized explanation of any amount the company plans to keep.
4. Compare the answer to the broker policy or carrier tariff pages you were given.
5. If the company never disclosed a required broker policy, or otherwise broke a Part 375 or Part 371 rule, you can file an FMCSA complaint. FMCSA does not recover your money for you, but the complaint becomes part of the company's record.

A short checklist before you pay

1. Confirm whether you are dealing with a carrier or a broker.
2. Read the cancellation, deposit, and refund terms in writing.
3. For a broker, make sure those terms are on the website and in the agreement (371.117).
4. For a carrier, ask for the tariff sections that cover the deposit (375.213 and 375.215).
5. Do not sign a blank document, and plan for the three-day bill-of-lading window (375.505).
6. Keep every receipt so the deposit can be credited at delivery.