How movers weigh your shipment, and how to demand a reweigh

If your interstate move is priced on a non-binding estimate, the weight of your shipment largely decides your final bill. A few hundred extra pounds on paper can add real money. Federal rules spell out exactly how an interstate mover has to weigh your goods, what proof it has to give you, and when you can insist on a second weighing. Here's what they say, in plain terms.

When the weight matters

If you have a binding estimate, the price is set in advance, so the scale matters less. If you have a non-binding estimate based on weight, the mover must weigh your shipment before it charges you anything, and it must use a certified scale. If the mover estimated your move by volume (cubic feet) and then converts that to weight, it has to give you a written explanation of how it did the conversion. Not sure which kind of estimate you have? See binding vs non-binding estimates.

The two weighing methods movers are allowed to use

The rules allow two ways to find the weight of your goods. Both compare the truck empty (the "tare" weight) with the truck loaded (the "gross" weight):

• Origin weigh: the truck is weighed empty before loading at your old home, then weighed again after your goods are loaded.
• Back weigh: the loaded truck is weighed, and then the same truck is weighed again empty after your goods are unloaded.

For both weighings, three conditions apply:

• All the pads, dollies, hand trucks, ramps, and other equipment the move needs must be on the truck both times, so equipment isn't counted as your stuff.
• The driver and anyone else must be off the truck.
• The fuel tanks must be full at each weighing. With an origin weigh where the empty weighing comes first, the mover can instead simply not add fuel between the two weighings.

A mover can weigh just the trailer of a tractor-trailer at each weighing, as long as the scale is long enough to hold the whole trailer at once. If your goods travel in a container, the charge is based on the loaded container minus the empty container, including its pads and bracing.

For small shipments of 3,000 pounds or less, a mover may instead weigh your goods on a certified platform or warehouse scale before loading or after unloading.

You have the right to watch every weighing

You, or whoever is paying the bill, have the right to observe every weighing of your shipment. The mover has to tell you where and when each weighing will happen and give you a reasonable chance to be there.

If you choose not to show up for a weighing, you're treated as having given up the right to watch that one. Skipping a reweigh is stricter: to give up watching a reweigh, you must waive it in writing, by fax, email, overnight courier, or certified mail with return receipt. Either way, passing on a weighing doesn't take away any of your other rights.

Ask for the weight tickets

Every weighing the rules require has to produce a weight ticket signed by the weigh master. One ticket can cover both weighings if they happen on the same scale. Each ticket must show:

• The full name and location of the scale.
• The date of each weighing.
• Which number is the tare, gross, or net weight.
• The company or carrier ID of the truck.
• Your last name as it appears on the bill of lading.
• The mover's shipment registration or bill of lading number.

Any freight bill that charges you based on weight must include true copies of all the weight tickets. If the bill shows up without them, ask for them before you pay. It's also worth checking that the truck ID on the ticket matches the vehicle ID on your bill of lading.

How to demand a reweigh

If your shipment was weighed at origin, you can demand a reweigh after the mover tells you the billing weight and total charges, but before it starts unloading. The mover then has to base your bill on the reweigh weight. Timing is the whole game here: once unloading begins, this right is gone, so look at the numbers as soon as you get them.

Get the weight and charges a day before delivery

If you're paying on delivery, you can ask the mover to tell you the actual weight (or volume) and charges before it delivers. You need to give it an address or phone number where you'll get the message. The mover then has to reach you at least one full 24-hour day before it offers delivery, not counting weekends and federal holidays, by phone, in person, fax, email, overnight courier, or certified mail with return receipt.

There are three exceptions: when the shipment will be back weighed at destination; when pickup and delivery happen on two back-to-back weekdays and you agree; or when you're on a non-binding estimate, the most you owe at delivery is 110 percent of the estimate, and you agree to waive the 24-hour notice.

That 110 percent figure matters: on a non-binding estimate, a mover can't hold your goods until you pay more than that at delivery. If it does, see what to do if a mover holds your goods hostage.

A quick checklist

1. Check whether your estimate is binding or non-binding, and whether it's priced by weight or volume.
2. If it's by volume converted to weight, ask for the written conversion explanation.
3. Ask the mover where and when each weighing will happen, and go if you can.
4. If you won't be there, ask that the weight tickets be sent to you.
5. On a collect-on-delivery move, request the weight and charges in advance, and give a phone number or email.
6. If the weight looks off on an origin-weighed shipment, demand a reweigh before unloading starts.
7. Don't pay a weight-based bill that arrives without copies of the weight tickets.