PRA 2126-0025 Supporting Statement 06.18.25

Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

“Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection” ICR

OMB Control No. 2126-0025

SUMMARY

• This information collection request (ICR) is a renewal due to the current ICR expiring on July 31, 2025.

• There is an increase of 14,609 burden hours due to changes in Agency estimates. Please see section 15 for details on the changes.

• There are five information collections as follows:

IC-1: Required Information for Prospective Individual Shippers

IC-2: Estimating Charges

IC-3: Pick Up of Shipments of Household Goods

IC-4: Transportation of Shipments

IC-5: Consumer Complaints

INTRODUCTION

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requests the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval for the renewal of an information collection request (ICR), titled “Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection,” covered by OMB Control Number 2126-0025, and currently due to expire on July 31, 2025.

Part A. Justification

1. CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MAKE THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

NECESSARY.

FMCSA has the authority to regulate the operations of the household goods industry. Under 49 U.S.C. § 14104(a)(1), paperwork required of household goods motor carriers must be minimized to the maximum extent feasible, consistent with the protection of individual shippers. See 49 U.S.C. § 14104, “Household goods carrier operations,” (Attachment A).

This ICR includes the information collection requirements contained in 49 CFR part 375, Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer Protection Regulations (Attachment B).

On July 12, 2005, FMCSA published a Final Rule titled “Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection Regulations,” (70 FR 39949) (Attachment C), which specifies how motor carriers transporting household goods by motor vehicle in interstate commerce must assist their individual customers who ship household goods. The collected information encompasses that which is generated, maintained, and provided to, or for, the Agency under 49 CFR part 375.

On August 10, 2005, the President signed into law the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, (August 10, 2005), (Attachment D). The Agency consequently revised this ICR to address these statutory impacts in a final rule titled “Amendments to Implement Certain Provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)” (72 FR 36760) (July 5, 2007) (Attachment E). Section 4205 of SAFETEA-LU amended 49 U.S.C. 14104(b) by requiring household goods motor carriers to conduct physical surveys of the household goods to be transported on behalf of individual shippers. The household goods motor carrier must then provide the shipper with a written estimate, based on the physical survey, of charges for the transportation and all related services. The statute permits two exceptions to this requirement.

First, the individual shipper may elect to waive a physical survey of the household goods. The waiver must be in writing; it must be signed by the individual shipper before the household goods shipment is loaded; and the motor carrier must retain a copy of the waiver as an addendum to the bill of lading. The copy of the waiver agreement is subject to the same record retention requirements that apply to the bill of lading, as provided in section 375.505(d).

Second, the motor carrier must conduct a physical survey of the household goods if the goods are located within a 50-mile radius of either the motor carrier’s location or that of its household goods agent. The physical survey must be completed prior to preparing the written estimate for the individual shipper. Section 4205 also added certain requirements for household goods carriers to provide specified consumer information publications to individual shippers.

On November 29, 2010, FMCSA published a final rule titled “Brokers of Household Goods Transportation by Motor Vehicle” (75 FR 72987) (Attachment F) which extended certain recordkeeping requirements to household goods brokers. The rule specifically allowed for the electronic distribution of certain consumer protection documents and required both household goods brokers and motor carriers to retain records of electronic distribution for three years.

On July 16, 2012, FMCSA published a direct final rule titled “Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer Protection Regulations: Household Goods Motor Carrier Record Retention Requirements” (77 FR 41699) (Attachment G) that amended the regulations governing the period during which household goods motor carriers must retain documentation of an individual shipper’s waiver of receipt of printed copies of consumer protection materials. In the rulemaking, FMCSA reduced the three-year required retention period for those receipts to one year. This change harmonized the retention period with other document retention requirements applicable to household goods motor carriers. FMCSA also amended the regulations to clarify that a household goods motor carrier is not required to retain waiver documentation from any individual shippers for whom the carrier does not actually provide services.

On April 26, 2022, FMCSA updated the regulations at 49 CFR parts 371 and 375 in a final rule titled “Implementation of Household Goods Working Group Recommendations” (87 FR 24431) (Attachment H). The final rule made various changes to the household goods regulations that the Household Goods Consumer Protection Working Group recommended to FMCSA. These changes included further revisions to streamline FMCSA’s publication “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” (Attachment I). The requirements for “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” to be provided along with the estimate and for new binding or non-binding estimates instead of the previously-required revised estimates when an individual shipper tenders more goods or requests additional service are incorporated in appendix A of the regulations. The final rule also, allowed a motor carrier to provide a virtual survey and removing the 50-mile radius for when a survey is required, removed the requirement for an order for service and incorporated that document into the bill of lading, and made other minor updates to increase the clarity of the regulations. These changes were intended to reduce the paperwork burden on household goods motor carriers and reduce confusion for individual shippers.

2. HOW, BY WHOM, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE IS THE INFORMATION USED

FMCSA will use the information provided by the shippers, when necessary, while conducting reviews, audits, and investigations of carriers to determine if a carrier/mover is in compliance with the Federal requirements. If this collected information was not available, FMCSA would have no means of independently verifying compliance.

3. EXTENT OF AUTOMATED INFORMATION COLLECTION

FMCSA estimates that approximately 60% of consumers will elect to receive consumer protection materials electronically. None of the information is submitted to FMCSA.

4. EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION

FMCSA is unaware of any other collections of information that will duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this ICR.

5. EFFORTS TO MINIMIZE THE BURDEN ON SMALL BUSINESSES

FMCSA acted to further minimize the burden on small businesses by offering the option to provide a hyperlink on movers’ websites that directs users to the FMCSA website containing FMCSA’s publication “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” (Attachment I) and publication FMCSA–ESA–03–005 (or its successor publication) titled “Ready to Move?” (Attachment J). Providing the hyperlink eliminates the cost of hardcopy reproduction. The household goods motor carrier must retain either electronic or paper receipts demonstrating that the shipper received both documents and agreed to access the Federal consumer protection information online. FMCSA reduced the three-year record retention requirement for these receipts to one year following its 2012 amendments to the household goods regulations, as discussed above. This reduction further minimized the burden on small businesses. In addition, FMCSA limited the document retention requirement to require household goods motor carriers to retain receipts from only those consumers for whom they provide household goods transportation services. FMCSA previously shortened the FMCSA publication “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move,” and the final rule “Implementation of Household Goods Working Group Recommendations” updates the regulation to require use of this shortened version of the booklet.

Additionally, the “Implementation of Household Goods Working Group Recommendations” final rule updated the requirements for document collection by motor carriers and those they distribute to individual shippers in the transportation of household goods. The changes also eliminated the Order for Service document, consolidating its content into the Bill of Lading. These changes further reduced the burden on small businesses and consumers by reducing the information that must be distributed and read by motor carriers and consumers.

6. IMPACT OF LESS FREQUENT COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

The information in this ICR renewal proposal will be collected when a consumer solicits information from a household goods motor carrier as a prospective shipper, when a household goods motor carrier provides an estimate to a prospective shipper, when a shipper elects to have a particular household goods motor carrier transport their household goods, and when a shipper files a complaint against a household goods motor carrier. Certain information will be transferred to the consumer to educate themselves about their rights and responsibilities in commercial transactions with the household goods mover. Therefore, frequency is based on the number of moves and requests made, based on a shipper’s needs, and is not a factor that FMCSA can control.

7. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

The information is not collected more frequently than quarterly since the data is required only when services are requested by the consumer. This information is designed to help the consumer understand each part of the commercial transaction and assess whether the terms offered by the household goods motor carrier are fair, accurate, and in compliance with applicable laws.

8. COMPLIANCE WITH 5 CFR 1320.8

A 60-day Federal Register notice was published on January 15, 2025 (90 FR 3995). It announced FMCSA’s intent to submit this ICR to OMB for approval and requested comments from the public for 60 days. No comments were received in response to the 60-day FR notice.

9. PAYMENT OF GIFTS TO RESPONDENTS

There are no payments or gifts to respondents for this information collection.

10. ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

None of the information collected by household goods motor carriers or brokers will be confidential.

11. JUSTIFICATION FOR COLLECTION OF SENSITIVE INFORMATION

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. ESTIMATE OF BURDEN HOURS FOR INFORMATION REQUESTED

This supporting statement divides the burden into five collections roughly corresponding to the subsections in the household goods regulations in which the specific paperwork and record keeping requirements for household goods motor carriers appear:

In addition, the annual burden hour cost estimates incorporate the following wage rates for workers in the truck transportation industry:

• IC-1: Required Information for Prospective Individual Shippers

• IC-2: Estimating Charges

• IC-3: Pick Up of Shipments of Household Goods

• IC-4: Transportation of Shipments

• IC-5: Consumer Complaints

Each collection is discussed separately below. The burden hour estimates result from calculations using unrounded values, and therefore totals may not sum. The burden hour estimates incorporate the following assumptions and statistics:

• 7,861 household goods motor carriers have active FMCSA operating authority.¹

• 213 household goods motor carriers enter the industry each year.²

• 558,851 for-hire interstate moves take place each year.³

• Shippers contact three household goods motor carriers per move.⁴

• The average household goods motor carrier can print and store 1,600 pages of paper per hour.⁵

Table 1. Estimated Wage Rates

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code6	Occupational Title	Base Median Hourly Wage7 (a)	Load Factor8 (b)	Loaded Hourly Wage (a × b = c)
43-9061	Office Clerks, General	$20.40	1.49	$30.35
23-1011	Lawyers	$90.41		$134.52
15-1254	Web Developers	$43.24		$64.34
53-1047	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	$32.85		$48.88
43-5011	Cargo and Freight Agents	$23.28		$34.64
15-1240	Database and Systems Administrators and Network Architects	$37.84		$56.30
43-4051	Customer Service Representatives	$22.25		$33.11

IC­­-1: Required Information for Prospective Individual Shippers

Household goods consumer protection regulations require household goods motor carriers to provide certain information to prospective shippers, including the following:

1. A copy of Department of Transportation publication FMCSA–ESA–03–005 (or its successor publication) titled “Ready to Move?”⁹ with every written cost estimate.

2. The contents of part 375 appendix A, titled “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move”¹⁰ (Department of Transportation publication FMCSA– ESA–03–006, or its successor publication).

3. A concise, easy-to-read, accurate summary of the mover’s arbitration program.

4. A concise, easy-to-read, accurate summary of the mover’s complaint and inquiry handling procedures.

To estimate burden hours for IC-1, the Agency divides activities into five subsections:

• “Ready to Move?” pamphlet;

• “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” document;

• Summary of arbitration programs and summary of complaint and inquiry procedures;

• Internet Website Hyperlinks to Federal Consumer Protection Information; and

• Signed Receipt for Verification of Booklets Received.

Burden figures associated with these subsections may be deficient due to rounding.

Using the assumptions and statistics listed above—that 558,851 for-hire interstate household goods moves occur each year and that shippers contact and receive cost estimates from, on average, three movers per shipment—FMCSA estimates that movers compose 1,676,553 cost estimates each year (558,851 shipments × 3 contacts).

“Ready to Move?” Pamphlet

Under § 375.213(a), household goods motor carriers are required to provide with every written estimate a copy of Department of Transportation publication FMCSA–ESA–03–005 (or its successor publication) titled “Ready to Move?” (Attachment K). Household goods motor carriers can accomplish this either (1) by physically distributing the pamphlets or (2) by providing a hyperlink on their website. The annual burden for physical distribution is based on the requirement for household goods motor carriers to print and store their supplies of “Ready to Move?” pamphlets. FMCSA estimates that 40 percent of all consumers (shippers) will request a paper version of this pamphlet. The Agency assumes that established household goods motor carriers will already have an electronic version of this document stored and ready to print from their computer systems and that new household goods motor carriers will be able to obtain it from the www.protectyourmove.gov website in under 1 minute.

Because the “Ready to Move?” pamphlet is a two-page document, the Agency assumes that household goods motor carriers will print these documents themselves in batches throughout the year. Given the 1,676,553 written estimates prepared annually, there will be 670,621 requests for paper versions of the “Ready to Move?” pamphlet, resulting in a total of 1,341,242 printed pages (670,621 requests × 2 printed pages), and a total of 838 burden hours (1,341,242 pages ÷ 1,600 pages per hour).

The Agency assumes printing and storing the pamphlets will be completed by an employee equivalent to an office clerk with a loaded hourly wage of $30.35 (Table 1). This results in a total annual burden hour cost of $25,445 ($30.35 × 838 hours).

“Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” Document

FMCSA previously required the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” document to be provided with every Order for Service, but it must now accompany every estimate, which would result in providing an additional two documents per interstate move. The Agency assumes that a copy of the document will be provided for each of the 1,676,553 written estimates that are provided each year.

To calculate the burden associated with the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” document, the Agency uses assumptions analogous to those for the “Ready to Move?” pamphlet: established household goods carriers will already have an electronic version of the document stored on their computer systems ready to print; and new carriers will be able to obtain the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” brochure from the www.protectyourmove.gov website in under 1 minute.

Due to the length of the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” document (25 pages), household goods motor carriers may opt to have copies produced by professional printing services. This would presumably reduce the time burden of this requirement but may increase other costs to respondents discussed in section 13 of this ICR. The Agency lacks information on what method movers will choose and calculates burden estimates assuming that movers produce copies themselves. As mentioned above, FMCSA estimates that 40 percent of all consumers (shippers) will request a paper version of this pamphlet and that shippers request an estimate from three household goods motor carriers. The total number of copies produced by all household goods motor carriers is estimated to be 670,621 (558,851 × 40% × 3), which equals 16,765,530 pages (670,621 pamphlets × 25 pages), and 10,478 burden hours (16,765,530 pages ÷ 1,600 pages per hour).

The Agency assumes printing and storing these pamphlets will also be completed by an office clerk. Multiplying the total annual burden hours by the loaded hourly wage of $30.35 (Table 1) results in a total annual burden hour cost of $318,063 ($30.35 × 10,478 hours).

Summaries of Arbitration Programs and Complaint and Inquiry Procedures

Drafting Documents: The Agency believes that both the summary of the arbitration program and the summary of complaint and inquiry procedures will be one-page documents (two pages in total) that carriers will produce copies of themselves. Established firms will have already created these documents, but the 213 new HHG movers that enter each year will be required to create them; these will contain information specific to the firm, so there are no ready-made documents that movers can simply download. The Agency assumes that new firms will spend 2 hours initially creating each type of summary, resulting in 852 annual burden hours (213 new firms × 2 summary documents × 2 hours per document).

The Agency assumes an individual equivalent to a lawyer will complete this task at a loaded hourly wage of $134.52 (Table 1). New firms will incur an estimated burden hour cost of $114,615 ($134.52 × 852 hours).

Printing Documents: The summaries of arbitration programs and complaint and inquiry procedures are required to be provided before a bill of lading is executed but do not have to accompany every written estimate. Of the 558,851 household goods shipments that occur each year, the Agency assumes that 40 percent of shippers will request paper copies. Further, the Agency assumes that household goods motor carriers will print these documents themselves in batches throughout the year. Therefore, the total number of printed copies produced and stored by all household goods movers is estimated to be 223,540 (558,851 × 40%), which equals 447,081 printed pages (223,540 pamphlets × 2 pages), and 279 burden hours (447,081 pages ÷ 1,600 pages per hour).

The Agency assumes this task will also be completed by an office clerk. Multiplying the annual burden hours by the loaded hourly wage of $30.35 (Table 1), results in a total annual burden hour cost of $8,482 ($30.35 × 279 hours).

Internet Website Hyperlinks to Federal Consumer Protection Information

As an alternative to printed versions of the “Ready to Move?” and “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” documents required to be provided with every written estimate before a bill of lading is executed, household goods motor carriers may provide a hyperlink directed to each of these documents from their websites. FMCSA expects programming/uploading the hyperlinks/documents to be a one-time, 0.5-hour burden for new entrants, as FMCSA does not expect that the weblink will change within the three years covered by this ICR. The Agency estimates that the 213 annual new entrants will incur a total of 107 annual burden hours (213 new entrants × 0.5 hours) programming/uploading the hyperlinks/documents.

The Agency assumes this task will be completed by a web developer with a loaded hourly wage of $64.34 (Table 1), resulting in an estimated total annual burden hour cost of $6,852 ($64.34 × 107 hours).

Signed Receipt for Verification of Booklets Received

If a shipper elects to receive the “Ready to Move?” and “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklets electronically, the household goods motor carrier must, before it executes a bill of lading for shipment of household goods, obtain a signed and dated electronic or paper receipt showing that the individual shipper has received the two pamphlets that includes, if applicable, verification of the shipper's agreement to access the Federal consumer protection information on the Internet. Further, the signed receipt must be maintained for one year from the date the shipper signs the receipt.

To do this, a household goods mover would have to place a form on its website to be printed and signed by the shipper, and then the household goods mover would have to retain the signed document for one year. The associated burden would include informing the shipper of the necessity to fill out the statement, receiving the statement, filing it (or converting to electronic copies), and emptying the file after the retention period.

FMCSA estimates that 60 percent of all consumers (shippers) will request an electronic version of the booklets, resulting in 335,311 receipts that must be kept on file for one year (558,851 shipments × 60%). On average, each household goods motor carrier would have to perform this process approximately 43 times every year (335,311 ÷ 7,861 movers). The Agency estimates that household goods motor carriers would spend no more than a total of 4 hours on this process, which results in an annual burden of 31,444 hours (7,861 x 4 hours).

Assuming an office clerk will complete this task at a loaded hourly wage of $30.35 (Table 1), the Agency estimates respondents will incur a total annual burden hour cost of $954,452 ($30.35 × 31,444 hours).

Totals for IC-1

The total annual burden for IC-1, Required Information for Prospective Individual Shippers, is estimated to be 43,999 hours (838 hours for “Ready to Move?” pamphlet + 10,478 for “Your Rights and Responsibilities” pamphlet + 1,131 for arbitration and complaint summaries + 107 for website hyperlinks + 31,444 for signed receipts).

The total annual burden hour cost is estimated to be $1,427,910 ($25,445 for the “Ready to Move?” pamphlet + $318,063 for the “Your Rights and Responsibilities” booklet + $123,097 for arbitration and complaint summaries + $6,852 for website hyperlinks + $954,452 for signed receipts).

IC-2: Estimating Charges

As required by 49 CFR § 375.401, household goods motor carriers must conduct physical surveys of shippers’ items to be transported in order to provide written estimates of shipping charges. Physical surveys can either be in-person surveys or virtual surveys. The exception to the physical survey requirement applies when the shipper waives a physical survey in writing. The process of generating estimates is divided into the following eight steps:

1. Estimating the quantity and weight of items to be transported;

2. Estimating accessorial and incidental charges;

3. Reviewing and obtaining information from tariff guides and schedules;

4. Calculating the estimate;

5. Recording the estimate;

6. Copying the estimate;

7. Attaching one copy to the bill of lading;

8. Providing the estimate to the prospective shipper.

In-person surveys would include the additional steps of traveling to and from the pickup location. The Agency identified two categories of shipping charge estimates: binding estimates and non-binding estimates and assumes that both will take 2 hours to complete. A written explanation of the volume-to-weight conversion formula must also accompany non-binding estimates based on volume and converted to a weight-based rate.

Table 2. Burden Associated with Written Cost Estimates provides details on how the Agency calculated the burden hour and cost estimate associated with each type of estimate.

Table 2. Burden Associated with Written Cost Estimates

Type of Estimate	Percent of Estimates	Responses	Hours per Response	Total Annual Burden Hours
Physical Survey: Binding	65%	1,089,760	2	2,179,519
Physical Survey: Non-Binding	35%	586,794	2	1,173,587
Total	100%	1,676,554		3,353,106

Consistent with previous ICRs, the Agency assumes that 10 percent, or 58,679 (586,794 estimates × 10%), of non-binding estimates will require an explanation of volume to weight conversions. Household goods motor carriers will establish these formulas when beginning operations, and providing this document, when required, with cost estimates will be a negligible source of burden only for the 213 new household goods motor carriers that enter the industry each year. Given the negligible nature of this burden, the Agency does not include it in these burden calculations. The total annual burden for IC-2, Estimating Charges, is estimated to be 3,353,106 hours.

The Agency assumes all tasks associated with IC-2 will be completed by a first line supervisor of transportation and material moving workers with a loaded hourly wage of $48.88 (Table 1), resulting in an estimated total annual burden hour cost of $163,896,208 ($48.88 × 3,353,106 hours).

IC-3: Pick Up of Shipments of Household Goods

Under subpart E of part 375, two items are required to be prepared for each shipment: an inventory of the goods shipped and a bill of lading. For shipments initiated with non-binding cost estimates, household goods motor carriers are required to obtain written weight tickets for each shipment.

Goods Inventories, and Bills of Lading

It is customary for household goods motor carriers to prepare goods inventories and bills of lading in their normal course of business. In past burden estimates, the Agency has excluded the burden for goods inventories prepared by household goods motor carriers. The Agency will continue this practice with the current burden estimates. Preparing the bill of lading is estimated to take 0.5 hours per shipment, totaling 279,426 burden hours, as outlined in Table 3.

Table 3. Burden Associated with Bills of Lading

	Documents	Burden Hours per Document	Total Annual Burden
Bills of Lading	558,851	0.5	279,426
Total	558,851		279,426

Weighing Shipments

Shipping charges may be based either on volume or weight; for the latter case, final charges are typically determined after the goods have already been placed on a moving truck. Binding estimates are volume-based because final shipping charges are determined and agreed upon before the shipments have had the opportunity to be weighed, and shipments charged according to weight are only associated with some non-binding estimates. If shipping charges are based on weight, movers must complete and retain weight tickets for each weighing of a shipment.

FMCSA does not have a source for an estimate of the fraction or numbers of shipments charged according to volume or weight. It continues to assume, however, as it has in the past, that all non-binding estimates will be charged based on weight.

Although the household goods consumer protection regulations specify the procedures required for weighing shippers’ goods, the only paperwork burden associated with these requirements is contained in 49 CFR § 375.519, which requires movers to obtain written weight tickets, specifies the content of those tickets, and discusses proper handling of these documents. The paperwork burden associated with the weighing requirements is currently assumed to be 1 minute.

Shipments may be weighed more than once if an individual shipper requests a reweighing. If the second measurement is performed on the same scale as the first, both weights may be recorded on the same weight ticket. The use of a different scale seems likely to occur only when the shipper objects to the accuracy of the original scale. The Agency assumes this is a rare occurrence, and consequently that one weight ticket will be generated per shipment. Table 4 summarizes the burden associated with creating weight tickets.

Table 4. Burden Associated with Weight Tickets

Total Shipments	35% with Non-Binding Estimates	Minutes per Response	Total Annual Hourly Burden
558,851	195,598	1	3,260

Totals for IC-3

The total annual burden for IC-3, Pickup of Shipments of Household Goods, is estimated to be 282,686 hours (279,426 hours for bills of lading + 3,260 hours for weight tickets).

The Agency assumes all tasks associated with IC-3 will be completed by a cargo agent with a loaded hourly wage of $34.64 (Table 1). This results in an estimated annual burden hour cost of $9,792,047 ($34.64 × 282,686 hours).

IC-4: Transportation of Shipments

Notifications of Delays and Early Deliveries

After goods have been placed in transit, the household goods consumer protection regulations require household goods motor carriers to generate and maintain additional documents associated with the status of the shipments. Under subpart F of part 375, household goods motor carriers are required to generate and maintain notifications of both delays (§ 375.605) and early delivery (more than 24 hours before the specified date) (§ 375.607) of shipments, and to furnish to shippers, upon request, the records of contact regarding delays. The notifications regarding delays may be conducted by telephone, fax, e-mail, overnight courier, certified mail, or in person. The Agency believes that movers will use the most expeditious and reliable methods possible—generally assumed to be telephone or email—and will very rarely opt to send paper documents via courier or certified mail. However, movers must furnish a written record of delay notifications if asked to do so by shippers.

The Agency assumes that 20 percent of shipments are delayed and that shippers request written records of the delay notification in 20 percent of those cases, that is, in 4 percent of total shipments (20% delayed shipments × 20% contact record requested). The Agency also assumes household goods motor carriers notify shippers of early delivery in 2 percent of shipments. Generating and maintaining records of both types of contact are assumed to take 5 minutes and furnishing requested copies of the records of notifications of delays are assumed to take 15 minutes. Table 5 summarizes the burden associated with notifications of delays and early arrivals.

Table 5. Burden Associated with Notifications of Delays and Early Delivery

	Percent of Total Shipments	Number of Shipments	Minutes per Response	Total Annual Hourly Burden
Delayed	20%	111,770	5	9,314
Delayed AND Contact Record Requested	4%	22,354	15	5,589
Early	2%	11,177	5	931
Total		145,301		15,834

Storage-in-Transit (SIT) Expiration

Under 49 CFR 375.609, household goods motor carriers holding goods for storage-in-transit (SIT- the temporary warehouse storage of a shipment pending further transportation) must notify shippers of the expiration of their storage periods at least 10 days in advance. After the SIT period expires, household goods convert to permanent storage and are no longer the liability of the household goods motor carrier. The notifications may be conducted by fax, e-mail, overnight courier, or certified mail, return receipt requested. The Agency believes that movers will use the most expeditious and reliable method possible—generally assumed to be email—and will very rarely opt to send paper documents via courier or certified mail. Nevertheless, carriers must maintain records of these notifications, although the regulations do not specify that these records be kept in a written format.

Consistent with previous ICRs, the Agency assumes that 10 percent of shipments will be in SIT expiration situations and that household goods motor carriers will generate notifications through a company standard email message. These notifications will be generated automatically or with minimal input from company staff, resulting in a negligible burden. The Agency also assumes that retention of email records is a standard business practice. Consequently, the Agency does not include estimates of the burden associated with notifications of SIT expirations in these calculations.

Totals for IC-4

The total annual burden for IC-4, Transportation of Shipments is estimated to be 15,834 hours, comprised entirely of the burden associated with the notifications of delays and early deliveries.

The Agency assumes all tasks associated with notifications of delays and early deliveries will be completed by a customer service representative with a loaded hourly wage of $33.11 (Table 1). This results in a total annual burden hour cost of $524,216 ($33.11 × 15,834 hours).

IC-5: Consumer Complaints

Under 49 CFR 375.209, household goods motor carriers are required to keep written or electronic records of all complaints and inquiries received from shippers. Established household goods motor carriers will already have such record keeping systems in place, whereas the 213 new firms will have to establish record-keeping procedures. The Agency estimates the paperwork burden time for logging the complaints in accordance with § 375.209, not the time needed to resolve the complaint, which is not required by § 375.209. Further, the Agency assumes that responding to complaints is a standard business practice.

Establishing Complaint and Inquiry Record Systems

The Agency assumes that new firms will spend no more than 30 minutes on average establishing a written or electronic log of complaints or inquiries or developing a system to retain written complaints or inquiries from consumers. The total annual burden associated with establishing complaint and inquiry record systems is estimated to be 107 hours (213 new firms × 0.5 hours).

FMCSA assumes a database and systems administrator will undertake this task with a loaded hourly wage of $56.30 (Table 1). This results in a total annual burden hour cost of $5,996 ($56.30 × 107 hours).

Records of Complaints and Inquiries

Household goods motor carriers may receive complaints in writing, via e-mail, or orally, either in person or over the telephone. For complaints received in writing or by e-mail, merely retaining the paper or electronic document would be sufficient for meeting this record keeping requirement. In the case of oral complaints, household goods motor carriers would have to take extra actions to generate a paper or electronic entry by producing a transcript or summary of the conversation with the shipper; however, recorded telephone conversations would also suffice for meeting this requirement. The Agency assumes movers will opt to produce electronically, rather than on paper, the required transcripts or summaries of oral communications.

The Agency had assumed in the past that shippers make, on average, two complaints or inquiries for each shipment. The nature of the complaint or inquiry will determine, in part, which method of communication a shipper uses. FMCSA and local Better Business Bureaus (BBB) logged a total of approximately 11,713 (over 5,900 to the BBB¹¹ and 5,813 to FMCSA in 2023) against household goods motor carriers. A 1999 study into consumer complaints conducted by Saint Louis University on a focus group of consumers¹² found that five contacts was the median number required for resolving complaints, and that 20 percent of complaints required over 10 contacts. Although this study is somewhat dated, the Agency believes its results to be reasonable starting points for evaluating paperwork burden. Most complaints were in industries¹³ with characteristics like those of interstate household goods moves, those industries in which products or services, and therefore prices, are tailored to suit the needs of the customers, leaving greater opportunity for disagreements of price relative to the customers’ expectations. Complaints generally are fewer for businesses offering homogenous products at fixed prices. The study also found that consumers overwhelmingly opt for oral communication, telephone or face-to-face, when lodging complaints. In the 21 years since this study was produced, consumers and firms may have opted to use email most often to resolve complaints.

The Agency uses this study to derive several key assumptions for evaluating the burden of the complaint and inquiry recordkeeping requirements. First, it assumes that the median number of contacts, 5, is currently applicable as the average number of contacts per complaint. Second, the Agency assumes that the 11,713 complaints referred to FMCSA and the BBB are generally the 20 percent of complaints requiring more than 10 contacts. Consequently, if these 11,713 complaints represent 20 percent of all complaints to household goods motor carriers, the Agency estimates that 58,565 total complaints occur each year (11,713 ÷ 20%). Factoring in an average of 5 contacts per complaint, the Agency estimates that household goods movers are keeping 292,825 records (58,565 complaints × 5 contacts). In addition, the Agency assumes that every household goods shipment will generate on average one non-complaint inquiry per year, resulting in 558,851 non-complaint records (1 inquiry × 558,851 annual shipments).

It is also necessary for the Agency to determine the method of contact. Inquiries and complaints are unlikely to be initiated in writing, and the Agency assumes consumers will opt for email 20 percent of the time and oral communication 80 percent of the time. Maintenance of records of email correspondence is a standard business practice and is assumed to generate no extra burden.

Oral communication requires a carrier to generate a record. The Agency estimates this task takes 1 minute for inquiries and 5 minutes for complaints. As stated above, the Agency assumes that these records will be maintained electronically. Table 6 presents a summary of the burden associated with generating records of oral communications.

Table 6. Burden Associated with Records of Complaints and Inquiries

Record Type	Contacts	Oral Contacts (80%)	Minutes per Contact	Annual Hourly Burden
Complaints	292,825	234,260	5	19,522
Inquiries	558,851	447,081	1	7,451
Total	851,676	681,341		26,973

The Agency assumes that generating a record of oral communication will be completed by a customer service representative with a loaded hourly wage of $33.11 (Table 1). This results in a total annual burden hour cost of $892,988 ($33.11 × 26,973 hours).

Totals for IC-5

The total annual burden for IC-5, Consumer Complaints, is estimated to be 27,080 hours (107 hours for establishing record systems + 26,973 hours for recording complaints and inquiries).

The total annual burden hour cost of IC-5 is estimated to be $898,985 ($5,996 for establishing a complaint and inquiry record system + $892,988 for recording complaints and inquiries)

Total Burden of HHG Consumer Protection Regulations

Table 7 summarizes the estimates of the total annual burden of the household goods consumer protection regulations.

Table 7. Summary of Annual Burden for All Collections

Information Collection	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses	Total Annual Hourly Burden Due to Change in Agency Estimate	Total Annual Burden Hour Cost
IC-1 Informational Documents Provided to Prospective Shippers	7,861	1,700,519	43,999	$1,427,910
IC-2 Written Cost Estimates for Prospective Shippers		1,676,554	3,353,106	$163,896,208
IC-3 Bills of Lading		754,449	282,686	$9,792,047
IC-4 In-Transit Service Notifications		145,301	15,834	$524,216
IC-5 Complaint & Inquiry Records, Including Establishing Record System		681,341	27,080	$898,985
Total	7,861	4,958,164	3,722,704	$176,539,364

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 7,861 household goods motor carriers.

Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 4,958,164 [1,700,519 for IC-1 + 1,676,554 for IC-2 + 754,449 for IC-3 + 145,301 for IC-4 + 681,341 for IC-5].

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 3,722,704 [43,999 for IC-1 + 3,353,106 for IC-2 + 282,686 for IC-3 + 15,834 for IC-4 + 27,080 for IC-5].

13. ESTIMATE OF TOTAL ANNUAL COSTS TO RESPONDENTS

Household goods motor carriers will bear the materials costs of producing documents, storing documents, and mailing requested notifications of in-transit delays.

Producing Documents

The estimates of the costs of producing required documents are based on the total number of pages household goods motor carriers will need to produce multiplied by a flat rate of $0.15 per page. Table 8 details the number of pages per printed document, the number of documents printed, and the total annual cost of printing to respondents.

Table 8. Estimated Annual Cost of Printing*

Information Collection		Pages per Document	Documents Printed	Total Pages Printed	Total Printing Cost
IC-1	“Ready to Move?” Pamphlet	2	670,621	1,341,242	$201,186
	“Your Rights and Responsibilities”	25	670,621	16,765,531	$2,514,830
	Arbitration and Complaint Procedures	2	223,540	447,081	$67,062
IC-2	Written Cost Estimates, Prospective Shippers	1	586,794	586,794	$88,019
IC-3	Bills of Lading	1	558,851	558,851	$83,828
	Weight Tickets	1	195,598	195,598	$29,340
IC-4	In-Transit Service Notifications: Delays	1	22,354	22,354	$3,353
Total					$2,987,618

* Values may not total due to rounding.

Record Keeping

To estimate capital costs for record keeping, the Agency considers both electronic and paper storage of records. As stated above, the Agency believes electronic records will almost exclusively be used, and that those records are already retained in the normal course of business.

The Agency estimates that paper records of 335,311 receipts for verification of receiving the electronic booklets would be retained each year with a one-year retention period. The capital costs of storing these records would be borne only by new household goods motor carriers in the form of new filing cabinets.

The Agency employs several assumptions and conventions to estimate the paper storage cost per new firm. First, each new firm will retain on average 43 receipts of verification (335,311 receipts ÷ 7,861 firms). The Agency estimates that firms will be able to store 50 records per inch of filing space, and therefore each firm will use approximately 1 file inches (43 paper records ÷ 50 records per inch = 0.85 file inches, rounded to nearest whole number) for storing verifications.

There are 15 file inches of letter-sized paper records per cubic foot, so each firm will use 0.07 cubic feet (1 file inches ÷ 15 file inches per cubic foot) for storage. A two-drawer file cabinet can store approximately 0.75 cubic feet of records. Consequently, one cabinet will provide enough space for an individual firm to store all its records receipts of verification. The Agency assumes a median purchase price of $100 per cabinet and assumes the value of the office space it takes up will be negligible. Therefore, the Agency estimates the 213 new entrants per year will incur a total cost of storage of $21,300.

Mailing

The last type of cost the Agency estimates is the capital cost (envelope and postage) of mailing copies of records of delay notifications requested by shippers. The Agency assumes each mailing costs the carrier $0.78 ($0.73 per first-class stamp and $0.05 per envelope). As stated above, FMCSA estimates that 22,354 of these mailings occur each year, which results in an annual cost to the industry of $17,436 ($0.78 × 22,354).

Estimated Annual Cost to Respondents:

FMCSA estimates that respondents will incur a total annual capital cost of $3,005,053, as summarized in Table 9.

Table 9. Annualized Capital Cost to Respondents

Information Collection	Capital Cost
IC-1: Informational Documents Provided to Prospective Shippers	$2,783,078
IC-2: Written Cost Estimates for Prospective Shippers	$88,019
IC-3: Bills of Lading	$113,167
IC-4: In-Transit Service Notifications	$20,789
IC-5: Complaint & Inquiry Records	-
Total	$3,005,053

14. ESTIMATE OF COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

There is no cost to the Federal government related to this information collection.

15. EXPLANATION OF PROGRAM CHANGES OR ADJUSTMENTS

This revision includes the following program increases due to the increase in the number of active household goods motor carriers. Tables 10 and 11 show the changes in burden by IC and a summary of changes compared to the currently approved collection.

Table 10. Changes in Burden Hours and Cost
Information Collection	Number of Responses		Burden Hours			Cost
	Current	Proposed	Current		Proposed	Current		Proposed
IC-1 Informational Documents Provided to Prospective Shippers	1,700,519	1,700,519	32,955		43,999	$1,152,058		$1,427,910
IC-2 Written Cost Estimates for Prospective Shippers	1,676,553	1,676,554	3,353,106		3,353,106	$147,890,762		$163,896,208
IC-3 Bills of Lading	754,449	754,449	282,685		282,686	$9,555,617		$9,792,047
IC-4 In-Transit Service Notifications	145,301	145,301	15,834		15,834	$440,629		$524,216
IC-5 Complaint & Inquiry Records, Including Establishing Record System	638,561	681,341	23,515		27,080	$657,413		$898,985
Totals	4,915,383	4,958,164	3,708,095		3,722,704	$159,696,479		$176,539,364

Table 11. Summary of Changes in Burden Hours and Cost (in Millions)
Information Collection	Number of Responses or Recordkeeping Tasks	Burden Hours	Cost Burden
New	4,958,164	3,722,704	$176,539,364
OMB approved	4,915,383	3,708,095	$159,696,479
Increase	42,781	14,609	$16,842,885

The number of respondents increased by 42,781, the burden hours increased by 14,609 and the cost burden increased by $16,842,885.

16. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS OF DATA COLLECTION

FMCSA does not plan to publish any results.

17. APPROVAL FOR NOT DISPLAYING THE EXPIRATION DATE OF OMB

FMCSA is seeking approval to not display the expiration date of OMB approval on the publication “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.” This publication will be printed by the vast majority of the household goods motor carriers. It will be a burden on them to have to re-print the document every three years.

18. EXCEPTIONS TO CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

FMCSA is claiming no exception to any element of the certification statement.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. 49 U.S.C. § 14104, “Household goods carrier operations.”

2. 49 CFR part 375, Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer Protection Regulations.

3. Final Rule titled “Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection Regulations,” (70 FR 39949) (July 12, 2005).

4. Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144 (August 10, 2005).

5. Final rule titled “Amendments to Implement Certain Provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)” (72 FR 36760) (July 5, 2007).

6. Final rule titled “Brokers of Household Goods Transportation by Motor Vehicle” (75 FR 72987) (June 4, 2012).

7. Final rule titled “Transportation of Household Goods in Interstate Commerce; Consumer Protection Regulations: Household Goods Motor Carrier Record Retention Requirements” (77 FR 41699) (July 16, 2012).

8. Final rule titled “Implementation of Household Goods Working Group Recommendations” (87 FR 24431) (April 26, 2022).

9. FMCSA’s publication “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.”

10. FMCSA–ESA–03–005 titled “Ready to Move?”

1 FMCSA’s Licensing and Insurance (L&I) and Motor Carrier Management Information Systems (MCMIS) databases. As of October 1, 2024.

2 FMCSA’s L&I and MCMIS databases. As of October 1, 2024. Average of calendar years 2022-2024.

3 The number of persons per household estimated in the 2018 American Community Survey, 2.63, implies that there were 2,830,154 interstate household moves by that population (see https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2018.DP02?d=ACS+5-Year+Estimates+Data+Profiles. Accessed June 13, 2025). A report released by the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) indicates that 550,000 of the annual interstate HHG moves were conducted by professional movers. This estimate was cited by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the Federal Register, Vol. 87, 80 (April 26, 2022), P. 24438, based on AMSA’s analysis of U.S. Census migration data and average household goods size. If the same proportion of all interstate HHG moves are conducted by professional movers during each of the three years covered by this ICR, then that suggests that there will be 558,851 professional moves annually. Lacking the necessary data, FMCSA did not adjust this estimate to account for interstate moves that fall under the commercial zone exemptions in 49 CFR Part 372. The AMSA has since become a conference of the ATA. AMSA to Become Conference of American Trucking Associations (Aug. 7, 2020), available at https://www.trucking.org/moving-storage-membership.

4 As in the previous three supporting statements, FMCSA assumes that the optimal search depth for shippers is 3 movers, that is, the search costs will outweigh the marginal benefits (a more desirable combination of quality, timeliness, and low cost) of contacting additional companies after a third mover is contacted.

5^1` Consistent with the currently approved ICR.

6 Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2023 Occupation Profiles.” Available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm. Accessed June 13, 2025.

7 Bureau of Labor Statistics. “May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, NAICS 484000 – Truck Transportation.” Available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/naics4_484000.htm#15-0000. Accessed June 13, 2025.

8 The load factor is estimated by dividing the total compensation for private industry workers of the trade and transportation industry ($49.98) by the average cost of hourly wages and salaries ($33.59) as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Table 4. Employer costs for Employee Compensation for private industry workers by occupational and industry Group, June 2024.” Available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_09102024.htm. Accessed June13, 2025.

9 Available at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Ready_To_Move_Brochure_2006.pdf. Accessed June 13, 2025.

10 Available at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Rights-and-Responsibilities-2013.pdf. Accessed June 13, 2025.

11 Better Business Bureau, BBB Tip: How to hire a mover you can trust. Available at BBB Tip: Hiring a mover, Accessed June 13, 2025.

12 See James E. Fisher, Dennis E. Garrett, Mark J. Arnold, Mark E. Ferris, (1999) "Dissatisfied consumers who complain to the Better Business Bureau", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 16 Issue: 6, pp.576-589.

13 For example, franchised auto dealers, used auto dealers, home remodeling, auto repair, roofing contractors.

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