If you are collecting moving quotes in Northern Virginia right now, you have probably run into two very different answers to the same question. One company hands you a single fixed number and calls it binding. Another quotes you an hourly rate and tells you the final cost depends on the job. The fixed number feels safer. It is easy to assume the company offering it is the more confident, more transparent operation.
That assumption is worth examining, because the choice between these two pricing models decides more than what you pay. It decides how much your move is allowed to change between the day you book and the day the truck arrives. And moves change constantly.
Here is how each estimate type actually works, what the law requires of each, where a binding price protects you, and where it quietly costs you money and flexibility.
| The short answerA binding estimate locks your price to one specific inventory and one specific set of services. A non-binding estimate prices the work that actually happens. Binding is the right tool for a long-distance move, where the price is driven by weight and distance and the survey is thorough, which is why Great Job Moving and Storage uses binding estimates there.On a local move, binding costs you two things. First, a mover who binds a price built from a phone call has to pad that number to cover its own uncertainty, and you pay for the padding. Second, a binding estimate freezes your move on the day you book it. Sell a sofa, add a stop at your mother’s place, or have a closing date slip, and a binding price cannot follow you. That is why we quote local moves hourly and non-binding. |
Binding and non-binding are not adjectives a salesperson picked. For interstate moves they are defined in federal regulation, and the definitions are worth knowing because they tell you what a mover can and cannot do at your door on delivery day.
A fixed price for the exact articles and services written on the estimate. If the final weight or hours come in lower, you still pay the binding amount. Critically, the protection runs both ways: if you hand the crew items that were not on the list, or ask for services that were not quoted, the mover is not required to honor the estimate at all.
The mover’s reasonably accurate approximation of what the work should cost. Your final bill reflects the work actually performed. On an interstate move, federal rules put a hard ceiling on what can be collected from you at delivery: the mover must release your shipment on payment of 110 percent of a written non-binding estimate, plus the cost of any services you requested after the contract was signed. This is commonly called the 110 percent rule and it is set out in 49 CFR 375.405. A non-binding estimate must also state on its face that you will not be required to pay more than 110 percent at delivery.
A hybrid. You pay the actual charges or the estimate, whichever is lower. It is the most customer-favorable structure on paper, and correspondingly the least common, because the mover absorbs all of the estimating risk.
| Binding | Non-binding (hourly, local) | Not-to-exceed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What sets your price | The inventory list, fixed in advance | Crew time and materials actually used | The lower of estimate or actual |
| If the job runs shorter | You still pay the full amount | You pay less | You pay less |
| If the job runs longer | Protected, unless items or services were added | You pay for the added time | Protected |
| Removing items after booking | Requires a revised estimate | Cost drops automatically | Requires a revised estimate |
| Adding items on move day | Mover is not required to honor the estimate | Handled, billed as time | Typically re-quoted |
| Adding a stop on the route | Not on the contract, generally refused | Handled, billed as time | Typically re-quoted |
| Ceiling at delivery, interstate | 100 percent of the binding amount | 110 percent of the estimate | The estimate |
| Where GJ uses it | Long-distance moves, priced by weight and distance | Local moves, our standard model | Not addressed in our published pricing |
Table 1. How the three estimate structures behave when your move changes.
Two reasons, and neither is complicated.
There are three honest ways to estimate a move: a phone conversation, a virtual video survey where you walk us through your home on a call, and an in-person walkthrough, which we prefer for three-bedroom homes and larger. A phone estimate works well for smaller moves. But a phone estimate is not an inventory audit, and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing.
So consider what a mover has to do to bind a price built from a remote survey. It has to assume the estimate is somewhat wrong, decide which direction it is likely wrong in, and build a cushion into the number to cover that risk. That cushion is not free. You pay for it. We would rather not charge you for our own uncertainty, so we do not.
This is the reason that matters more, and it is the one customers underestimate most.
We will be straight about the reception each argument gets. When we explain that a binding estimate can mean overpaying because a move sometimes takes less time or fewer materials than expected, almost nobody believes it. Every customer is confident the inventory they gave us was complete. Fair enough. So set that argument aside and look at the second one, because that one is easy to verify from your own experience.
Consider a fairly ordinary Northern Virginia move. You book in May for a date in July. Then real life happens:
None of these are edge cases. This is what a typical move looks like once it gets close, and the DMV area adds its own wrinkles. If you are moving into a high-rise off Duke Street in Alexandria, your building may hand you a two-hour elevator reservation rather than the one you asked for. If you are in an Old Town rowhouse, where the truck can legally park changes what a carry looks like. Woodbridge and Lorton townhouse communities routinely mean three or more flights of stairs. These are the variables that make a remote estimate an estimate, and they are the reason a pricing model with some give in it serves you better than one without.
For what it is worth, one of the small things we do here is provide Certificates of Insurance to buildings that require them at no charge, ideally with 24 to 48 hours of notice. Building requirements are one of the most common late surprises in this market, and they are a lot easier to solve when nothing about your quote is frozen. Details on both are in our pricing guide.
An article written by a moving company that concluded its own pricing model is right for everyone would not be worth much. So here is the honest version.
If your budget has no tolerance at all, hourly is the wrong instrument, and we would rather tell you that now than on move day. The clearest cases:
In those situations, what you want is a binding estimate built from an in-person survey, from a company that offers binding pricing on local work. Some do. We do not, and being clear about that is more useful to you than winning the job and disappointing you.
Here we agree with you, which is why our long-distance moves are binding. Over that distance the price is driven by weight and distance rather than hours, the survey is thorough, and the number should be locked. If items are added and the final weighed amount changes, the same per-pound rate still applies and only the total adjusts. That is a very different exposure than an open-ended hourly clock across three states.
Hourly pricing rewards preparation. If a home is packed, labeled, and clear, the job often lands on estimate or under it. If nobody can be there, if packing will not be finished, or if decisions about what goes and what stays will be made while the crew waits, hourly exposure grows. In that case, either add packing to the scope so we control it, or get a binding quote elsewhere.
| Your situation | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Local move, normal budget flexibility | Hourly, non-binding | You pay for actual work and can change plans late at no penalty |
| Local move, hard budget ceiling | Binding, from an on-site survey | Certainty is worth more to you than flexibility, and we do not offer binding locally |
| Plans still in flux, items may be sold or added | Hourly, non-binding | Changes are absorbed as time rather than renegotiated |
| Extra stops likely | Hourly, non-binding | A stop not written into a binding contract will not be made |
| Long distance, 150 miles or more | Binding, by weight and distance | Priced on weight, thorough survey, no hourly clock across states |
| Reimbursed at a fixed authorized amount | Binding | The paperwork requires one documented number |
| Home will not be packed or ready | Binding, or hourly with packing added to scope | Unprepared homes are where hourly exposure grows |
| Very small job, one or two pieces | Ask about our shorter minimum | Our standard 3-hour minimum may exceed what the job needs |
Table 2. Matching the pricing model to your actual situation.
The number that matters is the one you pay at the end, so compare like for like. On a local move with us, these are the lines that make up your total, all published on our pricing guide:
| Line | What it is | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Crew hourly rate | Set by crew size. Two movers is our minimum crew. | $120 per hour for 2, $201 for 3, $268 for 4 |
| Truck | Per truck on the job. A second truck is the same again. | $150 |
| Trip fee | Crew driving from our facility to you and back. Grows with distance out. | One hour of labor |
| Fuel surcharge | Applied to the labor cost, identical on every move. | 18 percent of labor |
| Minimum | Standard jobs, billed in quarter-hour increments after that. | 3 hours |
| Peak season | June 1 through September 30, based on capacity. No weekend or holiday surcharge. | Base rates may rise 5 to 10 percent |
| Stairs | Three or more flights at either end. One or two flights are not charged. | $175 flat |
| Deposit | Books your date and assigns a crew. Transferable and refundable with notice. | $100 |
| Card fee | Credit and debit payments. | 4 percent |
Table 3. The cost lines on a local hourly move. Prices are as published and subject to change. Confirm current figures on the pricing guide.
Add those up honestly before you decide an hourly quote beats a flat one, or the reverse. A three-hour minimum with a trip fee and an 18 percent fuel surcharge is a real number, and on a very small job it can exceed a competitor’s flat rate. On a four-bedroom house that finishes ahead of schedule, hourly usually wins. Neither model is a trick. They just distribute risk differently.
The one thing worth being suspicious of is a quote that is dramatically lower than everything else you have been given. That gap is usually paying for something: a shared truck with a two to four week delivery window, an inventory that was deliberately underestimated and will be recalculated on move day, or fees that only appear at delivery.
This part is specific to the DMV and most quote comparisons ignore it entirely. Which agency governs your move, and therefore which consumer protections you have, depends on where it starts and ends.
| Your move | Who regulates it | What that means for your estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Virginia, under 31 road miles | Virginia DMV, Motor Carrier Services | Exempt from the state tariff article. Hourly pricing is standard. A written estimate is still required before loading and must appear on the bill of lading. |
| Inside Virginia, 31 road miles or more | Virginia DMV, Motor Carrier Services | Must be rated using the mover’s tariff filed with the DMV. That tariff cannot change without 30 days written notice to the state. |
| Virginia into DC or Maryland, any distance | FMCSA, federal | Crossing a state line makes it interstate commerce. Federal rules apply, including the 110 percent rule on non-binding estimates and a required written estimate. |
| Long distance, out of region | FMCSA, federal | Same federal protections. Priced by weight and distance, binding with us. |
Table 4. Jurisdiction drives which protections apply to your estimate.
Two practical notes. First, Virginia’s regulatory line sits at 31 road miles, while our own service line between local and long distance sits at 150 miles. If your move falls between the two, for example Woodbridge to Richmond, ask any mover you are considering to tell you specifically which pricing basis and which estimate type applies, and get it in writing. Second, Virginia sets a floor on carrier insurance: at least $750,000 in public liability and $50,000 in cargo coverage on file with the DMV. Standard cargo liability defaults to 60 cents per pound per article unless you buy up, which is worth understanding before you assume your belongings are covered at value. The Virginia Movers and Warehousemen’s Association publishes a plain-language summary, and we are a member. For interstate moves, the FMCSA booklet Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move is the authoritative reference.
This is the practical skill, and almost nobody does it. Four questions convert an hourly quote and a flat quote into numbers you can actually put side by side.
If you want to pressure-test our model before you book, ask for the assumed hours and crew for your home size, ask what the trip fee works out to from Woodbridge or Alexandria to your address, and ask us to walk your access at both ends. Our pricing guide publishes typical ranges by home size, and our FAQ page covers the mechanics. If a virtual survey would tighten the number, ask for one. It is free and for most homes it is nearly as accurate as an in-person visit.
Is a binding estimate safer than a non-binding estimate?
Safer against one specific risk, which is the job running longer than expected. It is not safer against the two risks people actually encounter, which are paying for padding built into a remotely estimated fixed price, and being unable to change anything after booking. On an interstate move, a written non-binding estimate carries its own protection: the mover cannot require more than 110 percent of it at delivery.
Does Great Job Moving and Storage ever give binding estimates?
Yes, on long-distance moves, which we price by weight and distance rather than by the hour. We do not offer binding estimates on local moves, by design, because we would have to pad a phone-based estimate to bind it and because binding would prevent you from making late changes.
What is the 110 percent rule?
A federal consumer protection that applies to interstate moves quoted with a written non-binding estimate. Your mover must release your shipment at delivery once you pay 110 percent of the estimate, plus the cost of any services you requested after the contract was signed. It does not apply to intrastate moves inside Virginia, which are governed by Virginia DMV rules instead.
Can I lower my price after I book if I get rid of furniture?
On an hourly local move, yes, and automatically. Less to load means less time billed, with no revised inventory or renegotiated quote. That is one of the main practical advantages of non-binding pricing.
Can I add a stop on the way to my new home?
On an hourly move, yes, and often on short notice. You pay for the additional time. Under a binding estimate the stop is not part of the contract, and the crew will generally not make it.
Why is my quote different from the range on your pricing guide?
Home size sets a range. Where you land inside it depends on access at both ends, meaning stairs, elevators, and how close the truck can park, plus distance, how much packing you need, specialty items, and whether your date falls in peak season between June 1 and September 30.
Do I have to be there on move day?
It is strongly in your interest on an hourly move. Decisions made quickly keep the clock short, and questions answered on the spot prevent rework. If you cannot be present, tell us in advance so we can scope the job to work without you.
How do I confirm a mover is legitimate before I pay a deposit?
For moves inside Virginia, confirm the company holds Virginia DMV intrastate operating authority. For any move crossing into DC or Maryland, confirm federal registration and check that the registered state matches what the company has told you. Be very cautious about any request for a large deposit up front. Ours is $100.
A binding estimate sells certainty. On a long-distance move that certainty is real and we sell it too. On a local move, the certainty is partly manufactured, because it is built on a remote estimate that had to be padded to be safely bindable, and because it evaporates the moment anything is added that was not on the list.
Hourly, non-binding pricing asks you to accept a range instead of a number. In exchange, you pay for the work that happens rather than the work someone guessed at, and your move stays flexible right up to the day the truck arrives. For most households in Northern Virginia, that is the better trade. For a few, it is not, and we will tell you which one you are.
Moving families since 2010, with more than 66,000 moves completed and over 23,500 clients who have hired us more than once. Licensed, bonded, and insured, and a member of the Virginia Movers and Warehousemen’s Association. If you want a real number for your move, request a free estimate or ask us about a virtual survey. We serve Woodbridge, Alexandria, and the wider DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia area.
