Leaving Delaware: The Move Is FMCSA, Not the $75 License

Por James Brazil

James Brazil vive en Mérida, México. Fundó Swift Agent Sites y estudió Clásicas en la Universidad de Mississippi.

Publicado el 11 de noviembre de 2026 · Actualizado el 11 de noviembre de 2026

A move that starts in Delaware and ends in another state, or starts in another state and ends in Delaware, is an interstate move. The federal rules are FMCSA's, including the booklet "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." Delaware's $75 Division of Revenue license does not set the valuation or the collection rules for that shipment.

What to confirm before you load

Interstate receipts are excluded from Delaware's gross-receipts tax. Ask for the USDOT number and look it up before moving day. A Delaware business license, a town permit, or a logo on the truck is not that lookup. Federal consumer rules describe full-value protection unless you waive it in writing, a released-value option often stated as 60 cents per pound, and, on a non-binding estimate, release of the shipment when you pay 110 percent of the estimate with the balance deferred at least 30 days. Read the booklet you are given for the exact waiver. Those sentences are federal. They were not found as Delaware intrastate statutes.

Do not carry the 60-cent figure back onto a Wilmington-to-Dover move and call it Delaware law. No Delaware cents-per-pound rule for an in-state move was found. See the revenue license. If both addresses are in Delaware, the contract you sign is the valuation, because the state did not supply one in the sources used here.

The tax exclusion is a clue, not a consumer remedy

The gross-receipts sheet excludes interstate receipts from the 0.3983 percent tax. See that tax. The exclusion tells you the state is not taxing that haul as a Delaware in-state receipt. It does not give you a Delaware office that will order the mover to unload. A complaint about an interstate delivery goes to FMCSA. No dedicated Delaware household-goods complaint office was found, so this article does not invent a Dover phone number for an interstate hold.

Motor Carrier Services, DOT.MotorCarrier@state.de.us and 302-744-2701, is a general motor-carrier contact. The page used here does not say the office licenses household-goods movers or takes interstate moving complaints. See the persons-only regulation. Use FMCSA for the interstate shipment.

Valuation defaults differ by the route

On an interstate bill of lading, full-value protection is the federal starting point unless you waive it. The released-value option is the cheaper, lower payout, and the booklet is where you read the waiver. On a Delaware-only contract, there is no fetched state default. If the contract is silent, do not assume either 60 cents or full replacement. Ask for the valuation in writing before you sign. See what to ask for.

A non-binding interstate estimate can be collected only up to 110 percent at delivery, with the rest deferred, under the federal rule. A Delaware-only estimate has no such cap in the sources used here. Require a clear price in the contract because the state will not supply the cap. If the delivery address is in Maryland, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, you are on the federal rule, not on a guessed Delaware percentage.

Papers that are not the bill of lading

Delaware auto insurance is 25/50/10 plus PIP of 15/30. See those limits. The policy does not value the shipment. Standard homeowners and business policies do not cover flood. See flood. Ask the homeowners insurer whether goods in transit are covered. The realty transfer tax on the house is the recorder's tax. See the transfer tax.

The seller's disclosure is still required on a Delaware house you are buying, even if the furniture is coming from another state. There is no revocation period in the sections used for that article. See the disclosure. The USDOT number does not satisfy the seller's duty to disclose known defects.

Which folder the papers go in

Put the USDOT number, the FMCSA booklet, and the valuation waiver in one folder when either address is outside Delaware. Put the $75 revenue license and the in-state contract in a different folder when both addresses are in Delaware. The gross-receipts exclusion for interstate receipts is a tax rule, not a claims office. No Delaware household-goods complaint phone was found for either folder. Federal collection rules, including 110 percent of a non-binding estimate, stay with the interstate folder. They were not found as a Delaware rule for a Wilmington-to-Dover job.

FAQ

Who regulates a move between Delaware and another state? FMCSA. Confirm the USDOT number and read "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move."

Does the $75 Delaware license cover that trip? No. It is a tax license. Interstate receipts are excluded from the gross-receipts tax, and the license does not set federal valuation.

Where does 110 percent come from? Federal rules for a non-binding interstate estimate. It was not found as a Delaware rule for a move that stays in the state.

Is 60 cents a pound Delaware law? No Delaware intrastate rule at 60 cents was found. The figure shows up as the federal released-value option. Read the waiver on an interstate bill of lading.

Whom do I call in Dover about an interstate hold? No dedicated Delaware household-goods complaint office was found. Use FMCSA for an interstate delivery.

Next step

If either address is outside Delaware, write down the USDOT number and read the FMCSA booklet before you sign a valuation waiver. If both addresses are in Delaware, negotiate the price and the valuation in the contract, because the state sources used here do not set them.

Sources: Division of Revenue, drayperson or mover; FMCSA, "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move."