What is the Georgia Maximum Rate Tariff, and how does it limit what a licensed mover can charge?
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The Georgia Maximum Rate Tariff is the price ceiling the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) sets for licensed household goods movers on moves that begin and end in Georgia. The version in force is Tariff No. 7, effective January 13, 2026. A licensed mover may charge less than the tariff’s rates, never more, and may not bill you for anything the tariff does not list. One exception is one you would trigger yourself: if you decline the terms of the uniform bill of lading, the carrier may charge up to twice the tariff’s rates.
Which moves the tariff covers
The tariff applies to licensed household goods carriers “whenever such motor carriers are operating in intrastate commerce (i.e. traffic having origin, destination, and entire transportation within the State of Georgia)”, in the words of DPS Maximum Rate Tariff No. 7. A move from Atlanta to Charlotte, or from Florida into Savannah, is interstate and falls under federal rules instead.
Tariff No. 7 cancels every earlier Georgia household goods tariff, including Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6. If a mover or a website quotes an older number, the figures it uses are no longer the legal ceiling.
The hourly ceilings for moves of 50 miles or less
Moves of 50 miles or less are billed by the hour, and the hourly rate already includes the van. These are the maximums in Section III.B of Tariff No. 7:
| Crew | Regular hours | Overtime hours |
|---|---|---|
| Van and 2 movers | $196.93 | $246.47 |
| Van and 3 movers | $253.90 | $325.73 |
| Van and 4 movers | $312.11 | $405.00 |
| Van and 5 movers | $369.08 | $486.74 |
| Each additional mover | $56.97 | $79.27 |
| Additional van and driver | $139.95 | $167.20 |
Regular hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Saturdays, Sundays, and five holidays (New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day) are overtime, and a carrier needs your written consent before it schedules work at overtime rates, under Rule 570-38-3-.07(9). A carrier may require a two-hour minimum on weekdays and a three-hour minimum on weekends and holidays. When the clock starts and stops, and the one hour of travel time a carrier may add, are covered in what an hourly local move includes.
For example, imagine a weekday move with a van and three movers that takes five hours of work, plus the full hour of travel time the rule allows a carrier to bill. The most a licensed carrier could charge for that labor and transportation is six hours at $253.90, or $1,523.40. The same six billable hours on a Saturday could reach $1,954.38 at the overtime ceiling.
What the tariff caps on moves of more than 50 miles
Beyond 50 miles, the transportation charge is a rate per 100 pounds of your shipment’s weight, set by mileage band. Two rules adjust it. Under the tariff’s break point rule, if charging your actual weight at its weight bracket’s rate would cost more than charging the next bracket’s minimum weight at that bracket’s lower rate, the carrier must charge the lower amount; the tariff’s “Break Point” column shows the weight where that begins. And mileage is the shortest driving route by mapping software; if you specifically ask for a longer route, the carrier may use the actual miles and add up to 10 percent to the rate when the shorter route was safe for your goods (Rule 570-38-3-.07(1)). The tariff then caps the extras that can sit on top of it:
- Fuel: no more than $1.51 per mile while your goods are being transported. If the move needs more than one truck, check how the fuel line is figured: the tariff states the rate “per vehicle”, while Rule 570-38-3-.07(12) says the surcharge “is to be assessed once per shipment, regardless of the number of vehicles used”. DPS’s own household goods FAQ describes the surcharge as “$1.51 per mile from shipment’s origin to shipment’s destination on weight and distance moves only”, with no per-truck multiplier, though an FAQ is guidance, not a ruling. Ask the carrier to show the fuel figure separately; if it multiplies the miles by the number of trucks, ask DPS which reading applies.
- Each additional pickup or delivery stop after the first: $101.11.
- A reweigh, when the rules allow the carrier to charge for one: $91.03.
- Extra labor you request that no other tariff item covers: $52.58 per person per hour in regular hours, $74.86 in overtime.
- Bulky articles on a closed list, charged for each pickup and each delivery of the article, such as up to $182.09 for a car with a gross vehicle weight rating of 6,000 pounds or less, $141.32 for a motorcycle of 250cc or more, and $211.98 for a set-up hot tub, shed, or playhouse over 100 cubic feet. Pianos, safes, and pool tables are not on the list.
How the switch from hours to weight changes your bill is explained in how Georgia local moving costs are calculated and why the 50-mile line matters.
Valuation and storage prices are capped too
The tariff sets what a carrier may charge for full value protection: up to $15.73 per $1,000 of declared value with no deductible, or up to $5.17 per $1,000 with a $300 deductible. Released value protection, which pays $0.60 per pound per article, carries no charge at all. If the carrier fails to get your signed choice before the move, you are treated as having chosen full value protection with no deductible, at no charge.
Storage in transit is capped at $8.40 per 100 pounds for the first day and $0.25 per 100 pounds for each day after.
What the ceiling forbids
Section I.C of the tariff is the part most quotes ignore. A licensed carrier may not charge “for any transportation or services rendered in connection with such transportation other than those prescribed herein.” The tariff has no line for stairs, flights, long carries, or elevators. Under Rule 570-38-3-.07(8), the transportation rate already includes taking apart and reassembling furniture the crew disassembles, carrying every item from its spot in your home to the truck and into the new home, and padding furniture with the crew’s own blankets.
The ceiling assumes you accept the Uniform Household Goods Bill of Lading and Addendum. A customer “may elect not to accept” those terms, and in that case the carrier’s liability is limited only as far as the law requires and it “shall be authorized to charge the customer at rates up to twice those stated in the Department’s maximum rate tariff” (Rule 570-38-3-.11(5)). The rule’s next paragraph has the customer give the carrier notice of non-acceptance and the carrier note it on the bill of lading. This is not something a carrier can apply on its own, so a doubled rate on a bill where you accepted the standard terms is a question for DPS.
A carrier that did not check access at your homes before it gave you an estimate cannot later charge you for extra services caused by that access, under Rule 570-38-3-.05(3)(a). A carrier that did check may, if an item turns out to need ancillary means to load or deliver, use them with your agreement and charge for them only at the rates in the rules and the tariff. Which charges can lawfully appear on a Georgia bill, and which cannot, is laid out in hidden fees and accessorial charges on a moving bill.
How to hold a quote against it
- Find the crew and van line on the quote and compare the hourly figure with the table above, checking whether the date you picked is regular or overtime.
- On a longer move, look for the per-100-pound rate, the mileage, and each listed extra, and make sure every extra matches a tariff item.
- Question anything labeled as a stair, flight, long carry, trip, or rush fee on an in-state move and ask the carrier which tariff section it relies on.
- Remember that the tariff is a ceiling, not a price list. DPS’s own guide says “all rates are negotiable”, so a quote below the maximums is lawful.
If a licensed mover charges above the tariff, DPS takes complaints through its CVE Regulatory Compliance unit at 404-624-7241 and through the complaint form on its household goods page.