Anyone with a truck and a business licence can call themselves a moving company in British Columbia. That is not a criticism of the industry, it is the regulatory position, and Consumer Protection BC states it in its own words: “We do not regulate moving companies in BC.”
There is no provincial mover’s licence, no exam, no bond and no registry of approved movers. What does exist is a set of general obligations that any business with employees and trucks has to meet, and three of them you can verify yourself in about ten minutes. This page sets out what is actually required and how to check it.
General information only, not legal advice. Where something turns on your own circumstances, the regulation and the relevant authority are named so you can go to the source.
What a BC mover must actually have
| Requirement | When it applies | Who administers it |
|---|---|---|
| Business registration or incorporation | Always | BC Registries and Online Services |
| Municipal business licence | In each city it operates in or from | The individual municipality |
| A bill of lading carrying the prescribed conditions of carriage | Any vehicle carrying household goods for compensation, at any weight | Motor Vehicle Act Regulations, Division 37 |
| Cargo insurance | Any vehicle carrying freight for compensation, at any weight | Motor Vehicle Act Regulations, s. 37.86 |
| National Safety Code safety certificate | Licensed gross vehicle weight over 5,000 kg | CVSE, BC Ministry of Transportation |
| Periodic commercial vehicle inspection | Licensed gross vehicle weight over 8,200 kg | CVSE |
| Commercial vehicle insurance | Any commercial vehicle | ICBC |
| WorkSafeBC registration | Any business with employees | WorkSafeBC |
| GST registration | Revenue over $30,000 across four consecutive quarters | Canada Revenue Agency |
Three details in that table do the most work.
There is no weight floor on the paperwork, and that is the row people miss. The safety-certificate and inspection thresholds are about truck size. The bill of lading duty is not. Section 37.77(2) attaches to anyone operating a “business vehicle” as the Motor Vehicle Act defines it, which reaches any vehicle operated by a person who charges or collects compensation for carrying freight, with no weight threshold anywhere in it. A two-person operation in a three-ton cube van moving a household for money is caught. The same is true of cargo insurance: section 37.86 requires a carrier operating such a vehicle to hold and maintain cargo insurance satisfactory to the director and to produce proof of it on demand, and household goods are not in the exemption list. So a mover who says they are too small for any of this is wrong about the two requirements that protect your belongings.
The 5,000 kg line. A National Safety Code safety certificate is required for a truck or truck tractor with a licensed gross vehicle weight over 5,000 kg. A small cube van may sit above that line; a 26-foot moving truck is comfortably above it and above the 8,200 kg threshold that triggers periodic inspection as well. A mover running proper equipment will therefore hold an NSC certificate. One turning up in a rented cargo van may not need one at all.
Municipal licences are per city. BC has no province-wide business licence. A company working across Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and Richmond generally needs a separate licence in each, because the inter-municipal business licence schemes that exist cover specific building trades and healthcare occupations rather than movers.
The three things you can check yourself
This is the part worth doing before you hand over a deposit.
1. Is the company a real registered business? Search BC Registries, or use OrgBook BC, both free. You get incorporation status, the registered office and whether the company is in good standing. A mover advertising under a name that returns nothing is a warning on its own.
2. Is it registered with WorkSafeBC and paid up? WorkSafeBC publishes a free clearance letter search by company name. This one matters more than most people realise, and the next section explains why.
3. Is it a member of the Canadian Association of Movers? Membership is voluntary and CAM is not a regulator, but it screens applicants: two years minimum in business, a physical storefront with visible signage, permanent company identification on vehicles, a signed code of ethics, proof of business licence and GST registration, a WorkSafeBC certificate, at least $2 million in commercial general liability insurance, at least $250,000 in cargo insurance, and an in-person site visit by a CAM director. New members serve six months on probation.
Canada has no public safety-record database
In the United States a consumer can look up any carrier’s safety and accident record in the FMCSA’s public SAFER database. Canada has no equivalent. CVSE maintains a carrier profile with inspection history, contraventions and audit results, but it is accessible only to the carrier itself through a Business BCeID login. ICBC has no public tool for verifying a company’s commercial policy either.
So the safety record of a BC mover is not something you can look up. Company registration, WorkSafeBC standing and CAM membership are what you get, which is why all three are worth checking rather than one.
Why the WorkSafeBC check protects you, not just the mover
If you hire a mover who is not properly registered with WorkSafeBC and one of their workers is injured in your home, you can end up liable for that worker’s compensation costs.
WorkSafeBC states that a hirer engaging a contractor who is not making required payments “could be liable for insurance premiums relating to the work”. Under section 263(2) of the Workers Compensation Act, a homeowner found to be an inadvertent employer can be ordered to pay the full amount or capitalised value of the compensation payable. In one documented case a carpenter’s injury generated more than $54,000 in costs charged back to the homeowner. WorkSafeBC has discretion to grant relief for excusable default, and it is discretionary rather than guaranteed.
Hiring a genuine incorporated moving company makes you a customer rather than an employer, which is the safe position. Establishing that is what a clearance letter does, and the search is free.
Moves that cross a provincial border
No single federal trucking regulator. Commercial vehicle safety is a provincial responsibility, and the provinces run harmonised versions of the National Safety Code, a set of standards coordinated by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators. CCMTA develops the standards and has no enforcement power of its own.
For a mover taking your goods from Vancouver to Calgary or Toronto, that means the NSC safety certificate issued in BC carries across, with no separate interprovincial operating authority to obtain. A federal regulation, the Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Certificate Regulations, sets minimum standards for carriers operating across provincial boundaries, and it is administered by the carrier’s home province, which in BC means CVSE.
A mover with a physical depot in another province will also need to register extraprovincially in that province’s corporate registry, which is a corporate registration matter rather than a trucking one.
Moves crossing into the United States
Here the American requirements genuinely apply, and this is the one place USDOT and FMCSA numbers belong in a conversation about a Canadian mover.
A carrier moving household goods into the US in interstate commerce needs FMCSA operating authority, an MC number, and a USDOT number for safety oversight. Those obligations attach when the truck physically crosses the border. Customs clearance on both sides is separate again, with CBSA on the Canadian export side and US Customs and Border Protection on entry.
Moving to the States, asking whether the carrier holds US operating authority is a fair and specific question. On a move from Vancouver to Burnaby, a company volunteering its USDOT number is telling you something about where its paperwork came from rather than about its competence.
What the US terms mean, and what to ask instead
| If you see this | It is | Ask this instead |
|---|---|---|
| USDOT number | US safety registration, needed only to cross into the US | Do you hold a BC National Safety Code certificate? |
| MC number or “operating authority” | US federal authority to haul, no Canadian equivalent | For interprovincial moves, which province issued your safety certificate? |
| “Check the FMCSA database” | US public carrier lookup, no Canadian equivalent exists | Can I see your WorkSafeBC clearance letter? |
| “State business licence” | Not a Canadian concept | Which municipalities are you licensed in? |
Insurance, and the certificate worth asking for
Two different things get called insurance in this industry and they cover different people.
Commercial general liability covers injury or damage the company causes, to your property or a third party’s. CAM requires at least $2 million of it from members.
Cargo insurance covers your goods in the truck. CAM requires at least $250,000. This is separate from the liability limits set by the conditions of carriage, which is a different mechanism again and covered in our guide to moving insurance in Canada.
Ask for a certificate of insurance naming the coverage and the expiry date, and ask whether the policy covers goods in storage if your move involves a gap.
How Secure Moving is set up
Secure Moving operates as an incorporated BC company with municipal licensing, WorkSafeBC coverage and commercial insurance, and carries $5 million in liability coverage. We are happy to provide a certificate of insurance and a WorkSafeBC clearance letter on request, which is the pair of documents worth asking any mover for.
Vetting companies, our guides on what to do when a mover goes wrong and who is responsible when something breaks cover the two situations the paperwork is there to protect you from. We work across the Lower Mainland as a moving company in Vancouver.
Frequently asked questions
Do moving companies need a licence in BC?
Not a mover’s licence, because none exists. Consumer Protection BC does not regulate moving companies, and there is no provincial registry, exam or bond for the occupation. What is required is general: business registration, a municipal business licence in each city of operation, a National Safety Code safety certificate once a truck exceeds 5,000 kg licensed gross vehicle weight, ICBC commercial insurance and WorkSafeBC registration. Two requirements carry no weight threshold at all and apply to any mover charging for the work: a bill of lading carrying the province’s prescribed conditions of carriage, and cargo insurance.
How do I check if a moving company is legitimate in BC?
Three free checks. Search BC Registries or OrgBook BC for the company’s registration and standing. Run a WorkSafeBC clearance letter search to confirm it is registered and paid up. Check whether it is a Canadian Association of Movers member, which requires two years in business, a storefront, $2 million liability and $250,000 cargo insurance, and a site visit. A mover’s safety record is not publicly available in Canada, unlike in the US.
Does a Canadian moving company need a USDOT number?
Only to carry goods into the United States. USDOT numbers, MC numbers and FMCSA operating authority are American requirements that attach when a truck crosses the border. Within BC or between provinces, the relevant document is a National Safety Code safety certificate issued by the carrier’s home province, which in BC is issued by CVSE.
Why does WorkSafeBC coverage matter when I hire a mover?
Because it can become your problem. WorkSafeBC warns that a hirer who engages a contractor not making required payments may be liable for premiums relating to the work, and under section 263(2) of the Workers Compensation Act a homeowner treated as an inadvertent employer can be ordered to pay the compensation costs of an injured worker. One documented case exceeded $54,000. Searching for a clearance letter, which is free, is how you avoid that exposure.
What insurance should a moving company have?
Commercial general liability for damage or injury the company causes, and cargo insurance for your goods in the truck. The Canadian Association of Movers sets minimums of $2 million and $250,000 respectively for its members. Request a certificate of insurance showing coverage and expiry, and ask separately whether goods in storage are covered.
