Prepare for a Virtual Moving Survey

Prepare a virtual moving survey with a room route, measured problem items and access footage so the carrier can price the actual shipment.

Give the survey a defined coverage route

Arrange the session with the company preparing the estimate and ask whether it wants live video, recorded footage or both. FMCSA's 2022 interstate household-goods rule recognizes virtual surveys using live or recorded video; the older 50-mi survey exception was removed. A video appointment does not by itself identify the carrier or replace the written estimate.

Prepare a route through every room, closet, attic storage area and garage that contains moving inventory. Use your inventory IDs as the agenda. Start each room with a wide view, then show the items individually without moving quickly between them. Mark what remains behind so the estimator does not price every visible object as cargo.

Show uncertainty rather than hiding it

A camera cannot reliably establish depth, weight or a tight turning path. Have a tape measure available and read measurements aloud while showing the relevant endpoints. Provide lb from a suitable measurement or manufacturer record when available; a visual guess is not a certified shipment weight. Keep unresolved dimensions on a follow-up list.

For example, you have 18 sealed cartons, contents expected to fill another 12 and six garage cartons that will be donated if collection succeeds. Describe those as three separate groups. The preliminary moving count is 30, with six conditional cartons. If donation fails, send an update identifying the change before the carrier finalizes its documents.

Control the recording and handoff

Test the connection, battery and lighting before the appointment. Close documents or screens containing information the survey does not need. Ask who receives recordings, how to send corrections and how long the footage remains available. These are provider-specific privacy questions, not a promise that every survey platform handles recordings alike.

At the end, read back the exclusions, packing assignments and unverified access conditions. Request the resulting inventory and check it against your room route. A missed closet is easier to correct while the visit is fresh than when a crew is already loading.

Retain the survey date, inventory version and written estimate together. If the carrier needs additional inspection, arrange it rather than treating the first video as proof of fit. Changes to goods or services may require a new estimate before loading; your personal update log helps explain the difference but does not replace the carrier's required documents.