These Florida moving companies advertise online. But do they have licenses?
Just because you can find the website of a Florida mover or can’t find many complaints doesn’t mean the company has a license to legally handle your business.
There’s no requirement that movers include their license information on their websites, although many do. But a state license is required for moves within Florida or to other states.
The Miami Herald found several movers, purportedly from Florida, that advertise on websites and social media, but lack the licensing to do the job legally.
READ MORE: Fraudulent Florida mover fined $110,000 and banned from business in the state
How to check a mover’s license
For Florida-based companies, there’s at least two places you should check before hiring a moving company.
Intrastate moves: A mover handling moves within Florida must be licensed by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. There’s a license lookup on the agency’s website where you can search for a company by name or license number, or search for all the active licenses in a county or city. The address of your mover should be a publicly accessible commercial space where the mover’s registration certificate can be displayed, as Florida law requires, not an apartment, virtual office or a mailbox store.
Interstate moves: For moves across state lines or to find out more about a mover, go to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SAFER site. This will tell you if the mover is authorized to make interstate moves, how many trucks the mover has and how often they’ve been inspected. There are also links to insurance information as well as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety Measurement System. You can check Better Business Bureau reviews and accreditation, but neither mean anything legally.
Here’s a look at three companies with licensing issues:
Florida Smart Moves
On the Florida Smart Moves website you’ll find generic computer art of a beach scene and a picturesque sunset, a box truck with a map of Florida counties and a rotating declaration that says “We Are Smart” in various ways (”We Are Sharp,” “We Are Perceptive,” “We Are Acute”...).
There is no statement saying “We Are Licensed” or any Florida license number or U.S. Department of Transportation number. The Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services’ License Lookup and the federal SAFER website shows no license for Florida Smart Moves.
When a Miami Herald reporter called Florida Smart Moves to ask for its Florida license number or USDOT number, the person who answered the phone didn’t have the information and asked another employee to help. She said she would call the Miami Herald back with the license number.
Florida Smart Moves can be found in state corporate records registered under a fictitious name on Feb. 27, 2024, owned by “Omar’s Delivery Service,” both with a mailing address of 2814 Silver Star Rd., Suite 219. That’s the same address used by Thompson Nation Holdings and other companies owned by moving fraud Shawn Thompson, which moved out July 8, according to the leasing office via the final state order fining Thompson.
On the Better Business Bureau page devoted to Florida Smart Moves, in addition to five total reviews from April 29, 2024, through Oct. 1, 2025, averaging 1.2 stars, related business We Move You, Green Go Moving and Golden Touch Moving and Storage. We Move You and Green Go were Thompson companies.
As for Omar’s Delivery Service, there’s no Florida license and USDOT No. 3517442 says it’s “not authorized to engage in interstate, for-hire operations.” Both Omar’s USDOT and its Florida corporation registration say the company operated out of Apt. D309 at the Royal Palms of Lauderhill. The address of the listed agent and only officer, Damion Bowen, is in Wilmington, Delaware.
On Call Vanlines
On Call Vanlines has an Instagram page with one post and a website that features alleged testimonials from customers, photos of possible employees, a claim of Fort Lauderdale as home base, a promise of “your favourite rate” and a Google locator map of Mumbai, India.
“Move with Ease with USA’s #1 Choice for Moving and Storage Services,” On Call Vanlines’ website says. “We provide the Highest Standard of Moving. If you are looking for a stress-free moving experience in 48 States, you have come to the right place!”
USDOT No. 4468579 On Call Vanlines isn’t authorized to give you any kind of moving experience you across state lines. A search of the FDACS doesn’t show a license for On Call Vanlines.
A message left with On Call Vanlines’ toll free number and an email to the email address on the website about the company license weren’t answered. On Call then blocked a Miami Herald reporter from its toll free number.
State corporation records say manager Craige Clarke registered On Call Vanlines’ as a corporation on Sept. 16 with a “principal address” of Apt. 327 at 1230 Hampton Blvd. in North Lauderdale’s Hampton Lakeside apartment complex. Craig Ricketts is the other listed manager.
Chris Brown Vanlines
The website for Chris Brown Vanlines says “We take the stress out of cross-state and cross-country moves.”
There’s no USDOT or Florida license numbers for Chris Brown Vanlines.
There is a USDOT number for Chris Brown On Demand, the website of which displays the logo for Chris Brown Vanlines and nothing else. It says No. 3937615 has one truck, no authorization for interstate moves, and is based out of 5381 NW 18th Pl. in Lauderhill’s Riviera Hills Apartments. That’s also what this company’s state corporation registration says, under the management of Garfield Brown.
But Chris Brown On Demand’s state license, No. IM3485, says the company is based at 2730 Somerset Dr., Apt. 100, in Lauderdale Lakes’ Somerset Grove Apartments.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 7:10 AM with the headline "These Florida moving companies advertise online. But do they have licenses?."
