Do I need special movers for a piano?

In practice, yes. A piano is heavy, top-heavy and easily damaged, and moving one safely takes equipment and experience most household crews use only now and then. Moving one yourself puts you, the instrument and your home at risk. For scale, Steinway lists its K-52 upright at 650 lbs,^[2] and a grand weighs more and has to be partly taken apart to get through a door.

What "special" means is the crew's experience and equipment, not a special licence. Here is what Virginia requires of any mover, what to ask a piano mover, and who looks after the piano once it arrives.

What Virginia requires of any mover

In Virginia, the licence that matters is from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Virginia law makes it unlawful to operate, offer, advertise, provide or arrange to transport property for compensation within Virginia as a motor carrier without first getting a permit or certificate of fitness from DMV.^[3] That applies to a piano specialist and a general mover alike.

Which authority depends on distance. A company with a DMV property carrier permit can carry household goods only when they are delivered less than 31 road miles from where they were picked up.^[8] For longer moves inside Virginia, the Code says a household goods carrier needs a certificate of fitness from DMV unless otherwise exempted.^[4] Some moves are exempt: DMV does not require operating authority for vehicles that deliver property within the boundaries of the same Virginia city or town where it was picked up,^[9] or for carriers that use only passenger cars and vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.^[9]

Insurance comes with the authority. Among other limits, a property carrier hauling household goods needs at least $50,000 in cargo insurance, unless it works only with passenger cars and vehicles of 10,000 pounds or less.^[8] On moving day you can ask to see the truck's registration card: for Virginia trucks not registered under the International Registration Plan, DMV displays the operating authority on the vehicle registration card when the for-hire plates are issued.^[7] Do movers need a license in Virginia explains the permits and exemptions in more detail.

What makes a mover a piano mover

A crew that moves pianos regularly usually has the right gear and a routine for using it: a padded piano board for grands, a heavy piano dolly, wide straps, plenty of pads, and enough people to keep the piano under control on stairs. It knows how to take the legs, lid and pedals off a grand and put them back, and how to get a tall upright down a tight staircase without tipping it. How movers move a piano safely walks through what that looks like.

Some general moving companies do this well, and some send a piano to a specialist they work with. The name on the truck matters less than the answers to a few questions:

• How many pianos does the crew move in a typical month, and does it move grands as well as uprights?
• What equipment does it bring, and how many people?
• Has it seen the route, or at least photos and the number of steps at both homes?
• Does it hold a DMV permit or certificate, or why is it exempt?
• What does it pay if the piano is damaged, and is that in writing?
• Is the price fixed, and what could be added on the day?

Read the coverage closely

A mover's promise is only as good as its paperwork. Under Virginia law, household goods carriers shall not assume any liability in excess of that for which they are legally liable under their lawful bills of lading and published tariffs,^[5] and they may not advertise that "all loads are insured" unless they have filed tariffs assuming complete liability and insurance covering every shipment to its full value.^[5] If a mover tells you the piano is fully covered, ask to see it in writing, and ask whether the payout is by weight or by the piano's value. For a valuable or antique instrument, that question is worth more than a lower price. What piano moving costs in Virginia covers how coverage affects the quote.

The technician is a separate trade

Movers move the piano; a piano technician tunes and adjusts it. Kawai recommends contacting a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) member of the Piano Technicians Guild.^[1] A technician who already services your piano is also a good person to ask which movers they trust.

If something goes wrong

Check the piano before you sign. For a Virginia household goods carrier, a delivery receipt may not contain language that releases the carrier from liability, other than a statement that the goods arrived in apparent good condition except as noted.^[5] Write any damage on it.

Then send a written claim with photos. The carrier must acknowledge a written damage claim within thirty calendar days^[6] and pay, decline or make a firm settlement offer in writing within 120 days,^[6] and it cannot give you less than thirty calendar days to file a claim or less than two years to sue.^[6] If the company will not respond, the Virginia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section takes complaints online, and runs a hotline at 1-800-552-9963 for calls from Virginia.^[10] What to do if movers damage your furniture covers the claim in detail.

Stop and call a pro if

• A mover will not say whether it holds DMV authority or is exempt, will not put a price in writing, or wants full payment in cash before loading.
• The crew arrives without a dolly or straps, or plans to carry the piano by hand down stairs. Stop the job and reschedule with a crew that has the gear.
• The piano must go over a balcony, through a window or up a long outdoor staircase. Ask a piano mover that does rigging or hoisting.
• The move crosses a state line. Use a mover with interstate authority; how to check an interstate mover shows how.
• The piano is damaged, keys stick or a pedal stops working. Call a piano technician to assess it before you settle a claim.

Finding a piano mover

On Loclis you describe the job once and businesses quote; contact details are shared only after you book. Browse more junk removal and moving answers, see specialty item movers, find junk removal and moving businesses around Blacksburg, or describe your piano move and get quotes.