Verify a California household-goods carrier's Cal-T license status via the CPUC/BHGS carrier lookup
domain: bhgs.dca.ca.gov · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Go to the Bureau of Household Goods and Services online license lookup at bhgs.dca.ca.gov/enforcement/lookup.shtml (movers operating only within California are licensed by BHGS, a division under the CPUC's household goods program).
Search by company name, or by Cal-T license number — if the license is formatted like 'CAL T0192283', enter only the digits (192283), omitting the 'CAL' and 'T' prefix.
Confirm the returned license status shows 'Active' and that current insurance/bond information is on file before treating the carrier as legitimately licensed.
Check the same tool for any listed citations or disciplinary actions against the company.
If the mover also crosses state lines, separately verify federal USDOT/MC authority via the FMCSA QCMobile API or SAFER, since Cal-T licensing only covers intrastate California moves.
Known gotchas
There are two different California lookup surfaces — the BHGS license lookup for household goods carrier permits, and a separate CPUC carrier-search app (apps.cpuc.ca.gov) for other PUC-regulated transportation certificates — using the wrong one for a household goods query can return no match.
A Cal-T license only authorizes intrastate (within-California) moves; it does not substitute for federal DOT/MC authority on interstate jobs.
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