Colonial Van Lines Review 2026

Overview

Colonial Van Lines is a family-owned, Florida-based moving company that has been handling long-distance and interstate relocations since 2003. With a fleet of over 90 trucks, 45 agents, nearly 250 employees, and more than 250,000 completed long-distance moves, it is one of the most established and experienced long-distance movers in the United States.

What distinguishes Colonial from many competitors is the depth of its investment in training and consistency. Every driver, packer, and loader goes through Colonial Van Lines University (CVLU), an on-site, immersive training program at the company's Pompano Beach headquarters, before working a single customer move. The result is a service experience that customers describe as professional, careful, and communicative from first call through final delivery.

This review covers everything you need to make a confident decision: what Colonial Van Lines offers, what it actually costs, what real customers are saying, and the questions you should ask before handing over a deposit.

Colonial Van Lines: Quick Highlights

• Every mover is CVLU-certified, with 2 to 4 weeks of on-site training before their first customer move
• Dedicated move coordinator with an average of 10 years of experience assigned to every job
• Industry-first Colonial Moving App for virtual estimates, document storage, and move tracking
• Price-match guarantee matching any qualified competitor's lower quote
• FMCSA-licensed interstate carrier (DOT 1434373 / MC 681534)

About Colonial Van Lines

Colonial Van Lines was incorporated in 2003, but its roots go back further. The company was founded by the DiSorbo family, whose history in the moving industry dates back to the 1980s, when Aldo DiSorbo borrowed $2,000 from his father and began helping Broward County families move from his home in Coral Springs, Florida. He was 21 years old. From those beginnings, he built a series of moving companies and is credited in the industry with pioneering the modern moving broker model, helping connect customers with independent carriers whose equipment was otherwise sitting idle.

Colonial Van Lines itself was built on a different philosophy: direct ownership, direct accountability, and a commitment to consistency at scale. Today, the company operates from a 5-acre headquarters in Pompano Beach, FL, with warehouse and office locations throughout the country. It handles more than 12,000 moves per year, employs nearly 250 people nationwide, and operates a fleet of more than 90 trucks alongside 45 agent partners. The company is family-owned and still led with the same focus on quality and customer satisfaction that defined its early years.

Colonial focuses exclusively on long-distance and interstate moves, and its deliberate specialization is part of what makes the company good at what it does. Rather than splitting attention between short local jobs and complex cross-country logistics, every system, every training program, and every coordinator at Colonial is built around one thing: getting your belongings from one state to another, safely and on time.

Colonial Van Lines: Pros and Cons

Here is a balanced breakdown of where Colonial excels and what to consider when planning before you book.

Pros

• A+ BBB rating with over 600 reviews
• CVLU training program sets a higher bar for crew preparation
• Specialized in long-distance moves
• Binding estimates protect you from most price surprises
• Single point of contact throughout your move
• Mobile app for virtual estimates and inventory
• DOT inspections every 60 days (industry requires 12 months)

Cons

• Uses third-party agents for some moves
• Deposits range from 10%–40% of the total estimate
• Not BBB accredited (though holds an A+ rating)
• Service originates from only 40 states
• Does not offer local moves

What Services Does Colonial Van Lines Offer?

Colonial offers a comprehensive suite of long-distance moving services, all built around its full-service model. Loading, unloading, pad-wrapping, and furniture disassembly and reassembly are included as standard on every move.

Here is the complete breakdown.

Long-Distance and Cross-Country Moving

Long-distance moving is Colonial's entire focus, and where the company has invested most heavily in infrastructure, training, and quality control. The company covers all 48 contiguous states, with dedicated crews handling pickup, transport, and delivery. Every long-distance move is assigned a dedicated coordinator who manages communication from first contact through final delivery. With an average coordinator tenure of 10 years, you are getting someone who has navigated hundreds of moves just like yours.

Corporate and Commercial Relocation

Colonial's corporate relocation service is built for employee moves and business relocations of all scales. The company offers full relocation management, coordinating timelines, storage needs, and logistics across multiple stakeholders. For commercial moves involving office equipment, IT infrastructure, and phased transitions, Colonial deploys dedicated commercial coordinators with experience managing time-sensitive business relocations. Military personnel's moves are also handled with care; Colonial offers a military discount and has extensive experience with PCS moves.

Packing and Storage

Colonial offers both full and partial packing options. Full packing means Colonial's CVLU-trained packers handle every room in your home, boxing, wrapping, labeling, and protecting everything from kitchen glassware to bedroom furniture. Partial packing lets you choose specific areas or item types to hand off, ideal for customers who want to handle the easy items themselves but need professionals for fragile collections, artwork, or the kitchen. Specialty crating, protective runners, and door-jamb protection are used as standard practice.

Colonial offers both short-term and long-term storage solutions, including its proprietary Colonial Cubes modular storage system. Climate-controlled options are available for temperature-sensitive items. Storage can be bundled with a move or arranged independently. Ask your coordinator about bundling incentives when you receive your initial quote.

Pricing: What to Expect

Colonial's pricing is in line with the industry average for full-service long-distance movers, and the company's full-service baseline means the comparison is often more favorable than it initially appears. Quotes are free and can be obtained via phone, through the Colonial Moving App, or by completing an online form.

Note: Pricing above is an estimate. Actual costs will vary by inventory size, the specific route, and the services selected.

Colonial provides binding estimates, meaning they lock in a price based on your inventory and move details. Keep in mind that Colonial also offers a price-match guarantee. If you receive a lower quote from a qualified, licensed competitor for the same services, Colonial will match it. It is worth getting two or three quotes before your final booking decision.

Like most long-distance movers, Colonial may charge extra for situations that make loading or delivery more complex. Common accessorial fees include long-carry charges, stair fees, elevator fees, shuttle service fees for narrow streets, and charges for specific fragile or oversized items. Ask about these upfront so there are no surprises on moving day.

Deposits and Cancellation

Colonial requires a deposit to secure your moving date. Deposits typically range from 10% to 40% of the total estimate, depending on the move details. This is higher than some competitors.

Before you sign anything, confirm:

• Exact deposit amount and percentage
• Refund eligibility timeline
• Accepted payment methods
• What happens if you add or remove items after the binding estimate is signed

Understanding these terms upfront is especially important if your moving plans are still flexible.

Colonial Van Lines Customer Service: What Real Customers Report

Customer feedback for Colonial Van Lines is consistently strong. The company holds an A+ BBB rating with over 600 verified reviews and overwhelmingly positive feedback on Trustpilot, where more than 2,690 customers have weighed in.

Overall Communication: 5 / 5

Pre-Move Responsiveness: 5 / 5

Move-Day Coordination: 4 / 5

Long-Distance Consistency: 4 / 5

Post-Move Follow-Up: 4 / 5

Positive reviews consistently highlight transparent communication, professional crews, and quotes that matched the final bill. Negative reviews most often involve three issues: final costs that came in higher than expected, delivery windows that stretched beyond the promised range, and damage or loss claims that customers felt were settled for too little.

The federally required minimum liability coverage is $0.60 per pound per item, which may not fully reflect the value of higher-end belongings. Customers with valuable furniture, artwork, or electronics should ask about full-value protection options at the time of booking.

How to Reach Colonial Van Lines

• Main Line: (800) 356-1855 — for new quotes, bookings, and general inquiries
• Request a Callback: available on colonialvanlines.com for scheduled consultations
• Colonial Moving App: iOS and Android — virtual estimates, document storage, move tracking
• Dedicated Move Coordinator: assigned to every customer from first contact through delivery

The Bottom Line: Should You Use Colonial Van Lines?

Colonial Van Lines is one of the most credible and well-documented long-distance movers in the United States. The combination of CVLU-trained crews, a dedicated coordinator on every move, and a 96.5% customer satisfaction rate makes it a strong choice for cross-country and interstate relocations.

Colonial does not do local moves, so if you need someone for a short-distance or within-city relocation, you will need to look elsewhere. Packing is an add-on rather than bundled, which means your base quote will not automatically include full packing services. And like any mover operating at scale, the experience can occasionally vary by route and crew.

For a long-distance or cross-country move, which Colonial specializes in, it is hard to find a more consistently reliable option at this price point. The price-match guarantee means you can shop around without risk. Getting a Colonial quote is a smart first step.

Best for: Long-distance, cross-country, corporate, military, and senior moves where crew quality, communication, and pricing transparency are the priority.

Not ideal for: Local or short-distance moves within the same city or metropolitan area; customers with tight deposit budgets.

Things to know going in: Request a binding estimate, confirm your deposit terms and cancellation policy in writing, and ask about valuation coverage if you have high-value items. Use the Colonial Moving App for the most accurate virtual estimate.

Colonial Van Lines at a Glance

Our Review Methodology

Moving.co evaluates every moving company using a consistent, weighted scoring framework built around what matters most to customers planning a relocation. Our ratings are built from FMCSA license verification, independent review analysis across multiple platforms, mystery shopping, and direct evaluation of pricing practices, contract terms, and customer service responsiveness.