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Moving checklist for Washington, week by week.
Everything to do before, during and after a move in Washington, in the order it needs doing, with the official links for each step. Written by Caravan Moving LLC, a licensed household goods carrier in Rochester. It works whether you hire us, hire someone else, or do it yourself.
Eight weeks out
Decide how you're moving and get the paperwork started.
The early decisions save the most money and stress. In Washington the way a move is priced depends on distance, so knowing that first helps you compare quotes properly.
Know which pricing rule applies
A move of 55 miles or less, measured from where your things are picked up to where they are delivered, is priced by the hour. Longer moves inside Washington are priced by weight and distance. Out of state moves run under federal rules. How pricing works explains all three.
Get written estimates
Washington requires a licensed mover to look at your things, in person or by video for smaller jobs, and give you a written estimate before any work starts. A number over the phone is not an estimate. The UTC's Consumer Guide to Moving explains what the estimate must include.
Check the mover's permit
Look the company up on the UTC mover search. A legitimate Washington mover has a household goods permit and its own truck. Ours is THG072095, and you can check it in about a minute.
Start a moving folder
One folder, paper or digital, for the estimate, the bill of lading, the inventory, receipts and the address-change confirmations below. Keep it with you on moving day, not in a box.
Sort, book and tell people.
Four weeks is when the move becomes real. Go room by room and decide what is coming, what is going to family, what is being donated and what is leaving as junk. Everything that is not coming costs less to deal with now than on moving day.
Book the mover and the date, and confirm the details in writing: addresses, the time window, the crew size, and what happens with stairs, elevators or a long carry at either end. If you rent, read the lease for notice periods and cleaning requirements so the deposit is not a surprise later.
- Book the mover and confirm the date in writing
- Give your landlord written notice per the lease
- Clear what is not coming: junk removal or an estate cleanout if it is a whole house
- Order boxes, tape and paper, or book packing
- Arrange school and medical records transfers
- Book carpet cleaning for after the movers if the lease asks for it
Two weeks out
Change of address, licence, voting and utilities.
These are the steps people forget, and the ones that cause the most trouble later. Each link goes to the official form.
Mail forwarding
File a change of address with the Postal Service so mail follows you for a year. Use the official form at moversguide.usps.com; the Postal Service charges a small identity-check fee and third-party sites charge far more for the same thing.
Driver licence and vehicle registration
Washington asks you to update the address on your licence and on each vehicle registration soon after you move. Both are done online through the Department of Licensing.
Voter registration
Moving within Washington means updating your registration so the right ballot reaches you. Do it at VoteWA.
Federal agencies and banks
The IRS, Social Security and other federal agencies each need the new address; USA.gov lists them in one place, and the IRS page explains its form. Add banks, insurers, your employer and any subscriptions.
Utilities
Schedule power, gas, water, garbage and internet to stop at the old address the day after you leave and start at the new one the day before you arrive. Puget Sound Energy customers can do it at pse.com; city water and garbage are handled by each city, and rural addresses often have a separate garbage hauler.
Confirm access at both ends
Ask the building or the seller about elevator reservations, loading zones, gate codes and where a 24-foot truck can park. Tell your mover what you learn; it changes the plan for the day.
Pack in the right order and set aside what travels with you.
Pack the rooms you use least first and the kitchen last. Label every box on two sides with the room it is going to, not the room it came from. Keep boxes under about fifty pounds so they can be carried safely and stacked without crushing.
Some things should never go on the truck: cash, jewellery, passports, deeds, medication, laptops and anything you would be lost without for a day. They travel with you. Plants, open food and anything flammable also stay off a moving truck.
- Defrost and dry the freezer two days before
- Disconnect washers, dryers and the fridge water line (a mover moves appliances, it does not plumb them)
- Back up computers; take photos of cable setups
- Pack a first-night box: bedding, towels, kettle, chargers, toilet paper, tools
- Use up or give away food and cleaning chemicals
- Confirm the move time and the crew's arrival with the mover
Moving day
How the day runs with a licensed mover.
Walkthrough first
The crew walks the home with you, notes anything already damaged, and confirms the plan. The written estimate and the bill of lading are signed before loading starts.
Load, then a last look
Furniture is wrapped, boxes stacked by room. Before the truck leaves, walk every room, closet and outdoor space with the crew.
Deliver and check
At the new address, boxes go to the rooms on the labels. Check the inventory as things come off and note any damage on the paperwork before signing.
Pay as agreed
Payment is what the estimate and bill of lading say, in the form agreed beforehand. If the job grew, a supplemental estimate should have been signed before the extra work.
After the move
The first two weeks in the new place.
Unpack the essentials, then the rest
Kitchen and bathrooms first, then bedrooms, then everything else. Flatten boxes as you go; many movers and recyclers take clean boxes back.
Check for damage while you can still claim
Open fragile boxes early. Washington rules give you a set window to file a written damage claim with a licensed mover; our claims process is published so you know it before you need it.
Finish the address list
Anything that still arrives at the old address by forwarded mail is a reminder to update that sender. Two weeks of forwarded mail usually catches the stragglers.
Leave the old place clean
If you rented, the lease usually requires the carpets cleaned and a receipt. King Carpet Cleaning, a separate company we coordinate with, does move-out carpet cleaning in Thurston County with a dated itemised receipt.
Checklist questions
What people ask before a move.
How far ahead should I book movers in Washington?
Four to six weeks for a summer or end-of-month date, two to three weeks the rest of the year. The last days and the first of the month are busiest everywhere because leases turn over then. If you can move midweek and mid-month, availability is usually better.
What does a Washington mover have to give me in writing?
A written estimate before any work begins, after the mover has looked at your things, plus a bill of lading and an inventory on moving day. The Utilities and Transportation Commission's Consumer Guide to Moving lists what each document must contain.
Who do I need to tell that I have moved?
The Postal Service, the Department of Licensing for your licence and each vehicle, VoteWA for voter registration, the IRS and Social Security if you receive anything from them, your bank, insurers, employer, doctor, school and every subscription. The links in the two-weeks-out section go to the official forms.
What should not go on the moving truck?
Cash, jewellery, passports and deeds, medication, laptops and hard drives, plants, open food, and anything flammable or under pressure such as propane, paint and aerosols. Those travel with you or are disposed of properly before the move.
Can the movers disconnect my washer or fridge?
Movers carry appliances; they do not plumb or wire them. Disconnect water and gas lines before moving day, or have a plumber or the appliance dealer do it, so the crew can move the units safely.
Do you have a checklist for the carpets before I hand back keys?
Book carpet cleaning for after the movers, never before, so nothing gets missed under furniture and boxes are not carried back over damp carpet. King Carpet Cleaning, a separate company, has a move-out carpet cleaning page with what Washington deposits law says about it.
Ready to book the truck
Tell us the two addresses and the date.
A free written estimate after we've seen your things, the way Washington requires, from a licensed carrier based in Rochester.
WA UTC Permit THG072095 · USDOT 4476646 · MC 1781177