Moving Timeline Checklist: What to Do Eight Weeks Before Move Day

Moving timeline: eight weeks to move day

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Eight to six weeks out: decide how you will move

Nothing here costs much. It sets the shape of the move before anyone gives you a quote.

• Write down your keys-out date, your keys-in date, and any day the building or the new place is not available.

  Every later date hangs from these. A gap between them is the first thing to solve.

• Decide whether you will hire movers, drive a rental truck yourself, or use a container.
• Walk through every room and every storage space and sort what goes, what is sold or donated, and what is thrown away.

  Only what you keep belongs in an estimate or a box count.

• Start one folder, paper or digital, for estimates, contracts, receipts and messages.

  If you ever need to file a complaint or a claim, these are the papers it rests on.

• Search FMCSA's Registered Mover Database for each company you are considering for an interstate move.

  Source: FMCSA, Protect Your Move

Five to four weeks out: get estimates and book

• Ask each mover you are considering for a written estimate based on a survey of your belongings, and compare them line by line.

  Part 375 requires an interstate mover to provide a written estimate based on a physical survey, unless you waive the survey in writing (49 CFR 375.401).

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Ask for the rights booklet and the Ready to Move brochure with your estimate, and read the booklet.

  FMCSA says movers must give you both before an interstate move; the rule is 49 CFR 375.213.

  Source: FMCSA, Protect Your Move

• Find out whether each estimate is binding or non-binding, and note it beside the total.

  It decides what you can be required to pay at delivery. Part 375 sets the rules for both kinds (375.403 and 375.405).

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Book your mover or reserve your truck or container, and keep the confirmation.
• If either building has an elevator, loading dock or parking rules, ask what you must book and when.
• Request time off for move day and the day after, and line up any helpers.

Three to two weeks out: tell people and start packing

• Urgent: Submit your USPS change of address request, leaving more room than the minimum before the start date.

  USPS says to allow at least 7 to 10 business days for a request to take effect, and that it needs to verify your identity.

  Source: USPS, Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address

• Tell banks, insurers, employers, schools and government offices your new address yourself.

  USPS says a change of address order only changes your address with the Post Office, and that some sensitive mail is not forwarded.

  Source: USPS, Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address

• Book stop and start dates for power, water, internet and trash at both addresses.
• Pack what you will not touch before the move: off-season clothes, books, decor, spare linens.
• Ask your mover which items it will not carry, and set those aside to move yourself.

  Federal law forbids shipping hazardous materials in household goods boxes or luggage without informing your mover.

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Photograph furniture, electronics and anything fragile, and keep the pictures with your folder.

The last seven days: close loops

• For an interstate move with a mover, read the bill of lading and sign it only when it matches the estimate you accepted.

  Part 375 says the bill of lading must be provided to, signed and dated by you at least 3 days before loading, and that you can rescind it without penalty in the 3 days after you sign (375.505(h)).

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Call to confirm arrival window, parking, and access at both addresses.
• Eat down the fridge and freezer, and plan to empty and defrost them if they are moving.
• Set aside documents, medication, jewelry, chargers and keys to travel in your own car.
• Pack one clearly marked box for the first night: toiletries, bedding, tools, a kettle or coffee maker, pet supplies.
• Confirm the move-out inspection time, the key return, and where to send your deposit.

Move day and the week after

• Walk every room, closet and cabinet of the old place before the crew leaves.
• At delivery, check the items against the inventory before you sign anything.

  FMCSA's booklet says the mover's copy of the inventory is signed to show you received the items, so be sure it is accurate first.

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Write any missing or damaged item on the inventory and ask for a copy of the notes.

  Part 375 gives you the opportunity to note missing articles and damage in writing at delivery (375.503(d)).

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Look up your claim deadline in the booklet, and file in writing if something is lost or damaged.

  The booklet in Appendix A of Part 375 gives 9 months from the delivery date to file a claim with your mover.

  Source: eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375

• Watch for the mail confirmation from USPS, and check that your first forwarded mail arrives.

  Source: USPS, Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address

Sources (3)

1. FMCSA, Protect Your Move fmcsa.dot.gov
2. eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375 ecfr.gov
3. USPS, Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address usps.com

In short: Spend the first weeks deciding and getting written estimates, book the mover or truck by the middle of the timeline, file your USPS change of address with room to spare, and sign the bill of lading well before loading day.

This checklist is for anyone who has a move date and wants to know what comes first. It is arranged by time, working back from move day, so you can open it at week eight or at week three and find the section that fits. If you would rather work by room than by date, the printable moving checklist groups the same job by area of life instead.

How to use the timeline

Find the section that matches how far out you are, tick what is already done, and work down. Ticks are saved in your browser only, so they stay on this device and nobody else sees them. If you are already inside the last week, skip to that section, and if the move is only days away, the last-minute moving checklist is shorter and ordered by what is hardest to fix.

The sections are sized by what each stretch of time is good for. Early weeks are for decisions, because deciding costs nothing. The middle weeks are for booking, because good dates and crews are the first things to go. The later weeks are for telling people and packing, and the last week is for closing loops.

Where the rules show up

A few items in the timeline carry rules rather than habits, and they are marked with their source.

Part 375 of the federal regulations governs interstate household goods moves by a mover. It says the mover must provide a written estimate based on a physical survey, unless you waive the survey in writing. It also says the mover must give you FMCSA's rights booklet and the Ready to Move brochure with the estimate. A move that stays inside one state is outside Part 375, so for a local move ask the company, and your state's consumer protection office, what applies.

On the paperwork side, Part 375 says the mover must give you the bill of lading to sign and date at least three days before the shipment is scheduled to load, and that you can rescind it without penalty during the three days after you sign. That is why the bill of lading appears in the last week, not on move day.

For mail, USPS says to allow at least 7 to 10 business days after your request is approved for forwarding to take effect. The timeline places the request in the three-to-two-weeks section so you have slack beyond that minimum.

Worked example: a move that starts in eight weeks

Suppose your lease ends on the last day of the month and you have eight weeks. In the first section you write down the keys-out and keys-in dates, and discover that the new place is not ready until two days after you must leave. That gap is the problem to solve now, perhaps by asking about storage, a later pickup or a short stay somewhere else, not on move day.

In week five you ask two companies for written estimates and put them side by side. One is binding and one is not, which changes how you compare the totals, so you read the guide to binding and non-binding estimates before choosing. You book, keep the confirmation in your folder, and ask the building about elevator hours.

In week three you submit the forwarding request, and in the final week you read and sign the bill of lading. The remaining days are packing and cleaning, not scrambling.

What changes the timeline

A longer distance, a larger household and a busy season all push the early sections earlier. Moving between buildings with elevator booking rules pushes the booking section earlier. A tight lease end date pushes everything earlier. A small apartment move you handle with a rental truck can compress the whole plan into fewer weeks, and you can drop the estimate and bill of lading items if you hire no mover.

When to call for help

If an estimate arrives that does not match what was said on the phone, or a mover asks you to sign a document with blanks to fill in later, stop and look at FMCSA's Protect Your Move page. If you cannot get a straight answer on who will actually carry your goods, the vet-a-mover checklist walks through the checks.

Questions people ask

Is eight weeks too early?

Not for the first section, which is decisions and sorting. If you are moving at a busy time or across the country, early is better for booking too. If you are short on time, compress the sections rather than skipping the estimate and paperwork items.

Do I need all of this for a local move?

Probably not every line. Part 375 covers interstate moves by movers, so its estimate and bill of lading rules do not reach a move inside one state. The pieces about forwarding mail, notifying senders and packing apply to every move.

What if I have fewer than eight weeks?

Start at the section that matches today's date and do the overdue items first, in the order they appear.

Sources

1. FMCSA, Protect Your Move fmcsa.dot.gov
2. eCFR, 49 CFR Part 375 ecfr.gov
3. USPS, Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address usps.com