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The 8-week long-distance moving checklist

An interstate move has a longer runway than a local one, and the tasks are different: verifying federal licensing, transferring records across state lines, and preparing a household to be inventoried and shipped rather than just carried across town. Here's the timeline that keeps it orderly.

8 weeks out

  • Request long-distance estimates and insist on inventory-based quotes (video or in-home survey)
  • Verify every provider's USDOT number through the FMCSA mover search before comparing prices
  • Ask each provider whether they're a carrier or a broker, and get it in writing
  • Start a serious purge — every pound you don't ship is money saved on a weight-based move
  • Request records from your kids' Tacoma schools and research enrollment requirements in the destination district

6 weeks out

  • Choose your provider; confirm the estimate type (binding, non-binding, or not-to-exceed) on the paperwork
  • Decide on valuation coverage — full-value protection versus the minimal released-value default
  • Book auto transport if you're shipping a vehicle
  • Ask your doctors, dentist, and vet for records and out-of-state referrals; refill prescriptions to cover the transition
  • Notify your Tacoma landlord per your lease, or coordinate the sale timeline with your agent

4 weeks out

  • File USPS mail forwarding to the new state
  • Update your address with banks, insurers, the IRS, and any subscription that ships physical goods
  • Research the new state's driver's license and vehicle registration deadlines — several states expect action within weeks of arrival
  • Set end dates for Tacoma Public Utilities and start dates for utilities at the destination
  • Confirm your delivery spread with the mover and plan temporary housing if the window outlasts your arrival

2 weeks out

  • Separate a do-not-load zone: documents, jewelry, medications, chargers, and anything irreplaceable travels with you
  • Use up frozen and perishable food — most carriers won't transport perishables interstate
  • Drain fuel from mowers and tools; dispose of propane, paint, and aerosols, which can't ship
  • Confirm loading day details in writing: arrival window, contact numbers, payment terms
  • Photograph valuable furniture and electronics as condition documentation before packing

Loading day & delivery

  • Review the inventory sheet as it's written and keep your copy — it's the claims document
  • Confirm you've received 'Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move' and the bill of lading before the truck leaves
  • Verify the delivery address and your phone number on every page of paperwork
  • At delivery, check off inventory numbers as items come off the truck and note damage on the paperwork immediately
  • Register your vehicle and get your new driver's license within the destination state's deadline

First item on the list: know your options.

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