The DMV move-in week checklist

Why the DMV needs its own checklist

The DMV is three jurisdictions in one commuting radius. Utility companies, school registration, parking, and trash pickup are all different in DC vs. Maryland vs. Virginia. A generic national move-in checklist will miss half of what's actually time-sensitive. This one is built from the 600-plus DMV unpacks our team has run since 2018.

14 days before move day

• Submit change of address with USPS (online, $1.05). Forwarding starts on the date you set, not the day you submit.
• Schedule utility transfers. DC: Pepco for electric, Washington Gas for gas, DC Water for water. MD/MoCo: Pepco, Washington Gas, WSSC Water. NoVA: Dominion for electric, Washington Gas, Fairfax Water (or Loudoun Water).
• Reserve elevator if condo or apartment. DC condos typically require 7-10 days notice and a refundable security deposit ($300-500).
• Apply for DC moving truck parking permit if you're moving into DC. Requires 5 business days lead time. Cost: $80 per side of street, per day.
• Cancel old utilities at the prior address, effective the day after movers depart.

7 days before

• School registration. Arlington and Fairfax accept registration as soon as you have a signed lease or settlement statement; MoCo requires the signed deed (closed sale only). DC Public Schools uses the My School DC lottery for charter and out-of-boundary schools, but in-boundary registration runs through the local school once you have a utility bill.
• Pediatrician and dentist transfer if you're switching practices. Records request takes 5-10 business days.
• Confirm mover's binding estimate in writing. A non-binding quote can change at delivery.
• Notify your bank, credit cards, and IRS of the address change.

3 days before

• Pack a "first 24 hours" box per person: sheets, pillow, toothbrush, charger, two changes of clothes, prescription meds. Label it. Load it last on the truck so it comes off first.
• Photograph existing damage at the new place. Especially walls, floors, appliances. Time-stamped phone photos are enough.
• Confirm parking permit posted if you got one. DC enforcement is real; an unpermitted truck on a residential street is a $100 ticket plus tow risk.
• Withdraw cash for tips ($20-40 per mover, more for the lead).

Day before move day

• Defrost the freezer, drain the washer hoses if the appliances are coming with you.
• Stage the "first 24 hours" boxes by the door.
• Final walkthrough at the old place. Light switches off, water shut off if seasonal, key drop-off planned.
• Eat dinner with no fridge. Pizza is traditional. Wash the dishes you'll need in the morning.

Move day

You are not unpacking on move day. You are getting boxes inside, in the right rooms, with beds assembled. That is the entire goal.

• Be on site for the truck arrival. Movers can't make placement decisions without you.
• Direct every box to a specific room. Have a printed floor plan on the wall. Hand it to the lead mover.
• Assemble beds first. Before anything else. You will want to sleep.
• Tip in cash. Per mover, not lumped.
• Photograph the truck after unload to document that everything came off.

Day 1 (the day after)

• Unpack the kitchen first. Coffee, dishes for one meal, knives, cutting board, two pots. Fully unpacking the kitchen takes two days; this is just functional.
• Unpack the kids' rooms second. Bedding made, a stuffed animal visible, a lamp working. Bedtime needs to feel familiar.
• Find one bathroom that fully works. Towels, toilet paper, soap, toothbrushes.
• Walk the block. Note the trash and recycling pickup signs.

Days 2-3

• Finish the kitchen. Pantry organized, baking supplies in one zone, dish set complete.
• Set up the primary bedroom closet. Hanging clothes hung, drawer clothes drawer-ed.
• Register one vehicle if you're moving from out of state. DC: 30 days. MD: 60 days. VA: 30 days for new residents.
• Update driver's license within the same window. DC and MD now require the federal REAL ID for some interactions.

Week 1

• Trash and recycling. DC residential is twice-weekly trash, weekly recycling; check your specific street day at the DPW lookup. MoCo is curbside weekly. Arlington and Fairfax vary by neighborhood; check the county site.
• Internet installation if not already scheduled. Verizon Fios is dominant in NoVA and parts of DC; RCN/Astound in DC and inner MD; Comcast/Xfinity across most of the metro.
• Voter registration update at vote.gov.
• Library card. Free, useful, gives you a real library system to lean on.

Month 1

• Register for residential parking permit (DC: zone-based, $50/year. Arlington: zoned, $40-60. Fairfax: doesn't require RPP citywide.)
• Find a primary care physician if you've moved practices.
• Property tax assessment. DC and MD bill twice a year; your first bill usually arrives within 60 days of closing.
• Storm prep box. Flashlight, batteries, manual can opener, gallon of water per family member. DC summer storms are real and Pepco outages happen.

What to delegate

If you have the budget, the three highest-return delegations are: a move-in concierge for the unpack itself (kitchen functional by bedtime night one is achievable with the right crew), a cleaner for the day after the truck leaves to scrub baseboards and bathrooms before furniture is fully in place, and a handy person for two hours to mount TVs and hang mirrors. Together those three delegations are roughly $1,800 in the DMV and save the average family 25-40 hours of weekend work over the first month.

DMV-specific gotchas worth knowing

Twelve years of running unpacks in this region has produced a list of region-specific surprises. The most common ones:

• DC parking permits. The District's Department of Transportation requires moving truck permits and they sell out on summer Saturdays. Apply 14 days out, not 5. Posting the permit on the day-of is your responsibility, not the mover's.
• Older DC and inner-MD homes have narrow doorways. Pre-1940 rowhouses and Bethesda Colonials often have 28-inch interior doorways. Standard king mattresses and sectional sofas usually fit. Anything wider than 36 inches needs a measure before the truck arrives.
• HOA and condo move-in windows. Many DC and Arlington buildings restrict moves to weekdays only, or to specific Saturday windows. Failing to confirm in advance has cost more than one client an extra hotel night.
• Utility deposits. Pepco and Washington Gas may require a deposit for new accounts if you don't carry a credit history with them. Budget $100-300 in case.
• School enrollment deadlines. Arlington and Fairfax close kindergarten registration before the school year for capacity planning. If you're moving mid-summer with a kindergartener, register the moment you sign the lease.
• Refrigerator dimensions. Rowhouses and condos built before 1990 frequently have refrigerator alcoves that won't accept modern French-door units. Measure the alcove before the truck arrives if you brought a fridge.

Things to do in the first 30 days that aren't about boxes

The logistical side of moving consumes the first month and the social side is usually skipped. Two recommendations that have aged well in our experience.

First, introduce yourself to two immediate neighbors in the first week. A short porch knock with a baked good in hand. Twenty years of being the new family on the block is meaningfully easier when the people two doors down know your name.

Second, find one weekly anchor: the Saturday farmers market in your new neighborhood, a Sunday morning coffee place, a Tuesday running club. The faster a routine has a known waypoint, the faster the new house starts feeling like home. Boxes get unpacked on a schedule. Belonging takes a little longer.