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How to Choose a Moving Company in Texas: The TxDMV Check and What Comes After It

How to choose a moving company in Texas: run the TxDMV certificate check, match the mover to distance, get a binding estimate, plan for heat, and spot red flags.

How to Choose a Moving Company in Texas: The TxDMV Check and What Comes After It

El Paso to Beaumont is 830 miles, and both are in Texas. That single fact changes how you should think about hiring a mover here, because a "local" company in Texas might be quoting you a job that crosses three climate zones and takes two days of driving without ever leaving the state.

Texas also has one of the more visible mover licensing systems in the country. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles requires every intrastate household goods mover to hold an active TxDMV certificate and display the number on trucks, advertising, and contracts. The TxDMV runs a public search, takes complaints, and publishes enforcement actions.

That gives you a clear starting point. Here is how to use it, and then how to sort the good movers from the merely licensed ones across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and everywhere in between.

Step One: The TxDMV Certificate

Search the company on the TxDMV Truck Stop website. You are looking for an active household goods certificate, the legal business name, the physical address, and the insurance status. The TxDMV number should match what is on the company's website and trucks.

If the company is not in the system or the certificate is expired or revoked, stop. Operating as a household goods mover in Texas without a TxDMV certificate is illegal, and a company that skips it will skip other things too.

The TxDMV also requires movers to give you a written estimate, a copy of the "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move in Texas" summary, and a bill of lading. A company that does not know what those are has not been doing this legally for long.

Interstate Moves

For a move out of Texas or into it from another state, the TxDMV certificate is not the credential. You need a company with federal interstate operating authority and a USDOT number.

Check both on the FMCSA SAFER website and confirm whether the company is a carrier or a broker. Many Texas movers hold both TxDMV and federal authority, which is what you want for a move from Dallas to Denver or Houston to Atlanta.

Step Two: Match the Mover to the Distance

Texas moves fall into three tiers, and companies are usually good at one or two of them, not all three. Local moves within a metro are billed by the hour.

Intrastate moves between metros, like Austin to Houston or San Antonio to Dallas, are billed by weight and mileage. Long intrastate hauls, like Lubbock to Corpus Christi or El Paso to Texarkana, are two-day jobs that a small local company may not handle well.

For a local move, a well-reviewed company based in your part of the metro is the best bet. Houston is big enough that a mover in Katy and a mover in Clear Lake are 50 miles apart and charge travel time accordingly. Same in DFW, where a Plano company driving to Mansfield is crossing the whole metroplex.

For a long intrastate move, ask how the company handles it: whether the same crew loads and unloads, whether your goods share a truck with another household, and whether you get a fixed date or a delivery window. A big move across Texas with a shared truck can have a delivery spread of several days.

Texas Rates in 2026

Local hourly rates in Austin, Dallas, and Houston run about $120 to $180 for two movers and a truck, and $160 to $240 for three. San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso, and the mid-sized cities run $100 to $150 for two and $140 to $200 for three.

A two-bedroom apartment move within Austin takes four to six hours and costs $600 to $1,200. A three-bedroom house across Houston takes seven to ten hours with traffic and runs $1,000 to $1,900.

Intrastate moves between metros price by weight. An 8,000-pound household from Austin to Dallas, about 200 miles, runs $2,800 to $4,800. Houston to El Paso, about 750 miles, runs $4,500 to $7,500.

Step Three: Get a Real Estimate

Texas rules require movers to give a written estimate before the move. Insist on an in-home or video survey behind it. A phone quote for a three-bedroom house in Frisco or Sugar Land is a guess.

Ask for a binding estimate or a binding not-to-exceed estimate. Under Texas rules, a mover with a non-binding estimate cannot require you to pay more than a set percentage above the estimate at delivery, but you do not want to be doing that math on moving day with your furniture on the truck.

Make sure the estimate lists everything. Crew size, hourly rate or weight and rate, travel time policy, stairs, long carries, elevator waits, shuttle trucks, packing materials, specialty items, storage, and valuation coverage.

Deposit terms too. Reputable Texas movers ask for little or nothing up front on local moves.

Valuation

Texas movers default to released value coverage of 60 cents per pound per item. A 50-pound television is covered for $30.

Full value protection costs extra and covers repair or replacement. Get the price in each estimate.

Step Four: Heat, Storms, and the Texas Calendar

Summer in Texas is brutal for moving crews. Houston, San Antonio, and Austin run above 95 degrees with heavy humidity from June through September, and DFW hits triple digits.

Good companies start at 7 a.m., take breaks, and build extra time into the estimate. A move that takes six hours in March takes seven or eight in August.

Hurricane season affects Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, and the whole coast from August through October. Ask what the policy is if a storm forces a reschedule. Spring severe weather from March through June hits North Texas hard, and a mover with a written tornado warning policy has been through it.

Peak season is late May through August. Rates run 20 to 30 percent higher and good companies book out three to five weeks.

Fort Cavazos, Fort Bliss, and Joint Base San Antonio add military PCS pressure to Killeen, El Paso, and San Antonio in summer. The lease calendar around UT Austin, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and UNT makes mid-August and mid-May difficult.

The Best Window

Mid-week, mid-month between October and February gets you the best rate and the most experienced crew almost everywhere in Texas. Winter weather is rarely an issue outside the Panhandle, though a February ice storm can shut down DFW or Austin for a day or two.

Step Five: Vet the Company Itself

Look for a physical address you can find on a map, ideally with a warehouse. Search the FMCSA record for prior names.

Read reviews from the last six months and look for specifics: on time, price matched the estimate, nothing broken. Check the Better Business Bureau file for unresolved complaints about held goods or ignored claims.

Ask whether crews are employees or day labor. Ask how long the foreman has been with the company. Ask for a reference from a move in the last 60 days and call it.

Search the company name on the TxDMV enforcement page. The department publishes administrative actions against movers who operated without a certificate, held goods hostage, or violated estimate rules.

Step Six: Watch for Texas-Specific Red Flags

A company that quotes over the phone without a survey. A company with a generic name like "Houston Movers" or "Texas Moving Pros" and no findable office.

A quote far below three others. A demand for a large cash deposit.

Hostage goods is the big one. Texas law prohibits a mover from holding your goods to demand payment above the binding estimate or above the allowed percentage on a non-binding estimate.

If it happens, document everything, refuse to pay more, and file a complaint with the TxDMV immediately. The department can act quickly on these.

A truck that shows up unmarked, or with a different company name than the one you hired, is another one. Brokers who sell your job to a random carrier are the usual cause. Ask up front whether the company that quotes you is the company that will show up.

Specialty Moves in Texas

Pianos, gun safes, hot tubs, pool tables, and large outdoor kitchens should go with a mover who has done them before and has the equipment. Ask whether the company does it in-house or subcontracts.

Ranch and acreage moves in the Hill Country, East Texas, and the Panhandle involve long gravel driveways, gates, and equipment that a standard mover will not take. Tractors, trailers, and livestock gear need separate transport.

Storage is common in the big metros because closings do not line up. A company with its own warehouse in Houston, Dallas, or Austin is cheaper than one that rents space. Ask about storage-in-transit pricing and climate control, which matters in Texas heat.

To start building a list, look at the moving companies listed for Texas in our directory, and read more of our guides on hiring local services on the blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do movers have to be licensed in Texas?

Yes. Intrastate household goods movers must hold an active TxDMV certificate and display the number on trucks and contracts. Interstate movers need federal authority and a USDOT number in addition.

How do I check a mover's TxDMV certificate?

Search the company on the TxDMV Truck Stop website. Confirm the certificate is active, the legal name and address match, and insurance is on file.

How much does a local move cost in Houston, Dallas, or Austin?

Two movers and a truck run about $120 to $180 per hour in 2026. A two-bedroom apartment move usually costs $600 to $1,200, and a three-bedroom house $1,000 to $1,900 depending on traffic and distance across the metro.

What is the cheapest time to move in Texas?

Mid-week, mid-month between October and February. Summer is peak season with 20 to 30 percent higher rates, plus heat that slows every crew down.

Can a Texas mover hold my furniture until I pay more?

No. Texas law prohibits holding goods to demand payment above the binding estimate or above the allowed percentage on a non-binding estimate. File a complaint with the TxDMV if it happens.