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Chicago, IL

Long distance movers in Chicago

Chicago issues two kinds of no-parking sign and only one of them can tow a car. We pull the enforceable CDOT permit, book the dock and the freight lift inside your building’s window, and check the dock will take the trailer before the day.

  • Enforceable permit CDOT, not a courtesy sign
  • Dock checked height and length, before the day
  • COI issued direct to management
  • USDOT 2138595 · MC-744411 checkable on FMCSA SAFER
Traffic on a Chicago street with an elevated train crossing overhead

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Chicago, IL

What a long distance move from Chicago involves

Chicago issues two kinds of no-parking sign and only one can tow a car.

We pull the enforceable CDOT permit and quote one binding price. It sits inside the price you were quoted rather than arriving afterwards.

The rest is the ordinary work: a survey that counts what you own, a binding price in writing, our own crew loading and delivering, and thirty days of storage if your dates slip.

Moving services in Chicago

Why people book us for a move from Chicago

1,789
Households moved
160
Crew
28
Cities
  • Two movers among cartons, one reading from a tablet Your quote is your final price, in writing after the survey
  • A mover carrying a large carton against his chest, close in Trained crews on our own payroll, never day labor
  • A mover carrying a carton through a kitchen as a resident stands aside Licensed and insured under our own USDOT and MC authority
  • A man at the door of a green storage unit, working the latch Thirty days of storage included on long distance moves
  • A hand marking a date on a wall calendar with a pen We file and pay the Chicago street permit as part of the booking

What it costs

What moving from Chicago typically costs

Price comes from weight and mileage first, then access — and downtown, access means the dock and the slot.

Home size Typical weight To Los Angeles To New York
Studio or 1 bed one bedroom of contents 2,000 – 3,500 lb $2,729 – $5,540 $1,762 – $4,804
2 – 3 bedrooms the most common interstate move 4,000 – 9,000 lb $3,731 – $8,034 $2,609 – $5,954
4+ bedrooms often needs a trailer to itself 10,000 – 14,000 lb $7,129 – $11,742 $4,077 – $8,253

The dollar ranges are the MARKET rate for these lanes, not our quote: Chicago to Los Angeles and Chicago to New York. moveBuddha's monthly dataset of live quotes across vetted movers, last updated 31 August 2026. Weights are the industry rule of thumb. We price your move from a survey of your actual inventory and give you one binding number in writing, which is why no figure above is presented as ours.

Get a binding price

Included and extra

What your final price includes

The complaint in this industry is always the bill that grew. This is the line between included and extra, before you have to ask.

  • Included One truck, one crew The crew that loads you is the crew that unloads you.
  • Included Storage for 30 days Useful when a closing slips.
  • Included Basic cover 60 cents for every pound an item weighs.
  • Extra Full cover Pays to repair or replace what we list together.
  • Extra Packing and crates Up to 15 boxes is partial, more than that is full.
  • Extra Car shipping Open or enclosed.
  • Extra The street permit Its own line on your estimate, not hidden in a total.

How the price is built

How your move from Chicago works, step by step

Four points where something is decided. The first two happen before a truck is booked.

  1. Survey, and the dock

    We count the inventory and check the building: dock height and length, which lift, and what window management will give you.

  2. Permit and certificate

    The enforceable CDOT permit goes in three to five business days out and covers the day of the move. The certificate of insurance goes to management at the same time.

  3. Load day, inside the slot

    The crew is sized for the window rather than the square footage. Where the dock will not take the trailer, a smaller truck shuttles to it.

  4. Transit and delivery

    One carrier, one crew, and a delivery window rather than a promised hour — in winter that window allows for weather on the lanes as well as at the door.

Long distance moving routes from Chicago

Road distance and the transit window we plan against on the lanes we run most from the city.

All routes
CDOT permit
$25 enforceable; the ward sign is free and is not
Permit notice
3–5 days signs posted 48h before
Dock slot
Often 2 hours booked 1–2 weeks ahead
To the west coast
6–10 days Chicago to Los Angeles, 2,015 mi

Permit figures: City of Chicago CDOT e-permit portal, 312-744-4652. Dock and lift practice is what buildings ask for, not a regulation.

Chicago's two no-parking signs, and which one can tow

Two things decide a Chicago move, and the first one is a piece of paper most people do not know has two versions.

The city issues temporary no-parking signs for a move, and there are two kinds. Your ward office will give you one free, and its own page says so in as many words: these signs are non-enforceable. A car parked in front of one cannot be ticketed and cannot be towed, so on a busy street it is a polite notice rather than a reserved space. The other kind is a CDOT permit sign — $25, issued to eligible moving companies, enforceable by ticket and tow, and valid for the day of the move. We pull that one as part of the booking.

The forty-eight hours you may have read about belongs to the free sign, not the paid one. Ward offices ask you to collect and post a courtesy sign at least forty-eight hours before the move, which is sensible neighborly practice and is the origin of a rule you will see quoted as though it governed enforceability. It does not. The CDOT sign is enforceable because CDOT issued it, and it covers the day it is issued for.

You may also hear about “dibs” — the winter habit of claiming a shoveled-out space with a chair. It is a real Chicago custom and it has no legal force at all. It will not stop a ticket, a tow, or somebody else simply taking the space.

The second thing is the dock. Downtown streets rarely offer legal truck parking, so a high-rise move usually runs through the building’s loading dock — and docks carry height and length restrictions that a 53-foot trailer frequently cannot meet. Buildings want the dock and the freight elevator reserved one to two weeks ahead, commonly in two-hour slots, with a certificate of insurance from the mover. We measure the dock against the vehicle before the day, because discovering it on the morning turns a two-hour slot into a missed one.

What decides a Chicago move

The sign, the dock and the slot

All three are arranged before the day, and all three are the kind of thing that costs an hour of crew time when they are not.

The Chicago skyline above a lakefront park and a wooden pier in spring

$25 the enforceable CDOT permit

Why the $25 CDOT sign can tow

Your ward office will hand you a free sign and its own page calls it non-enforceable — nothing parked in front of it can be ticketed or towed. The $25 CDOT permit sign can do both, is issued to the moving company, and covers the day of the move. We pull that one with the booking, and it is the only one worth relying on.

The Chicago River running between glass towers under a broken sky

Height limit what a 53-foot trailer often cannot clear

Measuring the dock before the day

Loading docks carry height and length restrictions, and downtown streets rarely offer a legal alternative. We measure the dock against the vehicle before the day rather than finding out at the ramp.

Downtown Chicago from above at sunset, the streets already lit

2 hours a common freight-lift booking

The two-hour freight lift window

Buildings book the dock and the lift one to two weeks ahead and often give a two-hour window, with a certificate of insurance required. The window sets the crew size, because the job has to fit the hours the building sold you.

Sources: City of Chicago CDOT permit portal; building practice as commonly required by downtown management.

Protection

Moving insurance: what your belongings are covered for

Every interstate move carries released-value liability by law, and it is lower than almost everyone expects: sixty cents per pound of the item, not what the item is worth. It matters most on a dock move, where a two-hour slot is the enemy of careful wrapping done on the day rather than in advance.

A timber crate with its lid screwed down, standing on a pallet
60¢ / lb
released value — free, but you have to choose it
Full value
the federal default if you choose nothing
$100k / $500k
auto transport, open or enclosed

Crating is done before the slot starts, not inside it.

What each level actually pays

Want the permit and the dock settled before you book?

Two ZIP codes and a move size is enough to start.

323-379-1382 Get a price

Where we load in Chicago

Three kinds of address, three kinds of load.

Aerial view over Chicago's low-rise neighborhoods with the downtown skyline beyond
The round Marina City towers rising above the Chicago River
The Chicago River at dusk between downtown towers, a boat passing under a bridge
State Street in Chicago at night under lit street lamps
The Ferris wheel at Navy Pier seen across Lake Michigan

  • Loop and River North towers

    The Loop · River North · Streeterville

    The dock is measured against the vehicle before the day, and the freight lift is often a two-hour window.

  • Older three-flat streets

    Lincoln Park · Wicker Park · Logan Square · Pilsen

    Where the truck holds the curb, the $25 CDOT permit sign is the enforceable one. The free ward sign can ticket nobody.

  • Suburban Cook and the collar

    Evanston · Oak Park · Naperville · Schaumburg

    Separate municipalities, each with its own parking ordinance. CDOT has no authority there, so we check the local rule.

Traffic on a Chicago street with an elevated train crossing overhead

Reviews from customers on our long-distance lanes

“They showed up right on time and worked all day until 10pm. Our law office has very heavy furniture and never once did in hear a complaint.”

Read every review

Where to go next

Common questions about moving from Chicago

323-379-1382 All moving questions
Which no-parking sign do I actually need?

The CDOT permit sign. Chicago has two kinds. Your ward office gives out a free one and its own page describes it as non-enforceable — nothing parked in front of it can be ticketed or towed. The CDOT permit sign costs $25, is issued to eligible moving companies, is enforceable by ticket and tow, and covers the day of the move. We pull the enforceable one as part of the booking.

How far ahead does the permit go in?

Three to five business days is the sensible minimum. The forty-eight-hour figure you may have read is about the free ward courtesy sign, which the ward office asks residents to post two days ahead — it is not a condition of the CDOT permit, which is enforceable because CDOT issued it and covers the day it is issued for. Downtown and at month-end, more notice than the minimum is worth having.

Does "dibs" hold my space?

No. Dibs is a real Chicago custom and it has no legal force — a chair in a shoveled-out space does not stop a ticket, a tow, or somebody else parking there. It is worth knowing before you rely on it for a move.

Will your truck fit my building’s loading dock?

That is a question we answer before the day rather than at the ramp. Docks carry height and length restrictions and a 53-foot trailer frequently cannot use one. Where it cannot, a smaller truck works the dock and transfers to the trailer parked where it can legally sit.

My building only gives a two-hour window.

Common downtown, and it is what sets the crew size — the whole job has to fit the hours the building sold you. Tell us the window at survey and we build the crew and the wrapping schedule around it, so nothing that could have been packed in advance eats into the slot.

You are an interstate carrier — what about a move inside Illinois?

Different regulator. Interstate is federal: USDOT 2138595 and MC-744411, checkable on the FMCSA register. A move that starts and ends in Illinois falls under the Illinois Commerce Commission, which licenses household goods movers and requires them to publish and file a tariff of their prices. Movers must show an "ILL.C.C." number in their advertising — ask for it and check it with the ICC before booking an in-state move.

What is my furniture actually insured for?

By default sixty cents per pound of the item — the federal released-value standard, included at no cost. That is weight, not worth. Full-value protection is the paid alternative on an inventory we declare together.

Moving out of Chicago?

The enforceable permit, the dock measured, and a binding number before you commit.

323-379-1382 Get a price

Get a price for your move from Chicago

Two ZIP codes and a date is enough to start. A coordinator confirms the permit, the dock and your building window before anything is booked.