The Ranking
Our top 8 moving companies in Dallas
Moving in Dallas has its own set of problems. Summer is the busy season, and July and August often bring triple-digit heat, so crews start early and good dates book up weeks ahead. Many Uptown, downtown and Turtle Creek towers will not reserve a freight elevator until the mover sends a certificate of insurance, and some limit moves to set hours. On the street, the City of Dallas handles temporary meter hooding and temporary no-parking signs through its parking meter reservation application, which it asks for at least two business days ahead. Ask your mover who files it.
Every company on this list has its own trucks and a real yard, warehouse or office inside the city. We checked each one against the FMCSA register and left out brokers, labor-only crews, virtual offices, home addresses and anything outside city limits, which removed several well-known names based in Farmers Branch, Carrollton, Addison and Arlington.
In Texas, a mover that does moves inside the state must hold a household goods certificate from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. You can look up any mover in the TxDMV Truck Stop lookup, and an Active certificate means it is licensed. Moves that cross a state line fall under the FMCSA, so check the USDOT number there too.
Texas movers give two kinds of written proposal. A binding proposal states the exact price. A not-to-exceed proposal states the most you will pay and lets the mover charge less. Hourly quotes given over the phone are neither, so get the proposal in writing before move day. Valuation is the limit on what the mover will pay for loss or damage. The basic level is often 60 cents a pound per item, which is very little for a television or a dresser, so ask what higher levels cost. Valuation is not insurance.
Red flags are the same here as anywhere: a large deposit demanded in cash, no street address, a quote far below the others, a company name that changes between the website and the paperwork, or a booking agent who will not say which carrier is coming. TxDMV runs a consumer helpline at 888-368-4689 for complaints about Texas movers.
