Moving-truck parking and street-use permits
Street parking, loading zones and tow-away rules are set locally, so no single answer covers both ends of a move. What states do publish is what a carrier may charge for access, and what it must tell you before you book.
When a moving truck may need a permit
- Federal — Minneapolis requires an obstruction permit to block any part of a street, lane, or sidewalk, or to hood parking meters.
- Federal — Charlotte requires a right-of-way use permit to occupy a lane, planting strip, sidewalk, or other public right-of-way for more than five minutes and less than 30 days.
- Federal — Boston doesn't require a moving-truck permit, but the permit guarantees a legal parking spot on moving day.
How far ahead to apply
- Federal — A standard Boston moving permit reserves two spaces from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for one day; online applications require a move date 15 days to eight weeks away.
- Federal — Boise short-term meter reservations, which list moving trucks as a vehicle type, should be submitted 48 hours ahead, or one week ahead when meter hoods are needed.
- Federal — Baltimore issues right-of-way permits for moving trucks and lists 15 days as the standard processing time.
- Federal — Charlotte says it issues right-of-way use permits 72 hours from first contact and asks for at least 10 days' notice for full street closures.
Signs, trucks, and containers
- Federal — In Seattle, no-parking easels from a barricade company go up 72 hours ahead, with the city's printed notice on at least two signs per block.
- Federal — Seattle requires a restricted-area truck permit for a moving truck using a temporary no-parking zone.
- Federal — Boston moving-truck permits cover trucks only; permits for moving containers must be requested in person.
- Federal — Richmond directs parking requests for a residential move to the City Sign Shop instead of its special temporary parking permit form.
- Federal — Minneapolis lists a permit for placing storage containers in the public right-of-way.
- Federal — Nashville takes right-of-way permit applications through ePermits and lists a permit for placing a trailer, dumpster, or storage unit in the right-of-way.
Who applies: you or the mover
- Federal — Chicago's moving-van parking application asks for start and end dates, the number of vehicles parked at one time, and an ICC vehicle number.
Official permit pages in cities we cover
- Federal — Charlotte handles metered-space requests through a separate parking office rather than the right-of-way use permit.
- Federal — Minneapolis applies special parking rules during snow emergencies.
- Federal — Columbus requires right-of-way permits to use its public right-of-way, and they can be requested online.
If the truck can't park close
- Washington — Washington's tariff defines a long carry as carrying goods more than 75 feet between the truck and the door.
- North Carolina — North Carolina lists shuttle service and long carries among services that can add to the cost of a move.
Where these rules come from
- City of Minneapolis obstruction permits
- City of Charlotte
- City of Boston Parking Clerk
- City of Boise short-term meter permit application
- Baltimore City Department of Transportation
- Seattle Department of Transportation
- City of Richmond Department of Public Works
- Nashville Department of Transportation
- Chicago Department of Transportation
- City of Minneapolis snow-emergency parking rules
- City of Columbus
- North Carolina Utilities Commission
- Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Tariff 15-C (household goods)
Each rule above applies inside the state named beside it. Other states regulate intrastate moves differently, so confirm the rule where you are moving before you rely on it.