How much does a move cost?
$129 an hour for two movers, $179 for three and $219 for four, with the truck included in all of them. You are billed for the loading, the unloading and double the drive between your two addresses — California requires that doubling — on a 4-hour minimum, so a short job comes to $516 with two movers.
A price in about a minute, or a written answer the same day.
| Crew | Hourly, truck included | Minimum (4h billable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 movers | $129 | $516 |
| 3 movers | $179 | $716 |
| 4 movers | $219 | $876 |
Packing has its own lower hourly rate: $79 for two packers, $119 for three. Materials you keep are quoted separately.
Double drive time, in plain terms
This is the one thing that surprises people who have moved in another state. Maximum Rate Tariff 4, Item 36 — the tariff the California Bureau of Household Goods and Services sets for intrastate moves — says the billable time on an hourly job is loading, plus unloading, plus double the driving time from the old address to the new one. The tariff sets no distance threshold: the rule applies to every hourly local move, however short the drive.
On a short hop across town the doubled drive is a few minutes and the four-hour minimum is what you pay. On a longer one it is real time on the clock, and the estimate shows it as its own line before you book rather than appearing on the invoice afterwards.
What it is not: the drive from our yard to your first address. That one is ours. It is not on the estimate and it is not billed.
The clause itself, and the rest of what California requires of a mover — written estimates, the Not To Exceed price, stairs and the state rate cap.
Your Not To Exceed price
California requires your mover to give you a ceiling before the move starts, and to stay under it unless you add items or ask for work that was not agreed. You get one from us in writing, after we have talked the job through or walked the home when it is large enough to warrant it.
We set it from what is actually there rather than from a form, which is why we ask about the garage, the shed and the loft. A ceiling set without them is a guess, and a guess that comes in low serves nobody on move day.
What is on the clock
- —Carrying, wrapping, loading, unloading and placing furniture where you want it.
- —Disassembly and reassembly of beds, tables and anything else that has to come apart.
- —Stairs, long carries from the door to the truck, and lift waits. These cost time, never a fee.
- —The drive between your two addresses, doubled — on every hourly local move, whatever the distance.
What we do not charge for
- —No separate truck fee. The truck is inside the hourly rate, with fuel, tolls and mileage.
- —No stairs fee, no lift fee, no long-carry fee on an hourly move — the state tariff sets the maximum for those at nothing, because the clock is already running while we climb.
- —Saturday is charged at +10%. It is on the written estimate before you book, never added on the day. No seasonal rate.
- —A deposit is taken on estimates from $1,500, agreed in writing with the estimate. Below that, nothing up front. Cancel or reschedule freely more than 48 hours out.
Questions people ask before booking
What do you charge?
$129 an hour for two movers, $179 for three and $219 for four, with the truck included in every one of those. Billable time is the loading, the unloading and double the drive between your two addresses, on a 4-hour minimum, so the smallest possible invoice is $516 with two movers, $716 with three and $876 with four. Above the minimum, time is billed in 15-minute increments.
Why is there a minimum at all?
Because a crew, a truck and its fuel cost the same to put on the road whether the job takes one hour or four, and this is how the truck is paid for — there is no separate truck fee on your invoice. California allows it: the state's own moving booklet says a mover may charge a minimum of four hours even if the move takes two or three. Above $516 with two movers you pay for the hours the job actually takes.
What is double drive time and why is it on my invoice?
California requires it. Maximum Rate Tariff 4, Item 36, says that on an hourly local move the billable time is loading, plus unloading, plus double the driving time between your old and new address. The tariff sets no distance threshold, so it applies however short the drive. It is the state tariff, not our surcharge, and every mover operating legally in California bills it. A quote that leaves it off is not cheaper, it is incomplete.
What is a Not To Exceed price, and will I get one?
Yes, and you are entitled to one: California requires a mover to give you a Not To Exceed price before the move begins and not to charge more than it unless you add items or ask for work that was not in the agreement. We set yours after talking the job through, or after walking the home when it is large enough to need it. That is also why we ask about the garage, the shed and the loft: a ceiling set without them is a guess, and a guess that comes in low helps nobody.
Will the final bill be exactly the estimate?
It will not exceed the Not To Exceed price, which is the promise that matters. Below that you pay for the hours the work actually took, so a crew that finishes early makes the invoice smaller. What never changes: the hourly rate, and the rule that no line appears on the invoice which was not on the estimate.
How is the time counted?
Loading, unloading and double the drive between your addresses, added together, with a 4-hour minimum on that total. Above it, time is billed in 15-minute increments. The clock starts when the crew starts working at your address, and the drive from our yard to you is not on it.
What does packing cost?
Packing has its own hourly rate, lower than the moving crew: $79 an hour for two packers and $119 for three. Boxes, paper and tape are quoted separately because those are things you keep; pads and stretch wrap come with the crew and go back on the truck.
Do you take a deposit?
On estimates from $1,500, yes — agreed in writing with the estimate before you book, never asked for on the day. Below that, nothing is paid up front. Either way you can cancel or move the date freely more than 48 hours out, and payment is taken on the day once the work is done.
Are you licensed and insured?
We do not print a permit number here because we do not have one to show you yet. In California household movers are permitted by the California Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS), Division of Household Movers, and it is a fair question to ask any mover you call. A certificate of insurance for your building or complex is available on request. Ask us where our application stands and you will get a straight answer.
Tell us the two addresses and the date
That is enough for a written estimate with the hours, the truck and the drive time spelled out. You are talking to the owner, not a call centre.
A price in about a minute, or a written answer the same day.
Sacramento area · Monday to Saturday, 08:00–19:00