Do movers pack for you
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
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Yes, most full-service movers offer packing as a separate service, billed separately from the move itself. It comes in three forms: full packing, where the crew packs everything; partial packing, where they pack named categories such as the kitchen or fragile items; and fragile-only packing. The choice changes what you pay and it changes who is liable if something inside a box breaks.
What does full packing include?
The crew arrives with materials, packs every room, labels the boxes and loads them. It is normally the day before the move rather than the morning of it, because packing a household takes longer than loading one. Materials are usually billed separately from labour, which is why two quotes for full packing can differ substantially without either being wrong.
How does it change liability?
This is the part that matters and it is rarely explained. A box packed by the mover is the mover's responsibility for what happens inside it. A box packed by you is generally not, because the mover cannot verify how it was packed. If you are shipping anything fragile and valuable and want it covered, having the mover pack it is the mechanism, not an upgrade.
What is partial packing worth?
The kitchen, usually. It is the room that takes longest, holds the most fragile items and produces the most boxes, and it is the room people underestimate most. Fragile-only packing covers glassware, crockery, art and electronics and leaves everything else to you. Both cost far less than full packing and remove the part of the job that actually causes damage.
What should you never let them pack?
Documents, medication, keys, jewellery, cash, devices you need that day and anything irreplaceable. These travel with you. Also anything a mover may not legally carry, which includes hazardous materials, flammables, aerosols and perishables. A crew packing quickly will box whatever is in front of them, so separate these before they arrive rather than during. What movers will not move lists the barred categories.
What does packing cost?
It is billed separately from the move, usually as labour plus materials, and the figure depends on the size of the home and how much is fragile. This site publishes no figure for packing services, because the spread between markets and between homes makes any single number misleading. Ask for it as a line on the written estimate rather than as a verbal add-on.