The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 325 household goods registrants whose physical address is in Chicago, IL, and 155 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. BestMovers.info holds no Chicago price measurement, only the Illinois range on the Illinois page. Moves that stay inside Illinois are licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Streets & Sanitation requires $25 moving permits in many neighborhoods 14 days in advance; high-rise buildings on Lake Shore Drive often have 2-hour freight elevator windows.
Chicago has the most regulated municipal moving regime in the Midwest — Streets & Sanitation permits, Lake Shore Drive freight-elevator windows, and a growing high-rise belt. Here's what licensed Chicago movers charge in 2026.
Common service neighborhoods: Loop, Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Hyde Park.
Researched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Brittany Evans · Last reviewed August 2026
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Chicago has the most regulated municipal moving regime in the Midwest — Streets & Sanitation permits, Lake Shore Drive freight-elevator windows, and a growing high-rise belt. Here's what licensed Chicago movers charge in 2026.
Chicago is the regulatory capital of Midwest moving. Federal FMCSA rules apply for interstate.
The Lake Shore Drive and downtown high-rise belt has standardized COI and freight-elevator rules. Most reputable carriers handle these as routine. Heavy broker activity on inbound interstate moves to Chicago means verifying carrier vs broker is more important than usual.
Outbound interstate from Chicago is one of the most competitive lanes in the country — Chicago is a major freight hub. Pull the moving cost calculator for a route-specific baseline.
ICC regulates intrastate. Streets & Sanitation permit required for parking spots (14-day lead). Building COI standard in downtown and Lake Shore Drive.
FMCSA-regulated. Verify USDOT and confirm carrier vs broker. Chicago is a freight hub with strong outbound capacity year-round.
May through September is peak, with end of every month being the absolute crunch. Winter is cheap but introduces snowstorm reschedule risk; get a written winter policy.
The only moving cost range BestMovers.info holds for Chicago is the Illinois statewide range, and it is published in full on the Illinois page.
Driving distances and transit windows from the routes dataset; transit days are carrier delivery spreads, not guarantees.
Get a personalized estimate before any sales call. Editorial estimate based on broader national moving-cost data; BestMovers.info does not maintain a separate Chicago transaction-price dataset.
IRS county migration data for filing years 2022 to 2023 records 109,349 returns moving out of Cook County and DuPage County, the counties Chicago sits in, and 91,298 moving in. A return approximates a household rather than a person. Those filings cover 177,660 individuals leaving and 130,108 arriving.
Chicago spans 2 counties, so these figures cover all of them: Cook County and DuPage County; returns moving between those counties are removed rather than counted as moves out of Chicago.
The counties receiving the most households from Cook County and DuPage County were Will County (9,849 returns), Lake County (6,970 returns) and Kane County (6,468 returns).
Arrivals came mainly from Will County (7,212 returns), Lake County (5,356 returns) and Kane County (4,469 returns).
These figures come from federal tax return data and cover all household moves, not only those using professional movers.
IRS SOI county outflow fileIRS SOI county inflow fileData as of tax filing years 2022 to 2023
The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 325 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in Chicago, and 155 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists an address in Chicago. It is not the number of companies that will serve a move there: a mover registered in a neighbouring city can take the job, and a company registered in Chicago may not.
FMCSA motor carrier census, Company Census FileData as of 2026-08-10
Moving crews quoting Chicago work Loop, Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Hyde Park and the surrounding areas.
Movers working inside Chicago are licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission, whose licence, lookup route and complaint channel are set out on the Illinois page.
These companies have a documented headquarters or company location in Chicago or its metro. Placement is based on documented location information, not a numeric ranking.
Editorially independent, funded by referral fees. We may be paid when you request a quote from a company listed here. Payment does not decide who is listed or the order they appear in, and we publish no score or star rating. Advertising disclosure
Long-running Chicago-area mover with full-service interstate operations. Reliable choice for Midwest-to-South relocations.
Aaron Bros Moving System publishes its headquarters in Chicago, IL.
Chicago local mover with strong building-COI experience in Loop and Lake Shore Drive high-rises. Hourly pricing is competitive against franchise operators.
City Movers publishes its headquarters in Chicago, IL.
Pickens-Kane Moving & Storage Co Inc files from North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, active on the federal census with household goods and general freight cargo entries, ten power units and a current MCS-150 filing. One docket sits on the registration, and the company's own website publishes the same registration number the census carries, so registrant and consumer-facing brand agree. No licensing row was returned for this registration in the federal authority mirror read for this profile, so authority is described from the census and the docket rather than from a licensing status this project did not see. No van-line agency was established in research and none is asserted here. The business describes itself as serving Chicago since 1914.
Pickens Kane Moving & Storage publishes its headquarters in Chicago, IL.
These companies publish broad nationwide moving service and are shown separately from locally or state-based companies.
One of the oldest moving brands in the US, Bekins runs an agent-affiliate model similar to Allied, with interstate shipments booked under the Bekins registration and performed by affiliated agents.
Bekins Moving Solutions publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
Budd Van Lines Inc is an independent nationwide carrier rather than an agent of a national van line, which is rare at this size: the federal census records 124 power units and 102 drivers filed from Somerset, New Jersey. Because the company holds its own active common and contract authority with household goods on the licensing record and no broker authority, the entity you contract with is the entity that hauls the shipment. The company's own history pages date the business to 1975.
Budd Van Lines publishes broad nationwide moving service on its own site. It is shown separately from companies based in this area and its presence here is not evidence of a local office.
96 companies with a Chicago address on their federal registration hold a granted household goods authority from the FMCSA, and 41 of those identify as a moving business in their legal or trade name. The 30 listed below are the ones registered with the agency longest, ordered by the federal registration date, earliest first. Registration age is the agency's own record. It is not a ranking, it is not a quality judgement and it is not a recommendation.
512 active registrants in Chicago tick household goods among their cargo types on the census form, and 353 of those carry any authority row at all. The cargo tick box is filled in by the registrant, so this list uses the agency grant instead, then sets aside general freight, trucking, logistics and courier registrants that hold the authority without presenting themselves as household movers. It is not every mover serving Chicago: a company based elsewhere may serve the city, and a registered address is not a service area.
ALEXANDER MOVERS INC
USDOT 142971 · 2541 W 109TH PLACE, CHICAGO, IL 60655
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on June 1, 1974, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC080397, active as common carrier.
MEDLEY S MOVING & STORAGE INC
USDOT 180860 · 7001 S SOUTH CHICAGO AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60637
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on June 1, 1974, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC078528, active as common carrier.
NEW WORLD VAN LINES INC
USDOT 258748 · 5875 N ROGERS AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60646
It filed 204 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 30, 1985, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC162485, active as common carrier and contract carrier and broker.
BIG O MOVERS & STORAGE INC
USDOT 290255 · 9400 S COTTAGE GROVE AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60619
It filed 3 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 16, 1987, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC162689.
MOORE'S FURNITURE & PIANO MOVERS INC
USDOT 326323 · 10565 S CHURCH STREET, CHICAGO, IL 60643
It filed 3 power units, registered with the FMCSA on August 31, 1988, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC197733, active as common carrier.
BEST PRICE MOVING & STORAGE INC
USDOT 693651 · 1830 N KOSTNER, CHICAGO, IL 60639
It filed 9 power units, registered with the FMCSA on June 11, 1997, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC321559, active as common carrier.
MIDWAY MOVING & STORAGE INC
USDOT 730844 · 4100 WEST FERDINAND ST, CHICAGO, IL 60624
It filed 19 power units, registered with the FMCSA on February 19, 1998, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC334274, active as common carrier and contract carrier.
CUTLERS UNIVERSITY VAN & STORAGE INC, trading as GEMINI MOVING SPECIALIST
USDOT 945931 · 8440 W GREGORY ST 2N, CHICAGO, IL 60656
It filed 8 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 9, 2001, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC406009.
AFFORDABLE MOVING COMPANY INC, trading as AFFORDABLE MOVING
USDOT 1147641 · 2060 N KOLMAR AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60639
It filed 13 power units, registered with the FMCSA on July 3, 2003, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC463896, active as common carrier.
HAROLD KASS WORLDWIDE MOVING INC
USDOT 1223203 · 1830 N KOSTNER AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60639
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on March 16, 2004, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC443871, active as common carrier.
C&C MOVERS INC, trading as THE PADDED WAGON
USDOT 1355836 · 2730 W GRAND AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60612
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 4, 2005, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC530000.
RELIANCE MOVING & STORAGE INC
USDOT 1480205 · 6443 N RICHMOND ST 2E, CHICAGO, IL 60645
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on March 29, 2006, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC558323.
ACCURATE MOVING SHIPPING AND AUTO EXPORT INC
USDOT 2177705 · 1507 E 53RD ST STE 899, CHICAGO, IL 60615
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on July 29, 2011, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC756267.
H2H MOVERS INC
USDOT 2428328 · 4250 N MARINE DR #1136, CHICAGO, IL 60613
It filed 6 power units, registered with the FMCSA on August 8, 2013, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC836885, active as common carrier.
LIGHTHOUSE MOVING INC
USDOT 2531410 · 1965 W PERSHING RD, CHICAGO, IL 60609
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on August 8, 2014, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC879742.
MIDDLE CLASS MOVERS INCORPORATED
USDOT 2786887 · 5113 S HARPER AVE STE 2C, CHICAGO, IL 60615
It filed 11 power units, registered with the FMCSA on August 3, 2015, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC929032, active as common carrier.
NORTHSOUTH MOVING TRANSPORTATION CO, trading as SMOOTH RELOCATION VANLINES
USDOT 2827588 · 1900 N AUSTIN AVENUE STE 6WA, CHICAGO, IL 60639
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on November 23, 2015, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC944141, active as common carrier and contract carrier.
RAMIREZ MOVERS LLC
USDOT 2861318 · 7454 N ARTESIAN AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60645-1608
It filed 3 power units, registered with the FMCSA on March 4, 2016, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC029465, active as common carrier.
SMOTH R VANS INC, trading as SUNFLOWER MOVING & STORAGE
USDOT 2977737 · 5722 W RACE AVENUE 1B, CHICAGO, IL 60644
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on February 22, 2017, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC022248, active as common carrier.
PAY LESS MOVING INC
USDOT 3037221 · 2967 N RIDGEWAY AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL 60618
It filed 3 power units, registered with the FMCSA on August 10, 2017, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1694134.
WINDY CITY MOVING, trading as NEW CITY MOVING
USDOT 3078026 · 2929 N CAMPBELL AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60618
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on December 15, 2017, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC065035.
MELENDEZ MOVING INC
USDOT 3120049 · 6610 W DAKIN ST, CHICAGO, IL 60634
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 6, 2018, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC087428.
P & P MOVING LTD
USDOT 3193895 · 415 E 25TH, CHICAGO, IL 60615
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on September 27, 2018, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC139158, active as common carrier.
THE PROFESSIONALS INC, trading as THE PROFESSIONALS MOVING SPECIALISTS INC
USDOT 3383907 · 3918 N WESTERN AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60618
It filed 34 power units, registered with the FMCSA on January 17, 2020, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1086504, active as common carrier.
R&D MOVING LLC, trading as NONE
USDOT 3573045 · 3641 W CULLOM AVE APT 1, CHICAGO, IL 60618
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on February 19, 2021, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1204229.
ONDEMAND MOVERS LLC, trading as ONDEMAND MOVERS USA
USDOT 3618480 · 125 S WACKER DR STE 300, CHICAGO, IL 60606
It filed 3 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 22, 2021, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1235132, active as common carrier.
J & G MOVING INC
USDOT 3703353 · 6276 N CICERO AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60646
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on August 17, 2021, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1296728.
SAFEWAY MOVERS OF AMERICA
USDOT 3830143 · 180 NORTH LASALLE STREET SUITE 3700, CHICAGO, IL 60601
It filed 0 power units, registered with the FMCSA on February 25, 2022, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1389090.
SWEET HOME MOVERS CHICAGO INC
USDOT 3932260 · 65 EAST SCOTT STREET, APT 10N, CHICAGO, IL 60610
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on August 9, 2022, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1457788, active as common carrier.
A-PLUS MOVERS LLC
USDOT 3966333 · 1639 E 93RD ST, CHICAGO, IL 60617
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on October 7, 2022, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1480770.
Data as of 2026-08-15 from the FMCSA company census, with authority status as of 2026-08-16. The query behind this list. Information provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
No. Federal registration and Illinois authorisation are separate. The list above shows the federal record only, and we have not verified whether any company listed holds a Illinois licence or permit.
A mover operating inside Illinois needs the Household Goods License from the Illinois Commerce Commission. Its rates sit in tariff filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission under 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1225.
Illinois publishes a licence lookup: Illinois Commerce Commission licence search.
Source: Illinois Commerce Commission, read 2026-08-09.
Peak demand across Illinois runs April–September. Dates outside that window, and dates away from the last and first few days of any month, are where carriers have spare capacity — and spare capacity is what makes a crew negotiable on price.
We do not publish a percentage saving for moving off-peak in Chicago. We hold no month-by-month booking price data for this city, and a discount figure taken from a national average would not describe this market. What we can say is structural, and it holds in every market:
The only reliable way to price a specific date is to put the same date in front of several licensed carriers and compare written estimates. Ask each one what the same move costs two weeks earlier or later — the gap between those two numbers is your real off-peak saving in Chicago, measured on your move rather than on an average.
A tip is never part of a written estimate and never part of a binding price. It is discretionary, it is paid per mover rather than per crew, and it is handed to each mover directly at the end of the job rather than to the foreman to divide. Our working guideline scales with hours rather than with the value of the shipment, because that is how moving labour is actually priced:
These are a BestMovers.info editorial guideline, not a survey result. We hold no tipping survey for Chicago and no federal record covers gratuities, so nothing here is a local figure. Read the full tipping guide for stairs, long carries, storage and interstate deliveries, where the crew that loads is not the crew that unloads.
Free boxes come from businesses that receive stock in cartons and throw the cartons away, and from households that finished moving last week. The sources are the same in every city, including Chicago:
Ask in the morning, when the overnight delivery has just been unpacked and the cartons have not yet been flattened. Skip anything damp, greasy or previously used for produce that leaked. The free boxes guide covers how many you need by home size — those counts are BestMovers.info planning estimates rather than measured figures — and which boxes are worth buying rather than scavenging.
Get free quotes from licensed Chicago carriers — no spam, no obligation.
Researched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Brittany Evans · Last reviewed August 2026
How we evaluate Chicago movers: we verify federal registration and operating authority against FMCSA records, record carrier or broker classification, and note state licensing where the state regulator publishes it. The list above is not ranked and carries no numeric score. Read the full methodology