Movers in Virginia charge about $100 to $150 per hour for a two-person crew on local jobs, and a two-bedroom interstate move from Virginia is estimated at $2,800 to $6,500. Intrastate movers in Virginia are licensed by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services, while any company moving household goods across state lines must hold FMCSA operating authority. Peak demand runs April to September, when quotes sit at the top of those ranges. BestMovers.info compares 182 licensed carriers serving Virginia, with pricing data as of May 2026.
Compare moving companies, Federal Records, and moving resources for Virginia. BestMovers.info publishes no numeric score, star rating or ranked order.
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Demand in Virginia concentrates in April–September, when the state's 8.7 million residents do most of their moving. Booking in November–March instead is the single cheapest change available, worth 15% to 25%.
Two crew members at standard rates run roughly $125/hr in most of the state, with downtown high-rise jobs and gated communities pulling toward the upper end. A typical 2-bedroom interstate move out of Virginia settles around $4,650, though distance and packing services swing that meaningfully.
Local quirks worth pricing in: summer heat, hurricane-season reschedules along the coast, and a heavier flow of inbound retirees. None of these are dealbreakers, but they show up in the final bill if you don't ask about them upfront.
Verification in Virginia runs through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services. A mover operating inside Virginia must hold for-hire intrastate operating authority as a Household Goods Carrier from Virginia DMV. The authorisation is a Household Goods Carrier for-hire intrastate operating authority. Interstate carriers additionally need active FMCSA authority, which you can check on SAFER by USDOT number.
Book the elevator, permit, or gate access before the crew is booked. Access problems, not driving time, cause most Virginia overruns.
Virginia runs its heaviest volume April–September, and its 3 covered metros feed most of that demand out of and around Richmond. Population sits near 8.7 million, which is what sets how deep the local crew pool actually is in November–March.
Selection for Virginia starts from licensing, not marketing. A company is listed here when it is headquartered in Virginia or its record shows coverage of the state, and when we can describe it from sourced fields: federal registration, operating authority, founding year, and service coverage. We publish no numeric score and rank nobody first.
Which company suits your move is a question of scope and date, not of a score: BestMovers.info publishes no numeric score, star rating or ranked order. The pricing model behind the estimates on this page is dated May 2026.
Two movers, ground-floor access, standard packing. Peak season in Virginia is April–September.
| Home size | Local move | Interstate move |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $300–$750 | $1,540–$3,900 |
| 1 Bedroom | $400–$900 | $2,100–$5,070 |
| 2 Bedroom | $600–$1,350 | $2,800–$6,500 |
| 3 Bedroom | $800–$1,800 | $4,060–$10,075 |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,100–$2,400 | $5,460–$13,975 |
| 5+ Bedroom | $1,400–$3,000 | $6,720–$17,550 |
The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 1,270 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in Virginia, and 687 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists a Virginia address, which is not the same as the number of companies that will serve a move in Virginia. An interstate move into or out of Virginia can be performed by a carrier registered in any state.
FMCSA motor carrier census, Company Census FileData as of 2026-08-10
IRS tax return data for filing years 2022 to 2023 records 140,246 returns moving out of Virginia to another state, and 140,704 moving in, a net gain of 458 returns. A return approximates a household rather than a person. The same filings cover 241,233 individuals leaving and 242,523 arriving.
The states receiving the most Virginia households were North Carolina (15,148 returns), Florida (14,194 returns) and Maryland (13,353 returns).
Arrivals came mainly from Maryland (15,079 returns), North Carolina (12,599 returns) and Florida (12,414 returns). These figures count all filers who changed address, not only those who hired a moving company.
IRS SOI state-to-state outflow fileIRS SOI state-to-state inflow fileData as of tax filing years 2022 to 2023
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services regulates household goods movers operating inside Virginia, and sits within the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Movers are licensed under Va. Code §§ 46.2-2000 and 46.2-2100 et seq.. Moves crossing the Virginia state line fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration instead, a separate authorisation with separate requirements.
Source: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services
A mover doing work inside Virginia must hold the Household Goods Carrier for-hire intrastate operating authority, issued by Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services. It exists specifically for household goods movers, whatever its title. The requirement sits in Va. Code §§ 46.2-2000 and 46.2-2100 et seq.. An interstate carrier holding only a federal USDOT number is not authorised for Virginia intrastate work by that number alone.
Source: Agency licensing page
Search the company by name or licence number in the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services public licence lookup, and confirm the record shows an active status. For a move leaving Virginia, check the company's USDOT record in FMCSA SAFER as well. Holding one authorisation does not imply the other.
Virginia licence lookupVerify by phone: 804-249-5140Verify by email: mcsonline@dmv.virginia.govFMCSA SAFER
Complaints about a move inside Virginia go to Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services through Virginia DMV consumer complaint form OA 411, Motor Carrier Services (804) 249-5140, option 3. A complaint about a move that crossed the Virginia state line goes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through the National Consumer Complaint Database instead.
Virginia complaint channelFMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database
Moves crossing a state line are authorised by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under a USDOT number and interstate household goods operating authority. A Virginia state licence does not cover that work, and the federal record is the one to check: confirm the USDOT number is active and authorised for household goods before paying a deposit.
Last verified against agency pages: 2026-08-09
A move that leaves Virginia is an interstate move and falls under federal authority, so the company needs active operating authority for household goods rather than only a Virginia licence. A move that stays inside Virginia is different: it is regulated by Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services, and the company needs Household Goods Carrier for-hire intrastate operating authority. Check which kind of move you are booking before you compare quotes, because the two are verified in different places.
Virginia publishes a lookup, so you can confirm a licence yourself before you book. Virginia licence lookup
The out of state checklist sets out what changes when the move crosses a line, and the moving checklist sets out the weeks before it.
A studio or 1-bedroom in Virginia rarely justifies full service. Book labor-only at $100 to $150 per hour, rent the truck yourself, and expect the loading to take three to four hours.
Full service earns its price on 3+ bedroom homes, stairs at both ends, or any interstate job you are not driving yourself. It runs roughly two to three times labor-only, and that covers blankets, dollies, fuel, and the truck.
Containers are the middle option for Virginia households. Providers such as PODS, U-Pack, and 1-800-PACK-RAT drop a unit at the curb. You load on your schedule, the company drives. On a Virginia interstate move the container route is usually cheaper than a full-service van line, because you are supplying the loading labor the carrier would otherwise charge for. Bestmovers.info holds no container rates, so price the provider quote for your own lane and dates. The catch is the delivery window, which is set by the provider rather than promised to you, and limited recourse for damage during loading, since you packed it.
These companies have a verified headquarters or documented company location in Virginia. Placement is based on documented location information, not a numeric ranking.
Northern Virginia mover with strong federal-government and corporate relocation operations. Reliable choice for DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland moves.
Able Moving & Storage is headquartered in Virginia according to its published company location.
DC-area mover with experience in military PCS, federal-government, and corporate relocations.
All American Relocation Group is headquartered in Virginia according to its published company location.
Long-running Allied Van Lines agent with strong Mid-Atlantic corporate-relocation operations. Federal-government move experience is meaningful in the DC corridor.
Berger Allied is headquartered in Virginia according to its published company location.
The federal registrant behind the Dunmar Moving Systems brand is Centre Carriers Corp, filing from Richmond, Virginia, active on the federal census with 20 power units and 20 drivers, and carrying docket MC-137503. Dunmar Moving System is recorded on that registration as a trade name, alongside Virginia Moving & Storage and Dunmar Logistics; all three are trade names on the single registration and none of them is a separate federal company. The operating-authority presentation read for this registration shows motor carrier of household goods and motor carrier of property authority under both common and contract carrier classifications; broker authority was not verified and none is inferred. No current federal safety rating is on file. The federal file records a compliance review dated 14 September 2010 that did not result in a rating, which is stored here as a dated review event and is neither a pass nor a failure. The company states first-party that it is an agent of Allied Van Lines; Allied is a separate registrant and its corporate identifiers are recorded as van-line identifiers rather than stored on this record. The company states first-party that it was founded in 1970.
Dunmar Moving Systems is headquartered in Virginia according to its published company location.
Atlas Van Lines agent serving Virginia, DC, and the broader Mid-Atlantic with strong corporate-relocation business.
Executive Moving Systems is headquartered in Virginia according to its published company location.
These companies publish broad nationwide moving service and are shown separately from companies based in Virginia.
International Van Lines services overseas destinations in addition to US interstate work. What it is licensed to do federally is set out in the federal record on this page rather than described here.
International 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.
Mayflower Transit is the second large UniGroup brand alongside United Van Lines and runs full-service interstate moves through an agent network under its own federal registration.
Mayflower Transit 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.
North American Van Lines is part of SIRVA and moves interstate household goods through an agent-affiliate network. The federal registration shown here belongs to the van line, not to the local agent that loads the truck.
North American 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.
United Van Lines is the largest brand under UniGroup and publishes the annual National Movers Study. It offers shipment tracking and a published claims process; we hold no dataset that compares its claims outcomes with other carriers.
United 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.
Wheaton World Wide Moving shares a parent company with Bekins and moves interstate household goods through an agent network under its own federal registration.
Wheaton World Wide Moving 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.
Eight weeks out: get three written quotes. Two should be in-home or video surveys. One online quote is fine for comparison only — it will rarely be the binding number.
Six weeks out: book the carrier. Ask for binding-not-to-exceed pricing in writing. Confirm valuation coverage (released vs. full-value protection — there is a real difference if a TV gets dropped).
Four weeks out: order packing supplies if you're self-packing. Boxes go on sale at U-Haul and Home Depot in late winter and late summer.
Two weeks out: confirm parking, building COIs, and elevator reservations at both ends. Virginia buildings vary wildly here — some need 72 hours notice, some 30 days.
One week out: pack a personal essentials box (medications, chargers, three days of clothes, toilet paper, coffee, scissors, the lease/closing folder) and keep it with you, not on the truck.
Move day: walk the truck before driver pulls away. Sign the Bill of Lading only after the inventory list matches. First week in the new place, file any damage claim within nine months — that's the federal interstate window.
Virginia pricing varies city by city. Downtown cores with high-rise residential typically run 10–20% above the state median because of COI requirements, freight elevator wait time, and tighter parking. Suburban single-family moves usually land near the median. Rural pickups outside metro service areas often add a per-mile travel fee from the nearest depot.
Intrastate household-goods movers in Virginia are licensed by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services. A mover operating inside Virginia must hold for-hire intrastate operating authority as a Household Goods Carrier from Virginia DMV. The authorisation is a Household Goods Carrier for-hire intrastate operating authority.
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier ServicesResearched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Amanda Brooks · Last reviewed August 2026
How we evaluate moving companies: we verify federal registration and operating authority against FMCSA records, record carrier or broker classification, note state licensing where a state regulator publishes it, and state the limits of what we could source. No numeric score, star rating or ranked order is produced from those checks. Read full methodology