The FMCSA motor carrier census lists 99 household goods registrants whose physical address is in Tacoma, WA, and 23 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. BestMovers.info holds no Tacoma price measurement, only the Washington range on the Washington page. Moves that stay inside Washington are licensed by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Joint Base Lewis-McChord PCS season (May, August) tightens supply; Stadium District and North End homes often have steep driveways and long carries.
Tacoma's market is shaped by Joint Base Lewis-McChord PCS season (May–August) and steep North End driveways. Here's what licensed Tacoma movers charge in 2026 and how to time around the military calendar.
Common service neighborhoods: Stadium District, North End, Proctor, Downtown, University Place.
Researched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Brittany Evans · Last reviewed August 2026
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Tacoma's market is shaped by Joint Base Lewis-McChord PCS season (May–August) and steep North End driveways. Here's what licensed Tacoma movers charge in 2026 and how to time around the military calendar.
Tacoma's moving market is dominated by Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) PCS season from May through August. JBLM is one of the largest US military installations, and the rotation cycle saturates every Tacoma carrier within 50 miles. DOD-approved movers handle on-base PCS through the Defense Personal Property System (DPS).
Stadium District and North End homes often have steep driveways and long carries; Proctor and Old Town have easier access. WUTC regulates intrastate; FMCSA covers interstate.
Outbound interstate from Tacoma runs typical Pacific Northwest pricing. Pull the moving cost calculator for a baseline.
WUTC regulates intrastate.
FMCSA-regulated. Verify USDOT and confirm carrier vs broker. JBLM PCS uses DPS, not civilian quotes.
JBLM PCS season (May–August) is the dominant peak. September through April is the cheaper window. Winter ice storms (Dec–Feb) carry reschedule risk.
The only moving cost range BestMovers.info holds for Tacoma is the Washington statewide range, and it is published in full on the Washington page.
Get a personalized estimate before any sales call. Editorial estimate based on broader national moving-cost data; BestMovers.info does not maintain a separate Tacoma transaction-price dataset.
IRS county migration data for filing years 2022 to 2023 records 27,545 returns moving out of Pierce County, the county Tacoma sits in, and 28,662 moving in. A return approximates a household rather than a person. Those filings cover 49,870 individuals leaving and 50,429 arriving.
The counties receiving the most households from Pierce County were King County (6,086 returns), Thurston County (2,030 returns) and Kitsap County (1,090 returns).
Arrivals came mainly from King County (9,291 returns), Thurston County (1,623 returns) and Kitsap County (871 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 99 registrants carrying household goods whose physical address is in Tacoma, and 23 of those are classified by FMCSA as interstate operations. That figure counts companies whose federal registration lists an address in Tacoma. 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 Tacoma may not.
FMCSA motor carrier census, Company Census FileData as of 2026-08-10
Moving crews quoting Tacoma work Stadium District, North End, Proctor, Downtown, University Place and the surrounding areas.
Movers working inside Tacoma are licensed by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, whose licence, lookup route and complaint channel are set out on the Washington page.
These companies have a documented headquarters or company location in Tacoma 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
United Van Lines agent and one of the longest-running Northwest movers. Strong Seattle-Portland-corridor operations and reliable interstate capacity.
Puget Sound Moving publishes its headquarters in Tacoma, WA.
These companies are headquartered elsewhere in Washington. Their inclusion here does not by itself confirm a local office in Tacoma.
Air Van Moving and Storage Inc, filing the trade name Air Van, is registered at 51st Avenue East in Fife, Washington, active on the federal census with seven power units, nine drivers, an MCS-150 filed 11 March 2025 and docket MC-1457028 on the registration. The licensing record shows the registration authorised as a motor carrier of household goods and a motor carrier of property; broker authority is not carried on this docket. The company presents itself as a northAmerican Van Lines agent, and the USDOT number printed in its own footer resolves to North American Van Lines Inc rather than to this registrant. That number is disclosed as the van line's identifier and is never stored as an Air Van number. The Washington and Oregon permit numbers the site publishes are state identifiers and are not recorded as federal registrations. No federal safety rating was located for this registration; the file records a compliance review dated 13 July 2023 that did not produce a rating, which is neither a pass nor a failure. No first-party founding year was located on the company's own site, so none is stated here.
Air Van Moving & Storage is headquartered elsewhere in WA. That does not by itself confirm an office in Tacoma, and no service claim is made here.
Continental Van Lines files from Seattle, Washington as a single federal registrant. The company publishes Alaska and international service, and that service description is not read as evidence of federal authority: no freight forwarder authority was located on the record reviewed, so none is stated, and the character of the business is not used to infer a role the federal file does not show. Nothing here is a finding that the company lacks authority it needs; it is a statement about the records read. No federal safety rating is on file, which is neither a positive nor a negative signal. The company states first-party that it was founded in 1952.
Continental Van Lines is headquartered elsewhere in WA. That does not by itself confirm an office in Tacoma, and no service claim is made here.
These companies publish broad nationwide moving service and are shown separately from locally or state-based companies.
Colonial Van Lines Inc files from 1441 SW 29th Avenue in Pompano Beach, Florida, active on the federal census with 25 power units, 25 drivers and an MCS-150 filed 21 March 2025. The licensing record carries motor carrier of household goods authority granted 31 March 2010 and motor carrier of property authority recorded as reinstated on 27 June 2025, both active at the time of reading; no broker authority is carried on this registration. The federal file records a Satisfactory safety rating dated 28 June 2021 alongside a compliance review dated 3 October 2012. A safety rating is a dated federal snapshot of the review that produced it, not a current assessment of the company. The company publishes this USDOT number and MC docket in its own website footer, which is how the registration and the brand were joined. Two further registrations filing from the same address, one under the identical legal name and one under a Texas corporate name, are disclosed separately as related registrations rather than merged into this record. The company states it was founded in 2003.
Colonial 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.
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.
24 companies with a Tacoma address on their federal registration hold a granted household goods authority from the FMCSA, and 12 of those identify as a moving business in their legal or trade name. The 12 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.
120 active registrants in Tacoma tick household goods among their cargo types on the census form, and 52 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 Tacoma: a company based elsewhere may serve the city, and a registered address is not a service area.
CONTINENTAL VAN LINES INC
USDOT 11997 · 2802 70TH AVE E, TACOMA, WA 98424
It filed 26 power units, registered with the FMCSA on June 1, 1974, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC118805, active as common carrier.
STAR MOVING & STORAGE INC, trading as STAR MOVING SYSTEMS
USDOT 80544 · 2402 S WRIGHT AVE SUITE B, TACOMA, WA 98409
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on June 1, 1974, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC002131, active as common carrier and contract carrier.
TACOMA MOVING AND STORAGE, trading as TACOMA MOTORFREIGHT SERVICE/TMS, TMS MOTORFREIGHT SERVICE
USDOT 312895 · 1314 EAST 26TH STREET, TACOMA, WA 98421-2602
It filed 26 power units, registered with the FMCSA on April 11, 1988, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC202615, active as common carrier and contract carrier.
MOUNTAIN TRUCKING COMPANY INC, trading as MOUNTAIN MOVING & STORAGE
USDOT 885643 · 9413 47TH AVE SW #14E, TACOMA, WA 98499
It filed 13 power units, registered with the FMCSA on June 8, 2000, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC386432, active as common carrier and contract carrier.
SWIFT MOVING & DELIVERY LLC
USDOT 2353106 · 8828 S I STREET, TACOMA, WA 98444
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on October 25, 2012, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC805740.
UNITED MOVERS TRANSPORTATION LLC
USDOT 3143785 · 9910 24TH AVENUE CT S APT U312, TACOMA, WA 98444
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on June 1, 2018, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC100959, active as common carrier.
PORSCHE MOVING AND STORAGE, trading as WOLF PACK MOVERS
USDOT 3749927 · 1151 E 48TH ST, TACOMA, WA 98404
It filed 2 power units, registered with the FMCSA on October 22, 2021, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1330784.
H & K MOVING AND STORAGE LLC
USDOT 3960004 · 5020 N 22ND ST, TACOMA, WA 98406-3450
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on September 26, 2022, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1476494, active as common carrier.
VILLA MOVING SERVICES LLC, trading as VILLA MOVING SERVICES
USDOT 4189288 · 62 IDAHO ST, TACOMA, WA 98409
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on February 3, 2024, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1614240.
ALL NATIONS MOVING LLC
USDOT 4357759 · 3637 S. AINSWORTH AVENUE UNIT B, TACOMA, WA 98148
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on February 6, 2025, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1704762.
SECOND CHANCE MOVING LLC
USDOT 4429718 · 1320 116TH ST S, TACOMA, WA 98444
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on June 25, 2025, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1742795.
MOVING COMMANDOS LLC
USDOT 4575568 · 3650 E PORTLAND AVE, TACOMA, WA 98404
It filed 1 power unit, registered with the FMCSA on April 30, 2026, and holds granted federal household goods authority under docket MC1820634.
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 Washington authorisation are separate. The list above shows the federal record only, and we have not verified whether any company listed holds a Washington licence or permit.
A mover operating inside Washington needs the Household Goods Carrier permit (permit numbers carry an HG prefix) from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Its rates sit in uTC requires permitted movers to charge reasonable rates.
Washington publishes a licence lookup: UTC regulated companies list.
Source: Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, read 2026-08-09.
Peak demand across Washington runs May–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 Tacoma. 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 Tacoma, 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 Tacoma 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 Tacoma:
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.
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Researched and written by Grant Holloway · Reviewed by Brittany Evans · Last reviewed August 2026
How we evaluate Tacoma 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