Fort Lauderdale is built around water, and a fair number of moves here involve a boat as well as a house. The two are entirely separate shipments with separate rules.
Quick answer: direct south Florida sailings that vary by operator, and a boat is a separate shipment with separate rules from your household goods.
We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network covering the south Florida coast, and they price the household shipment properly rather than lumping everything together.
South Florida is served by direct sailings from the UK, though published times vary noticeably between operators, so ask which service your goods are booked on rather than working from an average.
Who qualifies
Household goods and vessels are treated as different things, which is the point most often missed on this route. Effects enter free of duty where they were for your personal use, or used in a household where you were a resident, for a year, and are not intended for sale or for another person. A boat is assessed on its own terms.
The declaration
CBP Form 3299 supports the household claim for goods arriving without you, with items owned under twelve months declared separately, and the ten year limit applies as elsewhere.
What catches people
If a vessel is part of the move, get its position confirmed with CBP separately before either shipment is booked, because the answers are not the same.
Before the inventory is finalised
South Florida takes direct sailings, so household goods clear locally rather than travelling down from another state. The chain is short and the delivery follows quickly after clearance.
Published transit times for Florida differ more between operators than they do further north, which makes the specific service the useful question rather than an average figure.
Waterfront streets can be narrow with limited turning space for a large vehicle.
Bridges on some approaches carry weight or height limits worth checking.
Condo buildings commonly require booked lifts, set move-in hours and advance paperwork.
Hurricane season affects scheduling in late summer and autumn.
It changes the paperwork and the cost, and it is far better handled as its own shipment from the start.
A moving company from the network confirms the Florida sailing, the clearance and the delivery access at your address.
The quote, the schedule and the delivery plan come from them, with nothing charged for the introduction.
Published Florida times vary between operators, so ask which service your goods are on. Allow five to seven weeks door to door once clearance and delivery are counted.
Not as one shipment. A vessel is cleared separately, valued separately and may attract duty where household effects do not, so it needs handling as its own project.
Yes. Direct sailings mean clearance happens locally rather than after a road journey from another state.
Usually a booked lift, set move-in hours and paperwork from the moving company in advance. Check with your building early.
It qualifies where it was for your personal use, or used in a household where you were a resident, for one year, and is not intended for sale or for another person.
The declaration supporting a free entry claim for goods that arrive without you. Ask the moving company handling your Fort Lauderdale route to confirm it in writing before you book.
Sometimes. Narrow streets, tight turning and bridge weight or height limits are worth flagging at enquiry stage.
It can shift schedules in late summer and autumn, so leave slack rather than planning to a single day.
Yes. You receive a written quote from the moving company and pay nothing for the introduction.
Send the collection address, the Fort Lauderdale delivery address, your date, a rough inventory and details of any vessel. A moving company from our network comes back to you.
A Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are not a removal company and do not move anything ourselves. Your Fort Lauderdale move is handled by the moving company we connect you with.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.