USA movers for moves from the UK and back again, with guides sorted by direction, subject, state and city.
A move between the UK and the USA meets different officials at each end: HMRC and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the paperwork, and a city office on where the truck may stop. We’re an introduction service, not a mover. Your removal company will tell you what it needs from you and when.
Which direction
Choose the direction of your move. The two directions share almost no paperwork: a move out of the UK turns on a visa or ESTA, HMRC’s export step and CBP’s entry claim, while a move back turns on HMRC’s relief, a car notice and a pet certificate.
UK to USA
The UK to USA guide starts with status: GOV.UK says a British citizen needs a valid US visa or an ESTA, and the guide adds that a move is not a visit. It then follows HMRC’s export step and CBP’s free entry claim. It quotes no visa fee, sailing time or price.
USA to UK
The USA to UK guide works on three British clocks. HMRC’s transfer of residence relief needs twelve consecutive months abroad, a car is declared within fourteen days, and a pet must enter within ten days of its certificate.
Two routes that touch the USA sit in the Germany section: leaving Germany for the USA and moving from the USA to Germany. Each has its own German-end rules, so this hub states none for them.
Order of steps
Leaving the UK, four jobs have four different owners. The US Embassy and USCIS rule on status, HMRC on the export declaration, CBP on whether household goods enter free of duty, and a city office on the kerb outside the new address.
Truck parking at the other end is set city by city, which is why the city block follows. The UK customs documentation checklist lists the papers for the British end.
Customs, car, pets, restricted items
Customs, a car, a pet and restricted items each have a guide, because each is cleared separately from the household load. A car meets three federal agencies, a dog meets the CDC, and a cat meets very little at the border.
The customs guide reads Form 3299 line by line and sorts arriving people into returning residents, emigrants and visitors. It also quotes CBP’s statement that it enforces the laws of forty other agencies, and its bans on meat and on soil without an import permit.
The car guide explains that CBP takes duty and paperwork, the Department of Transportation sets safety standards and the Environmental Protection Agency sets emissions. A car under twenty-five years old must meet the federal safety standards. California’s motor vehicle office adds a smog certificate and customs clearance stamps.
The pets guide deals with a dog or a cat flying in from the UK. A dog needs a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, a microchip and a minimum age of six months, while a cat must appear healthy and needs no rabies proof. A state or airline can add its own demands.
The restricted items guide sorts what US agencies restrict or ban in a household shipment, from food and plants to alcohol, firearms and wildlife products. It quotes the agencies and the federal rules, and it says which points it could not read.
Which city
Thirty-four places have a guide, and their rules differ at the root: Boston treats a truck permit as optional, San Francisco asks for a temporary sign, and Philadelphia sells a permit by the 40 feet. Where a city’s page could not be read, its guide says so. Figures are dated 1 to 5 November 2026.
The Boston guide reports that the Parking Clerk issues a permit reserving two spaces from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A permit is not required, but it guarantees a legal space. Apply online at least fifteen days ahead or in person at least three, and post signs forty-eight hours ahead. Two non-metered spaces for a day cost $69.
The San Francisco guide reports that the transportation agency needs five business days for a moving-van sign. Signs go up seventy-two hours ahead on unmetered streets and twenty-four hours ahead at meters, and a move runs from 7am to 10pm. One to four signs cost $355 through the portal or 311, a fee that changes on 1 July 2027, and a moving POD permit goes only to container companies.
The Washington DC guide reports: A moving truck needs a public space permit that lasts no more than two days, and signs go up 72 hours ahead on unmetered streets or 24 hours ahead at meters. The $50 fee comes from a guide dated 2011, so check it.
The Seattle guide reports: The kerb is reserved as a temporary no parking zone with easels set out by a barricade company, and a truck needs a Restricted Area permit, $16 for up to two days, applied for at least 24 hours ahead. Only trucks with truck or commercial plates qualify.
The New York guide reports: A UK license holder takes a written test, a five-hour course and a road test. New York City issues no permit to reserve kerb space for a truck, and New Jersey titles a car from abroad only at its central office.
The Chicago guide reports: Ward offices give free move signs that cannot be enforced, the ward pages put the transport department’s enforceable signs at $25 for the day, streets with paid parking are excluded, and a new resident has 30 days to buy a city sticker.
The Philadelphia guide reports: A temporary no parking permit costs $50 per 40 feet of space per day in Center City or University City and $25 elsewhere, with four business days of notice.
The Texas guide reports: A new resident has 30 days to register a car, eighteen counties need an emissions test, and a $90 new resident tax applies to a vehicle brought in from abroad.
The Florida guide reports: A car from abroad needs customs proof and a VIN verification form, a county tax collector’s page lists no other safety or emissions inspection, and a dog or cat needs a rabies vaccination. The state motor vehicle pages were not readable.
The California guide reports: The DMV gives twenty days to register a car brought in, a direct import may need a laboratory certificate and a smog certificate, and a UK license holder takes a driving test with an accompanying driver.
The Hawaii guide reports: Counties register cars because the state has no DMV, a use tax applies to an imported car, and a dog or cat that misses the 5 Day Or Less rules can be quarantined for up to 120 days.
The Georgia guide reports: A resident must hold a Georgia license within thirty days, a UK license holder takes the written, road and vision tests, and a car from abroad needs an inspection form before it is titled.
The Virginia guide reports: The UK is not on the DMV exchange list, so a UK license holder takes the knowledge exam, road skills test and vision screening, and an imported car under 25 years old needs proof of the federal standards.
The Hoboken guide reports: Temporary no parking signs for a move are bought ten days ahead, the Parking Utility posts them, and the buyer must remove them within two hours of expiry or risk a fine per sign.
The Pittsburgh guide reports: A moving permit is priced by the truck, not the foot, the city asks for a week to review it, and a permit cannot be extended if the move overruns.
The Providence guide reports: A moving van reserves a space through a Traffic Permit with an Emergency No Parking Tow Zone posting, a moving pod needs its own permit, and the page prints no fee for the van space.
The Albany guide reports: An Emergency No Parking sign is booked by telephone through the police traffic unit with four business days of notice, and the fee depends on the number of spaces.
The Somerville guide reports: A moving van permit lasts up to three days, the permit holder posts the signs, and the fee is not yet confirmed because two city documents word it differently.
The Rockville guide reports: A request to the Parking Enforcement Unit needs five business days, offers set space lengths and covers addresses inside the city limits only.
The Norfolk guide reports: A General Use permit covers moving, and the city inspector must be called 48 hours ahead or vehicles cannot be towed from the reserved spaces.
The Asheville guide reports: A downtown parking space closure needs 72 hours of notice and costs $25 a day per space, and North Carolina sets a 60-day clock for a license.
The Alexandria guide reports: Reserved street parking is capped at five spaces, applications close at noon three full business days ahead, and a space costs thirty dollars a day unmetered.
The Austin guide reports: A right-of-way parking permit is requested three business days ahead with a sign-off form for neighbours, and it cannot be extended.
The Champaign guide reports: The city rents meter bags to hold metered spaces at ten dollars a day, with fees that differ between the University District and downtown, and towing left to you.
The Evanston guide reports: A moving vehicle permit is optional, costs $120 a location, needs ten business days of notice and brings city-posted No Parking Zone signs.
The Madison guide reports: No parking signs for a moving truck are ordered by telephone at two dollars each and posted by the buyer forty-eight hours ahead, and a container needs a flat-fee street permit.
The Columbus guide reports: A moving van uses a 906 right-of-way permit of seven days at most, signs go up twenty-four or seventy-two hours ahead, and Ohio asks visa holders aged 21 or over for driver education hours.
The Santa Barbara guide reports: A Public Works Parking Restriction Waiver reserves curb for a moving truck, the signs must be up 72 hours ahead or the reservation is not honoured, and red or blue curbs are excluded.
The Santa Monica guide reports: Temporary no parking signs are advised but not required for a move, a moving truck can hold curb space for 72 hours at most, and the fee is $107.75 plus $2.04 a sign.
The Berkeley guide reports: A Public Works permit for temporary no parking signs lists moving vans, needs the signs up 72 hours ahead, normally covers spaces beside your own property and excludes weekends unless approved.
The Albuquerque guide reports: A Moving Van Permit on permit parking streets costs $5 a day or $30 a week, is bought online only and is valid within two residential blocks of the address.
The San Jose guide reports: A Tow-Away Permit for a moving truck or pod is applied for online about two weeks ahead, with a $67 fee, signs at 82 cents each and $8 per meter per day.
The Portland guide reports: A temporary street use permit reserves parking for a moving truck, allows five to seven business days, costs $87 a day at meters and $70 a week elsewhere in the service area, and a holiday freeze closes some streets from 19 November.
The Los Angeles guide reports: A vehicle with a commercial plate may stand in a yellow zone only while actively loading or unloading freight, for a maximum of 30 minutes, and the fee and lead time for a temporary no parking sign are not confirmed.
In any city, ask the movers who applies. Several guides say the city pages do not state who files when a removal company handles the move.
State by state
Every state and the District of Columbia sets its own clock and tests for a new resident, and the state-by-state guide gives each one a row. California gives twenty days to register a car brought in, Washington thirty days for a driver’s license and Wyoming a year. States whose agency pages we could not read are marked not yet confirmed.
The guide sets out the thirteen states whose pages name countries that skip the driving test. The UK is on none of those lists, so a UK licence holder should expect tests unless the state says otherwise.
A car from abroad meets customs first and then the state. Our car guide sets out what California, New York, Washington, Texas, Tennessee and Hawaii ask for.
Cities of 50,000 or more are named under their state with the Census Bureau’s population estimate, so a town without a guide of its own can still be found. Cities with a guide are linked in the city block above.
All guides
Each guide ends with a list of the official pages behind it. A city missing from the list can be named in your enquiry with its nearest big city.
Questions
From the UK, read the UK to USA guide and then the customs guide. In the other direction, read the USA to UK guide.
Read the car and pets guides as soon as either is coming.
GOV.UK says a British citizen needs a valid US visa or an ESTA, depending on the purpose of travel, and that neither guarantees entry.
Our UK to USA guide quotes no visa category or fee. Ask the US Embassy in London or an immigration lawyer.
They can. 19 CFR 148.52 allows free entry for usual household furnishings used abroad for not less than one year, if CBP accepts the proof.
Vehicles are treated separately, and CBP’s household items page says duty is due on all of them.
Yes. The restricted items guide covers food, plants, alcohol, firearms and wildlife products. The customs guide quotes CBP: it enforces laws for forty other agencies, and soil needs an import permit.
Ask your removal company which items it will not pack.
No. Thirty-three places have one: Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Hoboken, Albany, Somerville, Rockville, Columbus, Madison, Evanston, Champaign, Austin, Alexandria, Asheville, Norfolk, Portland, San Jose, Albuquerque, Berkeley, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara and the states of Texas, Florida, California, Hawaii, Georgia and Virginia. Other cities are named in the state-by-state guide.
Every state and the District of Columbia has a row in the state-by-state guide, which also names the cities of 50,000 or more under their state.
Yes, in the Germany section: one for leaving Germany for America and one for moving from the USA to Germany.
Each states the German-end rules, which this hub does not.
No. Each state sets its own deadline, tests and car steps, and the UK is on none of the reciprocity lists we could read.
The state-by-state guide gives a sourced row for every state and DC and marks the twelve whose pages we could not read.
Send the pickup postcode, the American street address with ZIP code and floor, your target month and the biggest items. Say if a car or an animal is travelling.
International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, in partnership with AGM Group. We don't move goods ourselves: the removal company quotes for your move and carries it out, so check its credentials and terms before you book. Our service is free. Discuss the quotation and booking terms directly with the removal company.