Before a commercial mover can work in most Dallas office towers, the building needs four things: a certificate of insurance that matches its tenant handbook, a reserved freight elevator and loading dock, an approved move window, and a protection plan for floors, walls and elevators. Miss any one of them and the crew can be turned away at the dock, even with the trucks loaded and the staff already packed.
Move Solutions moves offices into and out of buildings across Dallas–Fort Worth, from Downtown and Uptown to Las Colinas, the Stemmons Corridor and Legacy in Plano. Our headquarters is in Irving, in the middle of the market. Here is what property managers typically ask for, and how to get it settled early.
Read the Tenant Handbook First
Every Class A and most Class B buildings in Dallas publish move-in and move-out rules, usually in the tenant handbook or a construction and vendor policy. Ask your property manager for the current version for both the building you are leaving and the one you are moving into. The rules are rarely the same.
Look for five things: insurance requirements, allowed move hours, freight elevator and dock reservation steps, protection requirements, and any fees or deposits. Some buildings also require vendors to check in with security, wear badges or work with a building engineer present. Knowing this a month out turns move day from a negotiation into a checklist.
The Certificate of Insurance Has to Match Exactly
The certificate of insurance, or COI, is the most common reason a move is delayed at a Dallas building. Property managers check it line by line. If the certificate holder’s legal name, the additional insureds or the coverage limits do not match the handbook, the building will not let the crew in.
A typical building COI request includes general liability, auto liability and workers’ compensation, with specific minimum limits. It usually lists the building owner, the property management company and sometimes the lender as additional insureds, using their exact legal entity names. Some buildings also ask for a waiver of subrogation.
We provide an ACORD 25 certificate before every project. Our coverage includes Texas subscription workers’ compensation for all employees, general liability, cargo and transportation coverage, and auto liability. Send your mover the building’s insurance requirements page as soon as you have it, so a certificate for each building can be issued and approved early, not the week of the move.
Freight Elevators and Loading Docks Are Reserved, Not Assumed
In a high-rise, the freight elevator is the bottleneck for the entire move. Buildings typically require a reservation, often several days in advance. They may limit how long one tenant can hold it, and they may require the elevator cab to be padded or lined before use. In multi-tenant towers, your move may share the dock and elevator with deliveries, construction and other tenants.
Ask whether the dock can accommodate the size of truck your mover plans to use. Some Downtown Dallas buildings have underground or enclosed docks with height limits, which affects how many trucks are needed and how loads are staged. Where a dock cannot take a full-size truck, plan the street or garage staging with the building, and with the city if a curb lane is involved.
Get freight elevator and dock reservations confirmed in writing at both buildings, then build the move schedule around those windows, not the other way around.
Most Large Moves Happen After Hours
Many Dallas office buildings do not allow large moves during business hours, to keep lobbies, passenger elevators and docks clear for other tenants. Evening and weekend moves are standard. Two related costs are worth asking about early. First, some buildings charge for after-hours HVAC or a building engineer’s time. Second, a weekend move usually means planning your IT cutover and staff communications around a Monday reopening.
Dallas weather adds one more consideration. In the summer, a long day on an exposed dock is hard on crews and on sensitive electronics. Staging loads so equipment spends as little time as possible outside is part of the plan, not an afterthought.
Protecting the Building
Property managers want their buildings returned in the condition they were in before the move. Expect requirements to protect the route your crew uses. That typically means floor runners or hardboard over carpet and stone, corner and door-frame guards, padded elevator cabs, and sometimes a pre-move and post-move walkthrough with building staff.
We own our moving equipment rather than renting it for the job, including more than 40 air-ride trucks, 150,000 RFID-tracked reusable crates and thousands of four-wheel dollies. Reusable crates also help with a common building rule: no cardboard left in hallways or common areas, and no moving debris in the building’s dumpsters.
Move-Out Obligations at the Old Building
Your lease likely requires the old suite to be left in a specific condition. That can mean removing furniture and cabling, patching walls or restoring the space. Building management will often schedule a final walkthrough before your deposit is returned.
Plan the move-out with the same detail as the move-in. That includes decommissioning, furniture liquidation, donation or disposal, and a final clean. Leaving it to the last weekend of the lease is how tenants end up paying for holdover rent or restoration they could have avoided.
A Dallas Office Move Timeline That Works
For a typical office move in a Dallas tower, a workable sequence runs like this. About eight weeks out, request both tenant handbooks and schedule a pre-move survey. Six weeks out, send insurance requirements to your mover and confirm the COIs are accepted. Four weeks out, reserve freight elevators and docks at both buildings for the move dates. Two weeks out, finalize floor plans, labeling and the IT cutover. In the final week, walk both buildings with property management and confirm security check-in for the crew.
Larger and multi-floor moves need more lead time, especially in buildings with heavy freight elevator demand. A pre-move survey is the fastest way to find out which building rules will shape your schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What insurance do Dallas office buildings require from movers?
A: Most Dallas office buildings require general liability, auto liability and workers’ compensation at minimum limits listed in the tenant handbook. The certificate usually has to name the owner and property manager as additional insureds using exact legal names. Some buildings also require a waiver of subrogation.
Q: How far ahead should we reserve the freight elevator?
A: Reserve as soon as your move dates are set, and confirm in writing at both buildings. Many Dallas towers require several days’ notice and limit how long one tenant can hold the elevator. In busy multi-tenant buildings, the best weekend slots can be taken weeks in advance.
Q: Can we move during the workday?
A: Some buildings allow small moves during business hours, but most Dallas office towers require larger moves to happen in the evening or on weekends. That keeps passenger elevators and lobbies clear for other tenants. Check your tenant handbook, and ask whether after-hours HVAC or engineer fees apply.
Q: Who handles the certificate of insurance, us or the mover?
A: The mover issues it, but the tenant usually has to obtain the building’s requirements from property management. Send your mover the insurance page from both tenant handbooks early. Move Solutions provides an ACORD 25 certificate of insurance before every project.
Q: What happens if the building rejects our mover’s paperwork on move day?
A: The crew can be refused access until the paperwork is corrected, which can push the move by a day or more. That costs time, freight elevator reservations and staff downtime. Having both buildings approve the certificates a week or more in advance avoids this.
Plan Your Dallas Office Move With Move Solutions
If you are moving into or out of an office building in Dallas, Irving, Las Colinas, Plano or anywhere in Dallas–Fort Worth, send us your tenant handbooks and target dates. We will schedule a pre-move survey, provide the insurance certificates your buildings require, and build a move plan around each building’s rules. Contact Move Solutions to get started.
