Reviewed by Pat Dodson, Executive Vice President
Pat has 17 years in moving and storage and serves as an engineer with the Fort Worth Fire Department. A U.S. Navy veteran, he oversees long-distance operations across all four Texas locations. Last reviewed 2026.
Dallas to Austin is about 195 miles straight down I-35 — roughly three hours of driving through Waco, Temple and Round Rock. Most of these moves load and deliver inside a single day, with larger homes running into a second.
It is also the only route we run where we are already at both ends. Our Dallas branch is on Woodall Street in the Design District. Our Austin branch is on West Howard Lane. Same company, same standards, crews and a facility at either end of the drive.
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This is a Texas move, and Texas rules apply
Every other long-distance route we run crosses a state line, which puts it under federal rules. Dallas to Austin does not. It is an intrastate move, governed by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles rather than the FMCSA — and the protections you get are different, and in one respect better.
- A written proposal before anything is loaded. Texas requires your mover to give you a written proposal and a moving services contract before a single item goes on the truck, along with the Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move in Texas brochure.
- Binding or not-to-exceed. A binding proposal is an exact price. A not-to-exceed proposal sets a maximum — we can charge less than it, never more. On an interstate move the federal equivalent still allows 110% of the estimate at the door. In Texas, not-to-exceed means what it says.
- Check us before you book. Texas movers must hold an active TxDMV licence, and the certificate number has to be displayed on both sides of the truck. Ours is TX DMV 006924557C. Look it up in the TxDMV Truck Stop motor carrier lookup — an “Active” status is the whole test, and it takes about a minute. Do it for us and for anyone else quoting you.
Firefighter-founded in 2001, four Texas locations since. Every mover is background-checked and drug-screened, and the crew that loads your Dallas home works for the same company as the crew waiting in Austin.
Size-up
What a Dallas to Austin move has to plan around
Three hours of driving does not make this an easy move. It makes it a move where everything depends on the two ends and on the single stretch of road between them — and I-35 through Central Texas is not a road you can treat as three predictable hours.
There is no sensible alternative to I-35 between Dallas and Austin, which means the corridor’s problems are your move’s problems. Waco and Temple both have long-running roadwork stretches, and the I-35 Capital Express project has been reshaping the run through Austin itself for years.
The practical effect is that a three-hour drive is three hours at six in the morning and something else entirely at four in the afternoon. We schedule departures to clear Austin’s approach outside peak rather than assume the map is right.
Austin has more event weeks than any Texas city we deliver into. SXSW in March effectively takes downtown out of service for the better part of two weeks. ACL takes two October weekends and much of the Zilker approach. Formula 1 at COTA moves traffic across the whole south-east of the city, and UT home football Saturdays close streets across campus and West Campus.
If you are landing downtown, on Rainey Street, in West Campus or near campus, give us the date early and we will check it against the calendar before we commit a window. It is the single cheapest thing you can do to protect a move day here.
Three different Austin access problems, none of which look like Dallas.
The western hills — West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Barton Creek and Lost Creek — are steep, winding and narrow, with driveways a 26-foot truck often cannot turn into.
The older central streets — Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Clarksville, Bouldin — have low tree canopy over the roadway, and Austin protects heritage trees, so a branch in the way is not a branch we can cut. Our trucks need 13 feet of overhead clearance and a surface rated for 26,000 pounds.
Residential Permit Parking zones cover much of Hyde Park, West Campus, Travis Heights and Bouldin, which changes where a truck can legally sit while the crew works. Where none of that can be solved, the load transfers to a smaller shuttle for the last stretch — a cost line we would rather quote than discover.
The downtown, Rainey Street and Domain towers run the same discipline as Uptown Dallas: a certificate of insurance naming the association and the management company, a freight elevator reserved to a fixed window, and an assigned dock.
Where a street reservation is genuinely needed, Austin handles right-of-way occupation through a Temporary Use of the Right of Way permit, priced on the area you occupy and revised annually — and the downtown coordination zone adds a further approval. Most Austin residential moves never need one, because the answer is a driveway or a loading dock. Tell us the address at the survey and we will tell you which of the two you are.
A summer Dallas-to-Austin run is short but it is genuinely hot, and a sealed trailer sitting in a Central Texas afternoon runs hotter still. Candles, cosmetics, vinyl records, framed photographs and anything adhesive-backed travel better in your own air-conditioned vehicle.
Hazardous goods cannot travel at all — aerosols, propane and other compressed gases, paint and solvents, pool chemicals, fertilizer and ammunition. Our crews also cannot disconnect or reconnect water or gas lines, change a dryer cord, or assemble cribs — and cannot pack on load day. Packing is booked ahead as its own service.
Our crews at both ends of I-35
Packing, loading, the 195 miles, storage at either end if your date slips, and placement in Austin — one company, one contract, and a branch waiting at the far end of the drive.
Services
What we handle on a Dallas to Austin move
Packing, loading, the drive down I-35, storage at either end and delivery — one company, one contract, and our own branch waiting in Austin.
Professional packing
A short haul is still a haul. Cartons face three hours of interstate vibration and, in summer, a trailer sitting in Central Texas heat — the right box for the weight, real dish packs, no half-filled cartons.
Loading & unloading
Pad-wrapping, stretch film, dollies and floor protection at both ends. Signed inventory before the doors close in Dallas, checked off with you at the door in Austin.
Storage at either end
Climate-controlled storage in our own facilities — and on this route we have one at each end, so your belongings can wait in Dallas or wait in Austin, whichever suits the dates you are juggling.
Commercial & corporate
Office and employee relocations from DFW to Austin, sequenced around your downtime, with consistent documentation for a relocation program.
What it costs
A recent full-service Dallas to Austin move ran $3,800. Treat that as a reference point, not a quote — the figure moves a great deal on the size of your home, whether we pack for you, specialty items, access at both ends and the date you pick. Your written proposal is the number that counts.
Binding or not-to-exceed
Texas gives you two forms. Binding is an exact price. Not-to-exceed sets a ceiling we can come in under but never above. Both are in writing before we load, along with the state’s moving-rights brochure — that is the law here, not a courtesy.
Verify us in a minute
Texas movers must hold an active TxDMV licence with the certificate number displayed on both sides of the truck. Ours is TX DMV 006924557C. Search the TxDMV Truck Stop motor carrier lookup and confirm the status reads Active — for us and for everyone else you are considering.
Specialty items
Gun safes, pianos, fine art, china and antiques move with specialized dollies and technique rather than improvised muscle, and are flagged on the proposal before the date rather than on it. An additional charge applies.
Coverage
Released value protection at $0.60 per pound per item is the Texas standard and is included at no charge. Full Value Protection carries a substantially higher level of liability — worth comparing against your homeowner’s or renter’s policy before you decide.
Moving the other way, or from elsewhere
We run this lane in both directions and out of our Fort Worth and Houston branches too. Landing in Austin for good? Our Austin movers handle everything once you are there.
Destination
Delivering across Austin and Central Texas
From a crew's point of view Austin breaks into about four different delivery jobs, and which one you are moving into matters more to your day than the mileage does. We ask which one at the survey — and our Austin branch usually already knows the street.
Constraint: the calendar
Downtown, Rainey Street and the Domain
Tower deliveries with a dock, a reserved freight elevator and a certificate of insurance. Downtown is also where the event calendar bites hardest — SXSW, ACL and F1 weekends change what is possible, so we check the date before we commit a window.
Constraint: the street
Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Clarksville and Bouldin
The older central neighborhoods. Low heritage-tree canopy over the roadway, narrow streets, and Residential Permit Parking zones that decide where a truck can legally sit. Charming to live in, genuinely technical to move into.
Constraint: the grade
West Lake Hills, Rollingwood and Barton Creek
Steep, winding and narrow, with driveways a 26-foot truck often cannot turn into and no room to reverse once committed. Bigger crews, sometimes a shuttle, and access we scout before the date rather than on it.
Constraint: the run
Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville and the north
Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown and Buda. The most straightforward deliveries in the region — driveways, real kerb space and room to work — and the ones our Austin branch on West Howard Lane sits closest to.
One thing worth knowing. An Austin address is not always the City of Austin. West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Sunset Valley and Bee Cave are separate incorporated cities, and Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander and Georgetown are Williamson County rather than Travis. That decides whose parking and permit rules apply, which is why we ask for the exact delivery address rather than the neighborhood name.
Frequently asked questions about moving from Dallas to Austin
How much does a move from Dallas to Austin cost?
A recent full-service move on this lane ran $3,800. Treat that as a reference point rather than a price — it moves considerably depending on the size of your home, whether we pack for you or you pack yourself, specialty items like a gun safe or a piano, access at both ends, and the date you choose. What you can rely on is the form of the number: Texas requires a written proposal before we load, either binding or not-to-exceed, and a not-to-exceed proposal is a ceiling we can come in under but never go above.
How long does a move from Dallas to Austin take?
Most of these load and deliver inside a single day. It is about 195 miles and roughly three hours of driving, so unlike our out-of-state lanes there is usually no overnight leg at all. Larger homes, full packing services or a difficult Austin access can push it into a second day, and we will tell you which at the survey rather than on the morning.
Is this an interstate move?
No, and that matters. Dallas to Austin never leaves Texas, so it falls under TxDMV rules rather than federal FMCSA ones. You get a written proposal and moving services contract before loading, the state’s Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move in Texas brochure, and a proposal that is either binding or not-to-exceed.
How do I check that a Texas mover is legitimate?
Texas movers must hold an active TxDMV licence and display the certificate number on both sides of the truck. Ours is TX DMV 006924557C. Search the TxDMV Truck Stop motor carrier lookup, confirm the status reads Active, and do the same for every other company quoting you. It takes about a minute and it is the single most useful check available to you.
Do I need a permit for a moving truck in Austin?
Usually not. Most Austin residential moves are handled through a driveway or a building’s loading dock. Where a street genuinely has to be occupied, Austin issues a Temporary Use of the Right of Way permit, priced on the area taken and revised each year, with an extra approval layer inside the downtown coordination zone. Residential Permit Parking zones in Hyde Park, West Campus, Travis Heights and Bouldin are the more common complication. Give us the address at the survey and we will tell you what your street needs.
Can you deliver into a downtown Austin or Rainey Street high-rise?
Yes. Expect a certificate of insurance naming the association and the management company, a freight elevator reserved to a fixed window, and an assigned dock. Send us the building’s requirements when you book. We also check your date against SXSW, ACL, F1 and UT home games — a downtown delivery on one of those weekends is a materially different job.
What happens if my Austin place is not ready?
This is where having a branch at both ends helps. We can hold your belongings in climate-controlled storage in Dallas or in Austin, whichever suits the dates you are juggling, and deliver when your place is ready. Arranged in advance it is a planned line on your proposal.
How far ahead should I book?
Earlier than you think, and much earlier if your date lands near SXSW in March, ACL in October, an F1 weekend or a UT home game. Month-end and summer fill first on this lane as they do everywhere. If your Austin building restricts move days, sort that first and book around it.
Tell us the inventory, the access and the date
Whether you are landing in a Rainey Street tower, a Hyde Park bungalow, a house up in West Lake Hills or somewhere out in Round Rock, we will put a written proposal in front of you — binding or not-to-exceed, your choice, both in writing — with the Austin access questions asked before the date rather than on it.
