San Francisco, CA

In San Francisco the city posts your no-parking signs for you — and charges for the privilege. SFMTA wants the application at least five business days before the move, and moving is one of the uses the permit explicitly covers. Across the causeway in Sacramento you print the signs yourself from a city template; here you cannot, and the fee starts at $355.

Hourly rates start at $159 for two movers and a fully equipped truck, and you get the price online before anyone comes to your door. The city’s sign fee is separate from that.

Five business days, not five days. SFMTA requires a minimum of five business days between the date you apply and the date the no-parking zone takes effect. A Saturday move booked on a Tuesday does not make it. This is the single most common reason a San Francisco move ends up with the truck parked round the corner, and it is entirely avoidable — tell us your date as early as you have it.

The city posts the signs, not you, and not us. Once the permit is approved SFMTA installs the signage. In unmetered areas the signs go up no less than 72 hours before enforcement starts; at metered spaces, no less than 24 hours before. There is no legitimate way to shortcut this by putting out your own cones or signs, and a truck in an unreserved space is a truck that can be ticketed or towed.

What it costs. On the fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, one to four signs cost $355 and five to nine cost $489. Where the spaces are metered, the city adds $21 per meter per day on top. That is a city charge rather than part of our hourly rate. Give us the address and the size of the move and we will tell you how many signs it realistically needs before you commit to anything.

Book the building before you book the truck. Many San Francisco buildings require an elevator reservation and a certificate of insurance from the moving company, and both take longer to arrange than people expect — often longer than the permit. Ask your building management what they need as soon as you have a date, and tell us, because we can only supply the insurance certificate if we know it is wanted.

Access decides the price, not the mileage. On an hourly job what matters is how close the truck can legally stop and what stands between there and your door. A flat approach with a reserved space and a working elevator is a different job from a third-floor walk-up on a hill with no reservation, even when the two addresses are a mile apart.

Permit rules and fees change, and the figures above are the published schedule at the time of writing. We re-check with SFMTA before move day rather than relying on what was true last year.

Permit and access details confirmed against the city's own published guidance. Rules change — we re-check before move day.

Double drive time applies when pickup and delivery are more than ten miles apart. A move within San Francisco falls under that line. A move between San Francisco and Sacramento, or most moves across the bay, does not. Your quote shows which way yours lands before you book. SFMTA sign fees and meter charges are city costs and sit outside the hourly rate.

Do I need a permit to park a moving truck in San Francisco?

If you want guaranteed space at the kerb, yes. SFMTA issues temporary no-parking signage and moving is explicitly one of the uses it covers. Apply at least five business days before the move; the city installs the signs, 72 hours ahead in unmetered areas and 24 hours ahead at meters. Without it the truck takes whatever legal space exists, which on an hourly job costs you time.

How much do the no-parking signs cost?

On the schedule effective 1 July 2026, $355 covers one to four signs and $489 covers five to nine, with metered spaces adding $21 per meter per day. Those are city charges, not ours, and they sit outside the hourly rate. Fees change, so we check the current schedule rather than quoting last year's.

Can you move me from San Francisco to Sacramento?

Yes — both are in our service area and that is a move within California. We are not currently authorised for interstate for-hire moves, so if your move crosses a state line we will tell you plainly and point you to a carrier who is.

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