Reserving a Moving Truck Spot in Boston

The City of Boston doesn’t require a permit for your moving truck. It does sell one, and the Office of the Parking Clerk is direct about what you’re buying: a legal parking spot for the day of the move. A standard permit reserves two parking spaces for one day, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What it costs

A one-day permit for two spaces without meters costs $69 online and includes two signs. If the spaces you want have meters, the permit costs an additional $40. The space you reserve has to be an actual parking spot, which can be residential, commercial or metered, as long as it’s legal to park a vehicle there.

The application window

Online applications are open only when the moving date is at least 15 days away and no more than eight weeks away. If your move is closer than that, you apply in person at the Office of the Parking Clerk, which takes a move at least three days out. In person also lets you hold the space longer: up to five days in a row, after which the city requires a 48 hour break before issuing another permit for the same spot. The permit itself arrives by mail, and the city says to expect it within 10 days of approval. From May 1 through October 31 the city won’t issue a moving permit for a location already designated for its outdoor dining program.

Posting the signs

You or someone you know has to post the signs at least 48 hours before the permit’s 7 a.m. start time, and the city recommends putting them up three days before the move. You also get a flier for neighbors. Make copies and leave them on cars within a half block of the spaces you’re taking, every day for at least two days before the move. If the spaces have meters, one day of fliering is enough. Afterward, clean up any debris and take the signs and fliers down.

Containers

Moving containers can’t be handled online. You apply in person and bring a letter of authorization from the company that owns the container, and that company has to hold a bond with the City. Public Works handles street occupancy permits for work that occupies the street, and its own guidance asks for signs in a residential area at least three days before the job.

Before you book the truck

Check whether the space you want is already spoken for. The city keeps a searchable database of street occupancy permits, and it’s worth a look before you pick a date. If you’re timing a move around a closing or a lease start, the permit window is one more clock to line up. Moving into Boston this fall? Ask me what your block needs. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.