A smooth office move starts with a named owner, a target date, and a plan that covers both the space you are leaving and the one you are opening. Work backward from move day to coordinate the lease and building, floor plan, movers, employee packing, IT and utilities, communications, and final handover. The checklist below is designed for U.S. businesses; confirm obligations with your lease, building, and state and local authorities.
Start with a move owner, date, and schedule
Appoint one move lead who can make decisions and keep departments, vendors, and building contacts aligned. Give each workstream a named owner, deadline, and dependency. Oregon Department of Administrative Services recommends setting a target date and sharing the schedule and coordination details with stakeholders and service providers.
- Set a target move date and identify any dates that cannot shift, such as lease deadlines or building access windows.
- Review notice, insurance, access, elevator reservations, loading rules, and old-space handover requirements with the landlord and building managers.
- Build a reverse schedule for facilities work, furniture delivery, electrical work, phone and data connections, packing, transport, and reopening.
- Keep a central contact list, decision log, and task tracker that employees and relevant vendors can access.
There is no universally established office-move timeline: the schedule depends on the premises, workforce, equipment, and lease. Treat checklists as planning aids, not as a complete statement of legal requirements; OSHA makes the same distinction in its small-business resources.
Plan the new office before moving the old one
Make a working floor plan for the destination and share it with movers, IT, wiring and electrical contractors, facilities staff, and employees. Mark furniture and equipment locations, power outlets, phone and network connections, access routes, and any space that must remain clear. Oregon DAS and the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund both emphasize planning placement and connections in advance.
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- Measure furniture and equipment against the new layout; flag items that will not fit or cannot be installed as planned.
- Decide what to move, replace, sell, donate, or store based on condition, destination fit, transport and reinstallation needs, service access, and storage cost.
- Confirm whether the destination requires additional furniture, electrical work, cabling, or other facilities work, and assign responsibility and timing.
- Give movers a clear placement plan and labels that correspond to destination rooms or zones.
Move.org notes that some office movers offer transition planning to map existing and new layouts and help place equipment and furniture. Treat this as an optional service to evaluate, not a standard feature of every mover.
Choose movers by scope and suitability
Request written proposals that describe the work your business actually needs. Compare more than the headline estimate: confirm what is included, what is excluded, the crew and schedule, building access and elevator arrangements, equipment-handling experience, damage responsibility, and the process for resolving disputes.
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- Ask how the mover will handle specialist or fragile equipment and whether disassembly, packing, reinstallation, or storage is included.
- Verify any registration or credentials that apply to the move and confirm them with the relevant authority.
- Put access times, delivery sequence, insurance or damage terms, and any special handling in writing.
For interstate moves, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advises consumers to obtain estimates from at least three movers or brokers, check FMCSA registration and a U.S. DOT number, and ask about responsibility for damage. That consumer checklist is a useful starting point, not a complete commercial procurement standard or proof that a mover is right for an office relocation. See the FMCSA moving checklist.
Inventory, tag, and pack business property
Create an inventory of furniture, equipment, supplies, files, and other assets before packing. Assign each item a destination and label it so the receiving team can identify where it belongs. Move.org recommends tagging items and taking pictures while cataloguing; dated photos can help document condition if a claim arises.
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- Identify records and equipment that need restricted access or special handling, and decide who is responsible for them during transit.
- If employees pack their own desks, provide boxes, tape, labels, and clear instructions about what to pack, what to leave, and how to mark destination locations.
- Keep essential documents, keys, access credentials, and items needed immediately at reopening under a designated person’s control.
- Record visible condition and note missing or damaged items using the mover’s documentation and claims process.
Coordinate IT, phones, utilities, and facilities
Treat technology and building work as distinct, scheduled workstreams. The new layout should drive decisions about network and telephone connections, power, equipment placement, and installation. Assign the IT team responsibility for a system-specific plan; there is no single cutover procedure suitable for every business.
- Confirm service dates and installation responsibilities for internet, phones, data wiring, electrical work, utilities, and furniture.
- Have IT define backup, shutdown, equipment transport, restoration, and testing steps for the business’s systems.
- Agree who will verify connectivity, phones, power, printers, and essential equipment, and when those checks must be complete.
- Keep service providers informed of the address, access instructions, and any building requirements.
Back up business data before moving computers or IT systems. Oregon DAS and the Oregon State Bar checklist support advance coordination of phone, data, electrical, and furniture work; the technical steps themselves should be set by the business’s IT team.
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Prepare employees and update contacts
Give staff a concise move notice with dates, packing instructions, labeling rules, access details, and a contact for questions. Make clear what employees should pack themselves and what the mover or internal team will handle.
Build a notification list for clients, suppliers, vendors, utilities, financial and other service accounts, and internal contacts. Update the business address and phone number wherever customers or service providers rely on them, including online listings where appropriate. NIH’s institutional move checklist includes address and phone changes; Move.org also recommends updating client, account, and listing information.
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Move-day and reopening checklist
- Before loading: Confirm building access, elevator or loading arrangements, mover contacts, and the current inventory and destination floor plan.
- During delivery: Direct items to their assigned rooms or zones, check them against the inventory, and record visible damage or missing property through the mover’s process.
- Before employees resume work: Test essential power, network connections, phones, business systems, and equipment; confirm employee access, clear routes, and essential supplies.
- At the old site: Complete the landlord’s agreed handover, document the condition as required, and close or transfer services on the scheduled dates.
Check local and building requirements
Requirements depend on the location, industry, premises, and lease. Confirm the applicable building procedures and check with the relevant state or local authorities about matters such as fire safety, accessibility, business-address filings, and tax obligations. OSHA’s small-business resources can help prompt a workplace safety review, but they are not a relocation-specific legal checklist. Oregon DAS and Oregon State Bar guidance is Oregon-specific, and NIH’s checklist reflects an institutional context.
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