Moving inventory list: finish it 3 days before collection
Your moving inventory list decides what customs accepts and which van we send. Start it at the quote, not the last week.
Finish your moving inventory list 3 days before your collection window opens, because it goes to the customs agent for review and it decides which vehicle we can send. That is the deadline, and it is the last moment rather than the time to start.
I run logistics at MuveOne, and most of the hard weeks I see begin the same way: the packing is nearly done, the move is close, and the list is still to write. Done early, the list is a dull job. Done last, or done vaguely, it can move your collection date and get your goods stuck at the border.
Why does your moving inventory list matter so much?
The same list does three jobs. First, it is the packing list for customs. Second, it tells us how much space and weight your goods need, so that we can send the right vehicle. Third, your transit cover works from it.
So when it is late or vague, three things wait for it at once. Until the list is complete and within what you booked, we cannot assign a truck and a driver.
We gave people a spreadsheet, and it did not solve this
Before the Planner we sent customers a spreadsheet template and pointed them to a calculator on our website. People worked hard on them, and the same problem kept coming back: most lists were left until the end.
That is why we built the Inventory Planner. It does not fix everything: it cannot weigh your boxes, and its sizes are typical sizes for each item until you check them against your own. But you can start weeks ahead, which is the part that matters.
What does customs do with your moving inventory list?
Two different checks happen, and people often run them together.
First, we send your list with your other documents to the customs agent, who reads it before anything moves. Agents can refuse descriptions like "household items" or "everyday stuff", and the same description on every box. A quantity has to be a number, not a range. If the agent sends the list back, you correct it and the agent reviews it again. Customs agents' offices can close at the weekend, so nobody may read a list you correct on a Friday until Monday.
Second, if the authorities stop the vehicle, they can compare your list against what is on board. Your list does not have to be perfect to the last teaspoon, but it does have to be a close, honest picture of the load, so any box or piece of furniture you add or leave out has to reach us before loading.
Your inventory is one of the documents your clearance depends on. On routes with relief for a change of residence, the relief needs a complete pack and the customs authority makes the decision. A clear, complete list prepared in the Inventory Planner removes a lot of doubt from the customs agent's mind. A missing list leaves the pack incomplete. Your route's page shows what your pack contains.
The agent reads your list before the move. The authorities can check it against the vehicle during it. Write it for both.
What happens if your moving inventory list does not match the van?
A vague or wrong list is exactly the kind of thing that can get your goods stuck at the border for inspection. If the paperwork and the load disagree, officers can hold the vehicle while they go through it, and a real discrepancy can bring penalties and extra fees.
Sizes and weights matter for a different reason. A list that understates them can leave a van overloaded without anyone intending it. Sometimes the authorities stop a vehicle, weigh it and fine the operator for overloading, and it cannot move on until the extra weight is off it. Then we have to organise another truck at short notice. Your belongings come off at the roadside, go through two sets of hands and wait, and your delivery day moves.
We explain what an overloaded van faces in our guide to how much a 3.5-tonne van can carry, and the packing guide sets out what happens to your load, step by step.
Why is your own list not enough?
Most people start with a list of their own, and it is a sensible thing to do. That list tells you what is going. It does not tell anybody how much room that takes or what it weighs. When I add up the sizes on a home-made list, box by box, the total is often well above what the customer expected.
One customer moving from Germany to the UK told us they had "only done the ToR inventory without measurements or weights". That list had been right for its purpose. The move still needed another one, with sizes and weights, while they were in the middle of packing.
Boxes also multiply. Another customer, moving to Spain, sent their final list a few days before collection and wrote: "It turned out that we have a lot more boxes than I thought." They moved up a size, and the move went ahead. It worked, but it happened in the last days, when there is least room to change anything. Our packing guide sets out what happens if your list outgrows your booking.
Do you have to weigh every item on your moving inventory list?
No, and we would not ask you to. Nobody can put a wardrobe on the bathroom scales, and by the time you reach the kitchen cupboards you are tired of the whole job. This is the part of moving abroad that feels most like a headache, and I understand why people leave it until last.
We could have answered that by insisting you book our packing service and charging you extra for it. We built the Inventory Planner instead, with this problem in mind.
Pick something from its list, a sofa, a bed, a standard box, and the Planner shows a realistic size and an estimated weight for it. You still give a figure for each line, but you start from our estimate rather than an empty box. If you know what something really weighs, use that.
It also catches problems while you type. Name something that cannot travel with us and it tells you there and then, before it reaches your list. Write a word like "miscellaneous" and it warns you that customs will not accept it. As the list grows, it shows you whether it still fits your size and your route's weight limit.
What should each line of a moving inventory list say?
- Give every box a number, and write that number on the box
- Say what is in it, in words a customs officer would understand: "kitchen plates and pans", not "kitchen"
- You do not have to count every fork and knife: "kitchen plates" is fine. Give a number only when you have a lot of one thing, like a stack of folding chairs
- Measure the outer size of each box and each piece of furniture
- Give a weight: start from the Planner's estimate, and weigh only what is unusually heavy, like a box of books
- Put a value on each line
- Leave off anything you are no longer taking, and tell us if that changes
Do this as you tape each box shut. Nobody remembers the contents of a sealed box two months later.
How early should you start your moving inventory list?
Start your list when you get your quote. Every quote email carries a link to your Inventory Planner. It works for 3 months, and your list stays open even after the quote itself has lapsed. Before you book, the list is a draft that binds neither of us, so you can add things room by room as you decide what is going.
The Planner shows your list against each size on your quote and against your route's weight limit, so you find out early if it will not fit. When you book, the same list becomes your move's inventory and your customs list. You do not write it twice.
Then treat the deadline as the final check. Aim to have the list complete while there is still time for one correction.
What you can rely on from us
We remind you before the deadline, by email, and your exact date is on your booking confirmation. A person checks your list, and we will tell you plainly if something needs changing or if it will not fit. Once your list is signed and countersigned, we confirm your vehicle and email you the driver's name and its registration.