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Moving involves many decisions and physical tasks, but you don’t have to handle everything alone. If you’re learning how to move with a disability, start by creating a plan around your needs, arranging dependable assistance, and keeping essential items accessible throughout the move.
These 10 disability moving assistance tips cover what to do before, during, and after moving day. You’ll also find government resources and ways the Moving Help® Marketplace can connect you with labor-only Service Providers.
What Moving Assistance Is Available for People With Disabilities?
Moving assistance can come from several sources. Depending on your needs, you might ask family members, friends, caregivers, community organizations, or independent Service Providers to help.
Before making arrangements, divide your moving checklist into three categories:
- Tasks you can comfortably complete
- Tasks you can complete with assistance
- Tasks you want someone else to handle
For example, you might manage your documents and moving-day essentials while asking someone else to pack, lift furniture, load boxes, or clean your former home. This allows you to remain involved in the move without taking on every physical task.
Who Qualifies for Relocation Assistance?
Eligibility for relocation assistance depends on the organization or program offering it. Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, housing programs, and employers may use different requirements. These can include disability status, income, housing needs, employment circumstances, or location.
Review the current qualifications for each program rather than assuming one set of requirements apply everywhere. When the information is unclear, contact the agency or organization directly to ask what documentation it requires and what assistance it offers.
3 Tips to Prepare Before Moving
Preparing early gives you more time to arrange help, evaluate your new home, and make decisions without adding unnecessary pressure to moving day.
1. Create a Personalized Moving Plan
Every person’s needs and moving experiences are different. Build your plan around your schedule, comfort, mobility, communication needs, medical needs, and available support.
Begin with a room-by-room checklist. Note what must be packed, who’ll complete each task, and when it needs to be finished. Add extra time for breaks, appointments, equipment preparation, and unexpected delays.
Your plan also should include:
- Important moving dates and contact information
- Tasks assigned to friends, relatives, caregivers, or Service Providers
- Transportation arrangements for you and your household
- Utility start and stop dates
- Medication, mobility equipment, and any other assistive-device needs
- Accessibility modifications needed at the new home
Share the plan with everyone assisting you so each person understands their responsibilities.
2. Check Your New Home’s Accessibility
Visit the new home before moving day when possible. Look at the entire route from the parking area to the rooms you’ll use most often.
Check entrances, ramps, stairs, elevators, hallways, and doorways. Measure large furniture and mobility equipment to make sure they’ll fit. You also should determine whether building access, elevator use, or parking requires advance arrangements.
Inside the home, consider whether light switches, outlets, cabinets, counters, and storage areas are easy for you to reach. If the home needs changes, completing the most essential work before moving in can make your arrival more comfortable.
3. Arrange Help and Pack Your Essentials
Ask for help early rather than waiting until moving day is close. Be specific about what you need, whether that is packing, loading, unloading, transportation, cleaning, or unpacking.
Prepare an essentials bag or clearly marked container that remains with you during the move. Consider including:
- Medication and medical information
- Identification and important documents
- Phone chargers and backup batteries
- Assistive-device supplies
- Toiletries
- A change of clothing
- Food, water, and other daily necessities
- Contact information for people assisting with the move
Avoid placing these items deep inside a moving truck or under other boxes. They should stay easy to reach from the time you leave your current home until essential areas are ready for your new one.
3 Tips for Moving Day
Moving day can become busy quickly. A clear plan, open communication, and accessible surroundings can help everyone work more safely and efficiently.
4. Keep Accessible Pathways Clear
Boxes and packing materials can quickly block entrances, hallways, ramps, and interior walkways. Designate a staging area where items can be placed without creating obstacles.
Keep cords, tools, empty boxes, and loose packing materials out of travel paths. If you use a wheelchair, walker, cane, or another mobility device, make sure you have enough room to move between essential areas.
At your new home, ask helpers to place boxes along walls or in assigned rooms instead of leaving them in doorways. Clear pathways will make it easier to enter the home and begin settling in.
5. Communicate Your Moving-Day Plan
Review the plan before lifting, loading, or unloading begins. Explain which rooms should be handled first, which belongings require special care, and where furniture and boxes belong at the destination.
Clearly identify essential boxes, so they don’t get buried behind less urgent belongings. If an item must remain upright, stay nearby, or be placed in a specific location, communicate that before it’s moved.
You also can designate a trusted point of contact to answer questions. If you need to take a break or focus on another part of the move, this person can help direct activity.
6. Protect Your Energy and Routine
Moving day doesn’t need to become a race. Schedule breaks, drink water, eat regular meals, and follow your normal medication routine.
Keep a chair or other comfortable resting place available at both homes. If noise, crowds, or constant activity become overwhelming, designate a quieter space where you can step away.
Delegating is part of an effective moving plan. Let other people handle lifting, carrying, loading, and other physically demanding tasks while you focus on decisions that require your input.
3 Tips for After the Move
You don’t need to unpack the entire home at once. Start with the spaces and belongings that support your comfort, health, and everyday routine.
7. Set up Essential Areas First
Begin with the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, medication area, and any assistive equipment. Make the bed, unpack toiletries, and place medication and daily supplies where they’re easy to find.
If possible, arrange essential furniture before opening nonessential boxes. Confirm that mobility equipment, chargers, medical devices, and other necessary items are ready to use.
Essentials will look different for every household. Focus on what you need for a comfortable first night and work outward from there.
8. Unpack With Accessibility in Mind
Use unpacking as an opportunity to organize the new home around your daily routines. Put frequently used belongings within comfortable reach and store less-used items in higher, lower, or less accessible spaces.
Keep floors and pathways clear as boxes are emptied. Break down empty boxes or move them to a designated area instead of letting them collect in walking or wheelchair routes.
Labels also can make the home easier to navigate. Organize belongings by room, purpose, or frequency of use. If unpacking is physically demanding, ask someone else to lift, carry, and place items while you direct where they belong.
9. Update Your Information and Local Resources
Update your address with organizations and providers that need your information. This may include health care providers, pharmacies, insurers, financial institutions, government agencies, and delivery services.
Familiarize yourself with the services near your new home. Locate nearby pharmacies, health-care facilities, transportation options, grocery stores, and community resources.
Once you have settled in, test entrances, lighting, safety equipment, and accessibility features. Make a list of any remaining changes that would make your home easier and more comfortable to use.
Final Tip: Find Resources for People With Disabilities
Government agencies can provide information about housing, accessibility rights, and certain repair or rehabilitation programs. Requirements differ by program, so review the current information and contact the appropriate agency with questions about eligibility.
10. Explore Housing and Accessibility Programs
Here are three resources to include in your research:
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development: Use the Rural Development office locator to find the office serving your area and ask about rural housing repair or rehabilitation resources.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: HUD provides state-specific pages that can help you locate housing information and HUD offices in your area.
- U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division: The ADA Information Line answers questions about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, how the ADA may apply to a situation, and how to file a complaint. Accessibility specialists can be reached by voice or TTY, and housing-related questions may be referred to another federal agency.
These agencies may provide information or direct you to the appropriate program, but assistance and eligibility aren’t identical across every program or location.
How Moving Help Can Assist You
The Moving Help Marketplace connects customers with independent Service Providers who offer labor-only moving services. You can compare available Service Providers based on rates, reviews, and services, then select the number of helpers and hours that fit your move.
Depending on the Service Provider you choose, available services may include:
- Loading and unloading
- Packing and unpacking
- Heavy furniture and appliance moving
- Home cleaning
- U-Box® container services
- Certain specialty moves
The Marketplace lists these services as options, but you should review an individual Service Provider’s services before booking.
Moving Help can be especially useful when you want to remain in control of your move but prefer not to handle its most physically demanding parts. A Service Provider can help with labor while you focus on your schedule, essential belongings, accessibility needs, and arrival at your new home.
Before moving day, communicate the details that are needed for the requested service. Share information about stairs, elevators, parking, building access, oversized items, and where belongings should be placed. Clear instructions help the Service Provider understand the job you’re booking.
Find Moving Assistance for Your Move
You can make moving day more manageable without giving up control of your move. Visit the Moving Help Marketplace to compare Service Providers for packing or unpacking, loading or unloading, cleaning, and other available labor-only moving services.
Knowing how to move with a disability begins with planning around your individual circumstances. Prepare early, keep essential belongings accessible, protect your energy, and ask for help with tasks you don’t want to manage alone.
The right disability moving assistance can reduce the physical workload and give you more time to focus on a comfortable transition. When you need extra hands, the Moving Help Marketplace can connect you with Service Providers for the labor-intensive parts of your move.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Disability Moving Assistance Is Available?
Disability moving assistance can come from family, friends, caregivers, community organizations, government programs, and labor-only Service Providers. The right type of assistance depends on which moving tasks you want help with completing.
How Do You Prepare to Move With a Disability?
Start by creating a moving plan around your accessibility needs, schedule, daily routine, and available support. Check the accessibility of your new home, arrange help early, and pack medication, documents, assistive-device supplies, and other essentials separately.
Who Qualifies for Relocation Assistance?
Qualifications depend on the organization or program providing assistance. Eligibility may consider disability status, income, housing needs, employment circumstances, location, or other program requirements. Review each program’s current qualifications or contact the organization directly.
Can Moving Help Assist With Packing and Unpacking?
Yes. You can find Service Providers through the Moving Help Marketplace who offer packing and unpacking services. Review each Service Provider’s available services before booking.
Can Moving Helpers Load and Unload a Moving Truck?
Yes. Loading and unloading are among the labor-only services available through the Moving Help Marketplace. Customers can compare Service Providers and select one that offers the assistance needed for their move.
Where Can People With Disabilities Find Housing Resources?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division provide housing, program, or accessibility information. Available assistance and eligibility requirements depend on the specific agency and program.