How to choose a moving company in Dubai: questions to ask

The quickest way to work out how to choose a moving company in Dubai is to ask every company on your shortlist the same questions, get the answers in writing and compare them line by line. A mover worth booking will survey your home before giving a price, show you its trade licence, itemise every cost and tell you exactly who handles your goods at each end. The checklist below works on any mover, ours included.

Check the trade licence

A company in the UAE trades under a licence issued by its emirate's licensing authority, such as Dubai Economy and Tourism, or by a free zone authority if it is set up in a free zone. You can check a licence online: the UAE government portal's page on verifying business licences lists the official lookups, including Dubai Economy and Tourism's licence search, Abu Dhabi's economic licence enquiry and the federal National Economic Register.

When you look a mover up, check three things:

• The licence is current.
• The registered name, including the ending that shows its legal form, such as LLC, matches the name on the quote, the contract and the account you pay into.
• The licensed activities fit the job you are booking, such as moving, freight or cargo services.

Ask who actually does the work

The name on the quote is one thing; the people in your home on packing day are another. Ask:

• Are the packers and drivers the company's own staff, or a subcontracted crew?
• Who supervises on packing day, and who is your contact from the survey to delivery?
• For a move abroad, which company clears customs and delivers at the destination? Unless the mover has its own office in that country, it is usually a partner company there, and you should know its name before you book.

No survey, no quote

A reliable quote starts with a survey, either in your home or by video call. The surveyor needs to see every room, cupboard, storeroom, balcony and garage, because the volume in cubic metres decides the size of the truck or container, the crew and the packing materials. A price given over the phone from a bedroom count is a guess, and guesses get corrected on moving day.

A good surveyor also asks about things you might not think of: what is staying behind, what goes into storage, what needs to go by air rather than by sea, whether your building needs a move permit or a service-lift booking, and where the truck can park. Here is what to have ready before the survey.

What an itemised quote should list

Ask for the quote in writing, with each service on its own line. You should be able to see:

• The estimated volume and the truck or container it is based on.
• Packing materials and labour, crates for fragile pieces, and dismantling and reassembly of furniture.
• Export customs clearance in the UAE.
• The freight itself, by road, sea or air, and the route.
• Destination services: customs clearance, delivery, unpacking and taking away the packing materials.
• Storage, if you need it, and the charge for taking things back out.
• Insurance as a separate line, showing the type of cover and the value insured.
• Exclusions, such as destination duties and taxes, customs inspections, parking permits or a long carry from the truck to the door.

Compare quotes line by line rather than by the total. A lower total that leaves out destination charges only moves the cost to later. There is more on this in the hidden costs of an international move from the UAE.

For sea freight, check the route as well. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to commercial shipping since 28 February 2026, so sea freight from the UAE goes by road to a port outside the strait, such as Khor Fakkan or Fujairah on the UAE's east coast or Sohar in Oman. The road leg should be on the quote, and the routing and sailing dates should be confirmed at the survey.

Packing materials and export packing

A move abroad needs export packing: stronger cartons, more wrapping, wardrobe cartons for hanging clothes, purpose-made cartons for mirrors, pictures and TVs, and crates built to measure for the most fragile pieces. The shipment is handled at several points between your door and the new one, and the packing has to survive all of them.

Ask whether crating is included or charged separately, and how the inventory works. Every carton should be numbered and listed, with the condition of furniture noted, and you should get a signed copy.

Insurance in plain words: all-risk or total loss

Ask what insurance the mover can arrange. Two terms come up often:

• All-risk usually covers loss of or accidental damage to individual items, such as a cracked table top or a dented fridge. Exclusions vary by policy; a fridge that stops working with no outside damage is a common one.
• Total loss usually pays out only if the whole shipment is lost, for example if the ship sinks or the container is written off. Damage to single items is not covered.

Ask for the policy wording, not just a summary, and check four things: the excess you pay on each claim, how values are set (aim for the cost of replacing an item at the destination, not what it would fetch second-hand), when cover starts and ends, and whether boxes you pack yourself are covered. Our guide to insurance options for international moves from the UAE goes into more detail.

Who handles customs at both ends

An international move clears customs at both ends: leaving the UAE and arriving in the new country. On the UAE side, the goods leave under a customs export declaration, which a licensed clearing agent can file for you with your authorisation. Ask who will file it and what they need from you.

At the other end, the goods clear under the destination country's own rules, and those rules decide which documents you need and when. In the UK, for example, people claiming transfer of residence relief complete HMRC's form ToR1 before the goods are shipped, and the reference goes on the import declaration. Ask each mover:

• Who clears customs at the destination, and is it included in the quote?
• Which documents will they need from you, and by when?
• If customs inspects the shipment, who attends and who pays the inspection charges?

How storage works

If you need storage between homes, or for things you are leaving in the UAE, ask:

• Where is the warehouse, and does the mover run it or rent space elsewhere?
• Is it air-conditioned? Wood, leather, electronics and paper can be damaged by heat and humidity, which matters most for anything stored through the summer.
• Are goods kept in sealed containers or wooden vaults, or on open racks?
• How do you get something back out, how much notice is needed, and is there a charge each time?
• Is there an inventory going in and coming out, and is storage insured separately from the move?

Storage is not always worth paying for; here is when storage in Dubai makes sense.

Red flags to walk away from

• No survey, or a firm price over the phone or on WhatsApp from a room count.
• A deposit in cash only, or a request to pay into a personal account.
• A company name on the quote that does not match the trade licence.
• Vague destination handling, such as a promise that an agent will take care of everything, with no company named.
• No written inventory, terms and conditions or insurance wording.
• A total far below the others with no clear reason, or pressure to book today.

How to choose a moving company in Dubai: the short version

Book the mover that passes every check above: a current licence in the name on the quote, a survey before any price, an itemised quote with its exclusions, insurance you understand, named contacts at both ends and a storage plan you have seen.

At Seemleius, every move starts with a free in-home or video survey in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, and the quote itself is free and itemised. One coordinator looks after the move from the survey to delivery, and abroad a destination partner handles customs clearance and delivery. If you would like to put these questions to us, ask for a free quote and compare it with the others.

Frequently asked questions

How many moving companies should I get quotes from?

Three is usually enough. What matters more is that each company sees the same home and quotes for the same list of items, so you compare like with like.

Is a video survey as accurate as a home visit?

It can be, if you show everything: inside wardrobes and cupboards, the storeroom, the balcony, the garage and the garden, and say clearly what is staying. A surveyor can only price what they see.

Are boxes I pack myself covered by the insurance?

Often not, or only in part. Many policies cover cartons you pack yourself on narrower terms than crew-packed ones, for example only if the whole carton is lost, or with a higher excess. Ask before you pack anything and get the answer in writing.

Why are two quotes for the same move so different?

Start with the estimated volume: if one company has your home at a much smaller volume, ask why. Then compare what each quote includes at the destination and what it lists as excluded. The difference is often there rather than in the headline figure.