Moving Permit in Philadelphia: Costs, Application, and Timeline

A Philadelphia moving permit, officially a Temporary No Parking (TNP) permit from the Department of Streets, reserves curb space for your moving truck, pod, or dumpster. It costs $25 per 40 feet of space per day in most of the city and $50 per 40 feet per day in Center City and University City. You have to apply at least four full business days before your move, so this isn’t something you can arrange the night before.¹

What It Costs

Fees depend on what you’re putting on the street and which neighborhood you’re in.

Moving truck: $25 per 40 feet of space, per day in most of the city. $50 per 40 feet, per day in Center City and University City. Forty feet is roughly two standard parking spaces.¹
Moving container or pod: a flat $50 for up to five days.¹
Temporary dumpster: $40 for up to seven days. If the dumpster stays longer, you’ll need a separate permit from the Department of Licenses and Inspections.¹

The Center City and University City surcharge catches people out. A two-day truck permit near Rittenhouse or Penn’s campus runs $100; the same move in Fishtown or Manayunk is $50. Longer trucks and multi-vehicle moves need additional 40-foot blocks, each charged separately per day.

How to Apply

Applications go through the Streets Department’s online TNP portal. You’ll need the exact street address where the truck or container will park, the dates you need the curb space, and how much frontage you’re requesting. Include the moving truck’s license plate if you have it, though that’s often unknown when you file.²

Submit at least four full business days before your permitted dates. Weekends and holidays don’t count. For a Monday move, applying the previous Monday gives you four business days (Tuesday through Friday); applying on Tuesday of the same week does not.¹

Walk the block before you submit. You can’t reserve space in front of a fire hydrant, at a bus stop, or in other permanently restricted zones. If you request a location that doesn’t work, the application comes back asking for changes and eats into your lead time.

Invoice, Payment, Final Permit

You don’t pay when you submit. A reviewer at the Streets Department’s Right-of-Way (ROW) Unit processes the application and emails or calls you with either an invoice or a request for more information. The invoice includes a payment link where you can pay by credit card, debit card, or bank account. Once payment clears and a reviewer verifies it, your final permit is issued and you can print it.²

Three steps, three waits. That’s why four business days is a minimum, not a cushion. If the invoice lands in your spam folder on a Thursday and you see it Monday, you’ve lost most of your lead time.

Picking Up and Posting Signs

The printed permit alone doesn’t clear the curb. Take it to your local Police District headquarters, where officers give you physical “Temporary No Parking” signs. Post them on the reserved stretch of curb as soon as you get them, and no later than 24 hours before your move begins.¹

Signs posted the night before technically meet the rule, but posting two or three days ahead gives drivers time to see the notice and move. The longer they’re up, the better your odds of an empty space when the truck arrives.

If a Car Is in Your Space on Moving Day

If your signs were posted in advance and someone is parked in the reserved zone during your permit dates, call your local Police District. Officers can ticket the vehicle, and it may then be towed.¹

“If signs were posted in advance” is the whole game. The signs create the legal restriction. A permit in your glove compartment, without posted signs, gives police no basis to act. That’s the most common reason people lose their reserved space.

How Much Curb to Request

Each 40-foot block is about two standard parking spaces. A 26-foot rental truck fits inside one block with room for the loading ramp. A 53-foot trailer needs two blocks, and the fee doubles.²

Underestimating is worse than overestimating. If your truck and ramp need 50 feet and you only paid for 40, the overhang is unpermitted even though you did everything else right. Rounding up to the next block is cheap compared to a citation on moving day.

A Working-Backward Timeline

For a Saturday move, a safe sequence looks like this:

At least the prior Friday (seven or more days out): submit the online application. This builds a buffer past the four-business-day floor.
Monday through Wednesday: watch for the invoice, pay the moment it arrives, and wait for the final permit.
Wednesday or Thursday: print the permit, go to your Police District for signs, and post them.
Friday evening: walk the block and confirm the space is clear. If a car is still there, you have time to call the Police District that night or early Saturday.

Check your email and spam folder daily once you’ve applied, and reply to any request for more information the same day. The permit itself is straightforward; it’s the small gaps in the handoff between application, invoice, payment, and signs that turn a $50 permit into a ruined moving morning.

1
City of Philadelphia. Apply for a Temporary No Parking (TNP) permit
2
City of Philadelphia. Temporary No Parking for Moving Truck, Container Placement and Dumpster Placement