An office move involves far more than a few trips with boxes. On moving day, furniture needs to be dismantled, computers protected, archives packed, heavy items loaded, and everything arranged at the new location so that work can resume without delay. That's why there's no single honest answer to the question of how long an office move takes. A small office might be done in a single working day, while a larger company may need several days for both preparation and the move itself.
A realistic timeline can only be determined after an on-site assessment or a detailed inventory. Professional organizers don't promise arbitrarily short timeframes — they plan for the right number of people, appropriate transport, a logical loading sequence, and a specific handover time. This prevents downtime, missing boxes, and chaos on the first working day at the new address.
How long an office move takes based on size
A small office with up to 5–6 workstations, standard desks, chairs, a few cabinets, and a limited archive can typically be moved within a city in 4 to 8 hours. This applies when access to both buildings is straightforward, there is a lift available, and employees have packed their personal belongings and documents in advance.
An office with 10 to 25 workstations most often requires a full working day, and sometimes two. Time isn't spent solely on carrying items. Dismantling desks and shelving units, labelling boxes, securing monitors, and organizing individual workstations are all critical to getting operations back up and running quickly.
For larger offices with multiple departments, archive rooms, meeting halls, and specialized equipment, the timeline is typically between 2 and 5 days. In these cases, a good plan often involves a phased approach — for example, the archive and rarely used furniture are moved out in advance, while key workstations are relocated outside core working hours or over the weekend.
An intercity move adds time for transport, crew breaks, access to the new premises, and potential restrictions on heavy goods vehicles. For international relocations, the timeline also depends on the route, documentation, loading schedules, and the specific requirements of the destination country.
What actually extends the timeline
The number of employees doesn't always reflect the complexity of the job. An office with ten people but a large archive and a server room may take longer to move than an office with twenty workstations and minimal furniture.
The most common factors affecting the duration include:
- the volume of furniture, archives, and personal belongings;
- the floor level, and the availability and size of the lift;
- the distance between the old and new address;
- the need for dismantling, assembly, and rearrangement;
- sensitive, heavy, or non-standard equipment;
- parking regulations and loading/unloading zones;
- the time of the move and any building access restrictions.
Narrow corridors, small lifts, limited parking, or moving during peak traffic hours can all add significant time. The same applies to buildings with controlled access, where an external crew can only enter after being added to a pre-approved list within a specific time window.
Servers, UPS systems, professional printers, safes, archives containing confidential documents, and laboratory or medical equipment all require special attention. These items cannot be treated like ordinary boxes. They need proper packing, specialist handling, and clearly defined responsibility shared between the office manager, the IT team, and the moving company.
The timeline is more than just moving day
When planning how long an office move takes, preparation is often overlooked. It should begin at least 1–2 weeks in advance for a small office, and 3–6 weeks ahead for a larger one. This doesn't mean the office will be disrupted throughout that entire period — it simply means that everything must be organized before the truck arrives.
The first step is creating an inventory of furniture, equipment, and archives. Then it's time to decide what stays, what gets discarded, what goes into storage, and what needs to be set up immediately at the new address. This step saves the most time overall, as it prevents unnecessary items from being transported and avoids last-minute problem-solving.
Next comes the division of responsibilities. Every employee should know what they are personally responsible for packing, and which company assets will be handled by the moving crew. A good practice is to label boxes with the employee's name, department, workstation number, and contents. This way, you won't need to open dozens of boxes just to find a laptop, a charger, or a folder of contracts.
On moving day itself, time is divided across dismantling and packing, removal, transport, unloading, assembly, and positioning. If the client expects workstations to be fully set up — including desks and cabinets assembled according to a pre-agreed layout — this must be included in the quote. Simply unloading the truck does not mean the office is ready for work.
How to minimize disruption to your business
For many companies, the best option is to move after business hours or over the weekend. This isn't always the cheapest choice, but it's often more cost-effective than losing a full working day for the entire team. The decision depends on the nature of the business, client deadlines, and whether some employees can work remotely during the transition.
Don't leave the IT side of things until the last hour. Agree in advance on who will disconnect and label the equipment, how devices will be transported, and when the internet, network, and phones will be active at the new address. If workstations are numbered, every desk, monitor, and computer can be placed directly in the correct position rather than being moved again after unloading.
It also helps to prepare the new office in advance. Check vehicle access, lifts, loading entrances, parking availability, working lighting, and the overall readiness of the space. If painting, cleaning, or flooring work is finishing at the last minute, the risk of delays and damage to furniture increases significantly.
Why an on-site assessment gives a more accurate timeline
Photos and an approximate desk count are helpful, but they don't tell the full story. An on-site visit reveals whether cabinets will fit through doorways, whether any items need to be disassembled, how far the loading entrance is, and what size vehicle is appropriate. It also allows for an accurate assessment of how many movers are needed, so the job doesn't drag on due to an understaffed crew.
A thorough assessment is also essential for transparent pricing. An unrealistically low quote that excludes packing, dismantling, floor surcharges, or additional trips almost always leads to friction on moving day. A better approach is a clearly defined scope of work, specific services listed, and agreed terms set out in advance.
KOREKT manages office relocations from start to finish — including packing, dismantling and assembly, transport, heavy item handling, and temporary storage when needed. This is especially valuable when the office must vacate the old premises by a fixed deadline but the new space isn't quite ready yet.
A realistic plan brings peace of mind
A fast move doesn't mean a rushed one. The shortest possible timeline is achieved when the volume has been inventoried, access is secured, equipment is protected, and everyone knows where everything needs to go. Choose a moving company that asks the right questions, plans resources carefully, and takes responsibility for the entire process — that way, your new office will be ready to work in, not just full of boxes.
