Moving to Laguna Beach Checklist

This is the full checklist. Each item is one action. Some items point to the first 30 days guide, which explains the utilities, permits and offices in more detail.

Six to eight weeks before the move

1. Confirm your move date against your closing or lease dates, and write down who has keys on which day.
2. Collect two recent documents with your new address, such as a utility bill, a lease or a mortgage statement. School enrollment asks for two proofs of residency, and parking permits ask for one: a utility bill, a pre-printed check, a car registration or a lease in your name.
3. Get quotes from at least three movers. Tell each one about stairs, steep driveways and narrow streets at the new address.
4. Request homeowners insurance quotes early. If you cannot get coverage from a regular insurer after shopping the market, the California FAIR Plan accepts applications through a licensed agent or broker.
5. Look up the new address on the city’s fire hazard severity zone map. Insurers use their own wildfire models to decide where they write policies and what they charge, so the map will not predict your premium.
6. Find your evacuation zone. The city divides Laguna Beach into 22 zones and recommends you download and print the map for yours.
7. Pick the truck’s parking spot. On a metered street, rent meter bags from the city (see four weeks before, and the parking guide for moving-day parking). On any other street, call Public Works at (949) 497-0711 and ask whether a truck or container needs a permit, because all work in the public right-of-way requires one.
8. List every utility at the new address and the provider for that area (listed under four weeks before).
9. Gather records for school enrollment, if anyone in your household will enroll. The district asks for a birth certificate, immunization records and the names of prior schools from the last two years.
10. Gather your dog’s rabies vaccination record. Laguna Beach requires a dog license, and the license application asks for proof of the vaccination.
11. Sort belongings into keep, sell and donate piles. If you are clearing out a home, CR&R provides temporary bins from 3-yard to 40-yard roll-offs at (949) 662-3819.
12. Measure large furniture against the doors, stairs and tight turns at the new home.
13. If you are buying in a Very High fire hazard severity zone, confirm that the seller’s defensible-space inspection report from the Laguna Beach Fire Department is in your disclosure packet. State law (AB 38) requires the seller to provide it for a one-to-four-unit home that needs a Transfer Disclosure Statement.
14. Back up your devices and photograph the contents of each room.

Questions for the seller or landlord

Ask these while the home is still in escrow or under negotiation, and write down the answers:

• Which providers serve the address, and when do the current accounts close?
• Which day does trash pickup run, and where do the carts live?
• Where do residents and guests park, and does the home come with any permit?
• Does an HOA or management company set move-in hours, elevator reservations or gate procedures?
• Has the home had a defensible-space inspection, and where is the report?

Four weeks before

1. Electricity: Southern California Edison serves central and North Laguna. San Diego Gas & Electric serves South Laguna. Start service online through SCE’s Move Center with your driver’s license or ID and Social Security number.
2. Gas: Southern California Gas serves the whole city.
3. Water: The Laguna Beach County Water District serves central and North Laguna. Call 949-494-1041, Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The district asks for proof of identity and may require a deposit if you cannot show 12 months of service in your name from a previous water provider. In South Laguna, the South Coast Water District provides water and sewer service, and you can start service online or at 949.342.1140.
4. Sewer: The city’s Water Quality Department handles sewer service everywhere except South Laguna.
5. Internet and phone: Cox provides cable and internet, and Frontier provides telephone service. Book the installation date now.
6. Mail: File a permanent change of address with USPS. Online requests need extra identity verification.
7. Book the meter bags, if you need them. A bag costs $25 per meter per weekday and $125 per meter for a weekend. The city places it between 6 and 7 a.m. and can tow any vehicle parked at a bagged meter. Call (949) 464-6645.
8. Tell your bank, insurers, employer and subscriptions your new address.
9. Cancel or transfer services at the old address.

Moving week

1. Confirm the movers’ arrival time and the parking spot.
2. Photograph the meters and the main shutoffs at both homes.
3. Pack one box of essentials: IDs, chargers, medications, tools, toilet paper and sheets.
4. Check that electricity, water and internet start on the day you expect. Keep the phone numbers from the list above on your phone.
5. Find the three carts at the new address: blue for recyclables, green for food scraps and yard waste, black for trash.
6. Look up your street’s pickup day on the city’s recycling page. Carts go to the curb no earlier than 7 p.m. the day before collection and come back by 6 a.m. the day after.
7. If you are moving into Bluebird Canyon, Canyon Acres or Diamond/Crestview, check the city’s Red Flag Parking page the day before. The city restricts parking in those neighborhoods when the National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning. You can register for alerts by texting LBREDFLAG to 888777.
8. Confirm keys, gate codes and garage openers for the new address.
9. Do a final walk-through of the old home with your phone camera running.

Moving day

1. Check that the meter bags are in place. If a vehicle parks at a bagged meter, the city can tow it.
2. Walk the new home with the movers before they unload and decide where large pieces go.
3. Keep your essentials box and valuables with you, not on the truck.
4. Flatten boxes as you empty them and check CR&R’s sorting guide for what goes in the blue cart. Leave oversized items for a bulky pickup.
5. Take a photo of each room as the movers leave.

First 30 days

The first 30 days guide explains each of these. In short:

1. Within 10 days: Notify the DMV of your new address if you already hold a California license. If you are new to California, apply for a California driver license within 10 days of becoming a resident.
2. Within 20 days: Register any vehicle that was registered in another state.
3. Register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov. The Orange County Registrar of Voters says online applications need at least 48 hours to process.
4. Get a library card at the Laguna Beach Library, 363 Glenneyre Street.
5. Sign up for the city’s weekly Community Newsletter by text: send 92651 to 888-777.
6. License your dog with the city. Licenses last one, two or three years. Note the summer beach rule: no dogs on city beaches from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., June 15 to September 10.
7. Apply for the parking permit that matches your address. You will need the proof-of-residency documents from the first list.
8. If you bought the home and live in it, file for the Homeowners’ Exemption. The Assessor sends new owners a pre-filled application, and the full $7,000 exemption requires filing by February 15.
9. Book the city’s free in-home wildfire consultation, where fire department staff advise on preparing the structure and landscape.
10. Use your four free bulky-item collections for the year, up to ten items each, by calling CR&R at (949) 662-3819.
11. Download the Laguna Beach Parking app and the Laguna Beach Trolley app. The parking app pays for parking by phone, and the trolley app tracks the trolleys in real time.

If your move falls in summer, the events guide lists the festival dates, and the parking guide covers permits and lots.

Selling a Laguna Beach home? The city requires a Real Property Report before the sale closes.