Seller tool · Moving
Moving checklist, with utility contacts by parish
Start eight weeks out. Book movers, sort and pack, then schedule utilities to stop the day after closing at the old home and start the day before you arrive at the new one. Below is a week-by-week list and a table of utility providers for the main South Louisiana parishes, each linked to its official source.
Reviewed by the Nicole Spellman Group team
Updated September 27, 2026
Checklist
Eight weeks to moving day
Move dates slip. Build in a day or two of slack around closing.
8 to 6 weeks out
- Get quotes from two or three moving companies, or reserve a moving truck
- Sort each room: keep, sell, donate, toss. Plan a garage sale for what you will not move
- Collect records: home warranty, manuals, paint codes, spare keys and remotes
- Start a folder for closing papers and moving receipts
5 to 4 weeks out
- Book your mover and confirm the date in writing
- Buy boxes and packing supplies, and start packing rooms you use least
- Find your utility providers for both homes (table below)
- Transfer school or medical records if you need them
3 to 2 weeks out
- Call the utility companies to set up utilities: stop at the old home, start at the new one
- Change your address with USPS and your bank, employer and insurers
- Ask your insurance agent about coverage timing for both homes
- If you have flood insurance, ask about transferring it to your buyer before you cancel
Final week
- Confirm the mover, closing time and final walkthrough
- Pack an essentials box: important documents, chargers, medications, clothes, toiletries and tools
- Clean out the fridge, attic, shed and garage
- Leave anything the contract says stays with the home
Moving day
- Photograph each room empty
- Leave keys, openers and codes as agreed
- Take final meter photos if you can
- Lock up and check every window
After you move
- File for the homestead exemption on your new home
- Update your voter registration and driver's license address
- Keep your closing statement with your tax records
- Watch for final utility bills and deposit refunds
Useful links: USPS change of address; Louisiana Secretary of State, elections; Louisiana OMV; homestead exemption when you move.
Movers
Hiring movers, and moving day
Lock in your move date with the mover once your closing date is firm, and keep a day of slack on each side.
- Moving to another state? Interstate movers must be registered with the federal government and have a USDOT number. Check it on FMCSA’s search tool before you hire movers, and expect the booklet “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.”
- Moving within Louisiana? Get written estimates, ask what the price includes for large items and stairs, and confirm insurance for your belongings.
- Utilities in Baton Rouge and nearby parishes come from different companies depending on your address: Entergy or DEMCO for electricity, and Delta Utilities for gas in parts of the Baton Rouge area. See the table below.
- On moving day, keep your phone, keys, closing papers, medications and medical records with you, not on the truck.
- Moving to Louisiana from out of state? You have 30 days to transfer your license and register your car; see our moving to Louisiana checklist.
Sources: FMCSA, search for a registered mover; Entergy, gas business sold to Delta Utilities; DEMCO.
Who to call
Setting up utilities in Louisiana, by parish
Many parishes have more than one provider, and it can change street by street. Check your address with the provider, or ask your parish or city. Where we could not confirm a provider from an official source, we say so.
| Parish | Electric | Gas | Water and sewer |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge | Entergy Louisiana or DEMCO, by address | Delta Utilities (bought Entergy's Baton Rouge gas business) | Water: Baton Rouge Water Company for much of the metro. Sewer: City-Parish sewer user fee |
| Ascension | Entergy Louisiana or DEMCO, by address | Check with your parish or city | Water: Ascension Water Company or Ascension Parish Utilities, by address. Sewer: check with your parish or city |
| Livingston | DEMCO or Entergy Louisiana, by address | Check with your parish or city | Check with your parish or city |
| Lafayette | LUS in the City of Lafayette. SLEMCO serves parts of Acadiana. Check by address | Check with your parish or city | LUS water and wastewater in the City of Lafayette. Elsewhere, check with your parish or city |
| Orleans | Entergy New Orleans | Delta Utilities (bought Entergy New Orleans' gas business) | Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans |
| Jefferson | Entergy Louisiana | Check with your parish or city | Water: Jefferson Parish Water Department, East and West Banks. Sewer: check with your parish or city |
| St. John the Baptist | Entergy Louisiana | Check with your parish | St. John Parish Utilities, water and wastewater |
| Terrebonne | TPCG Utilities or Entergy Louisiana, by address | TPCG Utilities gas distribution in its service area; otherwise check with your parish | Water: Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Waterworks District. Sewer: check with your parish |
| Lafourche | Entergy Louisiana serves parts of the parish. Check by address | Check with your parish or town | Water: Lafourche Parish Water District No. 1. Sewer: check with your parish or town |
Sources are linked in each cell: provider and parish government websites; Entergy Louisiana parish outage report (Sept. 14, 2021) for parish presence; Entergy, sale of gas distribution business to Delta Utilities; Louisiana Public Service Commission utility links. Service areas change. Always confirm your address with the provider. Checked September 27, 2026.
Straight answers
Moving questions from sellers
When should I shut off utilities when I sell?
Schedule the stop for the day after closing, not before. The buyer's final walkthrough needs power and water on.
How do I know which electric company serves my new home?
Several South Louisiana parishes have more than one provider, such as Entergy Louisiana and DEMCO in Ascension and East Baton Rouge. Check the address with each provider or ask the seller for a recent bill.
Entergy · DEMCO
Who provides natural gas in Baton Rouge and New Orleans now?
Delta Utilities. It bought Entergy Louisiana's Baton Rouge gas business and Entergy New Orleans' gas business.
Entergy · Delta Utilities
When should I start packing?
About four to five weeks out, starting with rooms you use least. Book movers six to eight weeks out if you can.
What should I do after I move?
File for the homestead exemption on your new home, update your address with USPS, your voter registration and driver's license, and keep your closing statement with your tax records.
Keep going
Related seller tools
Next step
Planning a move?
We will help you line up closing and moving dates. No obligation.
General information, current as of September 27, 2026. Not legal, tax or insurance advice. Nicole Spellman Group agents are licensed Louisiana real estate salespersons, not attorneys, tax advisors or insurance agents. Utility providers and service areas change; confirm with the provider for your address. Nicole Spellman Group is not affiliated with any utility listed.