Moving to Houston Checklist: Your First 90 Days | Sandpiper

A move to Houston comes with a set of deadlines nobody sends you in writing. The state gives you 30 days to register your car and 90 days to swap your driver's license. Harris County wants an emissions test first. And if you spend your first weeks in a hotel, a 17% tax lands on every night.

None of it is hard. The problem is that it arrives all at once, in the same month you are starting a job, learning the freeways and unpacking. Miss one deadline and you are paying late fees or driving on an out-of-state license you are no longer allowed to use.

This moving to Houston checklist puts every step in the order it comes due, with the office you actually deal with and the mistakes we see newcomers make most. Work through it once and your first 90 days stay about the new job, not the paperwork.

At Sandpiper Homes, we place relocating professionals into furnished mid-term homes across Houston, so these are the questions our team answers after every move-in. If you are still deciding where to live, start with our guide to relocating to Houston for work.

Get the biggest item off your list first → Browse furnished Houston homes with Sandpiper Homes

Your 90-Day Deadlines at a Glance

When	Task	Where you handle it
Before you arrive	Lock in housing for at least 30 days; confirm renters insurance	Your landlord or housing provider
Week 1	Get a toll tag (EZ TAG, TxTag or TollTag)	Harris County Toll Road Authority or app
Week 1	Set up electricity if it is not bundled	A retail provider of your choice
By day 30	Texas auto insurance, emissions inspection, then vehicle registration	Inspection station, then the Harris County Tax Office
By day 90	Texas driver's license	Texas Department of Public Safety
Before any purchase	Look up the exact property tax rate for the address	Harris County Appraisal District

General information only, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so confirm each step with the agency linked above.

Before You Arrive: Housing, Hotel Tax and Insurance

Lock in housing before anything else

Every other step on this list needs an address: registration, your license, insurance, even your toll account. A furnished home you can move into with luggage gives you that address on day one without committing to a neighborhood you have not driven yet. If you have not narrowed the area down, our Houston neighborhood guide compares every major district by commute and rent.

Why does a 30-day stay change your hotel tax?

Hotels and short stays in Houston carry a combined 17% hotel occupancy tax: 6% state, 7% city, 2% county and 2% for the county sports authority. On a $150 night that is about $25.50 in tax alone.

Texas treats anyone who stays 30 or more consecutive days as a permanent resident, and permanent residents are exempt from state and local hotel tax. According to the Texas Comptroller, if you give written notice up front that you will stay 30 days or longer, the exemption applies from the first night. Without notice, you pay tax for the first 30 days and are exempt after that.

Watch for: if you book temporary housing, put the 30-day intent in writing at booking. It is a two-line email that can save you hundreds of dollars.

Renters insurance, and why flood is separate

Most landlords and furnished providers require renters insurance, and you will want it anyway. The detail newcomers miss is that a standard renters policy almost never covers flood damage.

Heavy tropical rain can flood streets in Houston well outside mapped flood zones. Renters can buy contents-only flood coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program, but NFIP policies usually have a 30-day waiting period before coverage starts. If you want it, buy it the week you sign, not the week a storm is forecast.

Your First 30 Days: Tolls, Utilities and Your Car

Get a toll tag in week one

Houston's toll roads, including Beltway 8, the Westpark Tollway, the Hardy Toll Road and the Grand Parkway, are built around electronic tags. The local tag is the EZ TAG, issued by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. Texas tags are interoperable, so a TxTag from Austin or a TollTag from Dallas also works here, and an EZ TAG works statewide.

Moving from out of state, open an account before your first commute. Driving without a tag means billing by mail at higher rates plus fees. For what tolls actually add to a monthly budget, see what a furnished apartment in Houston really costs.

Set up electricity (or confirm what is bundled)

Houston's electricity market is deregulated, so you choose your own retail provider if your rent does not include power. Most furnished homes bundle utilities instead, often with a monthly usage cap. Either way, sort it out before summer. Our Houston cost guide covers summer bills and utility caps in detail.

Register your car within 30 days

New residents have 30 days to register an out-of-state vehicle, according to the Texas DMV. In Harris County the order matters, because each step depends on the one before it:

1. Get Texas auto insurance. You need proof of current coverage to register.
2. Pass an emissions inspection. Texas ended annual safety inspections for most non-commercial vehicles in January 2025, but Harris County is still one of the counties that require an emissions test. Any certified inspection station in your new county can do it.
3. Register at the county tax office. Bring your inspection report, proof of insurance, your out-of-state title or registration, photo ID and a completed Form 130-U. Fees vary by county, so check before you go.

Watch for: inspection comes before registration, not after. Newcomers who show up at the tax office first get sent away.

Need a Houston address you can register with? → Find a furnished Houston home with Sandpiper Homes

By Day 90: Your Texas Driver's License

Driver's licenses in Texas are handled by the Department of Public Safety, not the DMV. New residents must get a Texas license within 90 days of moving, and you surrender your out-of-state license when you do.

Book an appointment early. Houston-area DPS offices can be booked out for weeks, and a 90-day deadline disappears quickly once you are working. Bring proof of identity, your Social Security number, two documents showing your Texas address, and proof of registration and insurance for any vehicle you own. A lease from your furnished home usually counts as one proof of residency.

What Does Texas Tax Mean for You?

Is it true Texas has no state income tax?

Yes. Texas does not tax personal income, and voters added a ban on a personal income tax to the state constitution in 2019, which makes reversing it very difficult. If you are moving from California, New York or Illinois, the difference shows up in your first paycheck.

How much should you budget for property tax?

This is where most relocation articles go wrong: they quote one confident percentage for Harris County. The real number depends on the address, because property tax here is several overlapping bills, not one:

• Stacked taxing units. County, city, school district, flood control, hospital district, port authority and community college can all tax the same home.
• Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs). Many newer suburban neighborhoods add a MUD levy on top, which is why new builds often carry the highest combined rate.
• Exemptions. In November 2025, Texas voters raised the homestead exemption from school taxes from $100,000 to $140,000 of a home's value. See the Texas Comptroller's exemptions guide for current rules.

Before you make an offer anywhere, look up the exact combined rate for that address with the Harris County Appraisal District and ask whether a MUD applies. If you are renting, property tax only reaches you indirectly through rent, which is one more reason to rent first while you learn which submarkets carry the heaviest bills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do renters pay property tax in Houston?

Not directly. Renters never receive a property tax bill; the owner pays it and it is built into rent. What renters can avoid is hotel tax. Houston's combined hotel occupancy tax is 17%, but a stay of 30 or more consecutive days is exempt, from the first night if you give written notice when you book.

How long do I have to register my car after moving to Houston?

You have 30 days from moving to Texas to register your vehicle. In Harris County you first need Texas auto insurance and a passing emissions inspection, then you register at the Harris County Tax Office with your title or registration, ID and Form 130-U.

Does Harris County still require a vehicle inspection?

Texas ended annual safety inspections for most non-commercial vehicles in January 2025, but Harris County still requires an emissions inspection. Your car must pass it at a certified inspection station before you can register or renew your registration.

How long do I have to get a Texas driver's license after moving?

New residents must get a Texas driver's license within 90 days of moving. Licenses are issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, not the DMV. Book an appointment early, since Houston-area offices can fill up weeks in advance.

What is the difference between an EZ TAG, TxTag and TollTag?

They are toll tags from different Texas authorities: EZ TAG from Harris County, TxTag from the state and TollTag from North Texas. All three are interoperable, so any of them works on Houston toll roads. If you are arriving from out of state, an EZ TAG is the local option.

Do I need flood insurance as a renter in Houston?

It is not usually required, but it is worth considering. Standard renters policies rarely cover flood, and Houston streets can flood outside official flood zones. Renters can buy contents coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program, which usually has a 30-day waiting period, so buy it early.

Get the Paperwork Done in Month One

Almost everything on this checklist comes due inside your first 90 days, and most of it depends on having a Houston address. Lock in housing first, get your toll tag in week one, pass the emissions test and register the car inside 30 days, and book your DPS appointment early.

Do it in that order and the paperwork is done before the new job gets busy. For the bigger picture on choosing a hub and a neighborhood, go back to our guide to relocating to Houston for work.

Start with the address everything else depends on → Browse furnished Houston homes with Sandpiper Homes