Scope & ownership
- Who is the one person accountable from walkthrough to handover?
- Did you walk the space, or is this estimate sight unseen?
- What is excluded, in writing?
- Where does each category of item go?
VENDOR SELECTION GUIDE
How to Choose an Office Decommissioning Company: Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Quotes for an office exit rarely price the same job. Here is what to ask about building rules, insurance, licenses, cabling and disposition, so you can compare bids on what decides the landlord’s sign-off.
By Joel NielsenPublished · 6 min read
Most bad office exits were bought on price
Three quotes come in. One is clearly cheapest, so it wins. Two weeks later the building rejects the certificate of insurance, the freight elevator is booked by another tenant, nobody priced the abandoned cabling, and the e-waste is still in the server room on handover day.
The cheapest quote usually prices the trucks and the labor. It rarely prices the exit: the building’s rules, the lease’s surrender terms, where every item ends up, and the paperwork that proves it. That is where the extra cost hides.
Here is how to compare office decommissioning companies on the things that decide whether the landlord signs off.
Start with the building, not the vendor
Before you request a single quote, get two documents from your property manager: the building’s move-out rules and its vendor insurance requirements. Every serious bid depends on them, and they vary more than most people expect. Published building handbooks show the range:
- Timing. One San Francisco building’s moving rules require large moves to happen after hours, with 72 hours’ notice and a freight elevator booked through management.
- Protection. Several require Masonite floor protection, left in place until the project is complete, plus wall and corner protection.
- Labor. Some buildings in other major markets require union movers outright. The San Francisco example asks vendors to verify union affiliation if the owner requests it.
- Insurance. Requirements we reviewed commonly started at $1 million per occurrence in general liability, plus auto and workers’ compensation. One building required $5 million in liability coverage, which could be met with an umbrella policy. Most require the landlord and manager named as additional insureds, some by separate endorsement.
Hand every bidder the same documents. A quote built without them is a guess, and the vendor who guessed lowest is not necessarily the one who will clear the loading dock.
The questions that separate the bids
Ask every company the same questions, in writing. The answers are easier to compare than the prices.
Building & insurance
- Can you issue a COI in our building’s exact wording, with the required additional insureds?
- Do your limits meet the building’s, including umbrella?
- Who books the elevator and dock, and who is on site as the building contact?
Disposition & proof
- What will be resold, donated, recycled and landfilled?
- Who handles e-waste, and what certifications do they hold?
- What documentation do we receive at closeout?
Licenses and permits: what to ask for, and what not to
Office decommissioning sits between several licensing systems, and asking for the wrong credential is as common as not asking at all.
A household mover permit is not the test
California’s Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS) regulates household movers. Its rules are built around used household goods. A permitted household mover can also carry office furniture, and if it files a notice electing to do so, the Bureau does not regulate that work’s service, routes or prices, and its cargo insurance requirement does not apply. An office-only company may not hold a BHGS permit at all, and that alone does not tell you anything about its quality.
Trucks hauling for hire
The California DMV requires a Motor Carrier Permit for anyone transporting property for compensation, and for commercial vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more. Ask whether the trucks on your job run under the vendor’s permit or a subcontractor’s. California carriers also need a USDOT number, because the CHP requires one before it issues the CA number the permit depends on. DMV explains the permit.
Construction work needs a contractor’s license
California’s minor-work exemption covers jobs under $1,000 (raised from $500 on January 1, 2025), but it never applies to work that needs a permit, or to anyone who employs others on the job or advertises the work. In practice, any company sending a crew to do construction work needs a license from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), whatever the job size. On an office exit that typically matters for:
- Low-voltage cabling. CSLB’s C-7 Low Voltage Systems classification covers communication and low-voltage systems of 91 volts or less. Low-voltage fire alarm systems are excluded.
- Demolition. C-21 Building Moving/Demolition covers demolishing and removing structures.
You can look up any license, its classifications and its workers’ compensation status on the CSLB website. California Labor Code § 3700 requires every employer to secure workers’ compensation, so a crew with no coverage is a risk you are inheriting.
The cabling question
The electrical code’s abandoned-cable provisions require the accessible portion of abandoned communications and low-voltage cable to be removed unless it is tagged for future use. The 2025 California Electrical Code, based on the 2023 NEC, took effect January 1, 2026. Many leases add their own cabling clause on top. Ask each bidder who removes cabling, whether that party holds the right license, and how the landlord’s decision (stay or go) will be documented. Our ITAD & cabling page covers how we coordinate it.
Red flags in a decommissioning quote
The FTC and the federal motor carrier agency (FMCSA) publish red-flag lists for moving companies. They are written for household moves, but several apply directly to commercial work:
- An estimate given by phone or online without anyone seeing the space.
- A demand for cash or a large deposit before the work.
- Paperwork with blank spaces where prices, dates or signatures belong.
- No clear local address, registration or proof of insurance.
And a few specific to office exits:
- A lump sum for “clean out the office” with no list of exclusions.
- “We’ll figure out the e-waste” with no named recycler and no certificate format.
- No answer to where furniture ends up, or no receipts offered for it.
- A schedule that does not mention the building’s move windows or the final walkthrough date.
Sources: FTC consumer alert, FMCSA red flags.
Compare documentation, not just price
The landlord’s walkthrough is the finish line, and the closeout file is how you prove you crossed it. Ask each bidder for a sample of what you will receive at the end:
- Dated before-and-after photos of every room, from matching angles.
- Disposition records: what was resold, donated, recycled and landfilled, with receipts.
- Certificates of destruction for data-bearing devices, listed by serial number.
- A written record of the landlord’s cabling and alterations decisions.
A company that cannot show you a sample probably does not produce one. Two leases rarely read the same, and restoration obligations can be expensive. A New York real estate law firm warns that landlords can recover the cost of doing what the tenant should have done, so the paper trail is not a formality.
Office decommissioning vendor scorecard
Run every bidder through the same list. Check items off on screen, or print one copy per vendor.
General planning guidance, not legal advice. Your lease, your building’s rules and your counsel or broker decide what is required.
Where we fit, and where we do not
We walk the space, build a written scope from your lease and the building’s rules, and run the exit as one accountable project: removal, disposition, building coordination and a closeout file you can hand the landlord. See our office decommissioning process and lease exit & landlord handover.
Licensed trade work, hazardous materials, wall repair, painting and professional cleaning are outside our scope. We flag them at the walkthrough and tell you who needs to do them. We do not give legal advice.
Common questions
What should I ask an office decommissioning company before hiring them?
Ask who is accountable from walkthrough to handover, whether they walked the space, what is excluded in writing, whether they can issue a COI in your building’s exact wording, where each category of item will go, who handles e-waste and what documentation you get at closeout.
Does an office mover need a household goods license in California?
Not for office-only work. The Bureau of Household Goods and Services regulates household movers, and carriers that move only offices fall outside its permit. Trucks hauling for hire still need a DMV Motor Carrier Permit, which requires a USDOT number.
Does the company need a contractor’s license?
For construction work, yes. The under-$1,000 minor-work exemption does not apply to anyone who employs a crew or advertises, or to work that needs a permit. That commonly covers low-voltage cabling (CSLB C-7) and demolition (C-21). Check the license, its classifications and workers’ compensation status on the CSLB website.
What insurance do buildings require from move-out vendors?
It varies by building. Requirements we reviewed commonly started at $1 million per occurrence in general liability plus auto and workers’ compensation, and one required $5 million in liability coverage, usually with the landlord and manager named as additional insureds. Get your building’s own requirements first.
Why are office decommissioning quotes so different?
Because they often price different jobs. One may include building protection, after-hours labor, cabling coordination, e-waste certificates and closeout documentation, and another may price only trucks and labor. Compare the written scope and exclusions, not just the total.
Comparing bids for an office exit? Bring the building rules to the walkthrough.
Related: Cost Guide · Office Exit Checklist
