Your First 30 Days in Houston, Texas: The New Resident Checklist

Do this first, ideally before you arrive. Houston's market is deregulated, so head to PowerToChoose.org, the PUCT's official site, filter for a fixed-rate plan, and check the price at the usage level closest to yours. The delivery utility is CenterPoint Energy regardless of which provider you choose, and they're who you call if the lights go out. Allow five to seven days for the connection, and don't sign a long contract for a home you might leave in a month. The full strategy lives in our Texas electricity guide.

Inside city limits, water and sewer come from Houston Public Works (you'll pay online at houstonwaterbills.org). In many suburbs, though, your water is billed by a MUD instead, so check your specific address rather than assuming. Natural gas is typically delivered by CenterPoint Energy as well, so if your home has gas heat, a gas range, or a gas water heater, get that account opened too.

Coverage varies block by block in Houston, with fiber in many neighborhoods and cable nearly everywhere. The catch is scheduling: install windows fill up, so the sooner you book, the sooner you're online. Check which providers actually serve your exact address before you settle on a plan, and if you work from home, ask about upload speed, not just download.

Inside the city, the Solid Waste Management Department handles garbage, recycling, and heavy trash on a set schedule, and you can look up your days and your green-bin recycling rules by address on the City of Houston site. Many suburbs and HOA communities contract a private hauler instead, in which case service may already be bundled into your rent or dues. Either way, find your day and where the bins go before the first collection.

Start the forward at the USPS official change-of-address site. Doing it online costs a small identity-verification fee; doing it in person at the Post Office is free. Forwarding buys you a cushion, but it's a bridge, not a fix, so still update your bank, employer, insurer, and subscriptions with the new address. Watch for copycat sites that charge more; the link above is the real one.

Signed a lease without checking? Do it now. Pull your parcel on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and on Harris County's MAAPnext. Renters, take note: your landlord's policy covers the building, never your belongings, and standard renters insurance excludes flood. A separate NFIP policy has a 30-day waiting period, so the sooner you decide, the sooner you're actually covered.

Texas ended the annual safety inspection for non-commercial vehicles on January 1, 2025 (HB 3297). You now pay a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee at registration instead. An emissions test is still required before you register in the metro emissions counties.

Harris is one of the state's emissions counties, so that emissions test is the piece you can't skip before registering. Most service stations and many shops are certified to do it. Get it done first, because you'll need the result to register the car.

Texas gives you 30 days to register a vehicle you bring into the state, and you do it through the Harris County Tax Office. Bring proof of insurance that meets the Texas minimum, your passed emissions result, proof you own the vehicle, and your ID. Heads up on cost: there's a $90 new-resident use tax if you apply within that 30-day window, separate from the registration fee. The state's checklist for new arrivals is the TxDMV New to Texas page, and we keep a plain-English version at Texas vehicle registration.

Your license is on a different clock: 90 days. It's the Texas DPS that issues licenses, not the tax office or TxDMV, so don't waste a trip to the wrong counter. Good news for most transfers: you take a vision test only, with no road test and no written exam. Book a slot at the DPS scheduler before you go, because walk-in waits can be brutal. Full requirements are on the Texas DPS new-resident page, and our Texas driver license guide lists exactly what to bring.

Handle this alongside the car, because you need it before you can register. Texas's minimum liability is 30/60/25, which means $30,000 of bodily injury per person, $60,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage. Tell your insurer you've moved so the policy is rated for Texas and your new address; just porting an out-of-state policy can leave you underinsured or non-compliant. Many drivers carry more than the minimum, and it's worth pricing.

Texas closes voter registration 30 days before an election, so don't sit on this. You register through the Harris County voter registrar, and you can start at VoteTexas.gov. Getting your Texas driver license is a natural moment to do it, since you can often handle both in the same stretch.

Here's the unglamorous stuff that's easy to forget. Find a primary-care doctor and a dentist, move your prescriptions to a nearby pharmacy, and request your records from your old providers. Got pets? Update their tags and microchip registry with the new address, and find a local vet. With kids, enrolling usually means proof of residence, immunization records, and a transcript or prior report card, so request those from the old district early. Your exact address decides the district, Houston ISD or one of the suburban systems, and our Houston neighborhoods guide can help you understand which areas feed which schools.

If you bought a primary residence, this is the highest-value form you'll fill out all year. The Texas school-district homestead exemption knocks $140,000 off your home's taxable value, and owners who are 65 or older or disabled get an additional $60,000. You file it with HCAD, the Harris Central Appraisal District. The on-time deadline is April 30, but Texas lets you file late for up to about two years, so if you've missed it, still apply. Details are on the Texas Comptroller exemptions page, and we break down the math in our Texas property tax guide.

Set a reminder now for next spring. If your appraised value looks too high, you can protest it, and many Houston owners do, often successfully. The deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice arrives, whichever is later. You don't need to hire anyone to start; you can file directly with HCAD. The official walkthrough is on the Texas Comptroller protests page.

Let's be honest about Houston: it's a car city, and most newcomers drive. The local toll network is run by HCTRA, and an HCTRA EZ TAG gets you the toll-road rate and saves you from pay-by-mail surcharges, which add up fast if your commute uses the tollways. There's a statewide rundown in our Texas toll roads guide. Public transit does exist: METRO runs buses and the METRORail light rail with a base fare around $1.25, which is genuinely useful inside the core and to a few job centers, less so out in the suburbs. Check whether it actually fits your route before you count on it.

Arrived in spring or summer? Don't put this off. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and the time to prepare is before a storm is named, not after. Sign up for emergency alerts and look up your evacuation Zip Zone at ReadyHarris. Build a simple kit: a few days of water and non-perishable food, medications, flashlights, batteries, and copies of important documents. Know whether your area is one that evacuates or one that shelters in place, because in Houston that answer depends on where you live.

The legal checklist is done, so spend a little of week four just being here. Find your closest grocery store, the nearest park, your branch library. Houston's neighborhoods each have a strong character, and the fastest way to feel at home is to walk yours, try the food, and figure out your routine. Still deciding where you ultimately want to live? Our Houston neighborhoods guide is a good next read, and the Houston hub ties the rest together.