How to Add a Sim to Your Household in The Sims 4: Move In, Transfer, CAS and the Add to Family Cheat

To add a Sim to your household in The Sims 4 without cheats, use Ask to Move In (Friendly interactions) on a Sim your Sim is good friends with, or marry them. To add any Sim at all, open Manage Households and use Transfer Sims Between Households, or edit your household to create a brand new Sim in Create a Sim. The fastest way is the cheat route: type testingcheats true, Shift-click the Sim and choose Add to Family. A household can never hold more than 8 Sims and pets together.

Quick answer: every way to add a Sim

1. Ask to Move In (no cheats)

This is the normal gameplay way and it keeps every relationship intact.

1. Build a solid friendship with the Sim first. The interaction does not show up for acquaintances.
2. Click the Sim and open Friendly.
3. Choose Ask to Move In.
4. Pick whether they move in with you, or your household moves in with them.

Two things to know: the Sim usually brings their own young children along, so you need free slots for them too, and the total can’t go above 8. If the option is missing, the friendship is too low or your household is already full. Our guide to increasing friendship shows the fastest ways to get there, and the romance guide covers the route through dating and marriage.

2. Marriage or adoption

When your Sims get married, you choose who moves where, just like with Ask to Move In. For children, use the phone or computer: Household > Adopt > Adopt a Sim. Each adoption costs §1,000 and you choose from a pool of newborns, infants, toddlers and children. The parent leaves the lot and comes back with the child after a while, and you can rename the child when they arrive.

3. Manage Households: transfer any Sim

This works for any Sim in the save, played or unplayed, and needs no cheats.

1. Open Manage Worlds (the map icon in the top left corner, or F5).
2. Click Manage Households.
3. Select your household and choose Transfer Sims Between Households.
4. Pick the other household on the opposite side and move the Sim across. You can also split a Sim off into a brand new household from here.
5. Confirm with the checkmark.

Townies and NPC Sims live in the Other Households tab. A few special Sims (for example the Grim Reaper) can’t be edited or moved this way. If you want the Grim Reaper, see how to marry the Grim Reaper.

4. Create a brand new Sim for your household

In Manage Households, select your household and choose to edit it. That opens Create a Sim with your whole family, and you can add a new Sim with the plus button. Here you can also make them a sibling, child or parent of an existing Sim with the relationship options. If you want to change relationships later, see how to edit relationships.

The cheat cas.fulleditmode is not needed to add a Sim. It is useful when you also want to change things CAS normally locks, such as traits on an existing Sim. Type it in the cheat console, then Shift-click your Sim and pick Modify in CAS.

Video: Matinee shows the Manage Households method step by step.

5. Merge a Sim from the Gallery or My Library

Saved Sims and Gallery downloads can join your current family without cheats:

1. Play the household you want to add the Sim to.
2. Open the Gallery and switch to My Library (or find the Sim in the Gallery).
3. Select the Sim or household and choose Merge Household With Current Household.

The 8 Sim limit applies here too. If the merged household is too big, the game won’t let you place it.

6. The cheat: Add to Family

This is the quickest way to grab a Sim you just met.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + C (Mac: Cmd + Shift + C) to open the cheat console.
2. Type testingcheats true and press Enter. Close the console with Esc.
3. Invite the Sim over, or walk up to them, so they are on your lot.
4. Hold Shift and click the Sim.
5. Choose Add to Family.

The Sim joins at once with their traits, skills and relationships. It does not work if your household already has 8 members. On consoles, cheats are opened with all four shoulder buttons at the same time.

The 8 Sim limit (and pets)

A household in The Sims 4 holds at most 8 members, and cats, dogs and horses count toward that number. The limit is built into Manage Households and Create a Sim, so you can’t add a ninth member by merging, transferring or moving in. To make room, move someone out first with Transfer Sims Between Households.

The only way past 8 is a mod. MC Command Center by Deaderpool can move Sims into households of any size, and pet players can look at the My Pets mod. Big households slow the game down on older PCs, so save before you try. Check the mod status page after every patch before you load a save that depends on a mod.

FAQ

Can I add a Sim to my household without cheats?

Yes. Ask to Move In, marriage, adoption, Manage Households (Transfer Sims Between Households) and merging from My Library all work without cheats or mods.

Why is Ask to Move In not showing up?

Your Sim needs a good friendship with the other Sim first, and there must be room for them (and any young children they bring) under the 8 member limit. Raise the friendship or free up a slot and try again.

Do Sims keep their relationships when they move in?

Yes. Moving or transferring a Sim keeps their friendships, romance and family tree. Deleting a Sim is different: that removes them from the family tree for good, so transfer instead of deleting.

Can I have more than 8 Sims in a household?

Not in the base game. Pets count toward the 8. You need a mod such as MC Command Center to go higher.

How do I make a new Sim related to my family?

Edit your household from Manage Households, add the new Sim in Create a Sim, and set their relationship (sibling, child, parent and so on) before you leave CAS.

Does Add to Family work on console?

Cheats work on console too: open the cheat box by holding all four shoulder buttons and type testingcheats true. If you’d rather avoid cheats on console, Manage Households and Ask to Move In work exactly as on PC.

Can teens live in a household on their own?

Yes, with some limits. Read can teens live alone in The Sims 4 before you move one out.