Published December 24, 2020
Planning for a Move
Moves start with Orders. Your moving process will begin with the travel orders you receive. In those orders, information describing your rank, duration of job and/or training, your new assigned location will determine if your entire dependent family will be able to come, what you're permitted to bring, and how your items will arrive to the new location. Your local personal property office is the best place to go to help you understand your orders as they pertain to moving.
Your PCS, or permanent change of station, is going to tell you where you're being assigned for 20+ weeks. You should be allowed a full household move if you choose! Temporary duty, or TDY, is when you are just temporarily assigned to a new location, generally over 31 days but less than 20 weeks. It is common that you only bring a small subset of your household belongings with you as you travel to that new location.
Your new destination matters.
When you're moving for a PCS or TDY, you have a choice as to how your household goods will be transported from the previous assigned location to the new one. You have two options for a move: CONUS or OCONUS. If your move is considered "CONUS", you will be moving within the 48 contiguous U.S. States. If your move is "OCONUS", you will be moving internationally, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Once you have figured out what type of move (PCS or TDY) and your new location (CONUS or OCONUS), you will have to decide how your belongings will be shipped to your new destination. Most service members doing a CONUS PCS have the option of a Partial DITY and a Full DITY. If you choose, you can move your prized possessions and have the military move the bulk of your belongings! If you have questions about types of movements, your local personal property office is the place to go.
Rank is an important factor in your job/travel orders. It is what determines how much weight and moving allowance you are allowed to take to your new location. Generally speaking, as your rank increases, so does your moving allowance. Any cost to move items about a service member's given allowance will be charged to the service member after delivery.
Additionally, you will need to plan for pets. Regardless if you choose to fly or drive to your next duty station, you should plan ahead to make the trip smooth for your furry companions. Questions about moving your pet under a PCS can be answered by your Transportation Office. They are responsible for setting up your travel/PCS arrangements and can assist you on what is needed to move your pets.
Chart Below was Sourced from: https://move.mil/moving-guide#choose-how-to-ship-your-household-goods-move-types
Household Goods Move (HHG)
A Household Goods "HHG" move is a move completed by a government-furnished moving company, also called a Transportation Service Provider (TSP). During a HHG move, your transporter is responsible for packing all of your belongings and transporting them to your new location. If anything becomes lost or broken during your move, you can work with your transporter or the Military Claims Office to receive financial compensation for your items.
Approved for:
CONUSTemporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
OCONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
Personally Procured Move (PPM)
Think of a personally procured move (PPM) as a "Do-It-Yourself" move within the military. You will be responsible, for either packing/unpacking and transporting your belongings to your new location yourself or hiring your own commercial moving company. You can use a pod, U-Haul, or any other method of your choosing to conduct a PPM.
As an incentive to move yourself, the government will pay you 95% of their cost to hire a moving company on your behalf or perform your own move. If you can move your belongings yourself for less money, you get to keep the difference. Remember, this money is considered an incentive and is based on the household goods weight you actually transport, not to exceed your authorized weight allowance. If necessary, for most branches of Military Service you can receive an advance payment of up to 60% of the incentive value.
PPMs are especially recommended for any irreplaceable valuables you own (i.e. family heirlooms, photos, important documents, etc) or for necessities you will need immediately at your new location while waiting for your transporter to arrive.
Approved for:
CONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
OCONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
*PPMs for OCONUS Permanent Change of Duty Station Moves are generally reserved for situations where the government does not have the resources to arrange a household goods move.
Did You Know: If the government cannot arrange a Household Goods (HHG) move within the timeframe requested, you can do a PPM and in some cases receive reimbursement of the actual cost associated with hiring a commercial moving company if approved in advance by your military service.
Unaccompanied Baggage (UB)
Unaccompanied baggage (UB) is an option for shipments where a small subset of your total weight allowance is expedited to your new location, typically while you wait for the rest of your belongings to arrive at a later date.
Approved for:
CONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
OCONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) Shipment/Storage
In general, if you are traveling overseas (OCONUS), the government will pay to ship one POV to your new location, but you will need to arrange for it to be dropped off at the designated drop-off center before departing. (Note: There may be some overseas bases, such as in Japan, where it is not possible to have a car. In these cases, the government will pay to store your POV stateside for the length of your tour.)
If you are travelling within the 48 contiguous states, the government requires you to drive your car to your new location or to pay for shipment at your own expense. The government will reimburse you for the mileage as well as any toll expenses you encounter along the way, so be sure to save receipts/tickets. In some cases, service members may be able to get a waiver to allow for vehicle shipment if a medical condition prevents them from sitting for long distances or if the report date makes it geographically impossible to drive with the allotted period of time.
Privately Owned Vehicle Shipments (POV) can be booked at PCSMyPOV.
Approved for:
CONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
OCONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
Non-Temporary Storage (NTS)
Non-temporary storage (NTS) is long-term storage of your belongings used generally instead of shipping your items to your new duty station. Expect the storage location to be located near the origin (pickup) location where items may remain for the duration of your tour. When you return and have established a new address, you can request retrieval and shipment of your stored belongings. There may be restrictions on CONUS NTS, so be sure to contact your local personal property office if you have any questions.
Approved for:
CONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS), exceptions may apply
OCONUS
Temporary Duty (TDY)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
