Household Goods (HHG) Shipment

Orders to a new base come with a benefit most people underuse: the Air Force will move your household for you, or pay you to do it yourself. Deciding how before that first set of orders lands can save thousands of dollars and weeks of stress. If you haven't seen the full PCS process, start there for the timeline and checklist.

The default: a government-arranged move

When most members PCS, they take a Government Move (an HHG shipment): the military hires and pays a Transportation Service Provider (TSP), a contracted moving company, to pack, haul, and deliver your belongings. It is the most common route because it takes the least personal effort and comes with claims protection if things get damaged.

Start at the TMO, and start early

Your move begins at the Transportation Management Office (TMO), sometimes called the Personal Property Office. Within days of getting orders, contact your base TMO to schedule counseling. That session, held in person, by phone, or through the Defense Personal Property System (DPS), is mandatory, and first-time movers must complete it before scheduling any shipment. You'll confirm your weight allowance, flag special items, receive authorization, and register in DPS to enter your move details and pick available dates.

Book as early as you can. Peak moving season runs mid-May through August, and locking in preferred dates in that window can take 3 to 12 weeks. For 2026, booking opens March 20, a month earlier than prior years (1).

The pre-move survey: what to flag

Before pack day the TSP schedules a pre-move survey, an inspection to estimate weight, gauge packing materials, and spot special items. If the movers haven't called within one week of your pack date, call your TMO immediately.

Have these categories sorted before the surveyor arrives:

• High-value items worth more than $100 per pound (jewelry, electronics, collectibles) must be declared on your inventory.
• Special-handling items: gun safes, pianos, grandfather clocks, hot tubs, motorcycles, large-screen TVs, pool tables.
• Professional Books, Papers, and Equipment (PBP&E, or Pro-Gear): work-related items that don't count against your weight allowance, up to 2,000 pounds for you and 500 pounds for your spouse (2).
• Condition: your home must be clean, uncluttered, and free of mold or pests. TSPs can refuse to enter unsafe conditions.

Pack day: their job and yours

Pack-out runs one to three days depending on household size, then loading. You or a designated stand-in must be present from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The crew supplies fresh materials, pads furniture, disassembles beds and large items (hardware goes in labeled bags), and builds an inventory with colored numbered stickers on every box and large item.

Your job is preparation. Set up a "Do Not Pack" area, a locked or taped-off room for what you carry yourself: medications, passports, PCS orders, legal documents, military records, and irreplaceable valuables. Disconnect electronics, pull flat-screen TVs off wall mounts, empty and defrost the refrigerator 24 hours ahead, and bring everything down from attics and crawl spaces, because movers won't go up there. Firearms must be made inoperable by removing the bolt or firing pin, with ammunition separated and guns out of safes.

One step protects you more than any other: before the packers arrive, photograph or video every room and valuable item with visible timestamps. Without that record, a damage claim is your word against the inventory sheet.

Weight allowances: know your number

Your rank and dependent status set how many pounds the government moves for free. Go over, and the excess comes out of your own pocket, roughly $100 or more per 100 pounds above the limit. These figures come from Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) Table 5-37 (2):

A few clarifications. "With Dependents" means you have at least one dependent eligible to travel at government expense; having more doesn't raise the allowance. Pro-Gear (up to 2,500 combined pounds for you and your spouse) and required medical equipment ship separately and don't count. A gun safe up to 500 pounds may be excluded if your total shipment stays under 18,000 pounds.

Vehicles never count here. Cars, RVs, campers, and trailers can't go in an HHG shipment or a PPM weight calculation at all. Overseas moves use the separate POV shipment program, and for a CONUS move you drive the vehicle yourself and collect mileage.

To estimate, a rough rule is 1,500 pounds per room plus major appliances. The USTRANSCOM weight estimator breaks it down by item category, so you get a realistic projection before pack day. If you come in over, expect to sell or donate before the movers arrive rather than pay the overage.

Getting your things to the new base

CONUS moves

For moves inside the lower 48, your TSP sets a Required Delivery Date (RDD) based on distance and scheduling. The company must give 24-hour notice and attempt to reach you at least twice, six hours apart, before arriving between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. At delivery the crew unpacks cartons, places items in the rooms you designate (one placement only), reassembles what they took apart, and hauls off the debris. They will not connect appliances, go into attics, or reposition items twice. Direct them to the right room the first time.

OCONUS moves

Overseas moves run longer and split in two. Your main HHG shipment travels by boat, usually 6 to 8 weeks or longer (3). For the gap, you're authorized Unaccompanied Baggage (UB), up to 2,000 pounds for you plus 500 for your spouse, flown ahead to arrive in roughly 30 to 60 days. Pack UB with essentials: seasonal clothing, basic kitchen gear, key documents, whatever you'll need before the boat lands. The Living Overseas section covers the destination end, from customs restrictions to prohibited items.

When delivery slips

If the TSP misses its deadlines, you can file an inconvenience claim. The first seven days of delay pay 100% per diem with no receipts required; after seven days you must submit receipts to keep getting reimbursed.

If your new housing isn't ready, Storage-in-Transit (SIT) covers up to 90 days of temporary storage at your destination (2). Going past 90 days needs approval through your Transportation Office, and you may owe the excess storage cost.

When something gets broken: claims and deadlines

Damage happens even with professionals. The claims system makes you whole, but only with clean documentation and on a strict clock.

Sign nothing blank: DD Form 1840

The delivery driver hands you DD Form 1840, the "Joint Statement of Loss or Damage at Delivery," known as the pink form. As the truck unloads, check each item against the inventory and note any visible damage or missing items on the form before the driver leaves. You both sign it.

Never sign a blank or half-finished form, and never sign off until the truck is empty and you've inspected everything you can reach. Get the driver's signature before they go. This form is your first line of defense, and a signed blank copy is almost impossible to dispute later.

Damage you find later: DD Form 1840R

You have 75 calendar days from delivery to report damage discovered after the movers leave, using DD Form 1840R (the reverse side of Form 1840) (4). File it through DPS, documenting each item with descriptions, inventory numbers, damage details, photos, and purchase information. You can add supplemental reports within the window. Do not throw away damaged items until the claims office tells you to, since an inspector may need to see them in person.

The deadlines that actually bind

File first with the TSP to keep Full Replacement Value (FRV) eligibility (4). The TSP must acknowledge receipt within 15 days and may send an inspector, then provides an itemized offer for each damaged item that you can accept, counter, or reject. After 30 days with no resolution, move unsettled items to the Military Claims Office (MCO), which pays depreciated value immediately while it pursues FRV from the TSP.

The FRV window grew from 9 months to 12 months for shipments picked up on or after May 15, 2026 (earlier pickups keep the 9-month window). Miss it and you can still file with the MCO for depreciated value up to the 2-year absolute deadline; after two years, nothing is recoverable regardless of circumstances (4).

One more layer to consider: the government's FRV coverage is free, but some members buy private insurance for high-value items or a faster settlement. Private insurance isn't reimbursable. Since a PPM carries little claims protection, it's worth weighing if you're hauling valuables yourself.

The PPM: move yourself, keep the difference

A Personally Procured Move (PPM), formerly called a DITY move, hands you the reins. You arrange the transport (rental truck, moving container, commercial carrier, or your own vehicle), and the government reimburses you based on what the move would have cost them. Spend less than that, and you keep the difference.

When it pays off

PPM tends to reward smaller shipments, light furniture, and schedule flexibility. Single Airmen moving out of a dormitory often profit well, since their lightweight belongings cost far less to move than the government's calculated allowance. Long hauls help too, because reimbursement climbs with mileage.

Large, furniture-heavy households, OCONUS destinations where customs complications arise, or a plain lack of time and energy point back to a government move, which also provides the claims protection a PPM largely lacks.

How the money works

You receive 100% of the Government Constructed Cost (GCC), what the military would have paid a contractor for your shipment's weight and distance. Ask your TMO for a GCC estimate before you decide (5).

No weight tickets, no money

Without valid weight tickets you receive nothing. This rule has no exceptions. You need two certified tickets:

• Empty weight: your vehicle with a full gas tank, no passengers, no cargo.
• Full weight: the loaded vehicle with a full gas tank, no passengers.

Each ticket must show the weigh station's name, address, and phone number; the weigh master's signature; a legible weight and date; your name and rank; and the vehicle's identification (make and model, or rental number). Weigh at installation scales, CAT Scale stations, truck stops, or public weigh stations. The CAT Scale app finds the nearest certified scale on your route.

Advances and taxes

Before your move, you can request an advance of up to 60% of your estimated reimbursement to cover truck rentals, packing supplies, and fuel. Submit DD Form 2278 and SF 1038 to your finance office with your rental reservation. If your final reimbursement lands below the advance (say you overestimated weight), you repay the difference, so estimate conservatively.

PPM payments are taxable income. DFAS reports them on a separate W-2, often called a "Travel W-2." You can deduct eligible operating expenses (truck rental, packing materials, tolls, weighing fees) to shrink the taxable portion, so keep every receipt. Active-duty members remain among the only people who can still deduct unreimbursed moving expenses on federal taxes: file IRS Form 3903 using IRS Publication 3 (Armed Forces' Tax Guide) (6), where the moving mileage rate is 21 cents per mile for 2025 tax returns. The Travel W-2 often arrives later than your regular W-2, so wait for it before filing or you'll be amending your return.

Combination moves: split the load

A Combination Move blends both methods within one PCS: ship the heavy furniture through the government while you personally transport the electronics and valuables you'd rather control, for example.

Your total weight allowance doesn't change; you just divide it between the two move types. An E-5 with dependents has 9,000 pounds to work with and might put 7,000 into a government HHG shipment while running 2,000 as a PPM in a rental trailer. The government pays the HHG portion directly and reimburses the PPM portion based on its weight and distance.

It fits when you have high-value or irreplaceable items you don't want strangers packing, when you need certain belongings on your schedule rather than the government's, or when peak-season backlogs make it worth shouldering part of the load yourself. Coordinate closely with your TMO so weight is documented and allocated correctly; the PPM portion needs its own separate weight tickets.

What changes by component

Active duty. You receive full PCS entitlements when ordered to a new duty station for 20 or more weeks: government-funded HHG shipment, PPM authorization, Dislocation Allowance, Temporary Lodging Expense, and per diem. The PCS Process Overview breaks down the financial side.

Air Force Reserve. Drill Status Reservists, the traditional members attending monthly drills, are not authorized a government-funded PCS move and use personal funds if they relocate; see Reserve and Guard Pay. Active Guard Reserve (AGR) members serve full-time and receive identical entitlements to active duty for their contract duration, including full HHG and PPM authorization.

Air National Guard. Title 10 AGR members (federal active duty status) receive full PCS entitlements matching active duty. Traditional Title 32 members are limited: a PCS requires orders to a duty station more than 50 miles from your home of record or previous duty station, and more than one PCS move per fiscal year generally requires special approval. See Guard and Reserve-Specific Benefits.

The moving system is mid-overhaul

The DoD's household goods program is in transition. In June 2025 the DoD terminated its $17 billion Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) with HomeSafe Alliance after the contractor failed to meet performance requirements (7), and all moves reverted to the legacy Tender of Service (ToS) program managed through DPS. In January 2026 the Secretary of Defense established the Personal Property Activity (PPA), a permanent Pentagon oversight unit at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois (8). It stood up on May 1, 2026 and absorbed the former PCS Joint Task Force.

For you, the basics hold: TMO counseling, DPS booking, TSP packing and delivery remain the standard. Procedures may evolve as the PPA implements improvements, so your TMO stays the most current word on how your specific move will work. If you hit a problem, the PPA Call Center is 833-MIL-MOVE (833-645-6683), Monday through Friday, 0800 to 1700 Central Time (1); Military OneSource also runs 24/7 PCS support at 800-342-9647.