Military Car Shipping (PCS Moves): What to Know

If you’re PCSing and wondering what the military covers for your car, here’s the short version: driving your POV earns MALT mileage at $0.205 per mile in 2026, the government ships one POV at its expense for most OCONUS moves, and CONUS shipments can qualify for partial reimbursement under Joint Travel Regulations rules.

How the DOD Handles Your Car on a PCS

A PCS move comes with four main allowance buckets: household goods transportation, transportation of people and vehicles, Dislocation Allowance (DLA), and temporary lodging. Your car falls into the “people and vehicles” bucket — and the rules for it are completely different from the rules for your household goods.

The key document is the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), which governs all DOD-funded travel. The JTR treats your privately owned vehicle (POV) in two ways depending on where you’re going:

• CONUS to CONUS: the default assumption is that you drive. Reimbursement for shipping a car instead is allowed only in specific circumstances, and it’s structured as an allowance — not a blank check.
• CONUS to OCONUS (or OCONUS to CONUS): the government typically ships one POV at government expense through its own vehicle-shipping pipeline, separate from your household goods.

One important 2026 change: after the cancellation of the Global Household Goods Contract in June 2025, a new Personal Property Activity framework stood up at Scott Air Force Base on May 1, 2026. If you’re initiating a move now, the process for booking shipments has changed — contact your installation’s transportation management office before doing anything else. That office is your first stop, full stop.

CONUS Moves: Driving vs Shipping

For a move within the continental US, the JTR’s default is MALT — the Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation. In 2026, MALT pays $0.205 per mile for up to two POVs, with the official DOD mileage (not your odometer) determining the distance. You get paid whether you drive or not — the allowance is for the travel itself.

Now the part most people don’t know: the JTR (Chapter 5, Part E, Section 052902) says you may be paid the cost of driving your car from your old duty station to your new one even if you ship it instead. Here’s how that works, per a detailed breakdown of the military allowance for car shipping CONUS:

• Eligibility: A service member with dependents who are relocating on the PCS may be authorized to transport a POV. A member without dependents — or whose dependents aren’t relocating at government expense — is generally not authorized reimbursement to ship a POV.
• The scenario it covers: You own two cars. You and your dependents all travel together in one POV, and the second car needs to get to the new duty station. You may be reimbursed for commercially shipping that second POV.
• The cap: Reimbursement is limited to the remainder of the MALT-plus-per-diem the government would have paid for driving two POVs — in other words, roughly what it would have cost the government if you’d driven the second car yourself. You are financially responsible for anything above that.
• It’s an allowance, not a reimbursement of your receipt. The payment is computed from what the government would have paid, not from what the shipper charged you. It helps — it usually doesn’t cover the full commercial shipping cost.

A practical warning from military finance writers: if you ask your transportation office about this, you may initially be told “no.” It’s a specialized provision, and not every clerk knows it. The JTR section and the worked computation example exist precisely so you can bring the reference with you.

If you don’t qualify (single member, no relocating dependents), you’re shipping that car on your own dime — in which case the civilian advice in this guide’s quotes and broker vs carrier articles applies to you exactly like anyone else.

OCONUS Moves: Government-Shipped POVs

Moving overseas (or back from overseas) is where the government most directly handles your car. The standard entitlement: one POV, owned or leased by you or your dependent for personal use, shipped at government expense to your new duty station.

Key rules to know:

• Size limit: The POV may not exceed 20 measurement tons (length × width × height in inches ÷ 1,728 ÷ 40). Nearly all normal cars fit; oversized trucks and large SUVs can bump against it.
• The government chooses the mode. Your car may go by ship or other commercial means as the government arranges. Air transport of a POV at government expense is not authorized.
• One POV means one. A second vehicle ships at your own expense through commercial arrangements — check with your sponsor and transportation office for any restrictions, since some countries limit or prohibit importing additional vehicles.
• Destination restrictions are real. Some countries restrict vehicle imports by type, age, emissions, or even color. Review the Personal Property Consignment Instruction Guide (PPCIG) for your destination before you assume the car is going with you.
• Turn-in and pickup go through Vehicle Processing Centers (VPCs). You’ll drop the car at a designated VPC stateside and collect it at the destination VPC. Build buffer days into your travel — VPC processing and vessel schedules don’t care about your report date.

Start this process the moment you have orders. VPC appointments and vessel space are finite, and peak-season backlogs are normal.

2026 Rates and Allowances to Know

A few current numbers worth having in one place (all verified for 2026; allowances change annually, so confirm with your finance office before you budget):

• MALT: $0.205 per mile for PCS travel, for up to two POVs. The number of travelers in the vehicle doesn’t change the amount.
• DLA (Dislocation Allowance): Increased 3.8% effective January 1, 2026 — ranging from about $1,019 for an E-1 without dependents to about $6,386 for an O-7 and above with dependents. DLA is a flat payment, not tied to receipts.
• PPM (Personally Procured Move): Reimbursement returned to 100% of the government’s constructed cost in 2026 (down from a temporary 130% during the 2025 contractor crunch). If you’re doing a full or partial PPM, this is the number your payment is built on.
• Peak season reality: Roughly 400,000 service members and families PCS each year, most between May and September. That concentration strains both government contractors and civilian carriers — plan earlier than you think you need to.

Storage Options Between Moves

Gaps happen: your report date doesn’t line up with housing availability, or the VPC can’t take your car for three weeks. Options:

• Government storage of POVs is authorized in specific situations (for example, when a POV can’t be transported to an OCONUS station and is stored at government expense while you’re overseas). It is not a general entitlement — the JTR specifically notes you can’t claim POV storage at government expense instead of POV transportation.
• Commercial storage near your duty station or VPC runs on your dime unless your orders authorize otherwise. Get quotes for monthly outdoor vs indoor storage; for a car sitting months, indoor is worth it.
• If you’re shipping commercially and there’s a gap between pickup and when someone can receive the car, ask the broker about terminal storage fees upfront — daily storage charges at terminals are one of the classic surprise fees.

Whatever you choose, keep the car insured during storage and photograph its condition going in.

Timing Your Shipment Around Orders

PCS timelines are the enemy of good car shipping. Here’s how to work around them:

1. Start at orders, not at pack-out. The day you have hard-copy orders, call the transportation office and (if shipping commercially) start collecting quotes. Our car shipping timeline guide covers realistic pickup windows — typically 1–5 days to assign a carrier plus transit time by distance.
2. Don’t make your first commute depend on the car. Delivery dates are estimates, not guarantees. Have a backup ride for the first week at the new station.
3. Designate someone for handoff. If you’ll already be gone when the truck arrives, a spouse, friend, or power-of-attorney holder can handle the pickup inspection — but brief them on the Bill of Lading process, because their signature is legally yours.
4. Peak season (May–September) books up. Civilian carriers prioritize loads by price and route; a PCS move in July needs more lead time and possibly a more flexible pickup window than the same move in February.
5. OCONUS: pad the VPC timeline. Vessel schedules slip. Don’t schedule your flight assuming the car ships the same week you drop it.

Shipping a Car Yourself: What to Watch

Whether the government is covering part of the cost or you’re paying the whole thing, if a commercial broker or carrier moves your car, the civilian rules apply:

• Verify FMCSA authority. Brokers need an active MC number; carriers need MC plus USDOT. Look them up — it takes minutes and it’s the single best scam filter.
• Never pay a large deposit before a carrier is assigned. The legitimate pattern is a small deposit ($100–$250, or 10–25%) charged at dispatch, with the balance paid to the driver at delivery.
• Read the fine print on “military discounts.” Some companies advertise them; they’re marketing, not a regulated benefit. Compare the actual total price against two other quotes.
• Document everything. The Bill of Lading inspection matters even more when you’re filing for a DOD allowance later — keep copies of every receipt, the signed BOL, and your photos.

For the full process of getting and comparing quotes, see how to get car shipping quotes, and broker vs carrier explains who you’re actually hiring.

FAQ

Does the military ship my car for free on a PCS?

For OCONUS moves, the government generally ships one POV at its expense through its own pipeline. For CONUS moves, the default is MALT mileage for driving; shipping reimbursement is limited to specific cases (generally a second POV when dependents relocate with you) and capped at what driving would have cost.

What is MALT and how much is it in 2026?

MALT (Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation) is the per-mile payment for POV travel on PCS orders — $0.205 per mile in 2026, for up to two POVs, based on official DOD mileage.

Can I ship two cars on the government’s dime?

Generally no — the entitlement is one POV for OCONUS shipment. CONUS, a second POV may qualify for partial reimbursement under JTR Table 5-63 rules, but you’ll cover anything above the driving-cost cap out of pocket.

What changed about PCS moves in 2026?

The Global Household Goods Contract was cancelled in June 2025, and a new Personal Property Activity framework stood up May 1, 2026. Booking processes changed — your installation transportation office walks you through the current system. DLA rose 3.8% and PPM reimbursement returned to 100% of constructed cost.

How early should I arrange POV shipment or VPC turn-in?

As soon as you have orders. VPC appointments, vessel space, and peak-season (May–September) carrier capacity are all finite. For commercial shipping, two-plus weeks of lead time is the minimum; for OCONUS, start the moment orders drop.