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Moving Your POV During a PCS: Drive It, Ship It, or Store It

You've got a car and you've got orders. Does the government move the car, or do you? The answer depends almost entirely on one thing — whether your move stays inside the continental U.S. or crosses overseas — and the rules are more specific than most people realize. Here's how it actually works, sourced to the regulations, with the annual dollar figures pointed at your calculator and PSD so you never rely on a made-up number.

The short version

  • Moving within the continental U.S. (CONUS to CONUS)? You generally drive your car and get paid a mileage allowance (MALT) plus per diem for your authorized travel days. The government does not routinely ship your car for a CONUS move — that's the narrow exception, not the rule (JTR par. 052901–052902).
  • Moving to or from overseas (OCONUS)? The government ships one POV to/from your new duty station through a Vehicle Processing Center (VPC), arranged via the PCSmyPOV program (JTR par. 053001).
  • Can't ship your car to the overseas location (host-nation restrictions)? The government may store one POV at its expense for the tour instead (JTR par. 0532).
  • Your household goods (HHG) are a separate move through DPS / move.mil, and your own travel pay (MALT/per diem, DLA, TLE) is a third, separate set of entitlements. All three run in parallel — see the last section.

Drive vs. ship the car

CONUS move: you drive, and you get paid for it

For a normal move between duty stations inside the continental U.S., the default is you drive and get reimbursed — not that the government ships the car.

MALT (Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation) is paid based on the official distance when you drive on PCS orders (JTR par. 050203). Two things people get wrong:

  • It's one allowance per vehicle, not per person. If two people on orders ride in the same car, only one gets the MALT and POV expenses; everyone else is a passenger with no separate reimbursement (JTR par. 050203-B.1).
  • Two POVs can each be reimbursed when a member and dependent relocate using two cars (JTR par. 050203-B.2). More than two needs Secretarial approval.

Per diem on travel days ("MALT Plus") is paid for each authorized travel day at the standard CONUS rate (JTR par. 050301).

The dollar figures — the current MALT cents-per-mile rate and the per diem rate — are set annually and we won't print a number that could be stale. Get your actual numbers two ways: run the PCS Entitlements Calculator for a real estimate on your distance and rank, and confirm the official current rates with PSD.

How many travel days you get is a fixed rule, and it's worth knowing (JTR par. 050205-A):

  • 400 miles or fewer → 1 travel day.
  • More than 400 miles → divide the distance by 350. If the remainder is 51 miles or more, add one more day.

Worked example: 1,800 miles ÷ 350 = 5, remainder 50 → 5 days. But 1,801 miles → remainder 51 → 6 days. That one extra day of per diem is real money, so count it correctly.

When the government does ship a car inside CONUS (the exception): only in narrow cases — an authorized change in a ship's home port, or a CONUS-to-CONUS PCS where you're physically unable to drive or don't have enough time to drive and report as ordered (JTR par. 052901). A second CONUS POV can be shipped only under very limited conditions, capped at what driving it would have cost, with you paying any excess (JTR par. 052902).

OCONUS move: the government ships one car

Going to or from overseas, you're authorized to ship one POV (JTR par. 053001-A) — and that can be authorized even if you theoretically could drive it between two overseas stations. A few hard limits:

  • One POV. Only one car you or your dependent own, for personal use, ships at government expense (DTR Part IV, Att. K3, §D.1).
  • Size cap: 20 measurement tons. Bigger than that and you sign an agreement to pay the excess (JTR par. 053001-B.2). The VPC measures it as L × W × H in inches ÷ 1728 ÷ 40.
  • No shipment by air at government expense (JTR Table 5-64).
  • Both spouses in uniform? Two members married to each other can ship two POVs, or combine their weight limit to ship one large car — capped at the two-POV cost (JTR par. 053001-B.2.b).

Want a second car overseas? You generally arrange it commercially at your own expense — and may owe an import duty (DTR K3 §D.3).

Storing the car instead (OCONUS only)

If you're ordered somewhere overseas where your car can't be shipped, the government may store one POV for the tour instead (JTR par. 0532). Key points:

  • Storage is instead of shipment, not in addition to it (JTR par. 0532-B).
  • How long it stays stored at government expense: up to 90 days after you return from that OCONUS station; up to 180 days if you're separating from active duty; up to 1 year (365 days) on retirement, TDRL, discharge with severance, or certain involuntary releases. After those windows, the storage bill becomes yours (JTR par. 0532-B.11).
  • Storing the car in your own garage, driveway, or a private lot is not reimbursable (JTR par. 0532-B.3.b).

The process and paperwork

Two different systems — don't confuse them:

  • The car → PCSmyPOV, run by the government's POV contractor (IAL), through a Vehicle Processing Center (VPC). The PCSmyPOV site is where you schedule your VPC appointment and track shipping or storage status.
  • Household goods → DPS / move.mil, through your local Transportation Office. (Separate — see below.)

Start with your Transportation Office the moment you get orders — the DTR says to contact your TO/PPSO before making any POV shipping plans (DTR K3 §A). For an OCONUS shipment, plan around the timing window: for Navy, a POV is generally accepted when at least 12 months remain at your current overseas station when you deliver it (DTR K3 §H.2).

What to bring / do at VPC turn-in (DTR K3 §O.1):

  • Valid orders, including all amendments.
  • Government/state photo ID and proof of ownership (title or registration).
  • No more than ¼ tank of fuel.
  • A complete set of keys (including gas-cap/wheel-lock keys) — and keep a duplicate set for pickup. Valet keys won't be accepted.
  • Turn off/disconnect any alarm or anti-theft device.
  • A clean car, dry-vacuumed — they won't accept a vehicle caked with dirt or mud, undercarriage included. Empty all pockets and compartments.
  • Safe and operable: no leaks, working brakes (including the parking brake). Inoperable cars are refused.
  • A POA or letter of authorization if someone else turns it in for you — though a spouse named on the orders shipping to the authorized location doesn't need one.
  • Leased or financed? Bring written export authorization from the leasing company or lienholder.
  • Check for open recalls (the safercar.gov VIN tool) and resolve them — an unresolved safety recall can get the car refused.

At turn-in you and the inspector do a joint inspection and both sign a DD Form 788 (Private Vehicle Shipping Document). Keep your copy — it's your receipt for pickup and any damage claim.

At the destination (DTR K3 §O.2): you're notified when the car's available and have a reasonable time (45 days) to pick it up. Bring your ID, your DD Form 788 copy, and keys. Coming back to the U.S.? You'll need a valid U.S. street address to clear Customs. Inspect for new damage and note it on the DD Form 788 at pickup — claims can be filed within 2 years. And if the car shows up late, you can be reimbursed for a rental — limited by law to $30/day, up to $210 (7 days) (JTR par. 0534-B).

How it fits with your HHG move and travel pay

A family doing a full PCS is really running three parallel tracks — keep them separate in your head:

  1. Household goods (HHG) — arranged through DPS / move.mil and your TO/PPSO. A completely different system from PCSmyPOV. (Thinking about doing it yourself for the profit? See the PPM / DITY Profit Calculator.)
  2. The car — you drive it (CONUS: MALT + per diem), the government ships it (OCONUS: one POV), or the government stores it (OCONUS where shipping isn't allowed).
  3. Your own travel and relocation pay — paid to you regardless of how the car moves: MALT + per diem for the drive, Dislocation Allowance (DLA), and Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE) in CONUS (the OCONUS version is TLA). See what all of it adds up to in the PCS Entitlements Calculator.

One trap to avoid: if the government ships your car in CONUS, you generally can't also collect drive-reimbursement and certain overlapping travel allowances for that same vehicle (JTR par. 052902-B). Don't assume you can stack shipping and driving pay for one car.

Want the whole move laid out in order? Build your PCS plan and it'll sequence the car, the HHG, and the money for your dates.

How we sourced this: the rules above come from the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) and the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR), Part IV, Attachment K3. We deliberately do not print the annual dollar figures — the MALT rate, per diem, DLA, and TLA/TLE amounts are reset every year, so we route you to the calculator for an estimate and to PSD for the official current numbers rather than risk a stale figure. Regulation wording is periodically re-lettered; the paragraph numbers cited are stable, but confirm the specifics for your move with your PSD and Transportation Office (TO/PPSO) before relying on this. PCS-Move.com is an independent resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the DoD or any government agency.

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