Military car shipping: questions and answers

On most PCS orders inside the lower 48 states, you drive the car or you pay to ship it. Military OneSource says stateside privately owned vehicle shipping is largely your cost, with exceptions. The transportation office, or human resources for a civilian employee, confirms an exception. This page does not state a dollar entitlement. Read your orders, then ask the office before you assume the car is free.

The same stateside rule is the place to start. Military OneSource says that for a move inside the continental United States, transporting your privately owned vehicle is largely your responsibility, with exceptions the transportation office confirms. It does not publish a separate free Navy car shipment from state to state on the pages this site uses. Ask your transportation office, with the orders in hand. If you pay, the price is a carrier's range, not a military entitlement.

On a stateside PCS, driving is the path Military OneSource describes, and shipping is largely your cost unless the office names an exception. You can ask to pick the car up yourself when that is practical. On an overseas PCS, driving it home is not the same thing as the government vehicle shipment. Ask the office whether you must use a vehicle processing center.

Military OneSource says the government may ship one privately owned vehicle on the overseas patterns it describes, and that some countries do not allow a POV in at all. The booking path it names is International Auto Logistics through PCSmyPOV, at a vehicle processing center, by appointment. That is not a private broker and not RideShipper. If your orders are OCONUS to CONUS, including a return from Italy, start at the transportation office. This page does not state a dollar amount or a weight allowance.

A PCS from Italy to the United States is an overseas move, so start with the transportation office and PCSmyPOV if the orders authorize a government POV shipment. Military OneSource says that program uses vehicle processing centers run for the government by International Auto Logistics. If the office says the car is your expense, a private ocean or U.S. road shipment is a different booking. This page states no dollar entitlement.

The transportation office can say no. Ask for the reason in writing, and ask what you are allowed to do next. Military OneSource describes one government-paid POV on the overseas patterns it covers, with exceptions the office confirms. A refusal is not something RideShipper can overturn. If the office says the return is your expense, a private shipment is a separate contract. You still see a price range before you give contact details. No dollar entitlement is stated here.

First read the orders and ask the transportation office whether the car is a government shipment or your expense. If the office says the government ships it, use the transportation office and PCSmyPOV, not a private quote site. If the office says you pay, you are hiring a carrier yourself. You see a price range before contact details.

Bring the orders, the registration, and whatever else the transportation office listed. This page will not invent a form number. For a government shipment, the vehicle processing center tells you which papers to present at the appointment. For a private shipment, the carrier will ask for proof you may release the car, a key, and a person who can sign. Those are different piles of paper. Confirm the list with the office before you travel.

Do not assume a reimbursement. Military OneSource treats the household-goods shipment and the privately owned vehicle as different entitlements. Putting furniture in the car does not, by itself, turn a private car shipment into a paid government move, and a carrier or a vehicle processing center may refuse a car loaded as a moving van. Ask the transportation office before you load the car, and ask what the orders actually pay. This page will not invent an allowance.

The second car is usually the one you pay to move. Military OneSource describes one POV at government expense on the overseas moves it covers. A stateside service member who does not drive ships one or more POVs at their own expense. A civilian CONUS move of more than 600 miles may allow shipment of up to two POVs. Confirm that with the personnel office. A motorcycle can count as the one POV in some locations, or as household goods. It is not automatically a free second car.

Do not treat a headline as your orders. The Military OneSource pages this site relies on describe one government-paid privately owned vehicle on overseas moves, not a blanket second car. If you were told that two POVs are now authorized, ask the transportation office to show you the current rule and your orders. Until that office confirms it, do not ship the second car as if it were free.

Separation is not the same order as a PCS. A benefit that applies on a permanent change of station does not automatically apply when you ETS. Read the separation orders and ask the transportation office what, if anything, they authorize for the car. This page will not guess the benefit and will not state a dollar amount. If the office says you pay, you hire a carrier yourself.

Ask the transportation office. TDY en route to a PCS is a specific set of orders, and this page will not guess whether those orders authorize a POV shipment. Bring the orders to the office that handles your move and ask two questions: is a government vehicle shipment authorized on this TDY, and if not, is the car entirely your expense. Do not book a private carrier and expect reimbursement unless that office says so in writing.

A rented RV is not automatically the one privately owned vehicle the government ships. On a stateside PCS, Military OneSource says POV shipping is largely your cost if you do not drive. Shipping extra cars while you travel in a rental is usually your expense unless the orders and the transportation office say otherwise. Ask before you pay for the rental and the car shipment. This page does not state a mileage reimbursement or a dollar entitlement.