Military PCS car shipping

Military PCS car shipping is either a government shipment of one privately owned vehicle, or a commercial shipment you pay for because the government move does not cover that car. Military OneSource, on its PCS moving FAQ, says you may have an entitlement to ship or store one POV at government expense when you receive permanent change of station orders. It then splits the map. For CONUS to CONUS, "the cost of transporting your POV to your new duty station is largely your responsibility," with exceptions, so you contact the transportation office. For moves that are OCONUS to CONUS, CONUS to OCONUS, or OCONUS to OCONUS, "only one POV owned or leased for personal use may be shipped at government expense."

This page does not state a dollar entitlement, a mileage rate, or a weight allowance for the car. Those figures belong to your orders and to the transportation office. A shipping website that prints a reimbursement amount is not your counselor.

What you pay when the government is not shipping the car#

If the transportation office confirms the car is yours to move, these are ordinary open estimates, not a government rate and not a reimbursement. A sedan from San Antonio to Norfolk is $802–$1,222 as of November 9, 2026, model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. There is no seasonal direction adjustment for this route and month.. A sedan from San Diego to Seattle is $709–$1,080 as of November 9, 2026, model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. There is no seasonal direction adjustment for this route and month.. An SUV from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Killeen, Texas, is $770–$1,173 as of November 9, 2026, model v1 RideShipper estimate, updated 2026-11-09, based on 3,588 prices that customers reported paying in MoveAdvisor reviews, adjusted for U.S. diesel at $6.13 a gallon for that week (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In testing, the typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was about 20% of the estimate. This is an estimate, not a quote: the carrier sets the price. No pickup date was supplied, so this estimate uses November 2026. There is no seasonal direction adjustment for this route and month..

Use the PCS planner as a checklist beside the counselor's answer, and read what you pay for on a PCS. If you are shipping a second car on an overseas order, OneSource says to ask the transportation office before you arrange it yourself. A motorcycle or moped counts as the one POV only if you are not already shipping a vehicle at government expense on the same orders. Confirm that sentence with the office rather than with a broker.

Base access is its own problem. A commercial driver may not enter the gate. Plan a meeting point off base if the pass office will not admit the truck. That is a commercial-pickup fact, separate from the entitlement.

How the two paths differ#

Government shipment, as OneSource describes it:

1. Talk to the transportation office. Use the MilitaryINSTALLATIONS tool OneSource points to. Civilian employees contact human resources for the stateside question.
2. For the government vehicle move, contact the vehicle processing center nearest your present duty station. Documents for turn-in and pickup are on PCSmyPOV, which OneSource names.
3. OneSource says the exterior must be washed clean of dirt and the interior dry-vacuumed. It cites 49 CFR 176.905 for the vessel fuel limit: a flammable-liquid tank may not be more than one-fourth full, and that section has other conditions. Follow the VPC instructions you are given.
4. OneSource says you have 21 days from the day the POV is available to pick it up, and that the destination center notifies you within 24 hours by email or postcard. You can also track on PCSmyPOV.
5. Foreign restrictions are in the Personal Property Consignment Instruction Guide. The transportation office is how OneSource tells you to find it.
6. If you cannot be present, OneSource's moving-day guidance says an agent needs a power of attorney or a notarized or officer-countersigned authorization, and must be named. Read a military power of attorney and the car and still use the form your office accepts. This site does not draft that form.

Commercial shipment, only after you know you are paying:

1. Book a carrier the way any customer does. Check the USDOT or MC number on SAFER.
2. Do not tell the carrier the government will pay unless the transportation office has said that in writing for this order.
3. Meet the driver, or name someone who can. A report date does not pause a pickup window.
4. Keep entitlement paperwork out of the glove box.

What to ask, and the mistakes#

Ask the transportation office, first, whether this order ships a POV. Ask what you must not do if you want to keep the entitlement, including shipping the car yourself before they tell you to. Ask a commercial carrier only about the car you are paying to move: window, meeting point, and cargo terms.

The mistake is booking a commercial truck because a forum named a reimbursement, then discovering the exception did not apply. This page will not invent that reimbursement. Another mistake is a deposit to a company that is not on the federal snapshot. The Better Business Bureau's 21 July 2023 alert describes vehicle-transport deposits and missing companies. PCS week is a rush. Rush is when that pattern works. A third mistake is treating a stateside commercial quote as if it were the overseas VPC process. The fuel rule, the 21-day pickup, and the processing center belong to the government shipment OneSource describes.

Limits#

RideShipper does not decide entitlements, contact your transportation office for you, book a VPC, file a government claim, move the car, set a commercial price, take a deposit, or insure the vehicle. World Media Group LLC operates a quote-request service. Companies that receive a commercial request may pay RideShipper. Nothing on this page is an official Defense Department determination. Confirm it with the transportation office before you spend money or decline a government shipment.

When the office has told you the car is your expense, look up any company that contacts you, and do not leave the only set of orders in the trunk. RideShipper shows a price range before it asks for your name. If you ask for quotes, you give your name, email, and phone and tick a consent box. Licensed auto transport companies that serve the route then contact you.