PCS Checklist Generator

A PCS is not one decision. It is dozens of decisions spaced over ten to sixteen weeks, and most of them have a published rule, a deadline, or a form. The Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), Chapter 5, governs the entitlements; the Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR), Part IV, governs how the move physically runs (Chapter 411 for personally procured moves); service-specific guidance (AFI 24-602 Volume 4 for the Air and Space Forces, AR 600-8-101 personnel processing for the Army, NAVSUP household-goods guidance for the Navy, and the Marine Corps and Coast Guard PPM guides) layers on the in-service procedures. The checklist above stretches ten weeks for a CONUS move and sixteen for a move to an overseas duty station, because those three layers do not synchronize: the finance step that has to happen 30 days out cannot be done until the TMO step that happens 60 days out.

TMO counseling is the real start. A Personally Procured Move (PPM) requires completed counseling and written approval on DD Form 2278 before the member starts moving anything (DTR Part IV, Ch. 411). The Personal Property Shipping Office (PPSO) counseling that produces DD Form 2278 must be scheduled — and during the May-August PCS peak, counseling and pack-out backlogs at high-volume installations can stretch for weeks. A member who waits until the 30-day mark to call TMO can find the choice already made: preferred pack-out dates gone and no time left to plan a PPM properly. Calling TMO the week orders are received is the single highest-leverage timing decision in the entire PCS.

The four mistakes that show up at the finance counter — drawn from the common claim-delaying errors listed in DFAS and branch PPM guidance:

• No weight tickets. Without certified empty-weight and full-weight tickets, JTR par. 051502-C-5 limits the payment to actual documented expenses capped at the GCC — usually far less than the full monetary allowance. Each vehicle needs its own matching empty and full tickets, marked with name, rank, and "EMPTY" or "FULL." Certified scales (CAT Scale truck-stop scales, installation scales near TMO, state weigh stations) are the standard. Receipts from a rental contract that show "estimated weight" are not certified weight tickets and will not be accepted.
• Wrong dependency status on the orders. For DLA, a member "with a dependent" is one who, on the PCS order's effective date, has a dependent authorized transportation under that order — and the with-dependent rate also requires the dependent to actually relocate (JTR par. 050503). A member whose dependents changed between orders-cut and move-day needs DEERS updated and the orders amended before settlement; a voucher filed against orders that still show the old status pays at the wrong rate and forces a supplemental claim.
• Missed 45-day PPM claim window. A PPM settlement package (DD Form 1351-2 with the PPM Checklist & Expense Certification) must be submitted within 45 days of the move completion date per DFAS PPM guidance. The clock runs from physical move completion, not from arrival at the new installation.
• Missing receipts for actual costs. A PPM at 100% Government Constructed Cost (GCC) reimbursement does not require receipts for the GCC math itself, but the member's documented allowable operating expenses (rental truck or trailer, fuel and tolls for it, hired labor, packing materials, weighing fees — lodging and meals are not allowable) determine the taxable income on the move. Members who document zero expenses end up paying federal income tax on the full GCC payment as W-2 wages. Members who document allowable expenses reduce the taxable portion to the profit margin (GCC minus documented costs).

CONUS vs OCONUS — what changes. A CONUS-to-CONUS move runs the standard JTR Ch 5 entitlement set: DLA, MALT (per POV authorized), per diem at the standard CONUS rate ($110/$68 in FY2026), TLE up to 21 days (temporarily increased to as many as 60 days only at CONUS locations jointly approved by the Secretaries Concerned — a Presidentially declared disaster area, a sudden increase in assigned Service members, or a documented housing shortage under 37 U.S.C. § 452(b)(11); see the DTMO list of locations with approved TLE extensions), and weight allowance per JTR Table 5-37. OCONUS adds TLA on the OCONUS side (up to 60 days arrival, 10 days departure), DTMO OCONUS per diem rates that vary by host country, and either government quarters or OHA when adequate government quarters are not assigned. The PCS counseling for an OCONUS move is more involved because of the DD Form 1746 (Application for Assignment to Housing) on the gaining-installation side and the no-fee passport process on the dependent side. Members executing a first OCONUS PCS should plan a minimum 16-week timeline rather than the ten weeks a CONUS move needs.

Retirement and separation PCS — the "final move." Retirees and certain separating members are authorized a final HHG move under JTR par. 052012 (separation from the Service or relief from active duty) and par. 052013 (retirement, placement on the TDRL, or discharge with severance or separation pay). For an active-duty termination effective on or after June 24, 2022, a retiree must turn the HHG over for transportation within 3 years of the termination date (par. 052013.B); further extensions are granted annually through the Secretarial Process — hospitalization, education or training (Table 5-53), or other deserving cases (par. 052013.C) — and are never authorized beyond 6 years. Note that non-temporary storage at government expense still ends 1 year after the termination date (Table 5-52) even though the shipping window runs 3 years. An ordinary separatee has 180 days, with the authority ending on the 181st day unless a written request reaches a Transportation Officer first (par. 052012.C); NTS also terminates on the 180th day (par. 052012.A.2). The entitlements are otherwise similar to an active-duty PCS but DLA does not apply (par. 050509.B), and the travel distance runs to the Home of Selection (HOS) — a home the retiree elects at move time under par. 051003, not a location recorded on the DD Form 214. Separatees are instead reimbursed to the Home of Record (HOR) or the place from which they entered active duty (PLEAD), whichever they select (par. 052012.A.1); a member retired without pay, or with less than 8 years of continuous active duty, is limited to the HOR or PLEAD as well (par. 051003-C). The PPM rate at retirement is the same 100% GCC as active-duty PPMs in FY2026. Retirees executing a PPM around terminal leave or permissive TDY should still turn the HHG over inside the transportation window on the order — the 3-year clock (or the separatee's 180 days) is what controls, and the dated weight tickets document when the move actually happened.

Pets, POVs, and EFMP. Three checklist categories that bury timelines if ignored. Pets crossing OCONUS borders need a current health certificate from a USDA-accredited veterinarian, vaccination records that meet host-country entry rules, and in many countries a microchip and a rabies-titer test — some destinations require quarantine preparation to start 120 or more days before travel, so the pet timeline can be the longest lead item in the move. Since January 1, 2024, the JTR reimburses substantiated relocation costs for one household pet (a cat or dog) per PCS — up to $550 CONUS and $2,000 OCONUS, including quarantine fees, titer testing, and shipping (JTR par. 050107). Privately Owned Vehicles (POVs) authorized for OCONUS shipment go through the DoD contractor's Vehicle Processing Centers; the inspection and turn-in typically happens weeks before the member's own travel date, leaving the member car-less in the final stretch at the losing station. EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) enrollment under DoDI 1315.19 must be current, and OCONUS orders require family-member overseas screening to be complete — an unfinished screening can force last-minute orders amendments for families with special-needs members.

Authorities: Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), Chapter 5; Defense Transportation Regulation (DTR), Part IV, Chapter 411; DD Form 2278 (Application for Personally Procured Move and Counseling Checklist); DD Form 1746 (Application for Assignment to Housing); DoD Instruction 1315.19 (Exceptional Family Member Program); DFAS PPM closeout guidance; AFI 24-602 Volume 4 (Air and Space Force); AR 600-8-101 (Army); NAVSUP household-goods guidance (Navy); Marine Corps and Coast Guard PPM guides. Verify timing and entitlements with your Transportation Office and installation finance office before signing the DD Form 2278 or starting the move.