Military PCS Car Shipping — Ship Your Vehicle to Your Next Duty Station

Why PCS moves need a different shipping playbook

PCS moves come with hard deadlines (report dates), unpredictable orders timing, household-goods coordination, and family logistics that civilian shippers don't deal with. The car shipper that works for a snowbird heading to Florida in October may not be the right fit when you have a Tuesday report date in Fort Carson, your household goods don't arrive until two weeks later, and your kids start school next Monday.

What works for PCS: flexible pickup windows so you can book before orders are finalized, transparent pricing so the per-diem and DLA math actually works, real-time tracking so your spouse at the destination knows when to expect the vehicle, and pay-at-pickup so you're not out money if a carrier no-shows.

Coordinating shipping with your PCS orders

Start the quote conversation as soon as you have a draft of your orders — you don't need final paperwork to lock pricing. Our quoting tool returns a real, all-in number in under 60 seconds, and we can hold a flexible pickup window without charging you a dollar up front. Once orders are finalized, you confirm pickup and we dispatch.

Best practice timing: get a quote 21–30 days before your projected move date, book the carrier 10–14 days before pickup, and schedule pickup to align with when household goods leave — that way you're not without a vehicle while you're still packing.

DITY (personally procured) vs. TMO-arranged moves

If you're doing a personally procured move (formerly DITY), you're handling the shipping yourself and getting reimbursed at the government rate. ShipCargo's pricing is generally competitive with or below the government rate, and you keep the difference if there is one. We provide an itemized invoice you can submit with your move reimbursement paperwork.

If your move is TMO-arranged, the government coordinates household goods through a vendor, but vehicle shipping is often left to you — service members can elect to use a private shipper for their POV. Use our quoting tool to compare against the GBL rate; in most cases, we're faster to dispatch and easier to schedule because we're not routing through a federal vendor pipeline.

OCONUS PCS: shipping to and from overseas

For OCONUS moves, your POV usually goes through one of a handful of US ports (Seattle/Tacoma, Oakland, Long Beach, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Galveston) where it transfers to a roll-on/roll-off ferry. ShipCargo handles the land leg from your CONUS location to the appropriate port and coordinates the port drop-off paperwork.

We don't handle the overseas leg directly — that's typically arranged through your installation's transportation office or a specialty international auto shipping company — but bundling the land leg with a carrier we already trust means one less call and one less point of failure. For PCS returns from OCONUS, we handle the port pickup and final delivery to your new CONUS duty station.

Why pay-at-pickup matters more for military families

Military pay timing, BAH changes during PCS, and the inherent unpredictability of orders make every dollar of cash flow matter during a move. Pay-at-pickup means your card is pre-authorized to hold the carrier, but the actual charge doesn't happen until the vehicle is at your new address and you've inspected it. If the carrier no-shows or the vehicle never arrives, you don't pay. That's not a guarantee most legacy auto transport brokers will make.

Common PCS shipping scenarios we handle every month

CONUS-to-CONUS: Fort Hood to Fort Lewis, Camp Pendleton to Norfolk, Eglin to Hickam port (HI), MacDill to Travis. We run the major military lanes weekly and have carriers who specifically handle PCS volume.

Two-vehicle households: many military families ship a second vehicle separately from a different timeline. We can quote both together for coordinated discounts.

Storage between PCS and household goods arrival: if you need temporary storage at either end, we can recommend partners in most major military markets.

Documentation you'll need

For pickup: registration, title (if held by you, not a lender), a government-issued photo ID, and the keys. The carrier will inspect the vehicle and complete a Bill of Lading documenting any pre-existing damage. Keep your copy.

For DITY reimbursement: our invoice plus the Bill of Lading is what the finance office will want. We can also provide a Certificate of Insurance verifying the carrier's cargo coverage if requested.