Military Movers Near Me

Moving from one base to a new duty station is a common occurrence for members of the military. As such, the military has developed a process to handle moves for their service members through the military moving companies approved by the General Service Administration.

They also allow support should you choose to undergo the shift yourself or hire your own commercial mover.

Three Movers has vast experience helping our active duty service members handle their hauls with efficiency and care. When it comes to Personally-Procured-Moves, we are fully familiarized with all the quirks of the process.

How does a Personally-Procured-Move work?

The program provides you with a reimbursement from the government for moves that you undertake alone, or with the assistance of a relocating company. You are not required to make full use of the PPM program or even use it at all, as it is completely voluntary. You can ship some of your belongings through a Government Bill of Lading (GBL), and the rest under the PPM.

From insurance coverage, to per diems and the mileage traveled, you are given several benefits if you choose to go through with a PPM.

Here are the 8 steps and military shifting tips you need to follow if you are starting a PPM process:

1. Schedule an appointment with your PPO to apply for the PPM

Your first step to take advantage of the PPM program is to make an appointment with your base’s personal property office. There you’ll meet with a PTO representative who will provide you with all necessary forms and instructions.

Among these forms you need to fill, you’ll find the following:

• DD Form 2278
• Standard Form 1038
• Certified Empty Weight Ticket
• Certified Loaded Weight Ticket
• Original DD Form 1351-2
• Copy of Registration for your moving vehicle (if applicable)

Once you have applied and been authorized for the move, you can start the process. Keep in mind that you won’t receive the full reimbursement right away, as a portion of it is paid after the move has finished.

2. Choose the type of shifting

There are 4 ways to do a PPM, depending on if you want to do it yourself, or with assistance. They are:

• Using your own vehicle
• Renting a vehicle
• Hiring partial moving services
• Hiring a company to do a full service move

3. Make the necessary equipment or service arrangements

If you decided to handle the shifting on your own, you’ll need to procure the necessary packing materials and handle the loading.

If you are renting equipment or hiring a company, you’ll need to take care of that as well.

4. Verify your Insurance

You are given an insurance coverage of $25,000 for your belongings if you choose to go through with a PPM. However, this might not extend to your vehicle or accidents on the road. Ensure your car and accident insurance policies are up to date.

If you get into an accident, your need to contact the legal office of the closest military installation as soon as possible. They can help you work out the liability details depending on the state law.

5. Pick up your allowance from you’re the dispersing office

If per diems, mileage costs, and advance monetary allowance are to be given before the move, make sure to pick them up after the application has been approved.

6. Calculate the total weight of your items loaded and unloaded

It’s extremely important to calculate the full weight of your items when loaded onto the vehicle and when unloaded. Your PPM payment is based on certified loaded and unloaded weight tickets.

Each certified ticket needs the following:

• Name, grade, and social security number
• Vehicle identification
• Legible weight imprint
• Location of scale
• Date of weighing
• Signature of weighing master

7. Procure receipts for all the expenses

You need to keep receipts for all expenses related to the move. The costs associated with the move aren’t taxable. They will be deducted from the allowance given to you for the move. If you were to end up with a profit after all calculations, this would be taxed.

Authorized expenses are:

• Payment for rental of moving vehicle
• Packing materials
• Rental of relocating equipment
• Gas and oil expenses
• Highway tolls, weight tickets, and other related transportation expenses.

8. Proceed with the move and submit the settlement

Once the shifting has been completed, you will have 45 days to submit a claim for the full reimbursement approved for you as part of your PPM allowance. You need to include the following:

• Loaded and unloaded weight tickets (two copies each)
• PPM move certification (with all moving expenses receipts attached)
• PPM move expense sheet
• Vehicle rental contract (if one is rented)
• Advance operating allowance paperwork (if a vehicle is rented)
• DD Form 2278
• Change of Station order

What are the types of Personally Procured Moves?

As mentioned before, there are 4 ways in which you can go through a PPM move, depending on how much you would do alone and if you are hiring services.

Using your own vehicle

If you decide to use your own privately owned vehicle (POV) for the move, no advance operating allowance will be authorized.

You can borrow a vehicle from family or friends, but you would need to provide written permission from the vehicle owner for all the POV PPMs. You’ll need to provide current vehicle registration and vehicles designated for passenger transport can’t be used. Only those that qualify as cargo vehicles.

Renting the equipment

You can rent a trailer or a truck, in which case you would receive an operating allowance in advance based on the authorized mileage and the estimated weight of your belongings. For this type of PPM, you will take care of all the packing and loading, driving, unloading, and unpacking.

You load they drive

In this form, you take care of the packaging, loading, and unloading, while a company transports your belongings. You must have the ICC Number of the moving firm you hire, be it State or Federal regulation numbers. You must also request weight tickets from the company.

Hiring a commercial company for the full process

The last option is hiring a commercial company to take care of the entire shift, from packaging to loading and unloading at your new place. You must procure weight tickets, ICC numbers, and any receipts involved in the process.

Personally-Procured-Moves (PPM) vs Government-Procured-Move (GPM)

You can also opt to have the government take care of the move process for you, scheduling a mover themselves to take care of the packing, loading, and unloading at the new location.

You don’t need to choose between one or the other, as you could ship a portion of your belongings through a GPM, and handle the rest as a PPM.

While it might be simpler to just let the government handle the entire process, you can turn a profit through a PPM if managed appropriately.

Why Choose Three Movers?

Now that you know everything you need to successfully apply and complete your Personally-Procured-Move, the next step is to hire a moving company that understands the process and can make filling out the necessary documentation easier for you. Three Movers is that company. Contact us today to take care of your PPM.