What Is a PPM, or DITY Move? How to Mix It With Your Household Goods Move and Keep More Money in Your Pocket

A PPM, or personally procured move, is what most people still call a DITY move: you move your own household goods instead of having the government hire a moving company. Active duty members are paid for the weight and mileage they move, civilians are reimbursed dollar for dollar for what they spend, and you can split one PCS between a government move and a PPM to put more money in your pocket. Set the PPM up in the system before you leave your origin and don't spend a dime until your orders are in hand. I'm Chris Tillman, a real estate agent with more than 25 years at Robins AFB, including 8 years in the transportation office, and here is how it works for your military relocation to Robins AFB or any other duty station.

Watch: The Truth About DITY Moves: What TMO Won't Tell You

A PPM (DITY) Move at a Glance

What Is a PPM, and Is It the Same as a DITY Move?

One of my military relocation clients called me up the other day and asked, "Chris, what is a PPM and how do I use it with my household goods move?" A PPM, or personally procured move, is your DITY move. That's where you move yourself instead of having the government hire a moving company to move you. Military.com has a good explainer on the PPM and its older DITY name if you want a second source. In this post I'll cover what you need to know for civilians and military, and how to mix and match your household goods move with a PPM to get a little more money in your pocket.

Whether you're coming to Robins AFB or going to any duty station, the first step is the same. Once you have your orders, reach out to the transportation office. If you're moving inside the continental US, you have the option to do a PPM. If you want the full walk-through of the government side, I wrote a complete PCS move guide on how MilMove works.

Mix and Match: Government Move Plus PPM

Here's the part that surprises people. You can do a combination of both. Say you have 10,000 pounds of stuff to get to your new duty station. You can have the government move take all the heavy stuff and do a PPM with all the light stuff, and you get paid for moving that part yourself. Any combination works. You can do five and five, or two and eight. It doesn't really matter.

If you think you might do a PPM, go ahead and put it in the system even if you end up not using it. If you change your mind, it's already there, and it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. If you don't do the PPM, no harm, no foul.

How to Set It Up in the System

Go into Military OneSource, click on doing your household goods move, and you'll land in the system that handles your shipments. In my experience that has been DPS. Your move system can change, so confirm which one applies to you when you register. The one little part that tricks people up is this. When you create a new shipment, you click household goods move, and the first question right below it is whether this is a personally procured move. Click yes if you're moving yourself and no if you want the government to move things for you.

To do both, create a household goods move first and answer no to the personally procured question, then answer all the questions to set up the government move. Then go back, create another shipment, choose household goods move again, click yes on the personally procured question, and answer the questions for the PPM.

Do It Before You Leave Origin

I'll say it again: do this before you leave origin. Don't wait, and don't assume you'll get paid for your PPM at destination just because you moved yourself. They want the PPM set up in the system before you go.

For a household goods move, they usually want at least 3 weeks' notice, so if you're starting today, your pickup date needs to be farther out than 3 weeks. That gives them time to call the moving companies, take bids, and have the winner contact you to schedule the pickup. A PPM is much quicker. As long as your transportation office isn't sleeping on the job, they can usually confirm it in about a day. After that, you get your hauling truck, load up, and go to destination.

What About Overseas Moves?

If you're going overseas to a place like Kunsan, Osan, or Ramstein, I've seen a PPM done by mailing packages to yourself. It can be done, but it's a little more difficult. Before you plan around it, confirm with your transportation office, because the official guidance I found describes the PPM as an option for a move inside the continental US.

Don't Spend a Dime Until You Have Your Orders

Here's another trick a lot of people don't realize. Don't spend any money until after you have your orders. It's actually safer to wait until after you load the PPM into the system and get confirmation, but at the very least wait for your orders. In the government's eyes, if it's not on paper, it doesn't exist, whether you were told you're PCSing or not.

So don't go out and reserve a truck or buy packing materials until your orders are in hand. I've known a few people who started too early and ended up eating a couple hundred dollars out of their own pocket that they should have been paid for.

Weight Tickets, Trucks, and Trailers

The big ticket items for your PPM are your weight tickets. You weigh the vehicle you're using empty, then you load it up and weigh it full. It doesn't matter where you do it. Whether you're coming from California all the way to Georgia, you can weigh the vehicle empty and full anywhere along the way, and you keep those tickets.

If you're using a trailer, weigh the truck and trailer together empty and together full. That's true whether you rent the truck and trailer or use your own. If you're using your own trailer, make sure you have the registration for the vehicle and the trailer.

Towing Your Car as a Trailer

If you rent a truck and haul your own car on a dolly, you can use the car as a trailer. No, you can't expense the weight of the car. But if you put your coolers, overnight bags, and fishing tackle box in the car, you can weigh the household goods part of that, and it counts toward your household goods weight.

What You Actually Get Paid: Military vs. Civilian

If you're active duty military, you get paid for mileage and for the weight you're moving. DPS will give you a printout of your estimated payout based on the weight you enter. Civilians are a different ballgame. You're reimbursed dollar for dollar for the expenses you incur.

Civilian Reimbursement

If you rent a truck, you get paid back for the base price of the truck. They won't pay for the insurance or the taxes. If you buy packing materials, you get reimbursed for those dollar for dollar.

Gas and Receipts

If you rent a truck, keep all the gas tickets. That's an expense. They will not pay for the gas for your personal vehicle, so don't even think about it.

Temporary Storage at Destination

Once you get to destination, you might not have an address or a place to live yet. That's no problem, but this is one thing they changed a little while back. Contact the transportation office and tell them you need temporary storage. There's no problem going to a local self-storage place and putting your stuff in there, and you'll be reimbursed for the storage unit. Sixty days is typical for civilians and 90 days is typical for active duty military, but you do need to let the transportation office know. If you don't, they may deny those expenses and you'll be stuck paying out of your own pocket.

They'll probably want you to weigh your household goods empty and full as you take things out. If you put 10,000 pounds in and pull 5,000 out as soon as you get an apartment, they need to know how much weight you took out. If you took it all, weigh it all. If you took half, weigh half. Unless you pull the entire amount out and close the unit, get empty and full weight tickets every time you pull a load.

No Address at Destination? Give Them a City or Zip Code

One of my clients called me up upset because they wanted to know the address they were going to. It doesn't matter if it's 123 Banana Street, but they do want the city, whether that's Eglin or Maxwell or anywhere else, and at least a zip code, because that's how they calculate the mileage you get paid for. Don't get upset if they ask for your destination address and you don't have a house yet. A city or zip code is the main thing they need.

Rules Change, So Verify With Your Transportation Office

All of these rules are subject to change, so verify them with your transportation office. Regulations change, and there may be updates I'm not aware of.

Selling or Buying a Home When You PCS

If you have a house to sell at origin or you're looking for a house at destination, I have a full network of real estate agents I partner with who can help you sell at origin and find your next home at destination. At least 25% of military homeowners keep their house as a rental when they PCS, and I covered how a VA loan lets you keep your first house as a rental in another post. If you're getting ready to move, my checklist for prepping your house for PCS movers covers the government move side.

Frequently Asked Questions About PPM and DITY Moves

What is a PPM, and is it the same thing as a DITY move?

A PPM is a personally procured move, and it's your DITY move. You move yourself instead of having the government hire a moving company to move you.

Can I do a PPM and a government household goods move on the same PCS?

Yes. You can split your weight any way you like, like five and five or two and eight. Set up a household goods move as a no on the personally procured question, then create a second shipment and answer yes.

When do I need to set up my PPM?

Before you leave origin. Don't assume you'll get paid just because you moved yourself. A household goods move usually needs at least 3 weeks' notice, and a PPM can often be confirmed in about a day.

Do civilians get paid the same as active duty for a PPM?

No. Active duty is paid for the weight and mileage moved. Civilians are reimbursed dollar for dollar for expenses, like the base price of a rental truck and packing materials, but not insurance or taxes.

What weight tickets do I need for a PPM?

You weigh the vehicle empty and again full, and if you tow a trailer, you weigh the truck and trailer together empty and full. Keep every ticket. You can weigh anywhere along your route.

Can I put my stuff in storage at my destination during a PPM?

Yes, but tell the transportation office first or they may deny the expense. Sixty days is typical for civilians and 90 days for active duty. Get empty and full weight tickets each time you pull a load out.

Ready to Make Your PCS to Robins AFB Go Smoother?

Call or text me at (478) 273-8880, or book a time to talk and we'll go over your move, your house at origin, and your next home at destination.