A Personally Procured Move (PPM), often called a DITY move, lets an eligible service member arrange some or all of their own household-goods transportation. It can give you more control over cost and schedule, but it puts more planning, paperwork, and responsibility on you. This page is the short sequence — each step links to the full guide.
This guide is written for military service members with an authorized PPM move within the continental United States (CONUS). Overseas moves, Alaska/Hawaii/Canada transits, separation, retirement, accession, local moves, Reserve/Guard orders, dual-military households, and dependents moving separately all have their own rules this guide doesn't fully cover — if any of those apply to you, use this sequence as a starting point but confirm the specifics with your transportation office before you commit to anything.
The sequence
- Confirm eligibility and get authorized. Contact your transportation office (TO/TMO/JPPSO) before you spend or arrange anything. Get your counseling, authorization, estimate, and documentation instructions in writing.
- Compare your options. Rental truck, rental trailer, You-Pack/We-Drive, full-service movers, or carrying goods in your own vehicle — see the full comparison and how to choose.
- Build a real cost estimate. Don't guess at a payout — work through an itemized estimate using your TO's numbers and actual quotes.
- Understand weight tickets before you load anything. Know what you need and when — this is easy to get wrong after the fact and hard to fix.
- Screen what you're planning to move. Check eligibility, carrier rules, and destination restrictions for anything unusual before you pack it.
- Pack and prepare. Start with packing basics and the printable checklists.
- Load safely. Follow the loading guide for your equipment and any item-specific pages you need.
- Travel. Plan the drive with the on-the-road guide.
- Unload and document. Unload safely and keep photos and condition records before you return any equipment.
- File for reimbursement. Submit through your service's current process — see reimbursement and taxes.
Already moved, or found a paperwork problem?
You're not out of options. If you moved without prior counseling, are missing a weight ticket, or found an error after the fact, don't assume the claim is dead — see the recovery routes here and contact your transportation office promptly to ask what can still be corrected.