Moving can be complicated for any family, but moving when you’re in the military can add some extra challenges. Being prepared can make the process feel a lot more manageable.
Whether or not this is your first military move, or you’re a seasoned vet- if you or someone you know needs some help with their military move, this guide is for you. Here’s everything you need to know about moving in the military with your family.
Table Of Contents
Before Your Military Move – Pre-Packing
One of the most stressful parts of moving is preparing for moving. Relocating yourself and your family requires a lot of paperwork, a lot of planning, and a lot of packing. Any military family knows this cycle–the biggest difference in moving as a military family is that there’s often a lot more paperwork and scheduling.
Before you start packing up any boxes, especially if this is your first time moving in the military, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the military-moving lingo.
Regardless of whether or not you’re single, or moving with a big family, you may want to share this list with anyone helping you through the process – that way they’re up to date with what’s happening.
Military Moving Lingo
- PCS – Permanent Change of Station
- TDM – Temporary Duty Move (also sometimes referred to as TDA, Temporary Duty Assignment)
- CONUS – Inside the continental United States
- OCONUS – Outside the continental United States
- PPM or DITY – Personally Procured Move or Do-It-Yourself Move
- Partial DITY – Moving partly on your own, and partly with the help of a TSP
- TSP – Transportation Service Provider
- DPS – Defense Personal Property System
- HHG – Household Goods
- UB – Unaccompanied Baggage
- POV – Personally Owned Vehicle
- NTS – Non-Temporary Storage
It’s a lot, we know.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry. We’ll talk about the process of using all the acronyms in more detail so there’s no need to memorize them all right away.
Preparing Your Family For A Military Move
The best way to prepare for any move is to make sure you have some systems in place to help you make the packing process more seamless. For military families, this means having some systems ready before you or your family member receive their orders.
Orders can sometimes change, but most people receive news orders around the late spring and early summer. May-July are typically the busiest months for receiving orders and moving, so you should expect orders to arrive around that time.
Alternatively, if you or your loved one is nearing the end of a previously discussed tour time (maybe your last orders were for a six-month CONUS TDM), you should also expect to receive new orders.
Keep in mind, however, that orders are not set in stone until you receive a hard copy. You can check for your orders online.
Before you even get new orders, here’s what you should do first.
Some of these things can be done just before receiving your orders, others can be done continuously to help with your next move and any future moves.
Start Saving
Whether or not you opt to use a TSP (Transportation Service Provider) or to do a DITY move (Do-It-Yourself), there are likely some unexpected things you’ll have to pay for. The military offers all sorts of financial assistance to military families, but you may have to pay for some things out of pocket while you’re waiting for reimbursement.
You should also consider the best living situation for your needs. Some families choose to live on base if it’s available to them, but some choose to rent off base or buy property in their new location. No matter what you do, having money on reserve will make moving feel easier.
Start saving early!
Talk About It
If there are members in your family that have a hard time adjusting to change, might take the news about you leaving with some difficulty, or if you know you need to emotionally prepare to say goodbye, you should have conversations about it earlier rather than later.
There are plenty of resources available for children and teens that are struggling with the stress of military moving, you can also ask your sponsor or friends for additional help if you feel you need it.
Print Everything
Paperwork inevitably comes up during some part of your move. Make sure you have multiple hardcopies of everything you can give to an official if you must–birth certificates, medical information, passports, emergency contact information, rental agreements, licenses–and anything else you can think of.
Consider creating a secured Google folder, or another virtual storage option, that can be accessed at any time for these documents too. This allows you and your spouse (if you have one) to access them whenever it’s necessary, even without a hard copy.
This is especially essential to anyone with a large family (you need all the information for each member), with pets (they count as members!), and/or any OCONUS move.
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Keep It Clean
This is tricky–especially if you have lots of kids or you move more often than other service members. To the best of your ability, try to keep your home organized, clutter-free, and minimal.
Managing your stuff before you get orders will make it a lot easier to pack when you get orders, especially if your orders require you to move quickly.
Picture It
This one is also hard. When you’re moving, the military will ask you to catalog everything in your home so they don’t get lost during the moving process.
Yes, basically everything.
Start making your catalog early if you can. Anytime something new comes into your home, take a photo of it, write a description for it if needed, and upload it to a shared file with your spouse, to streamline the process in case you have to add more later.
Familiarize Yourself
The military understands that learning how to move according to their standards is a process on its own. There are several websites entirely devoted to making the process as simple and easily understood as possible.
Check out these sites before you get your orders so that you can plug in right away and anticipate your next steps.
Go to Military One Source to register your move, schedule your move, and find other resources.
To find details about your new base, take a look at My Base Guide.
For an in-depth list of everything you can get reimbursed for if you move by yourself, check Defense Finance and Accounting Services.
If you have any questions about your car, you should consult Storing Your Vehicle PDF.
After You Receive Orders
After you’ve received your orders, things will start moving pretty quickly.
Pro-tip: Keep all your receipts from your moving process from the very beginning. The military will pay for almost everything in your move, but there are many types of financial assistance for moving military families.
Decide What Kind Of Move Is Right For You
As we’ve discussed there are two primary types of moves: DITY (Do-It-Yourself) moves or moves that use TSP (Transportation Service Provider).
If your orders are for a TDM (Temporary Duty Move), where you’re only away for a short time (TDMs can range from a couple of weeks to a couple of months in length), you may not need to actually move.
If your orders are for a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) however, you’ll be relocating for at least two years (or up to four). This is when you’ll have to decide whether or not you’re going to have the government help you move or if you’d rather do it without government assistance.
It seems that most people, including seasoned spouses, don’t recommend moving without government assistance.
Keeping the paperwork straight, transporting everything on your own, and unpacking everything on your own can make an already difficult time more challenging.
You could decide to do a partial DITY, where you move only some of your HHG (household goods) without government help. This is ideal for people that want to keep especially precious cargo close to them, but want the bulk of their home moved by professionals.
Keep in mind that you’ll have to track the weight of your vehicles so that you can be reimbursed later. Here’s everything you need to know about weight limits.
If you do decide to let the professionals handle everything, the military will schedule your move for you, so make sure you keep in contact with the Transportation Office to make sure you’re kept up to date.
Schedule An Appointment With Your Transportation Office
Get in touch with your transportation office to make sure you’re on track with your moving schedule. If you’re not taking some HHG and would like to store them, this is the office to talk to.
Make sure you and your family understand the timing of your move. Consider passing the contact information to a spouse if they need to reach out at any time.
Wrap Up Your Old Place
If you’re moving from one base to another, make sure all of your final bills are paid at your old place. Or maybe you’re a property owner–decide what will happen with your property while you’re gone.
If you’re renting, let your landlord know as quickly as possible.
When you have to break a lease, know that your landlord cannot punish you for it.
Read this for more information about rental laws as a serviceman.
Update Your Catalog
If you’ve moved before, you’re probably already familiar with cataloging a little bit.
You need a complete list of your possessions before you can move, especially if you’re not DITY moving.
Keep close track of any things that are fragile, precious, or otherwise sentimental and communicate their value to your TSP.
Collect Your Documents
If you received orders for an OCONO move, it’s especially important to make sure all of your documents are up to date.
Check your and your family’s passports and update them if necessary. Apply for visas if your family needs them. Get the most up-to-date medical and school records.
Make sure you also have your out-processing paperwork!
Pack Your Personal Bag
It’s a good idea to pack a small personal bag with all the essential items you’ll need to survive while the bulk of your things are being transported.
If you can’t move in right away and you have to book a hotel, make sure you have a few things that make you feel at home to make the move easier.
Checklist
If that felt like a lot of information to digest at once, here’s a checklist you can reference in the future. Remember too, there are all sorts of resources available that can make the process of your military move easier.
BEFORE YOU GET ORDERS
- Start Saving
- Talk About It
- Print Everything
- Keep It Clean
- Picture It
- Familiarize Yourself
AFTER YOU GET ORDERS
- Decide What Kind Of Move Is Right For You
- Schedule An Appointment With Your Transportation Office
- Wrap Up Your Old Place
- Update Your Catalog
- Collect Your Documents
- Pack Your Personal Bag
Conclusion
Military moves can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time. Before you give up on figuring it out, remember that there are resources that to can make the process easier.
Developing systems for yourself and your family can help make moving less stressful. Don’t forget to look over your checklist so that the process feels more manageable.
Disclaimer: UniMovers is not affiliated with the military. The information presented in this article is based on availble resources (linked accordingly).
Grace currently lives in Nashville, TN. She grew up in the Southeastern United States and graduated from College of Charleston, in Charleston, South Carolina. Her degree is in Political Science with a focus in International Relations, but she has a passion for all things communication and writing.
