The Camp Pendleton
PPM, Explained
The rules that decide whether your Personally Procured Move pays what it should: sourced from Military OneSource, USMC guidance and the JTR, current to 2026, with the expired 130 percent myth put to rest. We are a licensed San Diego mover, not a government contractor, and this page says plainly where we fit and where we do not.
By the Discount Movers Team · Updated August 2026 · Licensed California household mover · CAL-T #201759 · US DOT #4372335 · Not a government-contracted carrier
The Direct Answer
What A PPM Is Right Now
A Personally Procured Move, the program everyone still calls a DITY, means you arrange your own move under official orders and the government pays you an allowance: since September 30, 2025, 100 percent of the Government Constructed Cost, the amount it would have paid to move you itself (Military OneSource fact sheet, March 2026). Move for less and you keep the difference; the incentive is taxable. The 130 percent rate circulating in older articles was a temporary authority for moves begun between mid-May and the end of September 2025, created to offset the failures of the HomeSafe contract, and it has expired.
The system behind it in 2026 is the one that existed before the outsourcing experiment: the Defense Personal Property System at move.mil, run through your installation transportation office. The Global Household Goods Contract with HomeSafe Alliance was terminated on June 18, 2025 and shipments went back to that legacy system. Since May 1, 2026 a permanent Personal Property Activity at Scott Air Force Base has held central oversight of it, working through the Joint Personal Property Shipping Offices and the local Personal Property Processing Offices at installations, so the office you deal with on the day has not changed. At Camp Pendleton that office is the Distribution Management Office (DMO) under G-4 Logistics, and it is the DMO, not the housing office, that counsels, approves, and settles a PPM.
The Six Ways Marines Lose PPM Money
The Rules That Protect The Payout
1. Moving before approval. The DMO must authorize the PPM before anything moves. No prior approval, no claim. This is the first rule in the USMC handout for a reason.
2. Weight tickets. Certified empty and full tickets, obtained at origin within 50 miles, base scale first if available. Legible, certified, signed by the weighmaster, marked EMPTY or FULL, identifying you and the vehicle. Without them the PPM is not paid; constructed weight is a fallback only when no certified scale existed. Off base, pick a scale from California’s official CDFA Public Scales Listing rather than hoping a truck stop nearby has one; the nearest CAT scale we could verify is roughly 41 miles away in Corona.
3. Receipts. Everything: hired movers, truck rental, boxes, tape. They substantiate the settlement claim, and for active-duty members on PCS orders, unreimbursed moving expenses remain deductible (IRS Topic 455), the one moving deduction that survived 2026 for anyone.
4. Pro-gear. Professional books, papers and equipment ride outside your weight allowance, up to 2,000 pounds for the member and 500 for the spouse, but only if declared and weighed separately at the time of the move. Undeclared pro-gear is allowance wasted.
5. The 45-day clock. The settlement packet is due within 45 days of the planned move start date, and within 45 days of receipt if you took an advance. An advance operating allowance can be requested before the move (USMC handouts describe up to 60 percent of the estimated incentive; confirm the current figure at counseling), and an unsettled advance is recouped from pay.
6. The estimate is not the payment. The figure quoted at counseling is built on estimated weight. Settlement recalculates from your certified actual weight, so the real payment can land under or over the estimate. Plan on the tickets deciding, not the counseling sheet.
Where We Fit
Hiring A Mover Inside Your PPM
Hiring a commercial moving company is one of the standard PPM methods Military OneSource lists, alongside rental trucks and portable containers. You hire us directly, pay us directly, and our written paperwork goes into your settlement packet. Our published local rates apply: $119 an hour cash ($129 card) for two movers with a 3-hour minimum, the whole ladder on the rate card, no deposit, ever. For a full long-distance PPM we quote one flat rate in writing before we load.
The same fact sheet that lists your options warns about rogue operators, unlicensed movers and brokers who target military families in PCS season. The defense is thirty seconds of checking: our California license is CAL-T #201759, issued by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services, and our federal number is US DOT #4372335, both searchable in the public registries. We are a carrier, not a broker, and we are not a government-contracted carrier; on a PPM we work for you, not for the government. Weight-ticket stops are part of the plan when we run a PPM leg: loaded-truck weights are scheduled into the route, not improvised.
Book early in PCS season. The DoD peak runs May 15 through August 31, with the peak of the peak between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, and that demand hits crews, trucks, containers and scale queues alike. See also our Camp Pendleton moving page and the full PCS guide.
Four Questions, Answered
PPM Questions, Straight
What does a PPM pay in 2026?
For moves starting after September 30, 2025, the PPM allowance is 100 percent of the Government Constructed Cost, the amount the government would have paid to move you (Military OneSource, March 2026). Spend less than that and you keep the difference; the incentive portion is taxable income. The 130 percent rate you may have read about was a temporary authority for moves begun mid-May through September 2025 and has expired.
Can I hire a moving company inside a PPM?
Yes. Military OneSource lists hiring a commercial moving company alongside rental trucks and portable containers as standard PPM methods. You arrange it, pay for it, keep every receipt, and settle with the transportation office. The same fact sheet warns about rogue operators targeting military families, which is why checking a mover's license matters: ours are CAL-T #201759 (California BHGS) and US DOT #4372335, both verifiable in the public registries.
Where do I get weight tickets near Camp Pendleton?
USMC guidance says certified empty and full weight tickets, obtained at origin within 50 miles, using the base scale if one is available. Off base, use a scale on California's official public weighmaster registry (the CDFA Public Scales Listing). Do not count on a truck-stop CAT scale nearby; the closest one we could verify is about 41 miles away in Corona. Both tickets must be legible, certified, marked empty or full, and identify you and the vehicle, or the PPM is not paid.
When does the money actually arrive?
At settlement, after the DMO audits your certified weights and receipts, which is weeks after move day, not on it. An advance operating allowance can be requested through the transportation office before the move (USMC handouts describe up to 60 percent; confirm the current figure at your counseling). The settlement packet is due within 45 days of the planned move start date, and within 45 days of receipt if you took an advance, and an unsettled advance is recouped from pay.
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