PCS Out of NAS Jax or Mayport: When a Local Mover for a PPM Makes Sense

Jacksonville is a Navy town, and a lot of the moves in this city start with a set of orders. When those orders come, there are two basic ways to get your household goods from here to there. The government can arrange the move for you, or you can do it yourself as a Personally Procured Move (PPM) and get paid for it.

This post is for the second group, and specifically for people who like the idea of a PPM but don't want to carry the couch down three flights themselves. Hiring a moving company for all or part of a PPM is allowed. The Defense Department's own PPM fact sheet lists it as one of the ways to do one. Whether it makes sense for you comes down to the math, your report date, and how much of the work you want to take on.

One thing up front: we're a moving company you'd hire yourself. We aren't your transportation office, and nothing here replaces your PPM counseling. Get counseled first, then call movers.

Government move vs. PPM: the 60-second version

Government-arranged move. You set up your shipment in the Defense Personal Property System (DPS), and the government arranges and pays the moving company. Military OneSource describes DPS as the place to schedule your move, track your shipment, and file a claim.

Personally Procured Move (PPM). You arrange the move yourself. DoD's fact sheet lists the usual ways: a rental truck or trailer, your own vehicle, portable moving and storage containers, a small-package carrier, or hiring your own moving company.

With a member-elected PPM, you're paid 100% of the Government Constructed Cost (GCC). That's what the government estimates it would have paid a government-provided company to move the same goods. You get a single payment and keep whatever you don't spend, minus taxes. The final payment is based on the actual weight you move, proven with weight tickets, and it can't go over your authorized weight entitlement.

You can also do a partial PPM, where the government ships most of your things and you move some yourself. Ask your transportation office (TO) whether that fits your orders.

Who to call first at NAS Jax and Mayport

Before you rent a truck, book a crew, or pack a box, talk to the people who approve your PPM.

• NAS Jacksonville: The Navy Joint Personal Property Shipping Office South East (JPPSO-SE) is in Bldg. 110, Yorktown Avenue, NAS Jacksonville. MilitaryINSTALLATIONS lists the customer call center at 904-542-1000, with hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Naval Station Mayport: The MilitaryINSTALLATIONS household goods page for Mayport points families to the Fleet and Family Support Center at 904-270-6600 and to Navy household goods phone help at 855-444-6683.
• DPS or MilMove trouble: The help desk is 833-MIL-MOVE (833-645-6683).

DoD's PPM fact sheet is direct about hiring help: if you plan to hire your own moving company, discuss the details with your TO. Ask your counselor for your estimated incentive, how weight tickets have to be done for your branch, and what receipts they want.

How PPM pay works, and where a hired crew fits

Here's the math you're really doing:

What the government will pay you (the GCC, based on your weight) minus what you spend to move = what you keep (before taxes).

DoD's fact sheet calls your local TO the best resource for an estimate of your incentive. Get that number first. Then get written quotes. If the crew, the truck, and materials eat most of the incentive, you're trading money for your back and your time. Sometimes that's worth it. Sometimes it isn't.

Here are the common ways a local crew fits into a PPM:

Full service, local

You hire us to pack, load, drive, and unload, for example from base housing to a rental across town or from an apartment to storage. You keep the paperwork straight, and we do the lifting.

Labor only

You rent the truck, and we load it at this end (or unload it at the other end, if it's local). This is often the middle ground: you capture more of the incentive and skip the heaviest work. See our loading and unloading help page.

Part of a partial PPM

The government ships the bulk of it, and you hire help for the things you'd rather handle yourself.

When it may not make sense

If your incentive is small, your load is light, or your schedule is wide open, doing it yourself may leave more money in your pocket. Run the numbers with your TO's estimate before you decide.

Weight tickets: empty and full, every trip, and don't lose them

Your PPM payment rides on weight tickets. This is where hiring a mover adds a step people don't expect: the vehicle carrying your goods is the one that has to be weighed. If that's our truck, the tickets come from our truck.

What DoD PPM guidance says:

• Get empty and full tickets from a certified weigh station for each segment of your PPM, including separate trips.
• If you hire a commercial moving company, make sure they also do the weigh requirements and provide the tickets.
• Ask your TO what has to be on each ticket. DoD's fact sheet says your TO counselor can give you a list of certified scales and tell you what information your weight tickets need. Branch rules on details like fuel and passengers during weighing can differ, so get them from your counselor rather than a website.

Your counselor can tell you exactly what has to be on the ticket and where certified scales are near you. Take photos of every ticket the minute you get it, and keep the originals with you, not in the truck.

If our truck is hauling your goods, tell us it's a PPM when you book, so the empty and full weighings get built into the plan and the time for them shows up on your estimate. Bring your counselor's ticket requirements to us before moving day, and ask for an itemized, paid receipt at the end. That's the paperwork your TO will want to see.

Mayport, Jax, and the beaches: timing a PCS

Florida's consumer agency says late May through August is typically the busiest stretch for moving companies, and that weekend rates tend to run highest. A lot of PCS moves land in that same window, so the earlier you book, the more choice you have on dates.

Geography matters too. NAS Jax sits on the west side of the St. Johns River, and Mayport is out east by the beaches. A move between the two sides of town means crossing the river, and on an hourly move, traffic time is crew time.

Our general advice: book as soon as your PPM is approved and you have a date, especially for a summer move. Plan an early start, and if the crew needs to get on base or into base housing, sort out access with the housing office ahead of time so nobody is waiting at a gate on the clock.

What we can and can't do on a military move

What we can do on a PPM you book with us: what you hire us for, like packing, loading, driving, unloading, storage, or labor only, with a written estimate and a paid receipt.

What we can't do: decide your entitlement, approve your PPM, promise what you'll be reimbursed, or set up a government-arranged shipment. Those go through your TO and DPS.

Check any mover you hire, including us. DoD's PPM fact sheet recommends hiring a moving company registered with the federal government. For a move that starts and ends in Florida, the state also requires movers to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), and you can look a company up with FDACS's Business License Lookup or by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA. Florida's moving law doesn't cover shipments contracted by the U.S. government. On a PPM, though, you're the one hiring the mover, so ask for the full written estimate and contract Florida law describes. For the record, ours are Florida mover registration IM #891 and USDOT 1473292. Look us up the same way you'd look up anyone else.

Put simply: on a PPM, you're our customer, the same as any other move. You book us, you get the written estimate, and you get the receipt. The government relationship stays between you and your transportation office.

What tends to go wrong on a PCS move

Most PCS headaches we hear about trace back to a few things: booking a crew before the PPM is approved, finding out about weight-ticket requirements after the truck is already loaded, and losing receipts in the chaos of the last week. Every one of those is avoidable with a short call to your TO and a checklist like the one below.

Your PCS week-of checklist

• [ ] PPM counseling done and approved by your TO before you book anyone
• [ ] Your TO's incentive estimate in hand, compared against your written quotes
• [ ] Written estimate and contract from the mover, with you named as the customer
• [ ] Empty weight ticket before loading, and a full ticket after, for every trip and vehicle
• [ ] Photos of every weight ticket, with the originals kept with you
• [ ] Pro-gear set aside and labeled separately, if you're declaring it (ask your TO how)
• [ ] Paid receipts for the crew, truck rental, materials, weighing fees, and tolls
• [ ] Gate or base-housing access arranged for the crew, if they're coming on base
• [ ] Orders, IDs, meds, and paperwork packed in your own vehicle, not on the truck

FAQ

Can I hire a moving company and still get paid for a PPM?

Yes. DoD's PPM fact sheet lists hiring your own moving company as one way to do a PPM. Talk to your transportation office first, and make sure the mover provides weight tickets.

Who gets the weight tickets if a mover's truck hauls my things?

The vehicle carrying your goods is the one that gets weighed, so the tickets come from that truck. DoD guidance says that if you hire a commercial company, make sure they also meet the weigh requirements.

Are you a government-approved mover?

On a PPM, you hire the mover, not the government. If you want the government to arrange and pay a moving company directly, set that up in DPS through your transportation office.

What if I move more than my weight allowance?

DoD's fact sheet says your PPM payment is based on actual weight but can't go over your authorized weight entitlement, so weight over the allowance isn't paid.