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Two Ways a PCS Move Happens
When you receive orders, your household goods move one of two ways. They are genuinely different arrangements with different paperwork, different risks and different money, and your Transportation Office — not a moving company — is the authority on which one applies to you.
| Government-arranged shipment | Personally Procured Move (PPM) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who books the mover | The government, through its own process | You do |
| Who pays the mover | The government pays the carrier directly | You pay, then claim reimbursement |
| What you are reimbursed | Not applicable — you are not paying for the shipment | For a member-elected PPM, 100% of the Government Constructed Cost — what the government would have paid for the same move |
| Who you choose | You do not choose the carrier | Any mover you like, including a local company |
| What you must have first | Your orders and your Transportation Office's arrangements | Your official orders and approval from your Transportation Office, before you move |
| Paperwork that decides the money | Handled through the government process | Weight tickets and receipts, which are entirely on you |
| Where Halo fits | Not applicable | Halo is a mover you can hire for the move itself |
Definitions and the reimbursement figure are from the Department of Defense's Military OneSource fact sheet on Personally Procured Moves. Confirmed September 2026. Entitlements change and vary by circumstance — your Transportation Office is the only authority on yours, and nothing on this page replaces what they tell you.
Halo is a private moving company. It is not a government contractor, it does not decide your entitlement, and it cannot approve a PPM. What it can do is carry out the move competently and give you the documentation you will need afterwards.
What a Personally Procured Move Pays
A PPM is the option where you manage the move yourself rather than using a government-provided moving company. If you elect one, you are reimbursed 100% of the Government Constructed Cost — the amount the government would have paid to move the same shipment.
Two consequences follow, and they are the whole reason people choose a PPM:
- You choose who handles your belongings. That is not a small thing when the alternative is a carrier assigned to you.
- The arithmetic is yours. If the move costs you less than the government's constructed cost, the difference stays with you. If it costs more, that is on you too.
The order matters more than people expect: orders and Transportation Office approval come before the move, not after it. A move made before approval is a move you may be unable to claim for, however good the paperwork afterwards.
A caution about numbers you may see online
- You will find a 130% PPM reimbursement rate quoted on many moving-company websites and forum posts. That was a temporary peak-season measure that applied for a limited window in 2025 and has expired.
- The current published figure for a member-elected PPM is 100% of the Government Constructed Cost.
- Rates and entitlements change. Confirm the figure that applies to your move with your Transportation Office rather than with any moving company, including this one.
Halo would rather tell you that than quietly leave a bigger number on the page. A mover that advertises an expired rate to win your booking is telling you something about how it will handle the rest of your move.
Weight Tickets and Receipts
This is the part that decides whether a PPM actually pays. The move can go perfectly and the claim can still fail, because reimbursement is calculated from documents rather than from what happened.
What you have to come home with
- Empty and full weight tickets, from a certified weigh station, for each segment of the move. Empty means the vehicle before it is loaded; full means the same vehicle loaded.
- Every receipt for every expense. Receipts are required to file the reimbursement request — an expense with no receipt is an expense you absorbed.
- Your official orders and the Transportation Office approval you obtained before moving.
Source: Department of Defense Military OneSource fact sheet on Personally Procured Moves. Confirmed September 2026. Your Transportation Office sets the exact documentation your claim requires.
What this means when you hire a mover
Most moving companies quote you a job and go home. On a PPM the truck has to be weighed empty and weighed full, and that has to be planned into the day rather than remembered at the end of it. Tell Halo at quote stage that the move is a PPM, and the weigh stops are built into the route and the timings rather than bolted on.
Halo can carry out the move and provide the invoice and documentation for the work it performed. It does not file your claim, calculate your entitlement, or promise a reimbursement figure — those sit between you and your Transportation Office.
A PPM reimbursement is paid against documented weight, so who moves you matters to the paperwork as much as to the furniture. Halo by California Movers USA issues the certified weight tickets and itemised receipts a claim needs, and the crew on the job are in-house employees — not a contract team you would have to chase afterwards for documents.
What Hiring Us Costs
The published package is $175 per hour for two movers and one truck. Larger households need a bigger crew or a second truck, and that is decided and written into the estimate before the date is held. On a PPM this figure matters twice: it is what you pay, and it is what you are comparing against the government's constructed cost.
| What drives the hours | Shorter when | Longer when |
|---|---|---|
| Readiness | Boxes sealed, labeled and stacked by the door | Packing still happening when the crew arrives |
| Base access | Passes and gate arrangements sorted in advance | The crew waits at a gate for clearance |
| Housing rules | Move windows and any required paperwork confirmed | Discovered on the morning |
| Weigh stops | Planned into the route from the start | Added mid-day, out of the way |
| Access at both ends | Ground floor or lift, truck near the door | Stairs, long carry, nowhere legal to stop |
| Storage | Not needed, or arranged in advance | Needed suddenly because dates moved |
Short-notice orders are ordinary in this work — the same-day moving page covers what can realistically be done at short notice. A move out of California is quoted as long-distance work, and the interstate page covers the federal rules that apply once you cross a state line.
A PPM Across California, Step by Step
A composite built from ordinary Halo work: a family in a two-bedroom home on the northern side of the Bay, moving on orders to Southern California, electing a PPM. Two movers and one truck.
Before the moveOrders
Orders in hand. The Transportation Office is briefed on the intention to do a PPM and approval is obtained before anything is booked. This step is not optional and it is not retroactive.
−3 wk
Quote requested from Halo, with a note that it is a PPM. Weigh stops are planned into the route from the start rather than added later.
−2 wk
Written estimate, crew size and Not To Exceed price confirmed. Base access, gate passes and housing move-out rules checked at both ends.
−1 wk
Packing materials delivered. A folder is started for every receipt from here on.
7:30
Empty weight ticket. The truck is weighed before loading at a certified weigh station, and the ticket goes straight into the folder.
8:30
Crew arrives, walks the home, protects floors and door frames, confirms the inventory against the estimate.
9:00
Furniture disassembled and pad-wrapped; hardware bagged and labeled by piece.
11:00
Loading, built and strapped for a long freeway run rather than a short hop.
13:30
Load complete, walkthrough, paperwork signed.
14:00
Full weight ticket. Same station, same vehicle, loaded. Second ticket into the folder.
Next day
Delivery, placement to the room named on each label, furniture rebuilt, walkthrough and closeout. The invoice joins the tickets and receipts.
After
The claim goes to the Transportation Office with orders, approval, both weight tickets and every receipt. That folder is the reimbursement.
What would have cost this family money
- Moving before Transportation Office approval — the strongest paperwork afterwards does not fix it.
- Forgetting the empty weight ticket. There is no way to weigh an empty truck once it is full.
- Paying a helper in cash with no receipt. An expense without a receipt is an expense you keep.
- Weigh stops improvised at the end of the day, adding an hour of billable driving in the wrong direction.
Composite illustration drawn from routine California work, not one family's file. Entitlements and required documents are set by your Transportation Office.
Rogue Operators and How to Check a Mover
The Department of Defense publishes a warning about this for a reason: service members on orders are a target. The pattern is always the same — an unusually low quote, then a price that inflates once your belongings are on the truck and you are five hundred miles away.
What the DoD tells service members to do
- Be alert to companies that may seek to take advantage of you and your family for financial gain, typically by quoting low and inflating the price afterwards.
- Verify the mover through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move.
- Check reviews through the Better Business Bureau.
- Contact state movers associations for further verification.
Source: Department of Defense Military OneSource fact sheet on Personally Procured Moves and rogue operators. Confirmed September 2026.
Two things worth adding for a move inside California. First, household movers operating intrastate must be licensed by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services — Halo operates under permit CAL-T203846, and you can and should check the number. Second, before the move begins a California mover must give you a Not To Exceed price: the maximum you can be charged for the agreed work. A quote with no maximum attached to it is exactly the pattern the DoD is warning you about.
Be sceptical of moving companies advertising themselves as "military approved" or "government approved". Those phrases do not describe a real certification a local mover holds, and the fact that a company uses them is itself worth noticing.
What the Rate Includes and What Is Quoted Separately
Both lists are settled before you book. On a PPM this matters more than usual, because every line is a line you are documenting.
In the hourly rate
- The crew and the truck
- Trained, background-checked Halo employees
- Furniture disassembly and reassembly
- Pads, shrink wrap, straps, dollies and equipment
- Floor and door-frame protection at both ends
- Loading, transport and unloading
- Placement in the room you name
- An itemised invoice for your claim folder
- Basic protection at 60 cents per pound per article
Quoted as its own line
- Full or partial packing labor
- Cartons, paper and materials you keep
- Storage between dates or during a deployment
- Specialty handling — piano, safe, gun cabinet, oversized art
- Additional pickup or delivery stops
- A shuttle where a full-size truck cannot reach the door
- Valuation above the basic 60 cents per pound
Sixty cents per pound per article is a liability level built into the rate, not insurance — it pays by weight rather than value. If your household includes items worth more than they weigh, raise it during the estimate and have the right valuation elected in your move documents.
Storage runs through a partner warehouse with climate control available and access around the clock by calling the office, with pickup, the storage period and redelivery quoted separately. Useful when report dates and housing dates do not line up, which on orders they frequently do not. The storage page has the detail.
Appliances have to be disconnected and drained before the crew arrives. Halo does not disconnect or reconnect gas, water or electrical appliances — that is work for a qualified plumber, electrician or gas fitter, and it has to be finished before the truck is loaded.
Appliances have to be disconnected and drained before the crew arrives. Halo does not disconnect or reconnect gas, water or electrical appliances — that is work for a qualified plumber, electrician or gas fitter, and it has to be finished before the truck is loaded.
Military Moving FAQ
What is the difference between a government-arranged move and a PPM?
In a government-arranged shipment the government books and pays a carrier, and you do not choose it. In a Personally Procured Move you manage the move yourself, hire whichever mover you want, pay for it and then claim reimbursement. Your Transportation Office decides which is available to you.
How much does a PPM reimburse?
For a member-elected PPM, 100% of the Government Constructed Cost — the amount the government would have paid to move the same shipment. Confirm the figure for your own move with your Transportation Office.
I have seen 130% quoted. Is that right?
Not currently. That was a temporary peak-season measure that applied for a limited window in 2025 and has expired. The current published figure is 100% of the Government Constructed Cost. Any company still advertising 130% to win your booking is worth a second look.
Can I book the move before my Transportation Office approves it?
You should not. Approval from your Transportation Office, along with your official orders, is required before you move. A move made without it may not be claimable, however complete your paperwork afterwards.
What paperwork do I need to be reimbursed?
Empty and full weight tickets from a certified weigh station for each segment of the move, receipts for every expense, and your orders and approval. Reimbursement is calculated from documents, not from what actually happened, so the folder matters as much as the move.
Can you weigh the truck for my PPM?
Tell us at quote stage that it is a PPM and the weigh stops are planned into the route and the timings. It has to be the same vehicle weighed empty and then loaded, which is why it cannot be improvised at the end of the day.
Do you file my claim for me?
No. Halo carries out the move and gives you an itemised invoice and documentation for the work performed. Filing the claim, calculating your entitlement and approving it are between you and your Transportation Office.
Are you a government-approved or military-approved mover?
No, and be wary of local movers who say they are — it is not a certification a company like this holds. Halo is a private California moving company licensed by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services under permit CAL-T203846, which you can verify.
How do I check that a mover is legitimate?
The Department of Defense points service members to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Protect Your Move site, to Better Business Bureau reviews, and to state movers associations. For a move inside California, also ask for the BHGS license number and for the Not To Exceed price in writing.
Can you store our belongings during a deployment?
Yes. Storage runs through a partner warehouse with climate control available and access around the clock by calling the office, with pickup, the storage period and redelivery quoted as separate components.
Can you handle a short-notice move?
Often, yes — short notice is normal on orders. What can realistically be done today depends on the size of the job and on whether any building or base access needs arranging, which the same-day moving page sets out honestly.
Do you move to bases outside California?
Yes. Once the move crosses a state line it is federally regulated work with its own written estimate and survey requirements, covered on the interstate moving page.
Does Halo subcontract military moves?
No. They are handled by trained, background-checked Halo employees, with a lead foreman on site and a dispatcher coordinating the day. The people who quoted the work are accountable for it.
Installations and Cities We Serve
Halo is based in San Francisco and moves service members and their families to and from installations across California, as well as on routes out of state. Base access, gate passes and housing move-out rules are confirmed before the date is held rather than on the morning.
- Bay Area
- Oakland
- Berkeley
- San Jose
- Fremont
- Concord
- Vallejo
- Antioch
- Daly City
- Livermore
- Sunnyvale
- Contra Costa County
- Sacramento
- Roseville
- Stockton
- Fresno
- Bakersfield
- Los Angeles
- Orange County
- San Diego
The full directory is on the moving locations page. A move that crosses a state line on orders is quoted as state-to-state work.
Get a Price for Your PCS Move
Tell us both addresses, the date, what is moving, and — importantly — whether this is a Personally Procured Move. If it is, the weigh stops go into the plan from the start, and you get an itemised invoice for your claim folder.
Get My Moving PriceHalo is a private moving company, not a government contractor. Your entitlement, your approval and your reimbursement are matters for your Transportation Office. The deposit and payment options explain how the date is reserved and how the balance can be paid.