The Short Version
Your PCS weight allowance is one number. Unaccompanied baggage, the household-goods truck, and anything you put in non-temporary storage all draw from that same JTR Table 5-37 cap. Pounds past the cap are yours to pay.
An E-5 with dependents is 9,000 pounds in the table this site uses. An E-5 without dependents is 7,000 pounds. The chart was unchanged in the 1 March 2026 Joint Travel Regulations. TMO still confirms your line.
JTR Table 5-37 maximum weight
Pounds, not estimates. Enter your rank in the PCS planner and the entitlement card should match this chart.
| Grade | Without dependents | With dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 to E-3 | 5,000 | 8,000 |
| E-4 | 7,000 | 8,000 |
| E-5 | 7,000 | 9,000 |
| E-6 | 8,000 | 11,000 |
| E-7 | 11,000 | 13,000 |
| E-8 | 12,000 | 14,000 |
| E-9 | 13,000 | 15,000 |
| W-1 | 10,000 | 12,000 |
| W-2 | 12,500 | 13,500 |
| W-3 | 13,000 | 14,500 |
| W-4 | 14,000 | 17,000 |
| W-5 | 16,000 | 17,500 |
| O-1 | 10,000 | 12,000 |
| O-2 | 12,500 | 13,500 |
| O-3 | 13,000 | 14,500 |
| O-4 | 14,000 | 17,000 |
| O-5 | 16,000 | 17,500 |
| O-6 and above | 18,000 | 18,000 |
What counts against the cap
- Household goods (HHG): the main shipment.
- Unaccompanied baggage (UB): the air shipment that arrives first. It is part of the total, not extra weight.
- Non-temporary storage (NTS): goods you store instead of shipping still count.
Professional gear is the exception. Member professional books, papers, and equipment (PBP&E) can add up to 2,000 pounds outside the cap. Spouse professional gear can add up to 500 pounds only if it is approved. Uniforms you are required to have are not a second household.
How families actually go overweight
- They ship UB “just in case,” then fill the truck as if UB never happened.
- They store a couch and also ship its replacement.
- They do a partial PPM without empty and loaded weight tickets, then cannot prove what the government should pay.
Declutter before the pre-move survey. If you are doing any of the move yourself, read the PPM guide and get the weight tickets TMO asks for. Damage after delivery is a separate clock: how HHG claims work.
Authority: Joint Travel Regulations.
