Skip to main content
PCS Moving

PPM (DITY) Moves Explained: When Doing It Yourself Actually Pays

USUSMilitaryMoves Team
12 min read
Sailors carrying household goods boxes, used as the share image for the PPM and DITY move guide.

A Personally Procured Move can put incentive pay in your pocket — or wipe a weekend and your back. Here is how weight tickets, advances, estimates, and risk math work before you rent the truck.

Key Takeaways

  • PPM (Personally Procured Move), still called DITY by many families, means you arrange the move and can receive an incentive based on what the government would have paid.
  • Empty and full weight tickets make or break reimbursement — no tickets, no full payday.
  • Partial PPM (some HHG government-moved, some self-moved) is often the sane middle path.
  • Advances may be available; final settlement still needs receipts, tickets, and the right forms.
  • If the schedule is already on fire, a full government HHG move is usually safer than a hero PPM.

The Short Version

A PPM (Personally Procured Move) — still nicknamed DITY — can pay you an incentive when you move household goods yourself. It can also cost you a blown weekend, a strained back, and a settlement fight if the weight tickets are wrong.

Sailors carry household goods boxes during a move
PPM money is real. So is the labor. Treat it like a small logistics contract, not a garage-sale run.
  • Incentive: Often based on a share of the government’s constructive cost for your weight and route.
  • Proof: Empty and full certified weight tickets.
  • Smart default: Partial PPM for flexible cargo; government HHG for the heavy stuff.

PPM vs Full HHG

Full government HHG uses your Personal Property Office and DPS with a contracted mover. PPM puts you in the driver’s seat for some or all of the weight. The Personal Property Activity reforms in the permanent PCS move agency guide still apply to counseling and claims culture either way.

The Money Math

Service members load household goods during a PCS
Estimate incentive pay, then subtract truck rental, fuel, helpers, lodging, and the value of your leave days.
  1. Get the official estimate from transportation — not a Facebook spreadsheet.
  2. Price the truck, fuel, tolls, packing materials, and labor.
  3. Decide whether the leftover incentive is worth the schedule risk.
  4. Keep a PCS cash buffer for the gaps covered in PCS expenses nobody warns you about.

Weight Tickets or Bust

Certified empty and full tickets for the configuration you actually drive are non-negotiable. Same truck, same trailer, same passengers policy your counselor briefed. Photograph every ticket the minute you get it. Lost tickets turn a “profit” PPM into a story you tell bitterly at the next duty station.

When to Skip the Hero Move

  • Report date inside 30 days with no helper bench.
  • Overseas or multi-leg moves with quarantine and port rules.
  • EFMP households already carrying medical logistics — see EFMP PCS.
  • Anything that requires you to gamble the kids’ first-day-of-school housing on a late DIY unload.

What to Do Next

  1. Book Personal Property counseling and ask for a PPM estimate.
  2. Choose full or partial before you reserve equipment.
  3. Put ticket stops on the route map.
  4. Run the rest of the calendar in the PCS planner and move checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a PPM or DITY move?
A Personally Procured Move (PPM), often still called a DITY move, is when you move some or all of your household goods yourself instead of a full government-arranged shipment. You may receive an incentive payment based on a percentage of what the government would have paid a contractor for that weight and route.
Do I need weight tickets for a PPM?
Yes. You generally need certified empty and full weight tickets for the vehicle and trailer configuration you actually use. Missing or sloppy tickets are the fastest way to lose incentive pay.
Can I do a partial PPM?
Yes. Many families ship furniture with the government and PPM clothes, kids’ gear, and high-value items in a truck or trailer. Partial PPM often captures incentive money without forcing you to move an entire house alone.
Is a PPM always more money?
No. Fuel, rental trucks, lodging, labor helpers, tolls, and your time add up. Run the estimate from your Personal Property Office before you assume profit. If the report date is close, reliability beats incentive theory.
Where do I start a PPM?
Start with your installation Personal Property Office and the Defense Personal Property System (DPS). Get counseling, the estimate, and the rules for advances and settlement before you reserve a truck.

Ready to put this into action?

Connect with a verified military real estate agent at your gaining installation, or start planning your PCS with our free Mission Planner tool.

Related Articles

← Back to all articles