Most service members assume the military will pay to ship their car during a PCS. Then the orders drop, they read the fine print, and the reality lands: for a stateside move, the DoD pays you to drive, not to ship. Suddenly that second car is an out-of-pocket question. Knowing exactly what is covered — MALT, DLA, OCONUS, PPM — turns a nasty surprise into a planned expense. Here is the honest money picture for a military move.
The short answer: A CONUS PCS shipment runs $600 to $1,500, and the DoD generally does not pay to ship it — it pays MALT (about $0.205/mile in 2026) to drive. Many members apply their DLA ($1,870–$6,300) toward a shipped second car and claim a 5–15% military discount. For OCONUS, the government usually ships one POV. Always verify current rates with your transportation office.
Start with the shipping price itself, separate from any reimbursement. A domestic PCS shipment typically runs $600 to $1,500 on an open carrier, driven by distance, vehicle size, and the season. The summer PCS surge pushes rates toward the top of that range as demand spikes nationwide.
This is the same market pricing any move faces — the military layer is what the government does and does not give back. For an exact figure on your route and vehicle, run the calculator; the rest of this guide is about the reimbursement side.
Here is the fact that reframes the whole budget. For a domestic (CONUS) PCS, the DoD generally does not pay to ship your POV. Instead, it pays a mileage allowance for a car you drive to the new duty station.
That allowance is MALT — Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation — around $0.205 per mile in 2026, plus a travel per diem. The catch: it reimburses driving, not shipping. If you ship a vehicle instead of driving it, you generally do not collect MALT for that car. So for a two-car household with one driver, the second vehicle becomes an out-of-pocket shipping decision.
The good news is that you have a lump sum designed to absorb costs like this. The Dislocation Allowance (DLA) is a one-time payment meant to offset the unreimbursed expenses of relocating, and it is yours to allocate as you see fit — many families apply it directly to privately shipping a second car.
In 2026, DLA ranges roughly $1,870 to $6,300 depending on your rank and dependency status. Against a $600-to-$1,500 shipment, that allowance can cover the cost of moving the second vehicle and then some. It is one of the most practical ways service members fund a POV shipment without it feeling like a pure out-of-pocket hit.
An overseas move flips the math in your favor. For an OCONUS PCS, the government generally ships one POV at government expense, up to a size limit, through a Vehicle Processing Center. You are not paying market rate for that first vehicle.
A second car, though, is your cost — and some host countries restrict which vehicles can be imported at all. The overseas process, the size limit, and the VPC steps are covered in our OCONUS car shipping guide. If your orders are overseas, read it early, because the timeline is longer than a stateside move.
If you are doing a Personally Procured Move, the car sits outside the incentive math. A PPM pays you based on the weight of household goods you move yourself — and commercially shipping a POV is typically not included in that weight calculation.
In practice, that means shipping your car usually neither boosts nor reduces your PPM incentive; treat it as a separate line item in your budget. As with every entitlement here, confirm the specifics with your transportation office, since how a POV is handled can depend on your exact orders.
Once you know what is covered, a few levers shrink what you actually pay:
One honest caveat runs through this entire guide: military entitlements are set by policy and change every year. The figures here — MALT around $0.205 per mile, DLA of $1,870 to $6,300, the one-POV OCONUS rule — are 2026 estimates to orient you, not guarantees for your move.
Before you build a budget around any of them, confirm your exact entitlements with your installation transportation office (TMO/PPSO) or Military OneSource. They are the authoritative sources for your rank, orders, and situation.
A military car move costs $600 to $1,500 to ship, but the real question is what comes back. For CONUS, the DoD pays you to drive, not ship, so plan the second car around your DLA and a service-member discount. For OCONUS, the government ships one POV. Know your entitlements, verify the current rates, and the budget becomes predictable. Start at our military car shipping hub, and price your route on the calculator.
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A domestic PCS shipment typically runs $600 to $1,500 on an open carrier, depending on distance, vehicle size, and season. The summer PCS surge pushes rates higher. Enclosed transport for a high-value vehicle costs more. The calculator prices your exact route.
Generally no. For a domestic move, the DoD does not pay to ship your POV — it pays a mileage allowance (MALT) for a vehicle you drive to the new station. This is the most misunderstood part of a military move. Confirm current policy with your transportation office, as entitlements change yearly.
MALT (Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation) is the per-mile rate the military pays you to drive a POV during a PCS, around $0.205 per mile in 2026, plus per diem. It reimburses driving, not shipping. If you ship instead of drive, you generally do not receive MALT for that vehicle. Verify the current rate before you plan.
Effectively yes. The Dislocation Allowance (DLA) is a lump sum to offset the unreimbursed costs of relocating, and many families apply it toward privately shipping a second car. In 2026 DLA ranges roughly $1,870 to $6,300 by rank and dependency status. It is yours to allocate, so a shipped second car is a common use.
Usually one vehicle. For an OCONUS PCS, the government typically ships one POV at government expense through a Vehicle Processing Center, up to a size limit. A second vehicle is your cost. Our OCONUS car shipping guide covers the overseas entitlement in detail.
Separately, in most cases. A Personally Procured Move pays an incentive based on the weight of household goods you move — and commercially shipping a POV is typically not counted in that weight calculation. So shipping the car usually neither adds to nor draws from your PPM incentive. Confirm specifics with your transportation office.
Yes. Most carriers offer service members 5% to 15% off standard rates, verified with orders or military ID. On a second car you are paying for yourself, that discount directly lowers your out-of-pocket. Our military car shipping discount guide explains how to claim it.
The same factors as any move: distance, vehicle size, open vs enclosed, and season. The military-specific lever is timing — the summer PCS surge raises rates nationwide. Booking in a shoulder month, staying flexible on dates, and choosing open transport are the biggest savers.
Run the numbers both ways. Driving earns MALT (around $0.205/mile) plus per diem but costs you fuel, lodging, time, and wear. Shipping costs $600 to $1,500 but frees you to fly. For one car many members drive and collect MALT; for a second car, shipping with the military discount is often the practical choice.
Your installation transportation office (TMO/PPSO) and Military OneSource are the authoritative sources. The figures here are 2026 estimates to orient you — actual MALT, DLA, and POV rules are set by policy and change annually, so verify your specific situation before you plan around a number.
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