PCS Household Goods Weight Allowances: What to Know Before You Book Movers

Every PCS move comes with a household goods (HHG) weight allowance based on rank and dependency status — and going over it means paying the excess cost out of pocket, at a per-pound rate that adds up fast on anything more than a modest overage. The allowance is meant to cover a reasonable household's worth of belongings, not an unlimited shipment, and it's set before you pack the first box, not negotiated afterward.

The number that catches people off guard most often isn't the big furniture — it's the accumulation of everything else: storage bins, yard equipment, a second refrigerator or freezer, a home gym. None of it feels excessive item by item, but weight adds up faster than volume does.

Your specific weight allowance is based on your current rank and whether you have dependents, and it's confirmed through your installation's transportation office — not estimated from a general table you find online. Confirm it as soon as you have orders, before you start deciding what to pack, store, or sell.

If you're close to your limit, a pre-move estimate from your moving company (a non-binding weight estimate before the actual pickup) can help you decide what to trim before moving day, rather than finding out you're over after the truck is already loaded.

Vehicles, for OCONUS moves, generally ship through their own process separate from your household goods weight allowance — worth knowing so you don't try to account for a vehicle's weight in your HHG planning. Similarly, unaccompanied baggage (UB), used for OCONUS moves to get essential items to you faster than the main shipment, counts against a separate, smaller allowance, not your total HHG weight.

A lot of the stress in a PCS move isn't the packing — it's coordinating movers, timing, and (if you're also selling or buying a home) two real estate transactions on the same clock. If that's the situation you're in, it's worth seeing how a coordinated two-home move actually works before you start managing all of it separately.