PCS Weight Allowance by Rank (2026)
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PCS weight allowance worksheet
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The short answer
Your PCS household goods allowance depends on pay grade and dependents. An E-5 with dependents gets 9,000 lb; an O-3 without dependents gets 13,000 lb. Pro gear is extra, and empty gun safes can add up to 500 lb. The full table is below.
Pick your pay grade and whether dependents are moving with you. The allowance is the net weight of household goods the government will move for you on a permanent change of station (PCS) at no cost to you.
Worked example: an E-5 with a family, Fort Bragg to Joint Base Lewis-McChord
A staff sergeant (E-5) moving with a spouse and two children has a household goods allowance of 9,000 pounds. Without dependents, the same staff sergeant would get 7,000 pounds. Separately, the member can ship up to 2,000 pounds of professional books, papers and equipment (PBP&E, often called pro gear). Pro gear doesn't count against the 9,000 pounds, but it has to be declared and weighed separately. Tell the counselor about it before the move, not on pack-out day.
Spouse pro gear isn't automatic. The member has to request it through the Service's Secretarial Process, and only if it's approved can the spouse ship up to 500 pounds of their own professional gear at government expense (JTR par. 051304.A.4). Start that request early.
A family of four in a three-bedroom house can reach 9,000 pounds sooner than most people expect. Furniture, a garage full of tools and a second freezer add up quickly.
Worked example: an O-3 moving alone
A captain (O-3) without dependents is allowed 13,000 pounds. With dependents the figure rises to 14,500 pounds.
Gun safes
Empty gun safes can be shipped with your household goods. Their weight, up to 500 pounds, is added to your allowance, but the allowance plus gun safes can't go over 18,000 pounds (JTR par. 051304.C). For an O-5 with dependents (17,500 pounds) that leaves room for 500 pounds of safes. O-6 and above are already at 18,000 pounds, so there's no increase. Declare the safes at origin so they're weighed separately and listed as gun safes on the inventory.
Service academy cadets and midshipmen
A cadet or midshipman at a Service academy has a single allowance of 350 pounds, with no separate rate for dependents. The pro gear and gun safe rules in JTR par. 051304 apply to "a Service member" and don't exclude cadets, so the tool shows them too. Confirm with your transportation office before you rely on either.
What happens if you go over
The allowance is a limit on what the government pays for, not on what you can own. If the weighed shipment comes in over your allowance, you are billed for the cost of moving the excess weight. The bill can arrive months after the move, once the final weights are reconciled. Getting rid of heavy items you don't need before pack-out is the cheapest way to stay under.
How this connects to a personally procured move
If you move yourself under a Personally Procured Move (PPM), the JTR bases your payment on the government's constructed "Best Value" cost for the actual weight you transport, up to your maximum authorized weight allowance (JTR par. 051502.C.2). Final settlement works the same way: it's the Government's Constructed Cost (GCC) of the actual weight moved, limited to your authorized weight allowance (JTR par. 051502.F). Weight above your allowance isn't part of either calculation, so it doesn't add to your payment. Confirm your estimate with your transportation office before you commit to a truck rental. The claim packet lists the weight tickets a PPM claim files alongside this allowance.
How it's calculated
The tool looks up your grade and dependency status in the household goods weight allowance table in Chapter 5 of the Joint Travel Regulations. There is no formula; the regulation lists each value. The pro gear and gun safe limits come from JTR par. 051304; the gun safe figure is the smaller of 500 pounds and whatever is left below 18,000 pounds. Our tests check the tool against every row of that table, and the table itself was verified line by line against the full JTR text (the revision effective September 1, 2026) before this page shipped.
| Grade | Without dependents | With dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | 5,000 | 8,000 |
| E-2 | 5,000 | 8,000 |
| 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 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| O-7 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| O-8 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| O-9 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| O-10 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| Aviation cadet | 7,000 | 8,000 |
| Service academy cadet/midshipman | 350 | n/a |
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