Published October 24, 2026
Can you claim pet transport costs on a PPM move? The answer that surprises most families is no, not through the PPM itself, and yes, through a separate allowance that runs alongside it. A personally procured move pays you for household goods by weight. Your dog is not household goods, and no weight ticket will ever cover a pet. The pet money comes from a different pot: the PCS pet transportation allowance, which has its own caps, its own form, and its own receipts. Mixing the two up is how families leave money on the table or, worse, assume a cost is covered when it is not.
The caps are straightforward. Since January 1, 2024, eligible service members on PCS orders can be reimbursed up to 550 dollars per move for one dog or cat moving within the continental United States, and up to 2,000 dollars per move for one dog or cat moving outside the continental United States. For moves from designated high risk rabies countries where government or commercial transport is unavailable, the cap can reach 4,000 dollars. The allowance covers one animal, not a household full of them, and it reimburses actual eligible expenses up to the cap, not a flat payment. Spend 300 dollars on a CONUS move and you claim 300 dollars. Spend 900 dollars and you claim 550 dollars.
What counts as eligible? The list covers the costs that actually make a pet move possible: mandatory microchipping, health certificates and veterinary inspections, quarantine fees, boarding tied to the move, shipping a pet by air when you fly rather than drive or when the pet ships separately, and license fees at the new duty station. Hotel pet fees on the drive can also factor in where the rules allow. What does not count is everything you would have spent anyway: routine food, toys, and a new crate you wanted regardless of the move are not reimbursable just because a PCS happened at the same time. Keep the move related receipts separate from the everyday pet spending and the claim gets much simpler.
Claim it on DD 1351-2, the travel voucher, not on the PPM weight paperwork. That separation matters because the two claims settle on different timelines and through different reviewers. Your PPM claim is about weight tickets, receipts for the truck and packing, and the constructed cost comparison. Your pet claim is about veterinary receipts, shipping invoices, and the PCS orders showing the move. File both, but file them as the separate claims they are, and keep a copy of every receipt in both a folder and a phone photo. Paperwork lost in a move is paperwork you will wish you had photographed.
Can you claim pet transport costs on a PPM move?
OCONUS moves add a wrinkle worth planning around. Where government transportation for pets is available, you are generally expected to use it, and if it is not available you will need a non availability note from the transportation office to support a separately booked shipment. That note is easy to get before you book and painful to chase afterward. If your move involves an overseas leg, talk to the transportation office before you pay a commercial shipper, not after the invoice arrives. The same advice holds for breed restrictions and housing rules: since February 2025, members ordered to a station where their pet cannot live, or where a breed is prohibited, may be reimbursed for transport to an alternative location within the same caps. Check whether your situation fits before assuming the answer is no.
A practical timeline helps. Book pet transport 30 to 60 days ahead in peak PCS season, May through August, because pet spaces on flights and with shippers fill fast. Get the veterinary inspection close to travel, since interstate health certificates typically must be issued within 10 days of travel. Confirm rabies vaccination is current and documented, because an expired rabies certificate can ground a pet at the worst possible moment. None of that is reimbursable paperwork for its own sake. Each document is the difference between a claim that pays and a claim that stalls.
One question remains genuinely open, and I will not paper over it: will the caps rise? The 550 and 2,000 dollar figures have held since 2024 while commercial pet shipping prices have not stood still, and families moving OCONUS routinely report costs well above the cap. Until the Joint Travel Regulations change, plan on the cap as written and treat anything above it as out of pocket. If the rules change, the change will come through the JTR, not through a rumor on a moving forum. Verify against the current JTR chapter on pet expenses before you finalize a budget that depends on reimbursement.
So run the PPM calculator for the household goods, file the pet allowance separately on the travel voucher, and budget the gap above the cap yourself. The two payments together are real help, and they are only confusing when they get treated as one payment.
Frequently asked questions
Can you claim pet transport costs on a PPM move?
Not through the PPM weight payment, which covers household goods only. Pet transport is reimbursed separately through the PCS pet transportation allowance, claimed on DD 1351-2.
How much does the military reimburse for pet transport on a PCS?
Up to 550 dollars per move for one dog or cat CONUS, up to 2,000 dollars OCONUS, and up to 4,000 dollars for moves from designated high risk rabies countries where government or commercial transport is unavailable.
What pet expenses are eligible for reimbursement?
Mandatory microchipping, health certificates, quarantine fees, boarding tied to the move, air shipping when applicable, and pet license fees at the new station. Routine food and everyday pet supplies are not eligible.
How do you claim the PCS pet allowance?
File on DD 1351-2 with receipts for eligible expenses and your PCS orders. For OCONUS moves where government pet transport is unavailable, get a non availability note from the transportation office before booking separately.
Run your own numbers before you decide.
Use the PPM Move Calculator to estimate your personally procured move payment by weight.