Military and PCS Moves in Colorado: A Service Member Guide

A military PCS move Colorado families face is rarely just a drive across town. Orders to Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, the Air Force Academy, or Buckley come with weight allowances, certified weight tickets, base gate procedures, and a clock that starts the day you get them. We're Exquisite Logistics Moving, a family-run Denver company that has handled more than 7,000 moves since 2010, and we work with service members across the Front Range every season. This guide covers the parts you actually have to plan: how a PPM (the move formerly called DITY) works, what your rank-based weight allowance means in pounds, how to pull clean weight tickets that protect your reimbursement, and how a licensed Colorado crew handles altitude, snow, and on-base access. None of this replaces your Transportation Office, so verify every number with your local PPSO before you commit.

Colorado Bases and Your Transportation Office

Five installations drive most PCS traffic in Colorado. Fort Carson (Army), Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, and the U.S. Air Force Academy all sit in or near Colorado Springs, while Buckley Space Force Base is up in Aurora on the Denver metro side. Each one runs its own Household Goods or Transportation Office, sometimes called the TMO or PPSO. That office is your first stop the moment orders land. They approve your move type, your authorized weight, and your dates, and nothing official happens until you start a counseling session with them.

One detail that surprises a lot of incoming families is how housing allowance is grouped. Fort Carson, Peterson, and Schriever share the Colorado Springs Military Housing Area (code CO046), so BAH is identical across those three for the same rank and dependent status. Buckley falls under the separate Denver-Aurora area (code CO045), so its BAH is different. That matters when you're comparing on-base housing against renting in Aurora, Centennial, or Highlands Ranch, and it shapes how far your money stretches at 5,280 feet.

• •Fort Carson (Army), south Colorado Springs, off I-25
• •Peterson SFB, east Colorado Springs near the airport
• •Schriever SFB, east of the city out toward the plains
• •U.S. Air Force Academy, north Colorado Springs along I-25
• •Buckley SFB, Aurora, on the Denver metro side of the Front Range
• •Colorado Springs bases (CO046) share BAH; Buckley (CO045) is separate

PPM vs. Government HHG: Which Move Type Fits

You generally have two paths. A government-managed HHG shipment means a contracted mover packs and hauls your goods and the government coordinates it. A PPM, the Personally Procured Move that older troops still call a DITY, means you move some or all of your household goods yourself and the government reimburses you instead of paying a contractor. You can also run a partial PPM: set up the government shipment first, then add a PPM for the rest. Your Transportation Office has to approve the PPM and your DD Form 2278 before you move anything.

The reimbursement math is the reason people choose a PPM. The standard rate is built around 100% of the Government Constructed Cost, which is what the government would have paid a contractor for your shipment. A temporary 130% rate ran roughly mid-May through the end of September 2025 to offset contractor delays, then reverted to 100%. Service members can also request an advance operating allowance of up to about 60% of the estimated payment to cover upfront costs, with approved orders and a DD Form 2278. Confirm the current rate with finance before you bank on a number.

Weight Allowances and Pro-Gear Explained

Your weight allowance is set by the Joint Travel Regulations and is the same across all branches, scaled by rank and whether you have dependents. As rough reference points, an E-5 with dependents lands around 9,000 pounds (about 7,000 without), and an O-3 with dependents sits near 14,500 pounds (around 13,000 without). Treat those as ballpark figures and pull your exact number from the current JTR or your counselor, because going over your authorized weight can make you personally liable for the excess shipping cost.

Pro-gear is the part people forget to claim. Professional books, papers, and equipment generally don't count against your allowance, up to roughly 2,000 pounds for the member and about 500 pounds for a spouse, as long as it's properly declared and itemized. That can be the difference between coming in under your limit and owing money. List it carefully and keep it separate so the weighmaster and finance can account for it cleanly.

Certified Weight Tickets That Protect Your Reimbursement

Weight tickets are the backbone of a PPM claim, and clean ones are non-negotiable. You need at least two certified tickets per vehicle or vehicle-and-trailer combo: one empty (tare) and one full (gross). Finance subtracts the tare from the gross to get your billable weight, and that number drives your payment. Weigh empty before loading and full after loading with the same fuel level and no passengers, so the only difference between the two readings is your household goods.

Use a certified commercial scale, such as a CAT Scale, and make sure each ticket is signed by the weighmaster so it counts as a legal document. There's a locator at catscale.com to find one along your route. A first weigh typically runs about $13 to $15, with a same-location reweigh inside 24 hours around $4, so it's cheap insurance against a rejected claim. Hang on to every ticket. A missing or unsigned ticket can stall or shrink your reimbursement.

• •Weigh empty (tare) before you load a single box
• •Weigh full (gross) after loading, same fuel level, no passengers
• •Two certified tickets minimum per vehicle or vehicle/trailer combo
• •Use a certified scale (CAT Scale locator at catscale.com)
• •Every ticket must be signed by the weighmaster to be valid
• •Photograph and back up your tickets the day you get them

Timing Your Colorado PCS Around the Season and the Weather

Start your move setup the day orders are in hand. Lead time for PCS orders is commonly cited around 120 days now, up from an older 90-day target, and preferred pack and pickup dates fill fast. Peak PCS season runs roughly May 15 through August 31, when a large majority of military moves happen, so summer slots in and around Colorado Springs and Aurora go quickly. The winter cycle around December and January is lighter but still busy. Booking early is the single best thing you can do for your sanity.

Colorado weather adds its own wrinkle. The Front Range gets about 300 sunny days a year, which sounds easy until you remember it also averages around 57 inches of snow, and March is actually the snowiest month. A spring PCS can run straight into a heavy, wet snowstorm, and high-altitude sun can cook an outdoor load-in by midday. Our crews plan the load sequence around the forecast, protect floors and furniture from snowmelt, and carry traction gear for icy driveways and the steeper grades you hit moving up toward the Academy or out east.

Base Access, Altitude, and New-Resident Rules

On-base pickups and deliveries run on the installation's rules, not yours. Gate procedures, visitor passes for a moving crew, and escort requirements vary between Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, the Academy, and Buckley. A local crew that has been through those gates knows what the front gate wants and how the housing offices schedule load-ins, which keeps a move from stalling at the visitor center. We coordinate the access paperwork with you ahead of time so the truck isn't sitting at the gate while the clock runs.

Plan for the altitude on both ends of the move. Colorado Springs and Denver both sit roughly a mile up, and newcomers often feel it for the first few days with mild headaches, poor sleep, and getting winded fast. Drink more water than feels necessary, ease off alcohol the first week, and don't schedule a brutal moving day right after a long drive at sea level. The dry, high-UV air is intense year-round, so sunscreen belongs in the truck even in winter.

• •Colorado driver's license: transfer within 30 days of establishing residency
• •Vehicle registration: complete within 90 days of becoming a resident
• •Arrange a visitor pass or escort for your moving crew at the gate in advance
• •Coordinate housing office load-in windows for on-base quarters
• •Keep orders and ID handy; the gate will ask
• •Expect a few days of altitude adjustment and pack water and sunscreen

How a Licensed Colorado Mover Fits a PPM

A common misread is that a PPM means you personally carry every box. It doesn't. A licensed mover can supply the truck, packing labor, materials, and the muscle, and help you produce clean certified weight tickets, while you keep the reimbursement and skip the heavy lifting. That's especially worth it in Colorado, where altitude, narrow mountain access, snow, and steep grades make a self-move harder than it looks on paper. You stay in control of the claim; we handle the part that wrecks backs and weekends.

Household goods movers in Colorado are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission for intrastate moves, with USDOT and FMCSA authority for interstate, and a legitimate mover holds the right permits and coverage. Exquisite Logistics Moving is fully licensed and insured, available 24/7, and we've earned a perfect 5.0 across 102 Google reviews and 35-plus Thumbtack reviews over 15-plus years and 7,000-plus moves. Owner Douglas Palmish and our crews know the Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, USAFA, and Buckley areas firsthand.

Pricing is transparent and easy to slot into a PPM budget. Base rates run by home size: Studio or 1BR at $199, 2BR at $349, 3BR at $449, and 4+BR at $649, plus $1.50 per mile beyond the first 10 miles. A 50% deposit books your date and the balance is due on move day, with no hidden fees, and add-ons like full or partial packing, specialty handling, and supplies are quoted up front. Start a free online quote for a real number in a couple of minutes, or call us at (720) 241-3615 to scope your PCS.

Frequently Asked Questions