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Sean Donnelly is a writer for USA TODAY Homefront. His content draws on more than three years of experience in the moving industry. He started as a laborer and was quickly promoted to moving crew leader. Sean also served as a move coordinator, where he conducted in-home and virtual estimates for customers. During his time in the industry, Sean assisted more than 500 clients with their relocation needs. Thanks to his years of hand-on experience, he understands all aspects of moving — from proper preparation to the quote process to effective packing techniques. Sean studied English literature and creative writing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is still located in the greater Springfield area. When he isn’t writing, Sean is a cohead coach of the boxing team at his alma mater.
Whether you’re scheduling a permanent change of station (PCS) for just yourself or your entire family, hiring a qualified mover can eliminate much of the stress involved. We narrowed down the pro movers with the necessary experience and services to make your upcoming military move go smoothly.
Based on our research, JK Moving Services is the best moving company for military members and their families. It employs rigorously trained moving crews and offers specialized military moving packages to streamline your PCS.
We also recommend getting quotes from United Van Lines and Allied Van Lines. Each offers specially catered military relocation packages, with United Van Lines even advertising that it has assisted with more than 250,000 military moves in the last decade.
The moving companies we’ve reviewed rate well on our proprietary grading scale due to their availability, service offerings, quote processes, customer review scores and more. Read our provider summaries to learn more about each.
The following movers provide military-specific and international moving options to assist with your foreign or domestic military relocation.
The following moving providers are our top overall picks for any type of move. We’ve rated each one against our proprietary grading scale to vet their quality, pricing practices and customer review scores.
We’ve found the following full-service movers to be the best options for military moves. Start your search for a PCS mover with one of our top picks.
JK Moving Services features some of the best-trained moving crews in the industry. In its four-plus decades in business, it has assisted more than half a million clients. It also offers financing options as low as 0% for qualifying customers.
What we like
This moving carrier background-checks its movers and trains its crews in an on-site facility. The facility features a fully furnished house where workers experience real moving scenarios and gain experience in all facets of the job.
What we don’t like
JK Moving’s headquarters in Virginia offers direct local moving services within its home state and to Maryland and Washington, D.C. only. While it offers long-distance service to the entire country, its local moving options are limited to a small area.
JK Moving offers direct service as a carrier via trained and vetted moving crews. It provides long-distance service across the country and moves for the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State and other government agencies.
All moves include basic furniture protection, full-value protection and transportation of all goods. All moves come with shipment tracking through JK Moving’s mobile app.
We got an interstate moving quote from JK Moving for a three-bedroom home moving 1,800 miles. We spent 15 minutes on the phone with a company representative. They went through our inventory and gave us a pricing estimate of $8,500 for a move with no packing included. Full-service packing would increase our cost to $11,000.
JK Moving services long-distance moves in all 50 states, with local options in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
This highly rated mover has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB). After reading more than 100 reviews on BBB and on its Google Reviews page, it’s apparent that this provider values customer service and efficiency. Reviews cite communication as a positive aspect of working with JK Moving, while negative reviews mention furniture damage.
United Van Lines is a moving carrier and broker with operating authority in 46 states. This mover offers dedicated service plans for military families and has assisted more than 260,000 military members as a General Services Administration (GSA)-recognized mover.
This mover’s ample experience with military clients and its add-on and basic service options make it a top choice for military and government moves. Further, United includes full-value protection in all of its moving quotes and offers moving resources for foreign and domestic moves.
As a mover that sometimes operates as a broker, United is prone to service quality fluctuations across different locations. We encourage you to speak with your move coordinator about this when you get a moving quote to avoid having your move handled by a subpar provider.
United offers quality services for long-distance relocations and large moves. Such service packages can include vehicle shipping, dedicated breakdown and setup service for home offices, full-service packing and long-term storage.
As a bonus, United offers an expedited solution for small moves called Snapmoves. These moving packages include standard and expedited shipping, valuation coverage and all-inclusive pricing.
We called United for a quote and were forwarded to a local representative. The company representative insisted on scheduling a video call or in-person estimate before yielding any pricing data. This should help put any prospective client’s mind at ease, as United primarily offers binding estimates for moves.
United operates throughout 46 states and 150 countries.
As a nationwide mover, United’s reviews fluctuate depending on your location and the local agent that services your area. For this reason, its rating of 1.3 out of 5 stars on BBB does not indicate poor overall service. Since this national hub page only has 35 reviews — many of them complaints — we recommend looking at your local United Van Lines branch page for an accurate picture of its quality.
Allied Van Lines is a moving carrier with more than 500 locations spread throughout all 50 states. It also offers international moving options in 130 countries. Its partnership with North American Van Lines gives it access to one of the largest moving networks in the world.
This widely available carrier’s large-item and vehicle-shipping capabilities set it apart. Many moving companies broker out these services, but Allied handles them in-house, eliminating the need to deal with a third-party carrier.
While Allied offers a wide range of direct services as a carrier, many of its customer reviews mention slow claims processes for lost or damaged items. You should be wary of this common complaint if you feel that your move needs added protection or valuation coverage.
Whether you need local or long-distance service, Allied and its local agents can help. Aside from basic loading, unloading and transportation, Allied offers packing, crating, vehicle shipping and more.
You can also book expedited service for a small move via Allied Express. All Express packages include valuation coverage and labor at a flat rate.
We called Allied for pricing and got a quick ballpark quote for service. Our three-bedroom, 1,800-mile move totaled $7,000 without packing and $10,000 with packing. This call took a little more than 10 minutes.
Expect a longer phone call if you schedule an in-home or video call estimate. Your company representative will take more in-depth information about your move and thoroughly log your inventory to give you an accurate rate.
Allied services all 50 states and 130 countries.
We read more than 100 customer reviews from specific Allied locations on Google Reviews and on its national hub page on BBB. Positive reviews noted attentive moving crews and customer service staff. Those who left negative reviews mentioned difficulty communicating with Allied about damage claims after their moves were completed.
American Van Lines is a moving carrier that offers direct service throughout the lower 48 states. Its moving crews average ten years of experience, which offers peace of mind to those moving fragile or high-value goods long distances.
This mover offers flat-rate pricing for all moves and lists pricing on its website for moves between prominent major U.S. cities. Its moving crews are among the most experienced in the industry, which gives moving clients more confidence in booking packing services and other add-ons.
High deposit amounts can be off-putting for prospective clients. While this moving company has a proven decades-long track record of providing quality services, its deposits can total as high as 50% of your bill; however, this amount is usually reserved for the longest interstate relocations.
American offers local moving services, but they are limited to the areas directly around its three hubs in Florida, North Carolina and Texas. Its long-distance services through the lower 48 states include packing, crating, piano moving and more.
Allied also offers expedited service for moves along common routes between major cities. This can ease your move between New York and Miami or Chicago and Houston, for example.
We called American Van Lines to get a sample quote for a three-bedroom, 1,800-mile move. Our representative was thorough, asking pointed questions about our inventory. In 30 minutes, we got a ballpark quote of $7,004 with no packing included. Full-service packing raised our price to $8,984. All long-distance moves include 30 days of storage near the destination address.
This carrier operates throughout the lower 48 states.
A rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars on BBB and 4.2 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews show that this mover prioritizes customer service. Numerous reviews mention a thorough quote process; we noted the same in our personal experience requesting an estimate from this mover.
Founded in 1927, Mayflower Moving has been around for nearly a century, offering local and long-distance service throughout most of the country. It operates more than 500 locations nationally and is a GSA-certified mover for military and government officials.
This carrier offers binding estimates and includes full-value protection in all initial moving quotes. It also provides a small-move service called Snapmoves that expedites relocations for two-bedroom homes and smaller residences.
Some negative Mayflower reviews cite slow damage claim processing and poor quality for brokered moving services. Aside from this, Mayflower’s inclusion of valuation coverage in all initial quotes leads to inflated estimates. Prospective clients must actively opt out of this coverage if they don’t require it.
This mover works as a local, long-distance and international moving company. All basic moves include labor, transportation and full-value protection. Add-on services include packing, crating for antiques, vehicle shipping, long-term storage and debris removal.
We called Mayflower for pricing on a three-bedroom, 1,800-mile move. After a few minutes on the phone, our representative informed us that we would have to schedule a video call or in-person estimate for an accurate quote. This is expected from long-distance movers; most companies will not provide pricing of any kind without inspecting your goods first.
You can book Mayflower for moving services in 46 states. It is unavailable in Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Virginia.
This mover’s low rating on its national BBB page — 1.3 out of 5 stars — does not necessarily indicate poor performance across the country. While reviews here mention damaged goods and added fees, customers praise many of its local branches for attentive and skilled moving crews. You should read reviews for the Mayflower location near you before deciding whether to get a quote.
Military.com and similar sources offer guides and assistance for service members planning a PCS or other relocation. Whether you’re on your own or have assistance, consider the following factors when requesting quotes from moving companies.
To accurately assess the basic and add-on services you’ll need, compile a full inventory of your household goods. Break this list down by room and share it with your move coordinator when you call for a quote. Typically, you can choose from a number of services to help streamline your move, such as the following:
Any mover providing relocation services must carry licensing of some kind. Long-distance moves are federally regulated and must carry active United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Motor Carrier (MC) numbers. Before you book, use these registration numbers to check a moving company’s operational status on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website.
A local moving company must carry licensing from its home state. Most states have their own moving associations that regulate commerce within their borders. The few states that have no moving-specific governing agency still require that movers have USDOT numbers and basic local business licenses.
In most cases, military families and service members are eligible for reimbursement for any PPM. We still encourage you to get at least three different quotes from qualified providers to assess your moving costs.
Look into movers that offer military-specific service plans and military discounts. We got several quotes from nationwide providers and found that the average cost of a three-bedroom, 1,800-mile interstate move with no add-ons is $7,329. Adding full-service packing increases this price to $9,155.
Reading former clients’ opinions about your movers on third-party review sites is an excellent way to ensure you book your military move with a quality provider. Sources like BBB, Yelp, social media and Google Reviews can help you spot positive and negative trends about how a provider does business.
Most moving companies offer protection plans beyond the federally-required 60 cents per pound per item, known as released-value coverage. Full-value coverage can either be added onto your move as a flat fee or incur an added cost determined by the total declared value of your shipment.
In the latter case, you can select a dollar amount of added coverage, and your movers will reimburse you up to this amount if your goods are lost or damaged during the move. The cost for this coverage will be a set percentage of this total dollar amount, typically around 4%.
We recommend members of the armed forces hire a mover experienced in military moves. Look for movers that advertise military-specific relocation packages and have recognition from the General Services Administration (GSA) or a similar body. Just as you would with any move, we recommend requesting a binding estimate from any company you pursue for a quote.
Based on our in-depth research, we found that JK Moving Services, United Van Lines and Allied Van Lines offer the best customer support and service for military relocations. JK’s trained moving crews offer specialized care for all household goods, while Allied and United feature nationwide and worldwide service areas.
Our moving recommendations are all backed by our detailed rating methodology. To fairly assess both interstate and local movers, we have tailored two sets of review standards for long-distance and intrastate movers.
Both sets of review standards assess factors including reputation and customer satisfaction, availability and range, services offered, pricing and quote practices and customer service. We rate each moving company out of 100 possible points. We then divide the final score by 20 to obtain the 5-star rating we feature in our reviews.
BBB ratings are accurate as of March 2024.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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