Household Goods and Non-Temporary Storage on a Hawaii PCS

The Most Complete Hawaii PCS Guide on the Web

Updated November 2026. By Tony Kawaguchi, REALTOR, The Kawaguchi Group, eXp Realty.

Get the Complete PCS Guide

I'm Tony Kawaguchi, and I've been selling in Hawaii since 2005. A Hawaii PCS is an overseas move for household goods. Official Defense Personal Property Program rules, not a moving-company brochure, decide what you can ship, what can go into long-term storage, and what can travel ahead as unaccompanied baggage. This page explains those official categories and the local offices that handle them in Hawaii. Your transportation office confirms your entitlements. I will not invent a weight allowance, a transit time, or a list of banned items. Ryan Adams, a 13-year Army veteran on our team, Lorraine Golden, Jaclyn Rideau, and Jet Ramos, a Navy veteran, are our PCS specialists. They can talk through the military side of the move while I work the housing search.

Call me at (808) 201-3577 or send me a message with your report date and gaining command, and I will line the housing search up with your delivery window.

Start in DPS, and Know the Three Official Shipments

The official program sits under USTRANSCOM's Defense Personal Property Program. Official Military OneSource guidance is that you use the Defense Personal Property System, or DPS, to upload orders and create shipments. Log in at the official DPS / move.mil portal. Confirm current login steps on that official site, because sign-in methods can change. After you submit a shipment application, typically on DD Form 1299, the local transportation office reviews it and routes it to a transportation service provider. Official guidance describes a seven-day pickup window, not a single guaranteed day. Confirm current login and counseling steps on the official portal, because system names can change.

Three official shipment types come up on a Hawaii PCS:

• Household goods, or HHG, is the main government-furnished move. Official Military OneSource guidance states that a full household-goods move is allowed on a PCS, including an OCONUS PCS to or from Hawaii.
• Unaccompanied baggage, or UB, is a smaller, expedited portion of your weight allowance that can arrive before the rest of the household goods. Official guidance lists UB as approved for an OCONUS PCS.
• Non-temporary storage, or NTS, is long-term storage of items that will not ship to the new duty station, generally near the origin, and can remain for the duration of the tour. Official guidance lists NTS as approved for an OCONUS PCS. When you later have a new address, you request retrieval and shipment of what was stored. Retirement and separation have their own official NTS time limits; ask the transportation office if that applies.

I will not quote a pound limit by pay grade. Official weight allowances are determined by your orders and the Joint Travel Regulations. Your transportation office is the office that confirms the number that applies to you, including what happens if a shipment is overweight.

Hawaii-Specific Official Notes

The Joint Personal Property Shipping Office-Hawaii, or JPPSO-Hawaii, provides inbound and outbound personal-property operations, including non-temporary storage and quality assurance, for military and civilian members of all services and the Coast Guard, according to the official NAVSUP FLC Pearl Harbor personal-property page. In Hawaii, each branch retains its own personal-property counseling office for entitlements. The official JPPSO-Hawaii page, checked November 14, 2026, lists (808) 473-7700 for shipment status, storage, and quality assurance. Official U.S. Army Garrison Pohakuloa newcomers guidance tells Big Island arrivals to make sure PCS orders reflect zip code 96720 so household goods and a POV go to the island of Hawaii, not Oahu. Confirm the current JPPSO-Hawaii number on the official NAVSUP page before you call. See the neighbor-island PCS guide for PMRF and Pohakuloa details.

Official Navy country instructions for Hawaii tell members that standard housing here is often smaller than what they are used to, and that oversized or nonessential items should be placed in non-temporary storage at origin for the duration of the overseas tour. The same official instructions say government furniture support is limited to a temporary basis, pending receipt of household goods, for a maximum of 90 days unless the goods have not arrived through no fault of the member. That matches loaner-furniture notes already used on the Oahu base guides. Official NAVSUP guidance also states that Navy personnel in pay grades E-5 and below without dependents who are PCSing to vessels homeported in Hawaii should be advised not to ship household goods, because government quarters are available on board the vessel, and that members in those grades on shore duty should consult local command instructions before shipping. Geographic bachelors are not treated as the no-dependents category in that official note.

Official Navy country instructions for Hawaii state that washers and dryers are no longer furnished to Army or Navy members occupying privatized quarters, though some housing communities have had pay-grade exceptions or short loaner periods while household goods are in transit. Ask the housing office and your transportation counselor before you decide what stays in NTS. Pets, firearms, and a POV are separate official processes, covered in the pets guide, the firearm-registration guide, and the car-shipping guide.

Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity rules also apply if plants, plant parts, soil, or animals are in a shipment. Official Plant Quarantine traveling and shipping guidance is that agricultural items imported into Hawaii require inspection before entry. Parcels containing agricultural material must be marked on the outside with words to this effect: "Contains Agricultural Material - May Be Opened for Inspection." Plant material must be free of soil, insect pests, and signs of disease, and a list of the plant material must be included. Many plants are restricted and may need a permit. Official Navy country instructions for Hawaii also tell members who want to import plants or non-domesticated animals to apply for an import permit with the Plant Quarantine Branch, (808) 832-0566. I will not invent a packing list. Confirm current rules on the official agriculture page before anything is packed.

Delivery, Claims, and the Housing Search

Transit time is not a number I will invent. It varies by origin, by the ship's schedule, and by whether you also have an unaccompanied-baggage shipment. Build a buffer into temporary lodging, as explained in the TLA in Hawaii guide, and keep the delivery address and a contact number current with JPPSO-Hawaii and the transportation service provider. Official loaner furniture, where it is offered, is meant to cover the wait, not to replace a late-changing delivery address.

If something arrives damaged or missing, use the official claims process through the DPS / move.mil portal and your transportation office. I will not quote a claims deadline or a maximum amount. File sooner rather than later, and keep the inventory and photos.

I can start the off-base search before the truck arrives, using the on-base vs off-base housing guide and the base guide for your command. Drive times on the Oahu commute-times page are estimates. If you may buy, see VA home loans in Hawaii. For the calendar, use the Hawaii PCS checklist and the arrival guide.

When you have a report date, call me at (808) 201-3577 or send a message, and I will time the housing search with your official delivery window.

Get the Complete PCS Guide

Hawaii PCS FAQ

Is a Hawaii PCS an overseas move for household goods?

Yes. Official Military OneSource guidance treats a move to or from Hawaii as an OCONUS move under the Defense Personal Property Program. A full household-goods shipment, unaccompanied baggage, and non-temporary storage are official options on an OCONUS PCS. Your transportation office confirms what your orders actually authorize.

How do I set up my household-goods shipment?

Official guidance is to use the Defense Personal Property System, or DPS, at the official move.mil / DPS portal, upload your orders, and create the shipment. After you submit the application, typically on DD Form 1299, the local transportation office reviews it and awards it to a transportation service provider. Official materials describe a seven-day pickup window. Confirm current login steps on the official portal.

What is non-temporary storage?

NTS is official long-term storage of items that will not ship to the new duty station, generally near the origin, and can remain for the duration of the tour. Official guidance lists NTS as approved for an OCONUS PCS, including Hawaii. Official Navy Hawaii instructions also recommend placing oversized or nonessential items in NTS because local housing is often smaller. Ask your transportation office what you may store.

What is unaccompanied baggage?

Unaccompanied baggage is an official, smaller, expedited portion of your weight allowance that can arrive before the rest of the household goods. Official Military OneSource guidance lists it as approved for an OCONUS PCS. Your transportation office confirms whether you have it and what can go in that shipment. I will not invent a pound limit or a transit time.

Who handles household goods after they arrive in Hawaii?

The official Joint Personal Property Shipping Office-Hawaii, or JPPSO-Hawaii, handles inbound and outbound personal property, including non-temporary storage, for all services and the Coast Guard. The official NAVSUP FLC Pearl Harbor personal-property page lists JPPSO-Hawaii at (808) 473-7700. Confirm the current number on that official page before you call. Each branch also keeps its own counseling office for entitlements.

Should Navy E-5 and below ship household goods to a ship in Hawaii?

Official NAVSUP Hawaii guidance states that Navy personnel in pay grades E-5 and below without dependents who are PCSing to vessels homeported in Hawaii should be advised not to ship household goods, because government quarters are available on board the vessel. Shore-duty members in those grades should consult local command instructions. Ask your counselor before you create a shipment.

How do I make sure property goes to the Big Island, not Oahu?

Official U.S. Army Garrison Pohakuloa newcomers guidance says to make sure PCS orders reflect zip code 96720 so household goods and a privately owned vehicle are delivered to the island of Hawaii. Confirm the destination with your transportation office before the shipment is booked. The neighbor-island PCS guide has more on Pohakuloa and PMRF.

Can you time a housing search with my household-goods delivery?

Yes. Send me your report date and gaining command, and I will work the off-base search while you coordinate pickup and delivery with your transportation office. I will not invent a delivery date. Call me at (808) 201-3577. Ryan Adams, a 13-year Army veteran, Lorraine Golden, Jaclyn Rideau, and Jet Ramos, a Navy veteran, are our PCS specialists.

Sources

• USTRANSCOM, Defense Personal Property Program and the official DPS / move.mil portal
• Military OneSource, Personal Property Shipment for your PCS
• NAVSUP FLC Pearl Harbor, Personal Property / HHG Shipping (JPPSO-Hawaii (808) 473-7700, checked November 14, 2026), and official Navy country instructions for Hawaii (August 2024)
• U.S. Army Garrison Pohakuloa, For Newcomers (orders zip code 96720)
• Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Plant Quarantine, Traveling and Shipping from the U.S. Mainland to Hawaii

This page is general information, not official military, legal, tax, or lending advice. Confirm entitlements, quarantine rules, shipping, TLA, registration, and lease questions with the official office that handles your case, and with legal assistance when a contract is involved.