Joint Personal Property Shipping Office, Washington DC Area
"A Quality Move for Everyone"
NON-TEMP STORAGE
Non-Temporary Storage (NTS) is long-term household good storage in lieu of transportation. It is sometimes referred to as “extended storage” or “permanent storage”. NTS is most often used for members going overseas who can't take all of their goods with them; or members who are being sent to a temporary duty station without a subsequent permanent duty station established yet; or members who are leaving service and have not decided where their home will be after they leave service. NTS is authorized only in specific cases; these entitlements are identified in the Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) and are summarized here:

  • You can ship to your next duty station or you can choose to place your goods in government-arranged Non Temporary Storage for the duration of your orders.

  • If you are going overseas or on arduous sea duty, you can also ship to any designated city within the U.S. and/or place your goods in Non Temporary Storage in addition to your overseas or arduous sea duty station.

  • If you are retiring, you have one year from effective date of retirement to ship to your home of selection (anywhere within the continental U.S., Alaska, or Hawaii) or place your goods in government-arranged Non Temporary Storage up to 1 year from the effective retirement date.

  • If you are separating, you have 180 days from effective date of separation to ship to your home of record (or any city of a lesser distance than your home of record) or place your household goods in government-arranged Non Temporary Storage.

Your HHG may be split between items that will be shipped to your next duty station and items to be placed in storage. However, once items go into non-temporary storage, they are going to be there for a long time, so exercise care in separating items to be stored from those to be shipped. If there is any change in your status that would affect your entitlement to NTS (such as consecutive overseas tours or extensions), you are responsible for notifying the transportation office maintaining your NTS account and for providing copies of pertinent documentation reflecting your new date of estimated return from overseas.

The most common use of NTS is by those members making a permanent change of duty station from the CONUS to an overseas area. Personnel falling into this category can store all or part of the personal property, within the prescribed weight allowances. Permanent storage is also commonly used to store personal property pending shipment overseas. This occurs when there is a shortage of housing suitable for dependents in the overseas area. Once the restriction is lifted, all or a portion of the property may be released and shipped to the new duty station. Request for release of property must be in writing, accompanied by the authorization for shipment, i.e. dependent entry approval, dependent travel orders, or amendments for concurrent travel.

The total HHG weight transported plus the weight of the HHG in NTS at Government expense on the same PCS order should not exceed the member’s prescribed weight allowance. It's very important that you understand that property placed in non-temporary storage is chargeable against your total permanent change of station (PCS) weight allowance. In the event you are assigned to a unit where there is a weight restriction imposed, the shipment weight to your new duty station plus the amount shipped to an alternate point, including non-temporary storage, must not exceed your authorized weight allowance. If you make a household goods shipment in addition to NTS on the same orders and exceed your weight allowance, the Government may pay the costs associated with storing the excess weight if requested to do so by the member. However, the member is financially responsible to reimburse the Government for excess weight storage costs.

Non-Temporary Storage will be provided in an approved commercial or government storage facility, whichever is nearest to the place where the household goods are located on the date of issuance of your PCS orders. The TMO or representative will determine which facility is more economical to the government. When household goods are returned to the continental United States (CONUS) from overseas for NTS, the place of NTS is determined by the official designated by the member’s Service.

Time limitations for Non-Temporary Storage vary depending on the type of orders used to place property into storage. "For Military Members: Usually the time length for Non-Temporary Storage allowed on overseas moves is the length of the overseas tour, plus 90 days. The additional 90 days allows time for the customer to obtain housing at the new location, before calling for the NTS shipment for delivery. Storage beyond the entitlement time is at the customer's expense. For Civilian Members: The Non-Temporary Storage entitlement must be specified on the civilian's PCS orders. The length of time authorized for NTS storage will be included in the orders. An extension of the NTS entitlement requires an amendment to the PCS orders, done by the Civilian Personnel Office." If you need to continue storage, consult with your local Transportation Office at the time of counseling to determine your time allowed (Note: civilian members placing property into storage must renew their entitlement on a yearly basis. Consult your civilian personal office at your gaining location for details on how to ensure continued storage.)

If you are on separation or retirement orders and will need additional time beyond your basic entitlement ,and are a member of the Army or Navy with property in NTS through JPPSOWA, you can send a written request for an extension to your shipping entitlement to JPPSOWA. All other services will need to request an extension through your respective Service branch. Extensions to your shipping entitlements will allow you to continue storage through the Government; however, the cost of that storage will be at member’s expense. Contact the Transportation Office maintaining your storage to determine what the cost per month will be.

PLEASE NOTE: all Non-Temporary Storage entitlement extensions, MUST be done in writing and be accompanied by a copy of your orders. Without a copy of your orders your request could be delayed until they are received because we need the fund cite from the published orders. Also, please be sure to include your contact information (address, phone numbers or email) with your request. There is no partial delivery for civilians.