For Germany-to-USA PCS moves, the safest planning rule is to keep the car essentially empty unless the authoritative instructions for your actual shipment expressly allow an item. Government VPC rules and private commercial-carrier rules are not interchangeable.
Follow the current PCSmyPOV and local transportation-office instructions for the authorized government shipment. Military OneSource directs members to their transportation office for current guidance on items that may ship with the POV.
The booked ocean carrier and terminal rules control. Used-unit RoRo guidance can prohibit personal effects in the cabin, trunk and other storage spaces.
A domestic auto carrier may have a different belongings policy. Permission on an inland leg does not override the ocean carrier, terminal, customs or VPC rules that applied earlier.
For the Wallenius Wilhelmsen used-unit guidance referenced by Ship or Sell, personal effects such as boxes, crates, suitcases and luggage are not allowed in the cabin, trunk or other vehicle storage spaces. Treat the vehicle as cargo, not as extra household-goods capacity.
If you are privately shipping a second POV from Germany to the USA, verify the booked provider's current preparation instructions before you arrive at turn-in. See the Germany → USA private vehicle shipping process for the full workflow.
Standard equipment belonging to the vehicle may be allowed when it is safely secured, but the exact list is shipment-specific. Do not infer that an item is permitted simply because it fits in the trunk or is commonly carried in a car.
For a government-funded POV, use the current VPC or transportation-office instructions. For a private shipment, use the current carrier and terminal instructions. When two rules apply to different legs, follow the stricter rule until the handoff is complete.
A government POV move is handled under the government entitlement and VPC process. A private second-POV shipment is a commercial transport contract. A later U.S. inland move can be yet another contract. Each leg can have different safety, liability, customs, insurance and cargo-acceptance rules.
That is why a generic statement such as “100 pounds in the trunk is allowed” should not be treated as a universal PCS rule. What one domestic carrier permits may still be rejected by an ocean carrier, terminal or government VPC.
Keep titles, registrations, IDs, Orders and other sensitive paperwork with you or in the appropriate secure document workflow unless the authoritative shipment instructions explicitly require a specific document to remain with the vehicle.
Leaving important originals inside a vehicle creates avoidable problems if the vehicle is delayed, inspected, inaccessible or the paperwork is lost. Use the Germany → USA vehicle shipping documents guide to separate the paperwork you need from the vehicle-preparation checklist.
Follow the actual inland carrier's written policy for that inland leg, but do not load belongings before the vehicle has cleared every earlier leg whose rules prohibit them. A permission that starts after U.S. release does not retroactively change the ocean-shipping or terminal rules.
Do not assume you can. First identify whether the shipment is government POV, private ocean/RoRo or U.S. inland transport, then follow the current rule for that specific leg.
For the used-unit RoRo guidance referenced here, boxes, crates, suitcases and luggage are not allowed in the trunk, cabin or other storage spaces. A different shipment mode may have a different policy.
Use the current PCSmyPOV/VPC instructions and your local transportation office. Military OneSource specifically directs members there for current information on what may ship with the POV.
Possibly, depending on that carrier's policy. Treat it as a separate inland-transport rule and do not assume it also applied during the ocean or VPC leg.
Understand the one-POV government entitlement and private second-POV option.
Two-car PCS guide →Last reviewed: 7 October 2026.
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