With organization comes empowerment – Lynda Peterson
Moving
seems to attract paperwork. If you’re a military family, that paperwork seems to double, sometimes overnight. It’s imperative during a PCS to stay organized. Inevitably, an office will ask you for a copy of something you didn’t think you needed, so it’s better to be prepared.
While I’ve not had great success with a formal “PCS Binder,” if you want pretty labels and dividers, you can find plenty of downloads online. Although I didn’t use color-coded labels, I did have a binder of paperwork for our overseas move.
Ok, it was two binders.
While I had many of the items listed below, we didn’t need everything. The good news is – there’s no right or wrong for your PCS binder. You can modify it to work for your family, no matter how big or small. The important thing is to have documents readily available, and safely together in one place.
Keep it Together
It’s important to have an idea of what offices and agencies might ask for, but before I get to some suggested items, a word of caution. At some point, your whole life could be in this binder. If you’re having movers come to pack your house, make sure your binder doesn’t get packed away. You want to keep it on you. [I’ve heard of people locking it in their car, or in an inaccessible room during packing day. Just be extra careful it doesn’t end up in a box somewhere.]
It’s also a good idea to make copies of things and have them electronically accessible while traveling. For our overseas move, that meant uploading them to a secure cloud system, as well as a thumb drive. We didn’t know if we would have WiFi upon arrival, so we had a double back up, just in case.
Binder Basics
I recommend getting a 2-inch binder or larger. Many offices will ask for copies of things, like orders, and won’t make a copy for you. You’ll end up with a lot of things in your binder, so having one big enough to hold it all is key.
A zipper pouch for pens (blue or black only), sharpies, passports, and the link is a good idea. I also throw a few paper clips in there, and anything else small I want to keep track of. Some families will also use card sized sheet protectors to hold social security cards, extra passport photos, and the like.
Sheet protectors are a must-have. You can group items together and avoid punching holes into documents. If you put more than 2 pieces of paper in a sheet protector, consider using a paper clip or binder clip to keep things together.
Dividers, if you want to get fancy. With just Husband and me in our last PCS, I didn’t need them. Larger families would certainly benefit from grouping similar items together, or separating by family member. If you have copies of documents from other things, like passports, birth certificates, or orders, I recommend stashing another copy somewhere else in your carry-on.
Contact List
It’s a good idea to have a paper print out of contact numbers and addresses. I include things like:
- Destination address
- Sponsor phone number
- Necessary offices for both losing and gaining installations
If you’re moving overseas, make note of how to call an out of country phone number. You’ll need country codes, and sometimes dialing from a cell phone is different than a landline.
Personal Records
For each family member, consider the list below.
- Original birth certificates
- Social Security Cards
- Passports
- Marriage license/divorce decree – multiple copies
- Adoption paperwork
- Most recent LES
- Insurance documents – homeowners/renters, travelers, car, life, etc
- Last year’s tax return
- Titles to property, cars, houses, etc
- Vehicle records – registration, title, insurance, etc.
- Banking information – brokerage accounts, retirement, TSP, etc
Medical
- EFMP paperwork, if needed
- Medical records
- Immunization records
- Dental records
Legal
- Any active POAs (housing, general, etc)
- Orders – at least 10 copies
- Wills
Housing/Travel
- Inventory sheets, especially high-value items list
- Travel information – hotel, flights, car rental confirmations, etc
- Print map/directions if needed (I also save these as photos on my phone – you don’t need WiFi to look at photos)
- Any household goods shipping information or forms
- Rental agreement or terminations
School Documents
- Immunization records
- Transcripts
- Enrollment forms
- CYSS records
Pet Documents
- Vaccination records
- Health certificate
Miscellaneous
- Clearing paperwork from your losing installation, just in case
- Copies of equipment and uniform inventory
- Blank checks (does anyone else actually keep paper checks anymore?)
- Space to keep receipts/record spending for reimbursement
While no one system will work for everyone, I hope this list gets you thinking about your own PCS binder. If you’ve moved before, leave a comment and share how you keep your paperwork organized. Happy moving, friends!
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