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You are here: Home / Military Life / Getting married, moving in military housing, and how long does it take to get housing?

Getting married, moving in military housing, and how long does it take to get housing?

February 28, 2012 by Nutty Hiker Last Modified: February 25, 202223 Comments

Q. Getting married, moving in military housing, and how long does it take to get housing?

Ok, so I have a couple of questions about moving. I wrote you before about getting married in April. I’m sure you probably don’t remember but we plan to have our wedding over Easter 96. He plans on coming home in Feb. for Presidents Day for multiple reasons but we also talked about getting married at the court-house (nothing fancy at all) just so we can get our marriage license so we can go ahead and put in for housing.

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I have heard that it can take 2 weeks or longer to get housing. Do you think it would be a good idea to do that or not? I plan on staying here and not moving down there till after the wedding so I can still help with planning the wedding but if he puts in for housing and gets a house do we have to move in within a couple of days? If so how many?

Also, He hears that you get a couple of days once u get a house for time to move in, is this true? If so how many days do they give you?

Also do you have to take those days right when you get housing? I don’t know whether we should wait on putting in for housing now because if he gets days we would rather them be days when we can actually move our stuff and get settled.

If you can’t tell im very new to the whole moving deal, very misinformed, and very confused. I hope all that made sense and if you have any other advice on anything I might have missed please inform me. I really appreciate all your advice and help!

Dear Military Spouse says……..

Whew! I’d be more than happy to answer your questions! I know you must feel overwhelmed! Again congrats on getting married.

How long before you will be able to get (move) into military housing?
The waiting list for housing is different everywhere. For some places there isn’t a waiting list, others the waiting list may be a month-long, and yet others, the waiting list can be 1 or 2 years long. Yes, you heard me right, I said years. The only way to know for sure is to call the housing office and ask. Your spot on the waiting list is determined by his rank and the number of dependents he has. This will also determine how many bedrooms he is given, so you will need to have this information handy when calling.

How quickly do you have to move into military housing once you get the house?
If you put yourself on the waiting list (which can only be done after you are married and he has put you on his DEERS); and your number comes up he can either choose to accept the house or deny the house. If he accepts, he will need to sign for the house.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to move into it right then, just be advised that even if you don’t move into it right then, his BAH will get taken out starting immediately. Also, you should plan to move into the house within at least a couple of weeks.

If housing finds out you are not living in it, they can terminate the lease and you will lose the house. Housing can also terminate the lease if they find out his dependents are not living in it, just him. If he denies the house when offered, your name will be moved back to the bottom of the list. Now, this is how it is supposed to work, as with anything in the Military it can vary greatly, so it’s best to talk to the housing office.

Does the servicemember get days off to move into housing after getting married?
When you PCS you are supposed to get what is known as permissive TDY. Military members are allowed a permissive TDY for up to 10 days in conjunction with a PCS within the 50 states and Washington D.C. This is only allowed during a PCS, so if he is not PCSing then he is not allowed it.

So lets assume he is already at his duty station. He comes home on leave, y’all get married, he goes back and puts in for housing and gets housing right away or even 2 months later. If he wants any time off to move, he will need to take leave.

Now some commanders are nice and will give him a 4-day weekend pass. Again, this is at the discretion of his command. Also, because he was already at his duty station before y’all got married, the government will not pay to move you there. There are some exceptions to this rule, but you should just expect to foot the entire moving bill.

Hope this helps you some, and if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Filed Under: Military Life

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Comments

  1. Sunshine Sagabaen says

    February 3, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    Hi I’m a new military wife, my husband already put me in deers but my question is does bah automatically adds in his paycheck once it kicks in? We’re leaving off base and I’m not sure if there’s any other paperwork needs to be done for the bah

    Reply
    • Bridget Carlson says

      June 28, 2017 at 10:22 am

      Sorry I am just seeing this, but if you have already been added to DEERS then yes BAH will kick in automatically. Sometimes it can take a paycheck or two to show up.

      Reply
  2. Donna Urbano says

    February 19, 2018 at 10:33 pm

    Hello, I am getting married in January 2019 and my finace is currently stationed in Japan. We are getting married in South Carolina, how long does it take for my paperwork to process for me to move overseas with him?

    Reply
    • Bridget Carlson says

      February 26, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      Once you are married, he can put you in DEERS the same day as long as you are given a certified copy of the marriage license (which is typical in most states if you marry at a courthouse). Otherwise, you will need to wait for the state to send you a certified copy, in which he can then put you in DEERS and he can go to housing and request a house. The waiting list varies with each military installation, so you will need to call them for that information.

      Reply
    • Leonie says

      June 21, 2022 at 10:22 am

      Hello, hopefully you see this. I’m getting married with my fiancé stationed in Japan. How long did it took to get a housing ? I’m really looking for answer. Thank you

      Reply
  3. Maggie Wall says

    February 28, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    I am a fairly new military spouse! We got married in October after he graduated boot camp. when he reported back to MCT he filled out paperwork and he now gets BAH, my question is when he filled out that paperwork was I not also enrolled into DEERS? Trying to figure out insurance and getting my spouse ID card.
    Also should his orders be accompanied when he graduates MOS school?

    Reply
  4. Tabitha Jackson says

    June 12, 2018 at 10:57 pm

    Hi! I am getting married to my Sailor is August (YAY!) He will be a couple of weeks away from graduating A school at that point and will most likely already have his orders. I have two questions: if I am not on his initial orders as his spouse can those orders be amended? If they cannot, can I still be enrolled in DEERS so we can apply for military housing?

    Reply
    • Bridget Carlson says

      June 14, 2018 at 10:39 am

      Congrats! Yes military orders can be amended to include you, however, there is not guarantee that they will or how long it will take. You will HAVE to be enrolled in DEERS before he can even request an amendment to the orders =) Enrolling you in DEERS should be the very first thing that is done as soon as you say I Do!

      Reply
  5. Christina Ventura says

    September 25, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    Hi! My boyfriend just PCS’d to Italy. We plan to get married on his next leave. I read in previous comments to get enrolled in deers right after getting married. Will he be able to do that at ajy base here in US or will he have to do it at his base in Italy? Also, is there anything else important that needs to be done before I can join him oversees?

    Reply
    • Bridget Carlson says

      September 28, 2018 at 8:19 am

      He can enroll you at any DEERS office (here or there). Keep in mind that because you were not on his orders and he has already PCS’d, you will not be authorized to move overseas to his location (unless he is somehow able to get the ordered amended to have you included). If you want to move overseas you will need to do it on your own dime and will need to obtain a Visa to live there I would assume. This also means that you will not be able to live on post with him and he will not be able to move off post to live with you (again this is because you are not on his orders).

      Reply
  6. Devine says

    November 24, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    Hi! I am a Soldier in the US Army and I am about to graduate AIT in less than a week. My fiancé and I have planned to get married after I graduate on my 8 days of leave. I already have my orders to go to Fort Leavenworth but when my Sgt was setting up my AKO he put that I was married and put my fiancé and our 4 kids on there but the kids aren’t biologically mine so technically I won’t have any dependents until we get married but since he put all them on my AKO does that mean they will be added to my orders? And another question is how do I go about enrolling them into deers? And when I do finance will them give me a 4 or 5 bedroom house on post and will the Military pay and move my fiancé and kids to my duty station?

    Reply
    • Bridget Carlson says

      November 27, 2018 at 9:05 am

      No, AKO has nothing to do with DEERS or orders. You will need to be married before you can place them in DEERS. They need to be in DEERS before they can get added to your orders and before you can request housing. To add them to DEERS, just go to your local DEERS office with the correct paperwork. As for housing, every post is different, so you will need to check with the housing on post that you are going to. Also check out https://nuttyhiker.com/military-life/dear-military-spouse/

      Reply
  7. Zayra Cerise says

    February 21, 2019 at 9:58 am

    Hello! I was wondering, my husband will be finishing up boot camp next month and after that he’ll head off to tech school; where planning on leaving on base when he finds out where he’ll be stationed. Would I be able to move into housing while he’s still in school?

    Reply
  8. Felicity Davis says

    October 3, 2020 at 12:41 am

    Do you have to be married to move in with your military spouse? We’re not married but have a baby together

    Reply
  9. Kaelee Sech says

    January 27, 2021 at 1:29 am

    Hi! Me and my fiancé just got married today!! We met after he joined the military and was stationed in a town outside of mine… we have a copy of the original marriage license and will be getting our original license in about 2-4 days. So what I’m understanding is… as soon as we have received the original copy we can go and he can add me to DEERS. But my question is.. is that a start and complete in one day type of thing? Or does it take a week or two for them to process the DEERS paperwork?? My second question. So is there anything else that we would need to apply for or do paperwork for? We plan on moving off base… and have already looked at places that are ready for immediate move in. I guess the main question is… how long is the general wait period for us to be able to move into our own place off base once We’ve gone for me to be added to DEERS… or is there not a wait time since were moving off base? Thank you so much in advance!

    Reply
  10. Junne says

    February 19, 2021 at 3:52 pm

    Me and my spouse have been wait listed for 2 months with that being said where are me and him suppose to live in the mean time? Like do they supply us with a hotel for the wait or we will just have to stay separated for the full two months till we are given a house on base?

    Reply
    • Bridget Carlson says

      March 3, 2021 at 10:50 am

      You can get a short term lease somewhere until your house is ready (at your own cost). Otherwise, yes you would just stay where you are at and wait for the house to become available. You can also just choose to rent off base as well, you do not have to live on base.

      Reply
  11. Stef says

    July 25, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    Me and my husband got married in April and we’re waiting for his orders with me on them do u know how long and
    Since I’ve never been in an airplane do I have to fly alone

    Reply
  12. Greg Knedler says

    August 17, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    My daughter just got married to a Marine who is stationed at Pendleton. He checked out of his barracks before the wedding. When they got to Pendleton, they found out it would be two weeks until they could get into married housing. What options do they have now? Is there anyway at all to use his housing allowance for the two weeks to stay somewhere else? Can they stay in transient quarters or does he have to have TAD orders. Just trying to understand their options.

    Reply
  13. Maria State says

    January 22, 2022 at 5:02 am

    Hi do I have to pay to register to be a military wife me and my partner are engaged to be married .

    Reply
  14. KAY LA says

    April 12, 2022 at 8:44 am

    i got recently marrieed , my husband is being reenlisted in japan .we will be able to get me enrolled in DEERS , but he won’t be able to add me to his orders until he gets to japan because of time shortness , as far as we know .
    will he be able to amend his orders to ad me without me being physically present .?
    can i use his orders + marriage certificate to go to japan without knowing the orders doesn’t include me yet ?

    Reply
  15. Nicole Brooks says

    August 14, 2022 at 7:24 pm

    My husband goes to bootcamp soon, he has already put us in his paperwork and everything. My question is after bootcamp during his schooling will our kids and I get to live with him or do we have to wait until after?

    Reply
  16. Gabriela says

    March 11, 2024 at 9:43 pm

    If I get married once I’m done with basic training and AIT does my family move with me to the state I will be stationed right away?

    Reply

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