AMVETS Donation Pickup: How It Works and What to Do If They Can’t Come

AMVETS does pick up donations for free, in about 20 states, through a patchwork of local operators

AMVETS doesn’t run one national pickup fleet. Its national office keeps a list of regional pickup programs, each run by a different thrift or collection company on AMVETS’ behalf: Common Threads across the Southeast, DonateStuff in Illinois and Indiana, Super Thrift in Michigan and Oklahoma City, Support the Vets in upstate New York and Tennessee, and donate4amvets in the mid-Atlantic and Texas. All of them are free and curbside, and the rules on furniture change from one to the next. Here’s how to find yours, what they take, and what to do if your state isn’t on the list or your sofa is too big.

Check Other Local Pickup Options

How to schedule an AMVETS pickup

Start at amvets.org/pickup, which lists the program for each state and links to its booking site. Depending on where you live you’ll land on one of five or six different sites; all of them take a zip code and a date, and most let you book by phone or text as well. Bag or box everything, label it for AMVETS, and set it outside your front door by the morning of your pickup day. You don’t need to be home.

If your state isn’t on the AMVETS list, there is no AMVETS pickup there. The national office doesn’t route requests, so a call to headquarters won’t get a truck sent.

What AMVETS accepts for pickup

Generally accepted

  • Clothing, shoes and accessories for all ages
  • Bedding, towels, dishware and small working appliances
  • Toys and sports equipment in clean condition
  • Working electronics: tablets, computers and small TVs
  • Books (some programs cap it at two boxes), musical instruments
  • Small furniture one person can lift: nightstands, office chairs, small filing cabinets

Not accepted

  • Large furniture and appliances in most areas
  • Mattresses and box springs
  • Car seats and cribs
  • Paint, hazardous materials and firearms
  • Magazines, newspapers and encyclopedia sets

Furniture is where the programs split. The DonateStuff-run programs in Illinois and Indiana say outright that they can’t take large furniture or appliances. The donate4amvets program in Maryland, Virginia, DC, Delaware, Texas and Oklahoma lists furniture as accepted without saying which pieces. Check the accepted-items page on the booking site you land on before you drag a dresser to the curb.

When AMVETS can't come: get matched with another nonprofit

Most people searching for an AMVETS pickup hit one of three walls: their state isn’t on the list, the program near them won’t take furniture, or the driver left a piece behind. In all three cases the answer is usually another local nonprofit that runs its own truck. PickUpMyDonation sends one request to the nonprofit thrift partners that serve your zip code, including rescue missions, Habitat ReStores, St. Vincent de Paul societies and independent community thrift stores, and most of them do take sofas, dressers and dining sets. When a partner can use your items, they pick them up at no charge and contact you directly, usually within 48 hours. A match isn’t guaranteed; each partner decides based on condition, what sells in its store and its route that week. If nobody reaches out, no nonprofit took it, and the same form lets you choose Priority Pickup, a local hauler who quotes a fee up front and takes almost anything.

  • One form reaches every participating nonprofit in your area
  • Free pickup when a nonprofit partner accepts your items
  • Furniture and large items welcome, unlike a curbside bag service
  • Fee-based Priority Pickup, often within a day or two, as a fallback
Request a Pickup Match

Have furniture specifically? See what qualifies in our guide to free furniture donation pickup, or compare Salvation Army pickup and Purple Heart pickup. If you’d rather your donation go to a veterans charity, our veterans donation pickup guide compares AMVETS with DAV, Vietnam Veterans of America and Purple Heart.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Every program on AMVETS’ list offers free home pickup. A regional thrift or collection company does the driving and collects on AMVETS’ behalf.

It depends on which operator serves you. The Illinois and Indiana programs don’t take large furniture or appliances; small pieces one person can lift are fine. The mid-Atlantic and Texas program lists furniture as accepted. Check the accepted-items page for your area, or use the form on this page to reach nonprofits that run furniture trucks.

As of AMVETS’ current list: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida (Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach and Tampa), Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New York (Buffalo, Rochester and Long Island), North Carolina, Oklahoma (Oklahoma City and Tulsa), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (Houston and San Antonio), Virginia (Northern Virginia and the Tri-Cities) and Washington, DC. Nothing west of Texas and Oklahoma.

No. Leave labeled bags and boxes outside your front door by the morning of your pickup day. The programs don’t give a time window.

Drivers can skip anything over the operator’s size limit, anything on the not-accepted list, anything damaged or wet, and anything that isn’t clearly labeled as a donation.

No. We send your request to the nonprofits that serve your area and each one decides. Whoever can take your items contacts you, usually within 48 hours. If nobody does, no nonprofit took it, and Priority Pickup is available in most areas for a quoted fee.

Not in an AMVETS area, or have furniture to move?

Enter your zip code, describe what you have, and we’ll send your request to the local partners who may be able to pick it up.

Request a Pickup Match