Changing your address sounds like one task. It is closer to forty, spread across agencies, companies and people, and the ones you forget tend to surface months later as a missed bill or a renewal notice sent to a stranger. Start a list a few weeks before the move, work through it in stages, and keep it until the forwarding period ends.
Government and official records
- File a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service at usps.com so mail is forwarded while you update everyone else.
- Update your driver’s license or state identification and your vehicle registration with your state’s motor vehicle agency. States set deadlines for this, often measured in weeks.
- Update your voter registration, which in many states can be done along with your license.
- Notify the IRS using its change of address form, and your state tax agency; a tax professional can confirm what applies to you.
- If you receive Social Security, veterans or other federal benefits, update your address with the agency.
- Update any professional licenses, permits and your passport only when it is next renewed, since a passport does not list an address.
Money and insurance
- Banks, credit unions and credit card issuers, including the address on file for statements and for card verification.
- Your mortgage servicer, student loan servicers and any auto or personal lenders.
- Investment and retirement accounts.
- Insurance: auto, which is often priced by address; renters or homeowners; life and health.
- Your employer’s payroll and human resources department, so tax documents arrive at the right place.
Home, health and everyday services
- Utilities at both addresses, plus internet, mobile phone, streaming and security services.
- Doctors, dentists, pharmacies and your veterinarian; request record transfers if you are changing providers.
- Schools and childcare, including transfer paperwork.
- Subscriptions, meal and delivery services, and the saved addresses in your online shopping accounts.
- Memberships: gyms, clubs, libraries, warehouse stores, alumni associations and religious or civic organizations.
- Loyalty programs, airlines and anything that mails a renewal or a card.
People
Friends and family, of course, but also your accountant, attorney, financial advisor and anyone who sends you documents. A short message with the new address and the date it takes effect is enough. Consider telling your former neighbors or the new owner of your old home how to reach you in case something important slips through.
Making it manageable
- Set a forwarding period long enough to catch annual mailings, and watch what arrives forwarded; each piece is a reminder of someone you have not updated yet.
- Do the official updates first, since they have deadlines, then the financial ones, then everything else.
- Keep the list in your moving folder and check items off; it becomes the template for your next move.
- Shred mail with personal information that arrives for the previous owner rather than tossing it, and mark it return to sender when you can.
A month after moving, review the list once more. By then most of the stragglers will have revealed themselves, and the rest can be caught as the forwarded mail trickles in.
A Week-by-Week Plan for Updating Your Address
A forty-item list feels lighter when it is broken into small pieces. Here is one way to spread the work across the weeks around a move so nothing piles up at the end.
Three to four weeks before the move
- Gather your list in one place: a notebook, a spreadsheet or a note on your phone. Go through a few months of bank and credit card statements to spot every company that bills you automatically; each one has your address.
- Schedule the mail forwarding start date.
- Ask schools, doctors and childcare providers what they need for transfers, since records can take time.
One to two weeks before
- Update banks, credit cards and lenders, choosing an effective date close to the move.
- Call your auto insurer, since a new address can change your rate, and confirm homeowners or renters coverage at the new home.
- Tell your employer and update payroll records.
Moving week
- Confirm utilities at both addresses.
- Update delivery, shopping and subscription accounts so packages do not go to the old house.
- Send the new address to family, friends and professional advisors.
The first month after
- Visit or contact the motor vehicle agency within your state’s deadline for your license and registration.
- Update voter registration if it was not handled with your license.
- Watch the forwarded mail and update each sender as it appears.
Easy-to-Miss Items
Even a careful list leaves out a few things. These are some of the ones that most often slip through:
- Billing addresses saved in apps and digital wallets. An old billing address can cause a card to be declined online.
- Your own return address labels and checks. Order new ones rather than crossing out the old address.
- Warranty registrations for appliances, electronics and vehicles, so recall notices reach you.
- Toll transponder and parking accounts, which are often tied to a vehicle registration.
- Prescription mail-order services, where a missed update can delay medication.
- Emergency contact records at your workplace, your children’s school and your doctor’s office.
- Pet microchip registration, so a lost pet can be returned to the right home.
- Storage units, safe deposit boxes and post office boxes you may be keeping or closing.
Protecting Yourself During the Transition
A move creates a window when mail is in motion and accounts are being changed, which is exactly when identity thieves look for openings. A few habits help:
- Make official changes only through the agency’s or company’s own website or a phone number you look up yourself, not through links in unexpected emails or texts.
- Expect a confirmation letter from the Postal Service at both addresses after you file forwarding. If you receive one you did not request, contact the Postal Service right away.
- Check your credit card and bank statements closely for the first couple of months after a move.
- Consider going paperless for sensitive statements so fewer documents travel through the forwarding system.
Questions Readers Ask
Can I file forwarding for everyone in the household at once?
The Postal Service offers individual, family and business options. If some household members are moving to a different address, file separately for them.
How long should I keep the forwarding active?
Long enough to catch annual mailings such as tax forms, renewal notices and insurance documents. Many people find that most stragglers have been caught within the first several months.
What if mail keeps arriving for the previous owner?
Mark it with the previous owner’s name crossed out and a note that they have moved, and return it to the carrier. Do not open mail addressed to someone else.
