How to Change Your Address When Moving: Full Checklist

To change your address when moving, file an official change of address with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) about two weeks before move day, then separately update your address with the IRS, your bank, employer, insurers, and subscriptions. USPS forwarding is a safety net, not a substitute — it expires, and not all mail forwards.

That distinction trips up a lot of people. Filing one USPS form feels like checking the box, but mail forwarding is temporary and incomplete by design. Below is exactly how the USPS process works, what it costs, and the full list of everyone else who needs your new address so nothing important goes to your old mailbox.

The Postal Service offers an official Change of Address (COA) request that reroutes your mail from your old address to your new one. You can file it two ways:

**Online** at the official USPS site (moversguide.usps.com). The USPS charges a small identity-verification fee — currently around $1.10 — to confirm you are who you say you are. This fee exists specifically to stop fraudulent address changes, so treat any site charging $20 or more as a third-party scam, not the real USPS. The Postal Inspection Service has repeatedly warned about copycat sites that overcharge for this free-to-cheap government service.

**In person** at any Post Office, where you fill out PS Form 3575 and show a valid photo ID. Done this way, there is no fee.

As of 2025, USPS added enhanced identity-verification steps to the online process. You may be asked to receive a code on your mobile phone, and the billing address on your payment card generally must match either your old or new address. If online verification fails, USPS emails you a barcode to bring, along with photo ID, to a local Post Office to finish in person.

Filing the COA is only half the story — knowing how forwarding behaves keeps you from missing something critical.

Two limits matter most. First, forwarding lasts 12 months for standard first-class mail and just 60 days for magazines — so use that year to update senders directly, not to lean on forwarding indefinitely. Second, marketing mail and some bulk items may not forward at all. The forwarding window is your grace period to notify everyone individually, which is the part that actually protects you.

It's also worth knowing that USPS shares COA data with mailers through its licensed address-update services. If you'd rather understand how your moving data circulates, our explainer on whether moving companies sell your information covers the broader picture of relocation-related data sharing.

USPS forwarding buys you time; these direct updates are what make the change permanent. Work through them in roughly this priority order.

**Government and tax**

• **IRS** — file Form 8822 (Change of Address) or update it on your next return; the IRS does not automatically receive your USPS change. This matters for refunds and notices.
• **Social Security Administration** — update via your my Social Security account if you receive benefits.
• **State DMV** — most states require you to update your driver's license and vehicle registration within a set window (often 10 to 30 days) of moving.
• **Voter registration** — re-register at your new address.

**Financial**

• Banks and credit unions
• Credit card issuers
• Loan and mortgage servicers
• Investment and retirement accounts
• Insurance providers (auto, home/renters, health, life)

**Work and benefits**

• Your employer's HR/payroll
• Health insurance and any HSA/FSA administrator

**Home and daily life**

• Utility companies at both addresses — schedule shutoff and turn-on so you're never without power or water. Coordinating these is its own task, which we walk through in our guide to setting up utilities in your new home.
• Internet, phone, and streaming services
• Subscriptions and deliveries (meal kits, pharmacy, recurring shipments)
• Doctors, dentists, and pharmacies
• Schools and childcare

If this is a cross-state move, several of these — DMV, voter registration, taxes — carry extra steps and deadlines tied to your new state. Our moving out-of-state checklist covers those state-line-specific tasks in detail.

Sequencing the updates keeps anything from falling through the cracks.

• **Two weeks before:** File the USPS change of address. Start notifying your bank, employer, and insurers.
• **One week before:** Update subscriptions, online shopping accounts, and recurring deliveries.
• **Move week:** Confirm utilities are scheduled to switch on at the new place.
• **First two weeks after:** Update your DMV and voter registration (mind your state's deadline), and file the IRS change if you didn't already.
• **Ongoing for a year:** Each time a forwarded envelope arrives, that's a sender you still need to update directly — do it then, while you're holding the reminder in your hand.

That last habit is the single most effective one. Forwarded mail is a live to-do list of accounts that still have your old address.

**How much does it cost to change your address with USPS?** Filing online costs a small identity-verification fee, currently about $1.10. Doing it in person at a Post Office with photo ID is free. Any service charging $20 or more is a third-party copycat, not the official USPS.

**How long does USPS forward your mail?** First-class mail forwards for 12 months. Magazines and periodicals forward for only 60 days. After the period ends, mail is returned to senders with your new address for about six months.

**How far in advance should I change my address?** File with USPS roughly two weeks before your move. Forwarding can begin within three business days, but allowing two weeks ensures it's active before your mail starts arriving at the new place.

**Does changing my address with USPS update it everywhere?** No. USPS only reroutes mail temporarily. You must separately notify the IRS, DMV, your bank, employer, insurers, and subscriptions — none of them are updated automatically.

**Do I need to tell the IRS I moved?** Yes. The IRS isn't notified by your USPS change. File Form 8822 or update your address on your next tax return so refunds and official notices reach you.

**Will all my mail get forwarded?** Not all of it. First-class mail forwards reliably, but marketing mail and some bulk items may not. Use the forwarding window to update senders directly rather than relying on it long term.

Changing your address when moving is two jobs, not one. The USPS change of address is your safety net — file it about two weeks out, expect forwarding to last a year for first-class mail, and treat every forwarded envelope as a prompt. The real work is notifying the IRS, your DMV, banks, employer, insurers, and subscriptions directly. Do both, sequence them sensibly, and nothing important gets stranded at an address that isn't yours anymore.