How to Change Your Address When You Move

On average, Americans move 11 times in their lifetime. And as you may know, every relocation demands updating your place of residence. No matter if you’re relocating to a family house or a college dorm, you will need to know how to change your address when you move. You will have to inform the government and other parties, but luckily, you will learn how to update the address in no time if you follow these instructions.

Cross-country moving is often stressful and time-consuming, and usually, people forget to update their street numbers on time and have to do everything at the last minute once they arrive at a new location. From researching where to change address when you move to gathering all the documents, this process can be exhausting, especially after long-distance moving while still unpacking and adjusting to new surroundings. So put on your moving to-do list a section about all the paperwork you have to do.

Importance of Informing About Residence Change

As you may know, you’re obliged by law to inform relevant government agencies about the house number update. And depending on the destination where you’re relocating, some changes must be done the moment you relocate, while in others, you have about 90 days. To reduce your moving stress to a minimum, gather all the necessary information about your obligations before relocating. Whether you’re relocating to another state alone or with family, you will have to do more things, like changing the voter registration. On the other hand, if you’re relocating locally, this process will be simpler. Bear in mind that you will be breaking the law if you do not update your living location.

What Do I Need to Change My Address on When I Move?

First, you will have to make a list of agencies and entities you have to notify about your move. Do this while you are preparing everything from your relocating to another state checklist. So while you are searching for a perfect neighborhood and house hunting, see what rules and regulations are in that particular city and location. When we talk about places to change your address when you move, you usually have to fill an online form and update it. But in some cases, you will have to do it in person.

How to Change Your Address When You Move? Inform the Government Agencies

You probably have some idea about where to change your address when you move. But some other questions are popping into your mind. Like “when should I change my address when moving?” The answer is simple – you can start this process after you relocate and rent or buy a house. Just make sure you don’t do it too soon, either. You can file a form on your USPS website and ask for mail forwarding. You will get everything from your old place for the next 12 months.

Inform Post Office About Update of House Number and Zip Code

Even though long-distance friendships are much easier to maintain with the help of modern technology, you will have to take different postal numbers even if you don’t use mail and letters at all. We receive a lot of mail during the year, and we hardly even notice the importance of that shipment. Sometimes even bills, government support, and tax returns end up as junk mail.

But still, you need to keep all parties posted. Go online and fill out the form about updating your home number, and making an online profile costs around $2. If you go through third-party websites, they may charge you more, around $40. But cut some losses and do this alone for you and your entire family with a couple of clicks. Here are some options you can choose from:

• Temporary request – For example, if you are relocating for love, only for one year, you can ask at your Postal office for a temporary place of residence change. That is what we talked about above. USPS will forward your mail for 12 months. Usually, people who move a lot for work, such as military relocations, use this option.
• Permanent – You probably wonder, “when should I change my address with the post office when moving.” As soon as you book long-distance moving services and set a relocation date, you can file and permanently switch the place of residence at your post office.
• Family and individual – If you have family members in your house with different surnames, you will have to fill out a separate form for every name. If you all have the same name and you all are relocating to a different state, you can do it in one form.

Who Do I Need to Notify When I Move? Don’t Forget the DMV

Once your long-distance movers ship the car to your place of residence, it is time to deal with some post-relocation work. According to law, you will have to get a new license and plates. Depending on the destination you relocate to, this should be done in a range from one day to 90 days. This must be done in person at your local DMV office. Also, after you get a license number, contact your local Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) and give them your license and updated place of residence.

Inform IRS as Well

You probably think reporting to the IRS will be a nightmare, but it is easily done online through form 8855. And do not skip this step. If you are relocating from an apartment to a house, your taxes will be different. Also, some states have lower taxes, so you would want to do this in advance to get tax returns on your place of residence.

Give Your Bank and Insurance Company New Home Address

Your bank probably has the branches at your destination. Go online and see if this is so. If it is, inform your bank through e-mail or phone about your relocation. On the other hand, if the bank doesn’t operate there, you will have to cancel the account. If you have some credit cards, unpaid car, or mortgage, you will have to talk with an agent to see what your options are.

When it comes to car insurance, it is the same drill. If your company operates there, you don’t have to switch the company, but you may have to take a different plan. Some states have a different quote when it comes to charging car insurance. Therefore you may get a cheaper deal or maybe a more expensive one. Either way, you will have to adjust your insurance to the rules and regulations of the destination you are relocating to. Otherwise, you can be charged for insurance fraud.

Social Security Administration

While there is no obligation of updating the location on your social security card as it is. If you are a recipient of Social Security Medicare benefits, you will have to inform them about your relocation to continue receiving your checks. Go on the Social Security Administration website and do this online.

For more information about where and how to do updating of all your documents, take a look at this video.

Who Do I Need to Notify When I Move?

As you can see, an answer to the question of how do you change your mailing address when you move is not that simple — you have to inform a lot of separate entities. And if you don’t want one of the things to do after relocating to be paying all kinds of fees for services you don’t use, it would be good to create a list of all entities you have to inform before relocating. Aside from the government, those would be all kinds of memberships, subscriptions, online services, and more.

Transfer or Cancel Your Utilities

Even if you hire long-distance movers for unpacking and packing services aside from cross-country moving services, it would be hard even for professional cross-country movers to do their work in the dark or relocate in winter without heat. To avoid this relocation mistake,  notify your utility provider about your relocation in advance. If you are relocating locally, you will have to transfer utilities, and if you are relocating to another state, probably cancel them. But some service providers operate in different states, so make sure to ask them about whether they have branches in your state of choice. Also, give them the exact date of cancellation and the exact day of your moving in. You don’t want to pay for some extra charges at your old home or end up without electricity with a house full of boxes.

If you think you will not be able to coordinate with turning on all your utilities at the right moment, you can store your belongings in storage units provided by the long-distance moving company and wait for them to be shipped to your new place once you set everything up. All you have to do is to pack a bag of essentials with all the things you need and carry on your unpacking in the coming days without any stress and in the most efficient way. Here are some of the things you have to have in your bag or box of essentials:

• Packed plates,
• Packed clothing for a couple of days,
• Hygiene products,
• Bathroom items and necessities,
• Phone and laptop,
• Bedding and pillows.

If you wish to clean your apartment before move-in, make sure to bring some cleaning supplies as well. And you will be prepared for movers in the best way possible.

Online Delivery Services You Use

One of the things people forget to do when relocating is to cancel their membership fees for all kinds of services, a local gym or country club, for example. So cancel these fees, or transfer them if possible. Also, make sure you inform all delivery service providers you use, like Amazon, about the new location.

Make a Party for Friends and Family

Arrange a moving away party for your friends and family and inform them about your plans to relocate. That will be an excellent opportunity to share your new place of residence with them and invite them to come and visit. If you see all your friends and family and lay some plans for the future, your anxiety about relocating will be much less.

What Is the Best Way to Notify of an Address Change?

Now that you know the answer to “how can i change my address” and how and what to do when changing address, it is time to learn how to inform everybody in the best and most efficient way. People usually send postcards to all friends and family members, but this can easily be done via emails. Create one circular email, put all emails in bcc, and send it to everybody at once. Also, if you wonder who to inform first about your new location, it would be your cross-country movers, who will need this info in advance so they can arrange everything on time. So don’t forget them!