Change of Address Checklist: What to Update Before and After You Move
Moving—or already moved? Use this step-by-step checklist to forward your mail, update important accounts, and give the right people your new address.
Your mail can move before your accounts do. Filing a USPS Change of Address helps reroute eligible mail, but it does not finish the job of updating the organizations that hold your old address.
Your bank, insurer, employer, and favorite online store may each keep a separate record. Some also maintain different billing, shipping, and service addresses. This change of address checklist helps you work through those updates in an order that makes sense.
If your move is weeks away, start with the items that need scheduling. If you have already moved, begin with mail forwarding, essential services, and important financial and insurance records. You can catch up without doing everything at once.
Your Change of Address Checklist at a Glance
Gather your old and new addresses, move date, and household details.
Arrange USPS mail forwarding and keep your confirmation.
Schedule utilities and internet at both homes.
Contact your insurers and update employer and payroll records.
Update banks, credit cards, lenders, and important deliveries.
Follow the requirements for government records that apply to you.
Update subscriptions, memberships, retailers, and personal contacts.
Save confirmations and check that changes have taken effect.
For a plan that includes packing and the rest of your move, start with the free moving checklist.
1. Gather Your Move Information
Before opening forms, put the essentials in one place: your complete old and new addresses, apartment or unit numbers, ZIP codes, move date, and the names of the people moving. Confirm the new address with your lease, closing documents, or property manager if anything is unclear.
Decide whether the move is permanent or temporary. Also identify which accounts belong to each household member. Updating your own bank profile does not necessarily update a partner’s separate account.
Keep a simple record of the organization, the action needed, the date submitted, and the confirmation. A submitted request and a completed update are not always the same thing.
2. Before You Move: Handle the Updates That Need Planning
File Your USPS Change of Address
Choose the appropriate move type and requested forwarding start date. Follow the identity-verification instructions and save your confirmation so you can refer to the request later. You can file directly with USPS online or at a Post Office; AddressGenie also offers a paid service to help with filing and other moving tasks.
Forwarding is a backstop while you update senders. It is not a replacement for those updates, and not every mailpiece is eligible. See the current USPS forwarding instructions for processing, eligibility, and verification requirements.
Schedule Utilities and Internet
Arrange service at the new home and an appropriate stop date at the old one. Ask whether you need an appointment, equipment return, final meter reading, or new account. Changing the mailing address on an electric bill does not itself transfer electricity service.
Contact Insurers, Payroll, and Delivery Services
Tell your home or renters insurer and auto insurer about the move. Ask how the new location affects your policy, effective dates, and any coverage you need during the transition. Update your employer’s payroll, benefits, and mailing records too.
Review upcoming prescriptions, meal kits, subscription boxes, and other shipments. If an order is already processing, contact the seller: changing your profile may not redirect an existing order.
3. Around Moving Day: Update Your Most Important Accounts
Start with accounts connected to your money, health, and day-to-day needs.
Banks, credit cards, loans, investments, and retirement accounts: check each account and any separate mailing preferences.
Healthcare providers and pharmacies: update contact records and arrange transfers when changing providers.
Schools and childcare: confirm enrollment, transportation, and emergency-contact information where applicable.
Employers and benefits providers: check that the new address appears in the systems used for correspondence and tax documents.
Look for separate billing and shipping fields. A saved payment method may also carry its own billing address. Review these carefully before placing your next order.
Keep account numbers and other sensitive information in the organization’s secure account tools. Your moving checklist only needs enough detail to track the task.
4. After You Move: Update Government Records
USPS forwarding does not replace the updates required by government agencies. Requirements differ by agency, state, and your circumstances, so check the relevant official instructions promptly rather than assuming you have a universal 30-day window.
Driver’s license and vehicle registration: check your state motor vehicle agency’s requirements for an in-state or interstate move.
Voter registration: check how to update your registration and the deadlines for the next election.
IRS records: notify the IRS using a method appropriate to your situation; Form 8822 is one available method for an individual address change.
Social Security, veterans benefits, and other programs: update the agencies that administer benefits or correspondence relevant to you.
Immigration records, professional licenses, and other registrations: follow the applicable agency’s instructions if these apply to you.
The USA.gov address-change directory links to official government services. The IRS address-change guidance explains available notification methods. Treat these as separate tasks rather than assuming a company-notification service changes every government record.
5. Finish the Accounts and Contacts People Commonly Miss
Work through retailers, subscriptions, loyalty programs, gyms, clubs, professional memberships, and pet microchip records. Check any service that ships something, sends important correspondence, or depends on where you live.
Tell friends and family as well. AddressGenie’s Heads Up™ moving announcements support Gmail and Outlook contacts, helping you share your new address without composing every announcement from scratch.
Use the timing in this article to decide what comes next. Within each category, make your own list of the organizations you actually use. You do not need to notify a company simply because it appears on someone else’s moving list.
6. Check That Your Changes Actually Went Through
Save confirmation messages and review your next statements, account profiles, and deliveries. If mail arrives through forwarding, look at the sender and confirm that its records have been updated.
Check your default shipping address before your first purchase from the new home. Remove an old saved address when appropriate, and confirm that recurring orders use the correct location.
A few short follow-up sessions are more manageable than trying to reconstruct everything weeks later. Use Don’t Forget™ to track the updates you have confirmed and the ones still waiting for a response.
7. Don’t Forget™: Less to Remember. More Done.
Always free. No credit card needed.
The Problem: It’s Easy to Lose Your Place
You updated your bank—but did you change every credit card? You scheduled internet installation—but did you cancel service at the old address? When moving tasks are scattered across emails, browser tabs, and your memory, important details can slip through the cracks.
Knowing what to do is only the beginning. During a move, you also need somewhere to keep track of what you have already handled and what deserves your attention next.
The Solution: A Checklist You Can Return To
AddressGenie’s Don’t Forget™ moving checklist helps you organize tasks before, during, and after your move. Track address updates alongside packing, utilities, home preparation, and getting settled. Mark tasks complete and pick up where you left off.
Instead of starting over each time you find a few spare minutes, return to your checklist and choose the next useful step.
The Benefits: Know What’s Next
See your progress: keep track of what is finished and what remains.
Reduce the mental load: follow a plan instead of trying to remember everything.
Work at your own pace: make progress in manageable sessions.
Keep the whole move in view: address changes sit alongside the other tasks competing for your attention.
Don’t Forget™ is always free. No credit card needed. You can use it without purchasing AddressGenie’s paid address-change service.
8. AddressGenie: Get Help With the Address-Change Work
Plans start at $9.95. Choose the help you need.
The Problem: Your Address Is Everywhere
Your bank, insurers, subscriptions, retailers, and other organizations may still have your old address. Finding the right update process and working through each one takes time—while you are also trying to pack, unpack, and get settled.
Even a thorough checklist leaves you with a choice: handle the notification work yourself or get help with it.
The Solution: Bring More of the Work Into One Service
AddressGenie helps U.S. movers file an official Change of Address and update their address with organizations relevant to their move. Its directory covers 6,000+ organizations across 23 categories. Select the available service that fits your needs and review your move information before completing your order.
AddressGenie also offers moving announcements using Gmail or Outlook contacts, helping you share your new address with the people in your life alongside updating the companies you use.
The Benefits: Less Searching. More Time for Your Move.
Coordinate important updates: handle mail forwarding and supported company notifications through one moving service.
Identify overlooked organizations: review companies and services that may need your new address.
Reduce individual notification work: get help with the updates supported by your selected plan.
Keep moving forward: spend less time figuring out where to begin and more time getting settled.
Plans start at $9.95. Included services vary by plan. Some organizations and government records require you to update your information directly. AddressGenie is an independent service, not affiliated with or endorsed by USPS; you can also file directly with USPS.
Make Your New Address the One Everyone Uses
Start with the updates that affect your mail, essential services, money, and important records. Save confirmations, check the results, and work through the rest in manageable steps.
Don’t Forget™ helps you organize and track the work. AddressGenie helps you carry out supported address-change tasks. Use the always-free checklist on its own, or combine it with the paid service when you want more help.