Mark it once you can do it without this page open.

How to do it

  1. File mail forwarding with the postal service online or at a post office about two weeks before you move.
  2. Update your employer's payroll and tax records so your pay stubs and year-end forms follow you.
  3. Change the address with your bank, card issuers, loan servicers and any investment or retirement accounts.
  4. Update car, renters and health insurance, since rates and coverage can depend on where you live.
  5. Update your driver's license and vehicle registration with the state motor vehicle office within the time your state allows.
  6. Update your voter registration.
  7. Tell your doctors, dentist and pharmacy, and change delivery and subscription accounts.
  8. Keep a checklist and tick each one off as you go.

Common mistakes

  • Relying on forwarding alone, which stops after a set period.
  • Forgetting the license and registration until a traffic stop.
  • Leaving the old address on a delivery account and sending a package there.

Quick self-check

Three questions. Your last score is kept in this browser.

1. Why is mail forwarding not enough on its own?
2. Which change do states often require within a set number of days?
3. Why tell your car insurer about a move?

Teach this to someone

A one-page sheet for showing a friend, a roommate or a kid: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.

Words on this page

Sources

  • Postal service guidance on changing your address, 2026. Checked September 28, 2026.

Last reviewed . First published .