Moving Out? Follow This Change of Address Checklist
If you’ve just moved or are about to move, you’re in for a big undertaking. Whether it’s across town or a cross-country move, the moving process itself is tiring, even if you hire professional movers. On top of the physical moving, you must also complete many smaller tasks to ensure your finances and other personal effects are registered to your new address, saving you hassle in the long run.
The change of address checklist below will help you ensure nothing gets overlooked in your move.
Insurance Providers
When moving to a new home, there are several insurance providers you’ll want to reach out to and provide with your updated information. Here are the insurance companies you’ll want to contact when you change your address.
Car Insurance
Your car insurance provider should be one of the first companies you contact regarding your move. First, it ensures the insurance change all communications to go to your new address, which can impact your premiums and allow the company to send all communications to the correct address.
Second, if it’s a long-distance move out of state, your coverage requirements may change. For example, one state’s minimum car insurance coverage laws may require a lower deductible or higher maximum coverage amounts; or perhaps you’re moving to a state with no car insurance requirements, like New Hampshire.
Contacting your insurance company and giving it your new address ensures you are covered properly in a new state and not unnecessarily overpaying (or worse, not covered if you get in an accident not long after you move).
You may also want to shop for new car insurance quotes at this time too. Another company may offer cheaper rates in the new city or state you are moving to.
Compare Rates for a New Policy in Minutes
Health, Life, and Dental Insurance
Your health, life, and dental insurance policies will also need to be updated with your new address. For health and dental insurance, this will allow you to find a participating doctor in your new area. For all three types of insurance, this ensures the company is authorized to operate in your new state, if applicable.
Renter’s Insurance
If you’re a renter, it’s always a good idea to carry renter’s insurance in case of theft or damage. However, when you move to a new rental property, you’ll need to update your renter’s insurance policy. This ensures the policy is covering your new residence and your premiums are accurate, as some areas may have higher or lower premiums.
If you’re moving to a new state, contacting your renter’s insurance company allows you to verify they offer coverage in the state and that your policy follows state guidelines.
Homeowner’s Insurance
If you bought your new home, you want to make sure your homeowner’s insurance policy is set for the right address. Just like with your renter’s policy, this helps the insurance company more accurately quote your premium and ensures you’re in compliance with the law if your new house is in another state.
Government Agencies
There’s also a handful of government agencies you’ll need to contact to update your information. Let’s review them.
Social Security Administration (SSA)
If you receive Social Security benefits, you’ll want to contact SSA and give them your new address. This way, when the moving date arrives, your Socal Security checks will make it to the new house.
The United States Postal Service (USPS)
When you move, the Post Office makes it relatively easy to ensure your mail goes to your new address. Simply complete a change of address request online or at your submit a change of address form at your local post office. If you make the online request, the Post Office will need to charge your credit card $1.10, which helps verify you’re not fraudulently changing someone else’s address.
You’ll want to do this about 7 to 10 Postal days before your moving day, as it takes about this long to go into effect. This way, you miss no important mail. If you make a mistake or plans change, you can cancel or edit your request.
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
The DMV should be near the top of your to-do list when moving to a new address. You need to visit this office — or whatever the equivalent office is in your state — to update your driver’s license and vehicle registration.
If you’re doing an in-state move, some states may allow you to perform your address update online. Check your DMV’s website to see if this is an option. For an interstate move, you’ll almost always have to visit the DMV. And be prepared to pay extra fees to bring your vehicle across state lines, as some states require this for initial registration.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
The IRS will also need your new address to send you important documents and other information. You can alert the IRS of your new address by completing Form 8822, which you can download from IRS.gov, and mailing it to the IRS office that covers your state. You can find the list of addresses on Page 2 of Form 8822.
Voter Registration
You also need to change your voter registration so you can vote in your new jurisdiction, if applicable. If you moved to a new state, you’ll need to register to vote in that state.
If you move in-state and live in any state other than New Hampshire, Wyoming, or North Dakota, you can submit a National Mail Voter Registration Form to update your information. If you can’t use this form or prefer to have your state’s form sent to you, you can contact your local elections office and request one.
When you submit your change of address through USPS, there is also the option to change your voter registration to match your new address. This is the simplest way to handle this process.
Utility Companies
When you move, you’ll want to contact your utility providers to alert them of your address change. Here are the utilities you should contact.
Gas, Electric, and Water
You will want to call your gas, electric, and water providers a week or so before the moving truck arrives to schedule a service transfer from your current home or a disconnect from your old home and reconnect at your new home. This way, you don’t show up to your new place without electricity or get stuck paying extra at your old address.
If you’re moving to a new neighborhood serviced by a different provider, you’ll need to call your current provider to schedule the disconnect, then call the new provider to schedule a connection.
Internet, Cable, and Phone Provider
If you have internet, cable, phone — landline or cellphone — or any combination of the three, you likely have them bundled through one provider. Contact this service provider with your new address to see if it offers service in that area and its pricing. If so, you can schedule to have the service transferred.
If there’s no service available through your current cable, phone, and internet provider, schedule to have that service disconnected, then search online to find the providers that service your new address to set up a new account and connection date.
Financial Institutions
Like many Americans, you likely have relationships with various financial institutions, and they’ll all need your new address. Some important financial institutions to contact are as follows.
Credit Card Companies
Credit card companies use your address for security purposes. So, if you order something online and the shipping address doesn’t match the billing address on the credit card company’s record, the credit card company may decline the purchase.
Spare yourself the headache and contact them with your updated address.
Banks, Credit Unions, and Brokerages
Banks, credit unions, and brokerages need to know where to send your financial statements, so they’ll need your new address. Also, your bank controls your debit card, which uses your address for security purposes like a credit card. Updating this address will prevent embarrassing declines.
Lenders
You will also want to contact any lenders, such as student loan servicers, personal loan issues, and auto loan servicers, to alert them of your new address. Giving them your latest contact information will ensure your statements make it to your new home.
Online Services
You’ll need to update a range of online services with your new home address. Here are some of the more important ones.
Retail Websites
If you do a lot of shopping online through Amazon or eBay, you will want to log on to these sites and update your address. The last thing you want to do is order a new television for your home, only to have it shipped to your old address.
Subscriptions Services
If you have subscription services — such as subscription box memberships or magazine subscriptions — sent to your home periodically, you’ll want to contact these companies to give them your new mailing address. This ensures you’ll continue receiving your deliveries at your new address.
Streaming Services
Steaming services like YouTubeTV, Netflix, and Hulu often base their content on your physical location. So, update them with your new location to get the right content and avoid getting your service suspended for suspicious activity.
Payment Services
Payment services like PayPal and Venmo will need your new address too. First, some shippers will only ship to your verified PayPal or Venmo address. But also, if you access your account from a different area, PayPal or Venmo may lock your account due to suspicious activity.
Do Your Move the Right Way With a Change of Address Checklist
The moving process is daunting enough, even with a moving company helping. Ensuring all your services, automobiles, and financial accounts are registered under your new address will ease the big move, and this change of address checklist will help you know what to update.
While updating your insurance, it’s a good idea to get updated auto insurance quotes to ensure you’re still getting the best rate. Compare.com will help you get quotes from all the top insurance providers and choose the best one for you.
Compare Rates from Dozens of Companies
Nick Versaw leads Compare.com's editorial department, where he and his team specialize in crafting helpful, easy-to-understand content about car insurance and other related topics. With nearly a decade of experience writing and editing insurance and personal finance articles, his work has helped readers discover substantial savings on necessary expenses, including insurance, transportation, health care, and more.
As an award-winning writer, Nick has seen his work published in countless renowned publications, such as the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News & World Report. He graduated with Latin honors from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Digital Journalism.
