Change of Address Checklist: USPS, DMV, IRS and 20 More

Start with the post office, because a forwarding order buys time for everything else on this list. USPS forwards your mail for 12 months, and the online form charges a $1.25 identity-verification fee; the forwarding itself is free for First-Class Mail, periodicals, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and USPS Ground Advantage. Everything else, from the IRS to the pet microchip registry, can be done in the order below while the mail keeps arriving.

The list is long, but only three entries involve federal paperwork: USPS, the IRS and Social Security. The rest are accounts and registries, and most take five minutes online once you know they exist.

USPS: what the forwarding order does and does not do

Submit the change of address online or at a post office. Online, USPS verifies your identity and charges $1.25 for it. Its forwarding page says mail forwarding may begin within 3 business days of the request but advises allowing up to 2 weeks, so file about two weeks before the move with the moving date as the start date.

What forwarding covers, from the USPS page:

• Standard forwarding lasts 12 months.
• First-Class Mail, periodicals, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and USPS Ground Advantage are forwarded at no charge. Media Mail is forwarded but costs postage.
• You can pay to extend forwarding by 6, 12 or 18 months beyond the first year, with 18 the maximum, and USPS says extended forwarding cannot be canceled or refunded.

Forwarding is a safety net, not a change of address. Every sender still has the old address on file, and every forwarded envelope is a reminder of an account you have not updated. The point of the rest of this checklist is to make the forwarding unnecessary before it runs out.

The IRS and Social Security

The IRS does not learn your address from USPS. Its address-change page lists four ways to tell it: file Form 8822 (Change of Address), or Form 8822-B for a business; use the new address on your next tax return; send a signed written statement with your full name, old and new addresses, and your SSN, ITIN or EIN; or tell the IRS in person or by phone after verifying your identity and the address on file. The IRS says a change generally takes four to six weeks to process, which matters if a refund check or a notice is due in that window.

If you are expecting a paper refund check, or you are in correspondence with the IRS about anything, file Form 8822 in moving week rather than waiting for next year’s return.

Social Security is simpler and applies to fewer people. SSA’s contact-information page says you can only update your mailing address and phone number if you are already getting benefits; you do it by signing in to a my Social Security account and, depending on the benefit type, may need to call to finish. The alternatives are to call 1-800-772-1213 or to make an appointment at a local office. If you are not receiving benefits, there is nothing to update.

DMV, voter registration and the car

These are state rules, and the deadlines differ by state, so this guide gives the order rather than a number.

1. Driver’s license and vehicle registration. Every state requires an address update within a deadline it sets, and an out-of-state move means a new license, a new registration and usually a title transfer; the moving out of state checklist walks through that sequence. For a move within the state, update the address on both documents online if your DMV allows it.
2. Voter registration. Registration is tied to your residence address, so you re-register at the new one with your state or county election office; many states let you do it on the same form as the license update. Deadlines before an election are set by the state.
3. Auto insurance. Premiums are rated on where the car is garaged, so the insurer needs the new address the day the car moves. Most states also check for coverage at registration, so do this before the DMV, not after.

Money, insurance and work

These are the accounts that send paper you cannot afford to miss: statements, replacement cards, tax forms and policy documents.

• Banks and credit cards. Update online; the address on file is where a replacement card and your year-end tax forms go. Also update the billing address on any card saved with a merchant, or renewals start failing.
• Insurers. Renters or homeowners coverage is a new policy for the new home rather than an address change; auto (above); health and life. Health plans in particular can change networks with a ZIP code.
• Employer and HR. Payroll needs the address for your W-2 and state tax withholding; if you crossed a state line, withholding changes too.
• Investment, retirement and loan accounts. Brokerage, 401(k) administrators, student loan servicers, mortgage servicer.
• State tax agency and benefits. The state tax agency has its own process, separate from the IRS. Any benefits you receive (unemployment, SNAP, VA) are administered by the state or the agency and need a direct update.

The long tail: pharmacy, pets, subscriptions and everything else

None of these carries a penalty for being late. All of them are annoying to discover in month eleven of forwarding.

Account	Why it matters	When
Pharmacy	Prescriptions transfer to a new store; mail-order pharmacies ship to the address on file	Before the move
Doctors, dentist, vet	Records transfer and referrals	First month
Schools	Enrollment, records, bus zone	Before the move
Pet microchip registry	A chip only works if the registry has your current phone number and address	Moving week
Pet license	Municipal; new city, new license	First month
Cell phone carrier	Billing address, and the emergency address for any home line	Moving week
Internet, streaming, subscriptions	Service address and billing address are separate fields; some services are tied to a home network	Moving week
Online retailers	Default shipping address, before the first order goes to the old place	Moving week
Magazines and newspapers	Periodicals are forwarded, but a direct update is the only permanent fix	First month
Gym, clubs, memberships	Cancel or transfer; many require written notice	Before the move
Professional licenses and associations	Many state licensing boards require notice of an address change within a period they set	First month
Loyalty and airline programs	Low stakes; update when a statement arrives	First month

The order to do it in

Phase	Do these
Before the move (2–4 weeks out)	USPS change of address with the moving date as the start; banks, cards and insurers; employer and HR; schools; pharmacy transfer; utility stop and start dates; memberships to cancel
Moving week	Auto insurance the day the car moves; renters or homeowners policy on the new home; Form 8822 if a refund or notice is pending; pet microchip registry; phone, internet and subscriptions; online retailers’ default address
First month	DMV license and registration within your state’s deadline; voter registration; Social Security if you receive benefits; state tax agency; doctors, dentist and vet; professional licenses; periodicals; the long tail as statements arrive

Then keep a running list. Everything forwarded in the first three months is an account that still has the old address, and the forwarding order gives you a year to work through them. If you are leaving the country rather than the state, the moving abroad checklist adds the items that do not apply to a domestic move.

This list is one slice of the 8-week moving checklist, which places these tasks alongside estimates, packing and moving day; the rest of our moving tips cover the parts of the move that happen outside a web form.