Change of Address Checklist: USPS and Everyone Else
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Change of address checklist
Start with the Post Office, then work through everyone who sends you mail. Ticks are saved in this browser only.
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Tell USPS
A USPS order only reroutes mail at the Post Office. It does not tell any sender your new address.
USPS offers a permanent request for a move and a temporary request for a stay such as school or time with family.
USPS says to allow at least 7 to 10 business days after approval for it to go into effect.
USPS requires you to verify your identity, online or in person.
USPS says you need it to change or cancel the request.
USPS says standard forwarding lasts 12 months. You can add an extension when you submit or by editing the request later, but once bought it cannot be cancelled or refunded.
Money and work
USPS says banks and government agencies do not allow sensitive documents to be forwarded, so these senders must hear from you directly.
Statements and replacement cards are the kind of mail forwarding does not cover.
Payroll can only use the address it has, and your employer is not covered by a USPS order.
Each agency sets its own process, so check its website or ask it directly. USPS says you are responsible for telling them.
Insurance and health
Coverage is tied to a location, so ask the insurer rather than assuming it moves with you.
Insurers ask for the garaging address. Ask whether the change affects your policy.
USPS lists medical and insurance information among the mail that senders may refuse to have forwarded.
Subscriptions and everyday senders
Packages ordered after you move should not go to the old address.
USPS says periodicals are forwarded for 60 days only if the sender prepaid, so do not count on magazines following you.
After you move
Forwarded mail shows you who still has the old address. USPS says to contact the sender directly to change your address with them.
USPS says that when forwarding ends, mail goes back to the sender for 6 months with a label showing your new address.
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In short: File the USPS change of address request at least 7 to 10 business days ahead, then tell every sender yourself: USPS reroutes mail but does not update your address with banks, agencies or companies.
This list is for anyone who is moving and wants the mail to keep arriving. It has two jobs. The first is the Post Office request, which reroutes mail addressed to you at the old place. The second, which most people underestimate, is telling every sender yourself. USPS states this plainly on its change of address page: the request alters your mailing address at the Post Office alone, and you are responsible for telling government agencies, companies and any other senders.
How to use the list
Work top to bottom, and start the USPS section first because it has the longest lead time. Forwarding needs at least 7 to 10 business days after approval to take effect, according to USPS, so a request filed the week you move leaves a gap. Choose the permanent option for a move and the temporary one for a stay of 15 days up to 1 year. Then open the money and work section, where the mail that matters most to you sits.
The sender sections are written by category on purpose. Each bank, insurer or agency has its own website and process, and this page does not describe them. Use the sender's own account settings or customer service line, and write down what you changed and the date.
What changes the order
Which senders come first depends on what is due. If you have a credit card statement and a rent or mortgage payment coming up, update those accounts before the cosmetic ones. If you do not have a reliable way to pick up mail at the old address, move the financial and insurance senders up the list, since USPS says mailers such as government agencies and financial institutions do not allow sensitive documents to be forwarded. That includes identity documents, credit cards, bank statements and insurance or medical information. Those items may never reach you through forwarding at all.
Magazines are another case. USPS says periodicals are forwarded free for 60 days only if the sender fully prepaid, and that Marketing Mail is not forwarded unless the sender paid. Do not lean on forwarding for subscriptions you want to keep.
Worked example: a move on the first of the month
Say your lease at the old place ends on the last day of the month and you take the new keys the next morning. Three weeks before, you file the USPS request online and choose a start date on the day after the lease ends. You verify your identity with a phone and a card, then save the confirmation code. That same evening you update your bank, credit cards and employer, because those carry the most risk. The following weekend you handle insurance and doctors, and the weekend after that, subscriptions and shopping accounts. Two weeks after the move, a forwarded envelope from a gym you forgot shows up. You note the sender and call them. Nothing was lost because the list left a place to catch strays.
When to ask for help
If you cannot verify your identity online, USPS says to go to a Post Office with acceptable photo ID, and if that fails you cannot complete a request and must contact every sender yourself. If you are changing an address for someone else, moving abroad, or handling a deceased person's mail, USPS requires an in-person visit with specific documents. For tax, benefits or immigration records, rely on the agency's own instructions, not a summary on a moving site.
Questions people ask
Does USPS update my address with my bank?
No. USPS says its order only changes your address with the Post Office. You must tell your bank and every other sender.
How long does forwarding last?
USPS says standard forwarding lasts 12 months, and you can pay to extend it. After forwarding ends, mail is returned to the sender for 6 months with a label showing your new address.
Where can I read what gets forwarded and what doesn't?
See the companion guide on what USPS forwards and what it doesn't. To plan the rest of the move, use the moving timeline checklist and the utilities transfer checklist.