Who to Notify When You Move — The Complete Change-of-Address List

Of all the tasks in a move, telling people your new address is the one most likely to slip — and the one most likely to cost you something when it does. A bank statement that keeps arriving at the old flat, a renewal notice you never see, a deposit that is hard to return because nobody had your forwarding details. None of it is dramatic; it is just the quiet friction of a step half-finished.

The calm fix is to make one list of everyone who needs your new address, group it so it feels manageable, and work down it with a tick-box beside each name. Give it a focused hour about two weeks before you move — that is part of the wider moving timeline — and set up mail forwarding as a safety net for anyone you miss. Here is the complete list to copy into your folder.

Start with the essentials

These are the ones where a missed update causes the most hassle, so do them first:

Your bank and card providers — for statements, new cards, and fraud checks.
Your employer — payroll, tax records, and anything posted to you.
Your doctor and dentist — and any specialist or clinic you are registered with.
Insurance — home, contents, car, and life policies (your premium can change with your address).
Any loan, mortgage, or finance provider.

Government and official

The exact bodies depend on where you live, but the categories are much the same everywhere:

The electoral roll or voter registration.
Your driving licence and vehicle registration.
The tax authority.
Any benefits, pension, or child-related services.
Your passport office, if they hold an address on file.

Utilities and the home

Handle these for both the old and new addresses, so you are not paying for a home you have left:

Energy (gas and electricity) — take meter readings on the day.
Water.
Internet and phone — book the switch early, as it often has the longest lead time.
Council or local property tax.
Any home services: cleaner, gardener, waste collection.

Deliveries, subscriptions, and memberships

These are the easy-to-forget tail. None is urgent, but together they are where post keeps trickling to the old place:

Online shops you order from regularly.
Streaming and software subscriptions with a billing address.
Magazine or box deliveries.
Loyalty schemes and memberships (gym, library, clubs).
Your dentist's cheerful reminder postcards — yes, even those.

Set up mail forwarding as a safety net

However careful your list, something always slips through — a renewal you forgot existed, a company you last dealt with years ago. A mail-forwarding order for a few months is a small cost that catches all of it and buys you calm. When a forwarded letter arrives, treat it as a prompt: update that sender, then tick them off.

A moving map, not a filing cabinet. Your change-of-address list should record who you have told and whether it is done — never the account numbers, reference codes, or logins you use to tell them. Keep those in secure storage, a password manager or a locked file. That way you can share the list with a partner or check it on your phone without exposing anything private.

Work down it in one calm hour

The reason this task feels heavy is that it lives as a vague worry rather than a written list. Once it is written down and grouped, it is genuinely an hour's work with a cup of tea — open each account, update the address, tick it off. Do the essentials first so the important ones are handled, then work outward to the long tail over a few days.

This list is a natural part of the whole house-move system: one folder, a countdown, and a few checklists you trust. The free Move Quick-Start includes a starter version of this list alongside the move countdown, and the Move Folder Complete turns it into a full address-change tracker you tick off as you go. Either way, once it is a list instead of a worry, it stops keeping you up at night.

Get the free Move Quick-Start

The starter address list plus the whole move countdown, on one page.

Who to Notify When You Move — The Complete Change-of-Address List: FAQ

When should I change my address for a move?

About two weeks before you move is comfortable for most of the list, with utilities and internet booked earlier because they often have longer lead times. Start with the essentials — bank, employer, doctor, insurance — then work outward to subscriptions and memberships over the following days.

What is the one thing people most often forget?

Insurance and the long tail of subscriptions. Insurance matters because your address can affect the policy, and subscriptions matter because they are where post quietly keeps arriving at your old home. Mail forwarding catches both — treat each forwarded letter as a reminder to update that sender.

Do I still need mail forwarding if I have a full list?

It is worth it even with a careful list. Forwarding is a safety net for the senders you did not think of — an old account, a one-off service, a renewal you forgot existed. A few months of forwarding gives you time to catch and update anything that slips through, without losing important post in the meantime.

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Disclaimer: The Move Folder is a planning tool, not legal, insurance, or financial advice. Keep account numbers and IDs in secure storage, not loose in your moving notes.