New home? Check. Contracts signed? Check. Keys in hand, bags packed, boxed filled? Check, check, and check.

But have you changed your postal address and notified everyone that you’re moving house? What about mail forwarding? Do you know the critical institutions you need to inform when you move and where to update your address?

It’s easy to procrastinate when changing your postal address. Changing and updating your address everywhere is very time consuming. But you should make sure you start as soon as your new address is officially confirmed and well in advance of moving. After all, it sometimes feels like all life happens online nowadays. However, not updating your address can leave you exposed to identity theft, cause problems when you try to pay council tax, or keep you in the dark about important tax requests. That’s why it’s important to have an easy reference of who to notify when you move. We will cover everyone you need to tell, everyone who needs to know and anyone who may need to know your updated address in our change of address checklist.

Who to inform when moving house (Our complete change of address checklist)

We’ve provided a change of address checklist to ensure your move goes as smoothly as possible. Remember: updating your address isn’t just about making sure your post arrives on time; it could have serious ramifications on your finances if you aren’t thorough. If you're looking for everyone you need to do when moving house we also have a moving house checklist. These are the key people and organisations you need to inform of your new address when moving house. You can work through our change of address checklist at your own pace.

1 - Government, mail forwarding and local services

• Royal Mail: Home movers often wonder whether they can set up mail forwarding for free. Unfortunately, the answer is no. However, Royal Mail does offer a Redirection service. See our FAQs for more information on how to set up mail forwarding in the UK with Royal Mail.
• Set up the Royal Mail redirect service: Not only will this make it a lot easier to get mail from your old address, they can also forward your updated new address to common services that need to know your new address and contact details.
• Local council: Updating your local council is critically important due to your household’s Council Tax. If your new home is in a different council area, you’ll need to update both councils with your change of postal address to pay council tax correctly.
• Electoral Register: Make sure you don’t miss your next chance to vote! Make sure your new address is on the electoral roll.
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority: If you have a driver’s license, the DVLA has a change of postal address form you’ll need to complete.
• Driveing license and vehicle registration: Make sure they have your new address and update your log book details at the same time.
• HM Revenue and Customs: Updating HMRC is essential if you’re moving house, especially as it’s critical to provide a change of address for your National Insurance payments. You need to update HMRC about a change of address once you’ve moved. You'll also need to update the address for your self assement, company and income tax.
• TV Licensing: You should be able to transfer your old TV License to your new place. You can also provide this information up to three months before your move date, so it could be worth getting your TV License information sorted early to give you peace of mind.
• Your Passport: You can change the address on your passport easily and before it expires but you should allow enough time to recieve it back in the post. At the moment we would suggest leaving 6 weeks incase you need to travel and your passport document ends up taking longer than expected.
• Local authorities
• Breakdown cover:
• Current landlord:
• The people moving into your old home

Give both local councils your exact moving dates so you’re not stuck paying council tax on your previous property after you’ve moved. Even if you’re moving home within the same council area, you need to change your postal address to ensure you’re paying the right amount.

2 - Utilities Companies and energy providers

Keep your address up to date with your utilities companies and energy providers to limit your risk of overpaying. In most cases you should contact energy providers at least a few days, if not a week, before your moving date. Once you give your final readings and move in you should recieve your final bill.

• Electricity: Take final readings from the old property and provide a reading for your new home. Moving home is also a good time to re-evaluate whether to switch providers to save money, improve service, or both.
• Gas: As with electricity, let your provider know when you’ll stop using gas in one property and begin in another so that you’re charged fairly. Take meter readings both when leaving your old property and upon moving into your new house.
• Water: Phone your water provider to let them know about your change of address, as well as when your usage will cease in one property and begin in another. Otherwise, you could get stuck paying for the subsequent or previous resident. Make sure you check your water meter before you move out too so you know your final reading.
• Gas and Electricty supplier: If this is the same energy company you can usually update your address for both at the same time.

3 - Household

• Broadband: Do this early. Broadband companies tend to offer different connection speeds depending on your location, so you may find that you’ll need to change providers. Your current broadband provider will usually have a tool on their website to show if they cover your new house and what speeds to expect. Whether or not you work from home these days it’s essential to have high-speed internet access. DON’T FORGET: If you have a data cap on your mobile, extended periods without broadband can cause you to go over the limit specified on your plan, resulting in expensive additional charges.
• Satellite/TV: Consider contacting your satellite provider at least a week before moving home. It can take up to a few weeks to get an installation appointment for a new home.
• Phone: A shrinking percentage of us use landlines, but having your phone line ready to go when you move in will be invaluable for your peace of mind. You won’t just be changing your address but, in most cases, also getting assigned a new telephone number. Contact your phone company at least a week before you move. Likewise, change your address with your mobile phone provider to ensure that all telephone bills continue to reach you.
• Your resident parking permit: Either update your current details if you're moving within the same zone, or cancel the permit and get a new one for your new property.
• TV Licence: Make sure to update the address and direct debit details.

4 - Money and finances

• Banks and building societies: Let banks and building societies know your new address as a priority once you’ve moved in. It should be relatively easy to update your address details on your online bank account. Proof of address is essential to identity checks which can impact your access to funds. Besides, with increasing cases of identity theft in recent years, you don’t want your financial statements sitting in someone else’s post box!
• Credit card companies: Contact your card companies as soon as you can after your moving date to reduce the chances of missing a bill.
• Loan companies: If you’ve taken out loans, contact these companies either online or by phone to inform them you're moving house. Updating your address will help make sure you receive all relevant correspondence.
• Pension: If you’re on a pension, check with your provider about how to change your address. You should be able to update your private pension plan address over the phone or online. For State Pensions, check the UK government’s information page for more details.
• Premium bonds: If you have savings in premium bonds, it’s important to remember the NS&I will need your updated address. Don’t miss out on a chance to win! You can also check online to see any potential winnings.
• Any loyalty cards
• Online bank accounts: Make sure you inform any old or new banks you bank of your new address. You can't always update this online and don't forget providers like Starling and Monzo.

5 - Health services

It is essential to make sure your medical information is correct and up to date everywhere. Insurance providers can become hard to deal with when details don't match.

• Dentist: Let your dentist know your new address so you don’t miss any appointment reminders.
• GP Surgery: If you're moving to a new area, you’ll probably need to sign up for a new medical practice. Once you’ve updated your details with your GP surgery, consider contacting any other medical specialists you might need, like chiropractors or opticians.
• Veterinarian: Your furry, feathered, and scaled friends will thank you!
• Travel Insurance Providers

6 - Employment and education

• Employer: Your employer will need to know your new address so they can update their payroll records. Don’t miss a pay cheque!
• The HR Department at your job: They will want to know your updated address details as soon as possible.
• Workplace pension services
• Schools: Your children’s school administrators will need your current contact information for daily issues and in case of emergency.
• Universities: For those in post-secondary education, tuition fees are an unfortunate fact of life. Contact these institutions to ensure that the payments remain regular and you don’t get dinged with late penalties.

7 - Insurance Companies

Changing your postal address is critical for insurance companies. You should be able to update your details on the website of nearly any insurance provider. You don’t want to risk invalidating claims by failing to inform any of the following insurers when you move house, if your account is set to your current address you won't be able to claim or you risk a higher insurance premium:

• Car insurance
• Home insurance
• Life insurance
• Health insurance
• Pet insurance

8 - Recreational and subscriptions

• Subcriptions: Subscriptions are an essential addition to modern life. Save yourself future billing headaches by making sure recreational subscriptions have your new details. You can thankfully update most subscriptions online
• Gym and fitness: Make sure to cancel gym subscriptions with plenty of notice if you’re moving to a new area, or you may be charged anyway.
• Store cards: If you’ve got store cards with your favourite retailers you’ll need to contact them directly to update your address.
• Magazine subscriptions and memberships: Make sure magazines, newspapers and regular delivery services like Naked Wines or HelloFresh have your new billing information.
• Streaming subscriptions: It’s pretty quick and easy to update your address online for digital streaming subscriptions, just make sure you check each service to avoid disruption to your service. We’ve listed the most popular streaming services below.

1. Spotify
2. Amazon Prime
3. Disney+
4. Apple Music
5. YouTube Premium

9 - Personal Services

You’ll also need to update your address with the following service providers:

• Accountant
• Cleaner
• Gardener
• Solicitor

10 - Friends and family

Make sure you inform your friends and family of your new address. You don't want to miss out on any birthday and holiday cards from your family members!

In summary

Moving home is a big deal. Even in the digital age, your address is an essential piece of information that helps to authenticate who you are to authorities and businesses. By carefully following the steps laid out in our complete change of address checklist, you can rest easy knowing that you’re protected from nasty surprises like identity theft. You can prepare a lot of this before moving day and update other details as you notice mail get forwarded from people and companies that people forget about. Once you've cone all this you'll be ready to pack and follow our moving house checklist.

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