Address change checklist: who to inform when moving house

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a couple looking at an address change checklist for moving house

There’s so much to think about when moving home and it can sometimes feel quite overwhelming when there is a mountain of work to do. However, by giving yourself plenty of time for planning and preparation with this address change checklist you can take the pressure off and ensure everything goes smoothly.

One thing which is often overlooked by the physical process of moving is the changing of your address. Not only do your friends and family need to be aware of your move, but there is also a whole score of different organisations that need informing too. Here’s a list of who to inform when moving house, so you don’t neglect anyone or miss any important news.

Download our printable moving home address checklist here

Breaking down the address change checklist

With so much going on in the lead-up to your residential move, remembering who to keep posted about your new address can easily get buried by more urgent tasks. This isn’t to say that informing your loved ones, boss and utility companies of your move isn’t important, in fact, the opposite. Forgetting a crucial place may result in the loss of time, money and – in the worst-case scenario – friends.

If you want to avoid this, a great place to start is by breaking down the various people and organisations you need to inform into general categories, which are as follows:

  • Career
  • Local authorities
  • Recreational
  • Maintenance services
  • Vehicle
  • Educational
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Money
  • Utilities
  • Personal

a couple in their new home looking at an address change checklist

 

Career

  • Employer – It’s customary to inform your employer about your move as soon as feasibly possible as they will both need to change your contact details and update your address for payroll.
  • Inland revenue – They will need to know of your address change for your taxes. You can find out where to update this via the government website.
  • National Insurance (NI) – Your NI number is used by the government to identify you and is required by the DVLA, HMRC and your employer. This means it is critical that it is up to date. You can find the phone number and opening times online. You’ll need your NI number to hand to update your address, so make sure to fetch it before you get started.
  • Colleagues – If you haven’t moved far and you intend to carpool with your colleagues, don’t forget to share your address.

Local authorities

  • Council tax – Visit your council’s website via gov.uk to update your council tax address, ensuring you’ve selected the right area. For example, if you are moving to York then you need to use York.gov.uk.
  • Electoral roll – When you move, you’ll need to update your address on the electoral roll, this can be done by visiting the government’s register to vote page.
  • Department of Work and Pensions – This only needs to be done if you are receiving money from the government. This can be done over the phone by calling the relevant helpline. The numbers that you need to ring can be found on the relevant government webpage.

Recreational

  • Local subscriptions – When you have moved far away, you’ll want to remember to cancel any local subscriptions such as gyms, clubs, newspapers etc. You can usually do it over the phone or by visiting their websites.
  • General subscriptions – Besides any local subscriptions you may receive in the post, you may also be signed up for national ones, whether that be charity newsletters, magazines or veg boxes such as Riverford. Let them know you have moved to allow them to start sending things to your new address.

Household

  • Cable/Satellite – Let them know of your new address for billing purposes and so they can update your contact information too. It’s also worth double-checking whether your new home needs a new satellite dish or cable to be installed before you update your address. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying for services that you are not using.
  • Phone – For landlines, you’ll have to inform the phone company of your address change as you will receive a new number for the home that you have moved to. This address change can usually be done at the same time as your broadband. For your mobile phone, don’t forget that you’ll need to update your address for billing purposes; you can do that by contacting your provider over the phone, online or visiting one of their stores.
  • TV License – As soon as your address changes your TV license won’t be valid anymore; you will have to change this information on the TV licensing website. This can be done up to 3 months before you move, so there’s plenty of time to get it sorted.

a man calling up companies to inform them of an address change

Maintenance services

If you’re in the habit of hiring anyone to help maintain your home then you need to cancel their services before you have moved to your new home. If you are moving nearby then you might still be able to use them, just don’t forget to tell them your new address! then you need to cancel their services before you have moved to your new home. If you are moving nearby then you might still be able to use them, just don’t forget to tell them your new address!

  • Window cleaners
  • Domestic cleaners
  • Pet sitters
  • Gardeners

It’s also worth updating your contact address with anyone else who might send you correspondence for these or similar services. Often post from these individuals will be important and, usually, private too so you don’t want it to become lost!

  • Accountants
  • Solicitors

Vehicle

  • DVLA Update your driving license – You need to update your driver’s license with your new address as soon as you can. This can be done on the DVLA website free of charge and you should receive your new license in the post in 2–4 weeks.
  • Vehicle breakdown – You can change your address for your vehicle breakdown cover on your provider’s website or by calling them. This is important for providers who charge different rates based on location and for knowing where they need to take you in the event that you break down.
  • Car insurance – You must inform your car insurance provider of your address change, online or over the phone. This is for insurance payments and for your contact information in the event of an accident. Unfortunately, many insurance companies do charge for you to change your address and your insurance price could go up due to your address change.
  • V5C (Vehicle logbook) – You need to update your V5C for your vehicle tax. Forgetting to update this can end up with a £1000 fine, so it is not something you want to forget about! You can do this by post or online.

Educational

  • Schools – If you have children then you need to inform their schools of the address change so that they can update the contact information.
  • University – Private schools and universities need to be informed of an address change so they can send any fees for the semester or year to the correct address. If you’re moving out of your parents’ house or back home after graduating, make sure that you have informed the relevant student organisations – this may include student finance.

Healthcare

Next up on the address change checklist is anything medical or healthcare-related. This is particularly important if you are awaiting results, appointments or medical attention. Your previous doctor will have to forward your medical information to your new doctor, and this is also the case for dentists, opticians and vets. If you have a check-up before your move, then it is worth getting in touch to let them know that you are moving.

  • Doctors
  • Therapists
  • Dentists
  • Physios
  • Vets

Insurance

The majority of insurers need to know when you move home because they take your postcode into account when calculating your premium. If you live in an area that is considered safer, your premium will be cheaper, whereas if you live in an area considered ‘riskier’ your premium will be more expensive.

However, some insurance policies don’t factor where you live into their premium and will only need your address change so they can update your contact information and billing information.

Common insurance to consider are:

  • Health insurance
  • Home/Contents insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Travel Insurance
  • Pet insurance

Money

  • Banks or building services – You need to let your bank or building society know of your new address as close to your move date as possible. This is critical as it is important when proving your identity as forgetting to update this can put you at risk of identity theft. You can update this information online or by calling the bank.
  • Premium bonds – Remember to update your address for your premium bonds, otherwise, you might not receive your potential winnings. You can do this on their website if you have registered to do so, if not, you can do it by phone.
  • Pensions – If you are on a private pension plan, you can update your address by contacting your provider online or by phone or email. However, if you are on a state pension you will need to contact them using the government pension page.
  • Loan companies – If you have taken any loans out, then you will have to update your address with them and tell them the date you are moving to. This can be done by contacting them directly by phone or email.
  • Credit card/Debit card – Just like changing your address with your bank you need to change your address with your cred/debit card company. Charges to your credit card require your actual address not only for the bill but also as an additional identification step.
  • Store cards – Change your address on any store cards as they will use this for delivery – an example being ASDA – who will use this address when you are ordering your weekly shop and might send your shipment out to the wrong address.

Utilities

  • Electricity – It takes up to 48 hours for your energy provider to update your information, so make sure you do this well in advance of your moving date. Depending on the account you have, you may be charged for ending early. If this is the case, check to see if they will allow you to move your current deal to your new property.
  • Gas – Ensure your gas providers know about your address change, plus the relevant dates for your move. Take a reading of your gas and electricity on the day you leave and send it to them. This will stop you from being charged for gas and electricity that you haven’t used.
  • Water – Similar to your gas and electricity provider, notify your water company of your address change and the date. This will ensure that they won’t provide you with water that you don’t use.
  • Royal Mail: Redirect post – When you move you might not have time to change your postal address for everything. If you anticipate this happening, you can set up a postal redirect with Royal Mail to give yourself more time. This means any post sent to you at your old address will be redirected and delivered to your new one. You can apply for a redirect up to 3 months before the date of your move (it takes 10 days to implement).

While exceptionally useful if you are unsure of who to inform when moving house, it is important to note that the redirect is only a temporary measure – you can’t rely on it forever and you still need to contact everyone who sends you the post to update them.

Personal

Last but not least, don’t forget to share your new address with your loved ones. A quick way to deal with this is sending a bulk text to those in your contacts list or dropping a message in your family group chats.

  • Immediate family
  • Friends
  • Other relatives

Get off to a flying start

Now we’ve reached the end of our moving home address change checklist, all that’s left is to get contacting those on the list. To make sure you keep it at hand and don’t neglect anyone, download it for free to print off here.