How to Change Your Address With USPS

Published Read 9 min read

Once your moving date is set, one of the smallest tasks on your list quietly carries some of the biggest consequences: telling the Postal Service where you actually live now. File a Change of Address (COA) with the United States Postal Service and your new address goes on record, so a tax refund, a replacement debit card, or a letter from your kid’s new school doesn’t keep landing at a place you no longer live. Skip it, and mail meant for you sits in a stranger’s box or bounces back to the sender.

This guide walks through exactly how a USPS change of address works: what the COA does, the two ways to file it, the difference between an individual, family, and business request, when to set the start date, and how to confirm the change actually went through. It also flags a trap a lot of movers fall into, which is paying a copycat website far more than the Postal Service ever charges.

A quick note on scope. A COA is the official record of your new address. The mail-redirection it triggers, like how long forwarding lasts and which mail classes get forwarded, is a separate topic covered in our guide on setting up mail forwarding (see post 137). For the full roster of banks, agencies, and services you also need to tell beyond the Postal Service, see our complete who-to-notify list (post 136).

What a USPS Change of Address Actually Does

A Change of Address is, at its core, a single instruction to the Postal Service: my household is moving from this old address to this new one, starting on this date. Filing it updates the USPS national address record tied to your name, and that record is what makes mail forwarding possible in the first place.

Two things tend to surprise people. First, a COA is not a magic switch that updates the whole world. It tells the Postal Service, and the Postal Service alone, where to send your mail. It does not notify your bank, your auto insurer, the IRS, your state’s motor vehicle agency, or your magazine subscriptions. Each of those has to be updated separately, which is exactly why a master notify list exists (post 136). Forwarding gives you a temporary cushion while you work through that list, but it is a bridge, not a substitute for updating the senders themselves.

Second, the change is time-limited by design and class-dependent, which is why forwarding should be treated as a stopgap. The mechanics of what gets forwarded, and for how long, belong to the forwarding guide (post 137). For the purposes of changing your address, the important takeaway is this: filing the COA puts your new address on file and starts the clock. Everything downstream, including forwarding, flows from that record.

How to File: Online vs. at a Post Office

There are two official ways to file, and both are legitimate. The right one depends on whether you would rather do it from your couch or at a counter.

Filing online. The Postal Service hosts the official Change of Address form at usps.com (the Mover’s Guide tool, reachable through usps.com/umove or usps.com/moversguide). To file online, you confirm your identity and pay a small identity-verification fee, which the Postal Service currently lists as $1.25. That fee is not a charge for the address change itself; it exists to verify you are who you say you are and to deter fraudulent requests filed in someone else’s name. To complete the online verification you generally need a valid email address, a mobile phone that can receive a one-time passcode by text, and a credit or debit card whose billing address matches either your old or your new address. Because that fee amount can change, confirm the current charge directly on USPS.com before you pay.

Why such tight identity checks for a $1.25 transaction? Because a change of address is sensitive. Anyone who could quietly reroute your mail could intercept financial documents, so the verification step is a security feature, not red tape.

Filing in person. You can also walk into any Post Office and ask for the Mover’s Guide packet, which contains the paper change-of-address form (PS Form 3575). A retail associate verifies your identity with a current, unexpired photo ID and processes the request at the counter. The in-person route does not carry the online identity-verification fee, so if you would rather not pay the small online charge, or you do not have a card whose billing address lines up with your old or new home, the counter is a straightforward alternative. Bring a secondary form of ID as a backup in case the associate needs it.

Both methods land you in the same place: your new address on the official USPS record. Choose online for speed and convenience, or in person if you prefer to hand it to a clerk and skip the card requirement.

Individual, Family, and Business Address Changes

USPS sorts change-of-address requests into three types, and picking the right one keeps everyone’s mail flowing correctly.

Individual. This covers one person. It also covers situations where several people are moving from the same home but do not share a last name; in that case, each person files a separate request so their mail is forwarded under the correct name. A roommate keeping a different surname, an unmarried partner, an adult relative living with you: each of those typically needs their own individual COA.

Family. If your whole household is relocating to the same new address and everyone shares the same last name, you can file one family request that covers all of them at once. This is the efficient option for a married couple and their kids, for example, where everyone has the same surname and is moving to the same place on the same date.

Business. A business changing its address files a business COA, which redirects mail addressed to the company. This is the right choice when you are moving a company’s mail rather than a household’s, and it is kept separate so personal and business mail are not tangled together.

The practical rule of thumb: match the request type to whose name is on the mail. If two adults in the home receive mail under different last names, the family option will not capture both, and someone’s mail will quietly fail to forward. When in doubt, file individually so no name slips through the cracks.

Permanent vs. Temporary Changes and Choosing a Start Date

When you file, USPS asks whether the move is permanent or temporary, and it asks for a start date. Both choices matter more than they look.

Permanent. Choose permanent when you are leaving the old address for good. This is the standard pick for a typical relocation where you do not plan to return to the previous home.

Temporary. Choose temporary when you will be away from your usual address for a stretch and then plan to come back, such as a seasonal stay, an extended work assignment, or a few months at a second home. A temporary change can run for a limited window before it expires, and the Postal Service publishes a minimum and maximum length for it. Because those exact durations can change and are really a forwarding question, check the current limits on USPS.com and see our forwarding guide (post 137) for how long each type lasts.

Choosing a start date. The start date tells USPS when to begin treating mail as belonging to the new address. You do not have to file on moving day; the Postal Service lets you submit the request ahead of your move so everything is queued up, and it also accepts requests filed shortly after you have already moved. A good practice is to set the start date for the day you will actually begin receiving mail at the new home, then file a week or two in advance so the change has time to take effect. The Postal Service notes it can take several business days, and sometimes up to about two weeks, for forwarding to fully kick in, so building in a buffer keeps you from a gap where mail is in limbo.

If your move-out and move-in dates do not line up cleanly, a temporary change to a stopgap address can bridge the gap; for the broader logistics of mismatched dates, see our guide on what to do when your dates don’t align (post 005).

Verifying Your Change Went Through and Watching for Scam Look-Alike Sites

A change of address is only useful if it actually registers, so confirm it rather than assuming.

Confirming the change. After you file, USPS sends written confirmation. You can expect a validation letter mailed to your old address, which is a deliberate safeguard so that if someone tried to redirect your mail without your knowledge, the person still living there gets a heads-up. You should also receive a welcome kit or confirmation notice at the new address that includes a confirmation code. Hold onto that code: you will need it if you ever want to edit, extend, or cancel the request. If neither confirmation shows up around your start date, that is your signal to follow up with your local Post Office and make sure the request was processed correctly.

Avoiding copycat sites. This is where movers lose money. A number of look-alike websites mimic the Postal Service’s branding and offer to “process” your change of address for a fee that dwarfs the official charge, sometimes tens of dollars, while pocketing your personal and payment information. The Federal Trade Commission’s consistent advice for any official transaction applies here: do not click a link from a text or email claiming to be USPS, because it can route you to a convincing copycat site. Instead, type the address yourself and go directly to usps.com. The genuine online identity-verification fee is the small amount USPS lists on its own site (currently $1.25); if a site is asking for far more, that is a red flag. The real Postal Service will not text or email you out of the blue demanding payment to reroute your mail. If you run into a fake site or message, you can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

One simple habit protects you: start from a web address you typed, not a link someone sent you. That single step keeps your change of address (and your wallet) on the official path.

With the COA filed and confirmed, your new address is on record with the Postal Service. The next moves are setting up forwarding so nothing slips through while you transition (post 137) and working down the full list of everyone else who needs your new address (post 136).

This article is general information about a Postal Service process, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Fees, request types, and timing can change, and the rules that apply to your situation may differ; confirm the current details directly on USPS.com before you file.

Sources

  • USPS, “Change of Address – The Basics” (FAQ), filing methods, $1.25 online identity-verification fee, individual/family/business definitions, permanent vs. temporary, start-date window, confirmation. https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Change-of-Address-The-Basics
  • USPS, “Standard Forward Mail & Change of Address”, online identity-verification fee, request categories, online vs. in-person filing, processing time. https://www.usps.com/manage/forward.htm
  • USPS, “Official Change of Address Form” (Mover’s Guide), the official site to file online. https://www.usps.com/umove/
  • USPS, “Receive Mail & Packages”, managing your mail and address with the Postal Service. https://www.usps.com/manage/
  • Federal Trade Commission, “Think that text message is from USPS? It could be a scam” (consumer alert), type the real web address yourself, avoid copycat look-alike sites, do not click links, where to report. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/04/think-text-message-usps-it-could-be-scam

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