Change of address checklist: who to tell when moving house
Letting everyone know your new address is a vital step when moving home, but it's easy to miss people when you’ve got so much else going on. Forgetting to update your details could even cost you money.
Use our free checklist to make sure you don’t forget anyone and nothing slips through the cracks.
Why you need to update your address when moving
It can be tempting to put off changing your address, but it’s important to do it as soon as you can.
If you do not update your address, you might face fines, find insurance policies are no longer valid and find it harder to take out financial products, like a loan or credit card.
| If you do not update your: | You could: |
|---|---|
|
Driving licence or vehicle log book (V5C) |
Face a fine of up to £1,000 |
|
Home or car insurance |
Not be covered if you need to claim |
|
Electoral register |
Miss your chance to vote |
|
Financial accounts, like credit cards and savings |
Find it difficult or more expensive to get credit |
What to sort before you move
When your move is confirmed, you can start getting quotes to move over your existing policies and services – or set up new ones.
Insurance – car, home, pet, life, travel and health
Insurance policies might not cover you after you change address, so it’s best to let your insurer know before you move.
Your insurer will tell you if you need to pay an admin fee and if the cost will change. This is more typical for home and car insurance where your address affects the price of the cover.
Insurance policies you might have include:
- car
- home
- pet
- life or critical illness
- travel
- health
- income protection
- mobile or gadget.
Household bills – gas, electricity, water, broadband and TV licence
To help make sure your essentials are set up from day one, check if you can move across your existing services or if you need to set up something new.
You might need to give notice to leave your current provider, so sorting this early can help you to avoid penalties to end a contract early.
| Household bill or service | How to change your service |
|---|---|
|
Gas and electricity |
Use comparison sites to find the best energy deal at your new address. |
|
Water |
Find your local water supplierOpens in a new window on Water UK. |
|
Broadband, TV and home phone |
If you’re mid-contract, check if you can move your existing service to your new address. If you’re out of contract or cannot move your current deal, use comparison sites to find the best broadband deal at your new address. |
|
TV Licence |
Health – doctors, dentist, opticians and prescriptions
Depending on how far you’re moving, you might need to register for a new doctor’s surgery and dental practice rather than updating your address.
Do this as soon as possible as waiting lists can be long and you might need to pay emergency dental prices if you’re not registered.
If you have a prepaid certificate for prescriptions in England, you must update your address or you could face a fine.
| Organisation or service | How to update your address or find a new service |
|---|---|
|
Doctor (GP) |
Contact your surgery. To find a new GP in: England, go to Find a GP on NHS.UKOpens in a new window Scotland, go to GP practices on NHS informOpens in a new window Wales, go to GP services on NHS 111Opens in a new window Northern Ireland, go to Find a GP practice on nidirectOpens in a new window |
|
Dentist |
Contact your practice. To find an NHS dentist in: |
|
Opticians |
Contact your opticians or search online for a new local practice |
|
Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) in England |
Schools and childcare
If you have children and are moving away from your existing school or childcare provider, go to Get childcare: step by stepOpens in a new window on GOV.UK to see the process to follow.
If you’re staying with your current school or childcare provider, remember to give them your new address after you’ve moved.
Who to inform after you move
As well as your family and friends, there are many different organisations that need to know your new address.
Government – tax, benefits, voting and driving
These are a priority to update as you can face fines or other penalties for not updating your address.
| Organisation or service | How to update your address |
|---|---|
|
Electoral register |
Register to voteOpens in a new window on GOV.UK |
|
HMRC (Child Benefit, Income Tax, National Insurance and State Pension) |
|
|
DVLA (driving licence and vehicle log book) |
|
|
Benefits |
|
|
Council Tax in England, Scotland and Wales |
|
|
Rates in Northern Ireland |
Money – your employer, bank accounts, savings, borrowing and investments
Another priority to update as this can affect your ability to take out financial products. It also helps to make sure any important and confidential documents are sent to the correct address.
As well as the financial services listed below, make sure your employer has your new address on record.
Financial services you might have include:
- current accounts
- savings accounts, including Premium Bonds
- investment accounts
- pensions
- credit cards
- loans
- student finance
- digital wallets, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Pets – vets and microchip
We’ve already covered pet insurance, so this is making sure your pet is registered to the correct address and a local vets practice.
| Organisation or service | How to update your address |
|---|---|
|
Vets, including any payment plans |
Contact your practice or find a new vet practiceOpens in a new window on RCVS |
|
Microchip |
See all you need to know about microchippingOpens in a new window on DogsTrust |
Shopping – online shopping accounts and loyalty cards
To avoid accidentally sending your purchases to your old address, update all your online shopping accounts. This includes loyalty cards that might send you rewards or special offers by post – or use your address to tailor your offers.
If you have a long list to update, you could start with the accounts you use the most and come back to the others later.
Online shopping accounts or loyalty cards you might have include:
- supermarkets
- Amazon
- pharmacies, like Boots and Superdrug
- eBay and Vinted
- clothes and fashion shops
- concert tickets.
Contracts, memberships and subscriptions – mobile phone, gym and streaming services
Finally, make sure any contracts, memberships or subscriptions are updated with your new address.
These might include:
- mobile phone
- gym
- library
- streaming services, like Spotify, Netflix and Disney+
- shopping subscriptions, like Amazon Prime.
Consider paying to redirect your mail to catch anything missed
Even if you’re organised, it’s easy to miss something. A Royal Mail redirection can give you peace of mind while you update everything. You can set it up for 3, 6 or 12 months.
During this period, if something is sent to you using your old address, Royal Mail will deliver it to your new address instead.
Find out how to set up or renew a redirectionOpens in a new window on Royal Mail.
