Moving Home Address Change Checklist

Moving home is a big change in anyone’s life. One that can be stressful if you’re not prepared. First comes the physical move, but then you want to ensure that your life moves seamlessly with you. This means knowing who to notify when moving home.

Don’t worry, there may be a lot to cover but we’ve put together a useful moving home address change checklist for you to follow so that you have one less thing to stress about. It’s split into sections so you can easily see that you have everything covered:

• Health
• Education
• Career
• Personal
• Financial
• Government
• Utilities
• Vehicle
• Insurance
• Services
• Hobbies & Entertainment

Health

If you have moved a significant distance, then you will most likely need to register with a new local doctor. This means you need to notify your current doctors so that they can transfer your medical information to your new doctors.

If you move somewhere within the same neighbourhood, you may not need to change doctors, however, you will still need to notify your doctors of your new address so that any letters or deliveries go to the right address.

This applies to the following healthcare providers:

• Doctor
• Dentist
• Optician
• Vet

Education

Whether you have children at school or attending university, it’s important to notify any changes in address.

School

If you are moving further afield and your child is changing schools or nurseries as a result, you need to notify the school so that they can ensure that your child’s needs are met at the new school; this helps them to be more prepared for your child starting there. You must give notice if your child is leaving the setting and will also need to apply for a new school allocation in your chosen area.

If your child is staying at the same school, it’s still just as important to notify the school, so that your contact information is up to date and the school is aware of the additional stress your child might be facing.

University

Even though your child may have moved away from your old address to go to university, you need to notify the university of your move so that they can send the invoice for tuition fees to the new address.

Career

Employer

You must inform your employer of your new address as it will affect your payroll, and it’s important to keep your contact details updated.

Inland Revenue

Notification of change in address will be needed by the Inland Revenue as it is required to calculate your taxes. It’s vital you inform them as soon as possible, which can be done on the government website or by phone.

National Insurance

Equally as important is changing your information to include your new address for National Insurance (NI). NI is used by your employer and HMRC and is an important way of confirming identity. Ensure you have your current NI number when going to change this information.

Personal

This is most likely the first category you think of when considering who to inform of your new address. Just remember to tell all your friends and family so that no birthday cards get lost.

Financial

Notifying financial services when moving home is arguably one of the most important things to remember as they will be sending private documents and letters that you don’t want in the hands of others.

The financial services you should tell when moving home include the following:

Banks or building societies

Not only is this crucial for ensuring your important documents get sent to the correct place, but it also reduces the risk of identity theft and fraud. You should notify your bank shortly before your move as your home address is a key way of proving your identity.

Credit/Debit card companies

This includes changing your address with your bank, as well as the address for your actual card. This will be important, particularly when making online payments as the billing address is required.

Loyalty cards

Supermarkets often have loyalty card schemes that allow you to collect points for financial rewards. And you don’t want your rewards and information to be sent to the wrong address. If you ever get groceries delivered to your home then you may need to check that you don’t have your old address saved, otherwise your shopping may be sent to the wrong address.

Pension

Any private pension plan providers must be notified about the change of address and the date you are moving.

Loan companies

If you have any ongoing loans, you must tell the provider about your new address, so that bills and documents are sent to the correct place.

Premium bonds

It’s important to update your address for any premium bonds you may have so that you can receive any winnings.

Government

These are the most important places to inform of a change of address, as you could be liable for a penalty if you don’t.

Electoral Roll

You’ll need to re-register on the electoral roll in your new area to allow you to vote at your new address.

Council Tax

To ensure you’re paying the correct fee, your Council Tax address will need to be changed as soon as you move. The area you move to will have its own website to go to where you can update your details.

Child Benefits

If you have any children under the age of 16, then you may be receiving child benefits. To ensure you keep receiving these as normal, make sure you update your address.

Royal Mail

Royal Mail provides a great way of temporarily forwarding any mail that you may have forgotten (despite any checklist, it can still happen). This automatically redirects any mail sent to your old address to your new address for the next three months.

Utilities

Gas and Electricity

Make sure you take meter readings the day before you move to your new address, and notify the utility company of the date you intend to move from your old address. This ensures you won’t end up paying for gas and electricity you didn’t use. You may also be able to see if you can stay with the same provider at your new address.

Water

You should let your water provider know the date you are moving. You will then have to get in contact with the local water providers for your new address.

Broadband

Don’t forget to cancel your broadband plan for your old address when you leave – depending on the timing of your move there may be an exit fee to pay. You may wish to stay with the same broadband provider in your new home but it’s best to sort it out ahead of your move as it can take a few weeks to get set up.

Phones

This includes not only the house phone (which would most likely be part of your broadband contract) but also for mobile phones as the billing address will need to be changed. This is not only for your own phone but also children’s too.

Vehicle

Car Insurance

The cost of your insurance depends on your address, so you must notify your insurance provider of the change. Otherwise, your insurance may not be valid if you are in an accident. There may be a small fee to pay for changing your details.

Breakdown Cover

You need to notify the vehicle breakdown cover provider of your change of address, as the price you pay can vary depending on the location.

Driving Licence

You must notify the DVLA of your new address so that your driving licence can be updated. This can be done on the DVLA website and is free of charge. They will then send you a new one in the post.

Vehicle Tax

Remember to update your V5C vehicle log book for your vehicle tax. It’s vital you do this as soon as possible as forgetting to do so may result in a £1000 fine.

Insurance

For reasons similar to those outlined in the vehicle section, it’s important to let insurance providers know when you are moving home and your new address. This is because it’s something they take into account when calculating the cost of your insurance. They also need to know where to send bills.

In addition to car insurance, you may have insurance for:

• Health
• Home
• Life
• Travel
• Pets

Services

You may need to notify any maintenance services when moving home. If you remain local, you may want to continue using their services. If not, then you need to cancel the service, giving them enough notice so that you aren’t paying for something you are no longer using.

These services could include a:

• Gardener
• Cleaner
• Accountant
• Solicitor
• Window cleaner

Hobbies and Entertainment

It’s a good idea to cancel any subscriptions you get by post, such as magazines, beauty boxes, snacks, flowers and newspapers. The Royal Mail forwarding service may be useful for the first few months if you can’t remember all of the subscriptions you have.

It is also useful to cancel any memberships you have to local gyms or societies you will no longer be attending once you move to your new address.

Final Thoughts

It can be hard to remember who you need to tell when moving home. So, although this moving home address change checklist may seem long, it covers everything you need to move into your new home seamlessly. You may want to utilise services such as Slothmove that help to change all your addresses in a centralised place.

If you need somewhere to store your belongings, our range of self storage units are ideal no matter your individual needs. Get in touch with our team today to find out more about us and what we can offer.