How to change your address with USPS
Online versus the paper form, individual versus family, and everyone else you still need to tell.
USPS forwards mail from your old address to the new one when you file a change of address, either online at usps.com (with a small identity-check charge on a card) or with the paper PS Form 3575 from a post office. First-class mail and packages are forwarded for 12 months and periodicals for 60 days. Forwarding is a safety net: update your address directly with banks, employers, the IRS and the DMV.
Fields, in order.
- 01Individual or family
Family covers everyone with the same last name at the old address. Anyone with a different last name files their own.
- 02Temporary or permanent
Temporary forwards for a set period and then stops; permanent is for a move.
- 03Old and new address
Full addresses with apartment numbers. A missing unit number is the most common forwarding failure.
- 04Start date
The first day you want mail forwarded. Allow 7 to 10 days for it to begin.
Common mistakes.
Roommates or family members with different last names need their own change of address.
Tax forms, ballots and some bank mail are not forwarded. Update those senders directly.
File Form 8822 or use your new address on your next return so notices reach you.
Terms you will see.
Ask the document what any of them means. The answer cites the page.
Fill it, check it, sign it.
Fill it by asking
Drop the PDF, paste the facts, and the agent fills every matching field. Unmatched fields are listed so nothing is skipped.
Check it before you send
Empty required fields, a missing signature, a date that disagrees with another page. The document check lists them with page numbers.
Sign it and send it
Draw your signature and place it, free. Or send it to someone else to sign on their phone, with an audit certificate. Free, 25 a month.
USPS change of address,
answered.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Is the online version a scam site?+
Use usps.com only. Third-party sites charge large fees for the same thing.
Do I need to tell my landlord or employer separately?+
Yes. Forwarding does not update anyone's records; send your new address to payroll, your bank and your insurer yourself.
Fill your USPS change of address in about ninety seconds.
Open the official PDF here, type into it, sign and send it back. No card needed.