Most people update their bank. Fewer remember the DVLA. Almost nobody thinks about their Tesco Clubcard until a £25 voucher arrives at their old address six months later. Here’s a practical guide to who needs to know you’ve moved, and when to tell them.
When Should You Start Updating Your Address?
Start four to six weeks before your move, not on move day. The organisations that matter most take time to process changes, and leaving them until moving week creates more problems than it solves.
A straightforward order to work through: government and finance first, then health, insurance, and utilities, then everything else. The things at the top carry real consequences if they’re wrong. The things at the bottom are a nuisance.
Set Up Royal Mail Redirection Early
Before anything else, set up a Royal Mail Redirection. It won’t replace updating your address everywhere, but it will catch any letters you’ve missed during the first few months. Think of it as a safety net, not a solution.
Apply online at royalmail.com. Prices start at £45 for three months for one person, £66.50 for six months, or £95 for a full year. Apply at least five working days before your move date to make sure it’s active from day one. Since June 2025, redirected post is processed as second class, so allow an extra working day for delivery.
The redirection runs by surname. Make sure everyone in the household is included when you apply.
Government and Finance First
These carry the biggest consequences if you get them wrong. Work through them in the four weeks before you move.
HMRC
Update your address through your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk. Missed tax correspondence can lead to penalties that arrive without warning. If you’re self-employed or a director, update any registered business address separately.
Local council
Notify both your old and new council. Your old council needs to close your council tax account and issue a final bill or refund. Your new council needs to open one. Registering on the electoral roll at your new address is a separate step. Do it at gov.uk/register-to-vote.
DVLA
You’re legally required to update both your driving licence and your V5C vehicle logbook when you move. There’s no grace period. The fine for each outdated document can be up to £1,000. Both can be updated online at gov.uk. This is the most commonly missed legal obligation in a house move.
Banks, building societies and credit cards
Update every account where you hold a card linked to an address. Some banks flag a mismatch if your card address doesn’t match where you’re ordering to online, which can cause declined payments.
DWP and pension providers
If you receive benefits, tax credits, child benefit, or pension payments, update these straight away. A payment sent to the wrong address can take weeks to resolve.
Health, Insurance and Utilities
GP and dentist
Deregister at your current surgery and register with a new one near your new home at nhs.uk. Staying registered at an old address means appointment letters and referral notices won’t find you.
Insurance
Home, contents, car, and life insurance policies are all tied to your address. Car insurance in particular can be invalidated by an incorrect address. Your premium is partly calculated on where your vehicle is kept overnight. A different postcode can change your rate, so let your insurer know before you move.
Utilities and TV Licence
Contact your gas, electricity, and water providers at least two weeks before your move. Give them your moving date and submit final meter readings from your current property. Your TV Licence covers one property at a time. Update it free of charge at tvlicensing.co.uk.
The Online Accounts Most People Forget
This is where most change of address guides stop short. The organisations above send letters. The accounts below don’t, which means the first sign something’s wrong is a parcel turning up at your old address or a payment being declined. Go through each one after you’ve sorted your moving checklist:
- Online shopping — Amazon, eBay, ASOS and any retailer where you have a saved delivery address. Change the default first, then remove the old address entirely.
- Payment accounts — PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Your billing address needs to match your payment card to avoid declined transactions.
- Loyalty cards and reward schemes — Tesco Clubcard, Nectar, Boots Advantage Card, airline miles. Easy to forget; annoying when a £20 food voucher goes to your old house.
- Streaming and subscription services — Netflix, Spotify, and similar. These often hold a billing address for payment verification. Update it when you update the payment card linked to your account.
- Apple ID and Google account — both can hold billing addresses relevant to app purchases and some account verification.
- Professional registrations and trade bodies — if you’re a member of any professional organisation, licensing authority, or trade association, update your contact address there too.
What Happens If You Miss Something?
Missing a low-priority update is an inconvenience. Missing a high-priority one can be costly. A stale DVLA address means a £1,000 fine and potentially invalid car insurance. An old HMRC address means a missed tax refund or an unexpected penalty notice. An unchanged GP address means a missed referral letter you didn’t know was coming.
The Royal Mail Redirection buys you time and covers the gaps, but it isn’t permanent. For the first three to six months it’ll catch most of what you’ve missed. After that, the letters stop arriving. That’s why updating the actual records matters.
A Simple Way to Stay on Top of It All
Write the list down before you start. A basic spreadsheet works: one column for the organisation, one for whether you’ve updated it, one for any reference numbers. Go through it as you work rather than trying to hold it all in your head.
Tackle the high-priority updates in the four weeks before you move. Sort insurance and utilities in the two weeks before. Deal with online accounts and loyalty cards around the move itself. If you already have a date booked with our man and van or a full house removals crew, use that confirmed date as the anchor for your timeline.
Updating your address rewards being methodical. Get the high-stakes ones done early, set up the Royal Mail Redirection as a backup, and work through the rest in order. Moving day itself is busy enough without chasing down a missed letter from HMRC the following month. If you still need to sort your removals, get a free, no-obligation quote from Just Removals London today.