1. Go to the Official USPS Website

To start your online Change of Address, go to the official USPS page:

https://moversguide.usps.com/mgo/disclaimer

The word “moversguide” in the link can look confusing, but this is the official USPS website for online
address changes.

Beware of Scam Websites

Many unofficial websites pretend to be USPS and charge very high fees to submit a Change of Address.
The official USPS identity-verification fee is only $1.25. If a site is charging more,
you may not be on the official USPS page.

2. Ignore the First Options on the Page

After the page loads, you may see options such as:

• Begin updating my voter registration
• Select from exclusive offers
• Sections that say “I want to change my address and…”

You can ignore all of these. They are not part of the core change-of-address process.
Simply scroll down to continue.

3. Select “Who Is Moving?”

You will see a section labeled Who is moving? with three options:

• Individual
• Family
• Business

Choose the option that fits your situation:

• If only one person is moving, select Individual.
• If multiple people are moving together, select Family.
• Most normal household moves do not need the Business option.

Important Rules for Family Moves

If you choose Family, USPS will ask:

• Do all individuals moving from this address share the same last name?
• Is anyone with this same last name remaining at the address?

For a family move to work:

• Everyone moving must share the same last name.
• No one with that same last name can be staying behind at the old address.

If some people are staying, or there are different last names, you must select
Individual and submit separate moves for each person.

Remember: children under 18 cannot do their own Change of Address. They usually do not have a driver’s license
or bills to prove residency, so they will fail in-person verification if listed alone.

4. Enter Your Contact Information

In the next section, USPS will ask for your contact information.

Name and Email

Some Spanish names include characters like accents (á, é, í, ó, ú). The online system does not accept these
special characters, so type your name using normal letters only.

You will see fields such as:

• First Name
• Middle Name or Initial
• Last Name
• Suffix (you can leave this blank if you do not use a suffix)
• Email Address
• Confirm Email Address

Your email address is very important. USPS will send your in-person verification barcode to this
email, as well as updates about your Change of Address. If the email is wrong, you may not be able to complete
the process.

You may see a checkbox to receive reminder emails if you cannot finish today. This is optional and can be left
unchecked if you plan to complete everything in one session.

Mobile Phone Number

Enter your mobile phone number in the field provided. This may be used for status updates or security checks.

5. Are You Returning to Your Old Address?

You will see a question like:

Are you planning on returning to your old address in six months or less?

For most people, the correct answer is No. If you choose Yes, your mail will
eventually return to the old address after a set period, and you will be able to select that return date.

Unless you are truly planning a temporary stay at your new address, select No.

6. Choose When Forwarding Should Start

The section labeled When should we start forwarding mail to your new address? allows you to choose
a start date.

It is best to pick today’s date or the earliest possible date. This will NOT be the
exact date that mail begins forwarding. USPS usually takes about 10–14 days to fully start forwarding
your mail.

7. Enter Your Old Address

The section titled What’s your old address? is for your current address where mail is being
delivered now and where you want it to stop.

When you type your ZIP Code, the USPS system will begin to auto-complete with matches as you type. You should see
your town or city show up and be able to click it. Once selected, the city and state fields will fill in
automatically.

You will then enter your street number and street name. As you type, USPS may show suggested matches. Choose
the correct one.

Important Details About Address Format

• If the system does not auto-suggest and you just type everything manually, the next page may reject it.
• Your address must match the way USPS has it in its database.
• USPS prefers abbreviations like CT for Court, ST for Street,
  LN for Lane, etc.

For apartments, you may see dozens or even hundreds of unit options. Scroll until you find your exact apartment
and select it.

If your street is not showing, you can use the option:
“I don’t know my ZIP Code”. This allows you to search through the USPS system and find the
address exactly how USPS wants it to be written.

8. Enter Your New Address

The section titled What’s your new address? works the same way as the old address section, except
this is where you want your mail to go.

Follow the same steps: type your ZIP Code, select the correct city, then choose your street and apartment from
the USPS suggestions so it matches their database.

When everything looks correct, click Next at the bottom of the screen.

9. Ignore Optional Add-On Services

On the next screen, USPS may offer:

• Extended Mail Forwarding
• Informed Delivery

Extended Mail Forwarding is for people who need forwarding beyond 12 months and need extra time to update
their contacts. Most people do not need this option.

Informed Delivery is a separate USPS service that shows digital previews of incoming mail. It can be unreliable,
and many USPS workers themselves consider it optional.

You can safely ignore these offers and click Next at the bottom of the page
(or go back if you need to fix something).

10. Verify Your Address Information

You will now see a summary screen where you can verify that you typed your address correctly. Carefully check:

• Old address
• New address
• Start date
• Name spelling

If something is wrong, use the edit options to correct it. If everything is correct, click Next
to continue.

11. Payment and Identity Verification

This is where many people get stuck. You will see a section like:

Select billing address

USPS uses this $1.25 transaction to verify your identity. The address on file with your credit card company must
match the address you select here. You can usually choose between:

• Your current billing address
• Your next billing address

Many cards are declined because:

• The bank still has your old address on file and your new address doesn’t match.
• You already updated your bank to the new address, but USPS is trying to verify using the old one.

In either case, your bank may see this as a suspicious or fraudulent transaction and block it. You may need to
contact your bank or update your billing address before trying again.

You may also see an option to Enter a different address. Sometimes this works if another person
(like a friend or family member) is paying for you. However, this can delay your mail by an extra week for
security reasons because it looks like a third-party transaction.

12. Enter Your Credit or Debit Card Information

On the payment screen, enter your card information carefully. You will see that the charge is only
$1.25. If the amount is higher than this, you may not be on the official USPS site.

When you are ready, click Check Out with Credit or Debit Card.

13. Final Screen and Email Confirmation

After submitting payment, the screen may take a few seconds to load. You may see one of two main results:

• A message that your Change of Address was successful, along with a
  transaction number.
• A message that your address is not complete or you should try again.

In practice, either result can still be okay. The real proof that it went through is what you receive in your email.

Check Your Email (You Should Receive Two Messages)

If everything worked, you should receive two emails:

1. Your USPS Change-of-Address Mover Savings
   This is mostly a marketing email with coupons and offers. You can delete it. If you received this email,
   it is a good sign that your Change of Address is in the system.
2. Required Action – In-Person Identity Verification for Change-of-Address
   This is the most important email. It contains your barcode for in-person verification.
   

To complete your Change of Address, you must:

• Go to any USPS post office.
• Show the barcode from the email on your phone.
• Bring a valid photo ID.
• Bring documents that prove you live at your new address (lease, bill, bank statement, etc.).

If you do not bring proper documents that prove your new residence, you can be denied and may have to start
the entire process again.

You usually have about 20 days from the date of the email to complete in-person identity
verification. If you miss this window, you may need to redo the online Change of Address from the beginning.