All About Mail Forwarding When Moving or Traveling

Are you moving soon? You may not have thought about your mail, but it needs to be moved as well. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has a lot of information available on the internet, but it can be confusing. This guide will help cut through the clutter and make your move as easy as possible.

About thirty days before you move, obtain USPS Form 3575. This form will ask you for your present address, future address, and the date you want forwarding to begin. The form has check boxes to move everyone with same last name, or only just one individual. Mail will begin forwarding about 15-20 days after you file this form. Just before you begin receiving forwarded mail, the Post Office will send you a confirmation letter. Retain this form in case there is a problem with your mail service. This form is also intended to make sure that the forwarding order is not fraudulent.

The forwarding order will remain in effect for one year from the date you submitted the form. This should allow you to receive infrequent mailings and all of your tax forms from the previous year. However, you should change your address directly with all of your vendors, institutions, and associations that you belong to.

Forwarded mail takes 6-10 days to travel from your old address to the new one. This can become a problem when paying bills like credit cards or utilities. Be prepared to write a check the day you receive your bill. This will help you avoid late charges and penalties. You may also want to bills online or by phone for a month or two.

Filing a change of address with the Post Office does not change the address on file with vendors, employers, or periodical publishers. Most mailings have a space for address changes or instructions on how to update your information. On many bills, space is printed on the reverse of the coupon that allow you to change your address. It is your responsibility to change these addresses. Try to make these changes within the first two months. Periodicals like magazines, newspapers, and newsletters will only forward for 60 days.

If you receive mail under aliases, you will need to file two change of address forms. This includes mail to a home-based business. If you receive mail under a nickname that is not a standard version of your full name, you should list that name next to your first name on the form. For example, mail to "Nick" will forward along with mail for "Nicholas," but if you go by "Scooter," your mail may not forward.

There is a special form that allows temporary forwards for up to six months. This service is handy for seasonal residents, college students home for summer, and people who are temporarily reassigned for work.