Forty dollars is what some lookalike websites charge to change your address with USPS. The real price is $1.25 online, or nothing at all if you fill out a paper form at the counter. That gap is the whole reason those sites exist.
So here’s how to change address with USPS the real way, online and in person. I’ll also get into the parts most guides skip. How long forwarding actually lasts, which mail gets left behind, and what to do when a forward goes sideways.
How to change address with USPS: the two real ways
There are exactly two legitimate paths to change address with USPS. Everything else is a middleman charging you for something USPS already does directly.
Online, you go to usps.com and fill out the form yourself. USPS sends a code to your phone to verify you. Then it charges a $1.25 identity verification fee to a card.
That card’s billing address has to match your old address or your new one. If it does not, the system rejects it.
In person, you walk into any Post Office. Ask for a free Mover’s Guide packet at the counter. Inside is PS Form 3575.
Fill it out, hand it to a retail associate, and show a government photo ID. They check the name against the form and process it on the spot. This path costs nothing.
| Method | Cost | What you need | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online at usps.com | $1.25 identity verification fee | Mobile phone, card billed to old or new address | A few minutes to submit |
| In person at a Post Office | Free | PS Form 3575, government photo ID | A few minutes at the counter |
Both methods land in the same USPS system. Both start forwarding on the same schedule.
Pick whichever is easier. If it were me, I’d do it online at 10 PM in my socks and call the $1.25 money well spent.
What you need before you change address with USPS
Have your old address and your exact new address ready, unit number included. A missing apartment number is a common reason forwarded mail goes astray in a multi unit building.
For the online form, keep your phone nearby for the code. Confirm your card’s billing address matches what USPS already has on file for you.
For the counter version, bring a driver’s license, passport, or another accepted photo ID. The name on it has to match the name on the form.
Either way, you get a confirmation. Online, that is an email with a confirmation number.
In person, the associate hands you a printed one. Keep it. You will need that number to edit, extend, or cancel the order later.
Temporary versus permanent change of address
USPS splits every order into two types. Picking the wrong one is behind a lot of the ‘my mail never forwarded’ complaints.
| Type | Best for | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary | School terms, extended trips, staying with family for a stretch | 15 days up to 1 year, then mail goes back to your permanent address automatically |
| Permanent | An actual move to a new home | No fixed end date on the order itself, but forwarding still runs on the class based limits below |
Pick temporary and change your mind about moving back? You have to file again. Pick permanent for what is really one semester away at school, and nothing routes back automatically when you leave.
How long USPS actually forwards your mail
This is the part that causes real problems months later. Forwarding is not permanent, even on a permanent change of address order. It runs out.
| Mail class | Forwarding coverage |
|---|---|
| First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage | Free forwarding for 12 months from the order’s start date |
| Periodicals (magazines, newspapers) | Forwarded free, but only for 60 days under the mailing rules, so update the publisher |
| Media Mail | Forwarded, but you pay the extra postage to reroute it |
| USPS Marketing Mail | Not forwarded in most cases; discarded at the old office |
After 12 months on standard classes, you can buy Extended Forwarding. That adds another 6, 12, or 18 months.
Once you buy an extension, it can’t be canceled or refunded. Only add it if you still need the coverage.
Confirm the current terms on the official USPS change of address page before you file. The identity fee already went from $1.10 to $1.25, and older guides still quote the old number.
What USPS will never forward
A change of address order is not a blanket redirect for every piece of mail with your name on it. Senders control part of the outcome through what they print on the envelope, which surprises people.
- USPS Marketing Mail, like store circulars and credit card offers, gets discarded at your old address unless the sender paid for a forwarding endorsement.
- An envelope marked ‘Return Service Requested’ goes back to the sender instead of following you.
- An envelope marked ‘Change Service Requested’ gets thrown away. The sender only gets a notice with your new address.
- A private note you write on an envelope, like ‘do not forward,’ does nothing. That phrase is not an official USPS instruction.
- Packages shipped through UPS, FedEx, or DHL are not touched by a USPS forward. Each carrier runs its own redirect process.
Update your bank, your subscriptions, and anyone else who mails you regularly. The forward is a safety net, not a plan.
Individual, family, or business: pick the right form
Both the online form and PS Form 3575 ask which type of move this is. Getting this wrong is another common reason mail does not follow the right people.
File Individual if you are the only one moving. File it too if household members share a last name but are heading to different places.
File Family only when everyone shares the same last name. Everyone also has to be moving to the exact same new address.
Different last names in the same household, even moving together, means everyone needs their own Individual order. Businesses use a separate Business form, filed by whoever is authorized to manage mail for the company.
Watch for lookalike change of address sites
Search ‘change of address’ and you’ll land on third party sites styled to look official. Some charge as much as $40 for the exact same request that costs $1.25 through usps.com. A few take the payment and never file the order at all.
The real fee is a flat $1.25 identity verification charge, and it only shows up at the end of the official online form. If a site asks for a package price or a subscription, close the tab.
The Postal Inspection Service warns about these lookalike sites directly. Its advice is simple: stick to usps.com or your local Post Office counter.
If you already paid a scam site, report it to the Postal Inspection Service. Dispute the charge with your card issuer too.
When forwarding goes wrong
Even a correctly filed order doesn’t always run cleanly. A few patterns show up over and over in seller forums, and they matter as much as the how to change address with USPS steps themselves.
Forwarding rarely starts the instant you submit the form. USPS says it may begin within 3 business days, but real timelines commonly stretch longer. Give it 7 to 10 business days before every route has your new address loaded.
File at least two weeks before you actually move. That gives you a buffer against the gap where nothing forwards yet.
Package tracking can also go quiet mid forward. eBay sellers have reported a package’s scans stopping for several days after a reroute, with no clear update on where it actually went.
If your tracking status has stalled for days, call the local Post Office handling the package. Have the tracking number ready rather than assuming it is lost.
Mail sometimes still lands at the old address for a while, even after a forward is active. That overlap is normal for the first few weeks. If it’s still happening months later, something is wrong with the order.
A single piece that never shows up anywhere is likely a genuinely missent or misrouted piece. Start a trace on it instead of waiting longer.
For a package that never turns up after a fair wait, USPS has a formal claims process. Read the full steps for how to file a claim with USPS once you’re sure it’s lost and not merely slow.
How to edit, cancel, or check your order later
Plans change. Maybe your move date slipped, or you filed temporary and now know it is permanent.
USPS lets you fix an existing order online. You need the confirmation number from your email or letter, plus your new ZIP code.
From that same management page you can push the start date back, move the end date, switch a temporary order to permanent, or cancel it outright. You can also update the phone number or email tied to the order.
Lost the confirmation number? It happens constantly. Go to your local Post Office with photo ID and they can look up the order for you.
If someone changed your address without your permission
A change of address order can also be filed fraudulently by someone who is not you. Usually the goal is intercepting bank statements, tax documents, or new credit cards.
The warning sign is usually silence. Expected mail stops showing up, and then a bank calls about an account you never opened.
USPS mails a confirmation letter to both the old and new address, roughly 5 business days before a legitimate order takes effect. That is specifically so you catch a fraudulent one before it starts.
Don’t ignore that letter if you didn’t file a request. Contact your local Post Office right away and watch your accounts closely.
One more thing this article doesn’t cover: a single package that needs rerouting while it’s already in the mail stream. That’s a different tool with a $19.45 fee, and our guide on how to change your USPS delivery address on a package already shipping covers it.
Bottom line
How to change address with USPS, in one breath: usps.com for $1.25, or your local Post Office counter for free with PS Form 3575. It’s a small, cheap errand when you do it the official way.
What trips people up is the stuff around the form: forwarding that runs out by mail class, Marketing Mail that never forwards at all, and the scam sites sitting between you and the real page.
File two weeks early. Pick temporary or permanent honestly, based on whether you’re coming back. And read the confirmation letter that arrives before your start date, because that letter is how you’d catch someone else filing in your name.
Curious when redirected mail should show up at the new place? Our delivery time estimator gives a rough sense of the extra hop.
