An address confidentiality program is a free, state-run service that gives survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking a substitute legal address to use in place of their real one. Once you’re enrolled, government agencies must accept that substitute address on public records like driver’s licenses, voter rolls, and court filings, and the state office forwards your mail to your actual home. Forty-six states operate one. The protection is real, but it has boundaries worth understanding before you rely on it.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility centers on being the victim of a crime that creates an ongoing physical safety risk. Every state program covers domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Most also cover human trafficking and kidnapping. A smaller but growing number of states have expanded eligibility to reproductive healthcare workers and gender-affirming care providers who face threats because of their work.
You have to show the threat is real and current. That usually means a police report, a protective order, or written documentation from a counselor, medical professional, or victim advocate. A sworn statement declaring that you fear for your safety or your children’s safety is standard, and you sign it under penalty of perjury. Safety has to be the primary reason you’re seeking the program; anyone trying to use the substitute address to avoid law enforcement, debt collectors, or court-ordered obligations will be denied, and false information on the application is grounds for perjury charges.
Most states also require that you’ve recently moved, or are planning to move, to a location your abuser doesn’t know. The program protects a confidential address, so you need to have one worth keeping confidential. If you haven’t relocated yet, an advocate can help you build a safety plan that includes the move.
A parent or legal guardian can enroll minor children and incapacitated dependents on the same application. You don’t file separately for each child. The substitute address then covers the entire household, which matters for school enrollment, medical records, and anywhere else a child’s address might otherwise become visible.
How the Substitute Address Works
Once you’re accepted, the state assigns you a substitute address that becomes your legal address for public-facing purposes. Depending on the state, it’s the address of the Secretary of State’s office, the Attorney General’s office, or another designated state agency. It reads as a normal mailing address and doesn’t advertise that you’re in a protection program.
State and local government agencies are legally required to accept the substitute address on all public records: driver’s license, vehicle registration, voter registration, court filings. When any agency receives a public records request that would normally return your home address, the substitute address is what appears.
The state office also acts as your mail forwarding service. First-class mail sent to the substitute address gets redirected to your actual home, including legal notices, government correspondence, and certified mail with service of legal process. You stay legally reachable without the sender ever seeing where you live. It moves through the regular postal system, so from the outside there’s nothing unusual about it.
Voter registration is one of the most valuable pieces of this. Your substitute address goes on the voter rolls, which are otherwise public in most states. Many programs also arrange for absentee ballots to reach your confidential address so you don’t have to vote at a polling place that reveals your general neighborhood.
Where the Protection Stops
The program does not make you invisible. It does not change your name, your Social Security number, or your identity. It cannot pull addresses back out of records that already exist. If your home address appeared on a court filing, a utility bill, or a property deed before you enrolled, that information is still out there.
- Private companies: Government agencies must accept the substitute address. Private businesses generally don’t have to. Many will accommodate the request voluntarily, especially once you show your authorization card, but your bank, employer, insurance company, or landlord can legally insist on a physical address.
- Utility accounts: Power, gas, water, and phone companies almost always need your actual address because they have to know where to deliver service.
- Property records: County recorder offices maintain deeds, mortgages, and property tax records that include physical addresses. Most programs cannot shield these. If you own property, your address may be discoverable through a title search regardless of your enrollment.
- Pre-existing records: The program protects records created after enrollment. Older records in government databases and court files generally remain accessible.
- Private databases: Data brokers and people-search sites are not bound by the program. If your address has already been scraped and sold, the program has no mechanism to force removal.
- Federal agencies: There is no federal law that broadly requires federal agencies to accept a state ACP substitute address. The Violence Against Women Act directed the Department of Homeland Security to give “special consideration” to ACP participants when developing identification rules, but a comprehensive federal mandate has not been enacted. Some federal agencies accept the substitute address and some won’t, so plan on working with your advocate when dealing with the IRS or Social Security Administration.1National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Address Confidentiality Programs
One federal issue is settled. The REAL ID Act requires driver’s license applicants to provide a principal residence address, but federal regulations carve out an explicit exception: if you’re enrolled in a state ACP for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking, you may display an alternative address on your REAL ID-compliant license or state ID.2eCFR. 6 CFR Part 37 – REAL ID Drivers Licenses and Identification Cards
None of this means the program isn’t worth enrolling in. It closes the channels an abuser is most likely to use: voter rolls, DMV records, court filings, and government databases. Knowing where the coverage ends just keeps you from leaning on it in places it can’t hold weight.
What You Need Before You Apply
Have these ready before you contact an advocate:
- Your current residential address, which must be your actual home. Some states make exceptions for shelter residents.
- Full names of everyone in your household who should be covered, including minor children.
- Evidence of the threat: police report numbers, copies of protective orders, documentation from a domestic violence agency, medical records, or a letter from a counselor or advocate.
- Court case numbers for any active protective orders or ongoing criminal cases connected to your safety situation.
- Government-issued photo ID: driver’s license, state ID, or passport.
Application forms come from your state’s administering office, which is the Secretary of State in some states, the Attorney General or Department of Justice in others, and a designated agency such as a department of public safety or victim services division in the rest.3National Association of Secretaries of State. Voting and State Address Confidentiality Programs January 2026 Update Searching your state name plus “address confidentiality program” will get you to the right office.
Working With a Certified Advocate to File
You can’t just mail in the forms yourself. Nearly every state requires you to apply through a certified application assistant, typically a trained victim advocate at a domestic violence organization, prosecutor’s office, or law enforcement agency. The advocate verifies your documents, checks your legal declarations for accuracy, and walks you through what the program can and can’t do. The service is free regardless of your income.
The advocate submits your completed application through a secure state portal or by mail to the central program office. Processing usually takes a few weeks. Staff may contact you or your advocate to clarify details or fill gaps in the documentation.
After approval you receive an authorization card with your name, a unique identification number, and your substitute address. That card is your proof of enrollment, and you show it to government offices and businesses when asking them to use the substitute address.
Staying Enrolled and Moving Between States
Enrollment periods run three to four years depending on the state. Submit your renewal a few months before your enrollment expires so a delay doesn’t leave you with a lapsed status and agencies reverting to whatever address they have on file.
Ongoing responsibilities can end your enrollment if you ignore them:
- Notify the program office right away if you move. If they can’t reach you at the address on file, enrollment gets canceled.
- Keep your mail deliverable. Returned mail is grounds for cancellation.
- Report any legal name change. Some states treat an unreported name change as grounds for cancellation.
If the program moves to cancel your enrollment, you’ll receive written notice with the reason, and most states give you 30 days to appeal. You can also voluntarily withdraw at any time in writing.
These programs are state-level, and there is no formal reciprocity between them. If you move to a new state, your original enrollment doesn’t transfer. You apply from scratch, meeting the new state’s requirements and working with a new certified advocate. The gap between programs is a real vulnerability, because any records created in the new state during that window can contain your actual address. Call the new state’s program office before you move, learn their processing timeline, and line up a local advocate so you can apply as soon as you arrive. Some advocates can start the process before your move is finalized.
Four states do not operate an address confidentiality program: Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.3National Association of Secretaries of State. Voting and State Address Confidentiality Programs January 2026 Update If you’re relocating to one of them, work with a local domestic violence organization on other safety measures, because no state-run substitute address will be available.
Buying Property While Enrolled
Real estate is the biggest privacy gap, and it catches people off guard. When you buy a home, the deed is recorded with the county and becomes public. Your name and address appear on the deed, on the mortgage documents, and on the property tax rolls. The program generally cannot prevent this.
The common workaround is buying through a revocable living trust or a limited liability company. With a trust, a co-trustee whose name is public signs the documents while your identity stays off the recorded paperwork. An LLC works similarly by putting the entity’s name on the deed instead of yours. Either approach needs to be set up correctly, so consult an attorney experienced in both real estate and domestic violence law before you proceed.
If you already own a home when you enroll, the situation is harder. Your name and address are already in the county records from the original purchase, and transferring the property into a trust doesn’t erase what’s there. It adds a layer going forward without undoing the past record. A handful of states have laws that shield recorded property documents for certain protected individuals, but that protection is far from universal, and it’s worth asking your advocate whether your state has one.