To fill out PS Form 3575, you need your old and new addresses with ZIP codes, a forwarding start date, a choice between individual, family, or business, and a decision on whether the move is temporary or permanent. You can submit it online at usps.com/move for a $1.25 identity verification fee charged to a credit or debit card, or pick up a paper form at any Post Office and either hand it to a clerk with a government-issued photo ID or drop the sealed, prepaid form into a blue collection box. File anywhere from 90 days before your move to 30 days after.1United States Postal Service. Change of Address – The Basics
What the Form Asks For
Gather the details before you sit down. You’ll enter the full street address and ZIP code for both locations, the date you want forwarding to begin, and whether the change is temporary or permanent. Sign the form. An unsigned paper form won’t be processed.
The form also asks you to pick one of three move types:
- Individual, which forwards only your mail and leaves anyone else at the old address unaffected.
- Family, which forwards mail for everyone at the old address who shares your last name.
- Business, which redirects all mail addressed to the business name at the old location.
Pick the wrong type and you’ll either forward too little or drag other people’s mail along with yours, so read the three options before you check a box.
Submitting Online
The official portal is at usps.com/move, which redirects to the Mover’s Guide. Enter your old address, new address, move type, start date, and temporary or permanent status. Review your entries, then pay the $1.25 verification fee with a credit or debit card. That charge lets USPS match the card’s billing information against your identity, which is how the online method confirms you are who you say you are.
USPS emails a confirmation code once the transaction completes. Keep it. You’ll need that code later if you want to modify the start date, extend a temporary period, or cancel the request online. Save or print the confirmation page for your records.
One restriction: if you’re moving outside the United States, you cannot file online. You have to visit a Post Office in person before you leave the country.
Submitting on Paper
Ask for a blank PS Form 3575 at any Post Office counter. The form doubles as its own envelope. Fill in your information on the inside, fold it, seal it, and either hand it to a clerk or drop it in a blue collection box. Postage is prepaid.
If you give it to a clerk, they’ll check your government-issued photo ID against the name on the form. A driver’s license, passport, or military ID all work. If you drop it in a box instead, write clearly. A smudged ZIP code or an unclear apartment number sends the form into manual review and delays everything. Sign it before you seal it.
Temporary or Permanent
This is the single choice on the form that most affects what happens to your mail, so pick with intent.
A permanent change tells USPS you’re not coming back. First-Class Mail forwards for 12 months, and for six months after that undeliverable pieces go back to the sender with your new address attached. After 18 months the record drops out of the system.2United States Postal Service. Mailer Services
A temporary change is meant for situations where you’ll return, like a seasonal job, a semester away, or extended travel. The initial period runs from 15 to 185 days. You can extend once by filing a second request, for a maximum of 364 consecutive days total.3United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22219 – DMM Revision: Temporary Mail Forwarding Policy When the temporary period ends, mail automatically resumes at the original address. You don’t need to file anything to switch it back.
When to File
You can submit as early as 90 days before your move date and as late as 30 days after.1United States Postal Service. Change of Address – The Basics Filing early beats filing late. If you wait until after the move, mail sits at your old address or bounces back to senders during the gap. Filing the week you start packing is a reasonable target.
Use Only usps.com/move
Websites that mimic the USPS portal show up near the top of search results and charge $20 to $89.95 to submit the same form you can file yourself for $1.25.4United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Issues Identified with Internet Change of Address If the URL doesn’t end in usps.com, or the fee is more than $1.25, close the tab and start over at usps.com/move.
What Arrives After You Submit
USPS sends mail to both addresses as a security check.
A Move Validation Letter goes to your old address. If someone filed a change of address in your name without your knowledge, this letter is your warning, and it includes a toll-free number to report an unauthorized request.5United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Management Advisory – Postal Service’s Procedures to Validate Change-of-Address Orders If you filed it yourself, you can ignore the letter.
About five business days before your forwarding start date, a Customer Notification Letter arrives at the new address with your confirmation code inside, along with a welcome kit of partner coupons.6United States Postal Service. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address If you filed online, USPS also emails the code, so you have two copies.
Changing or Canceling Later
If your date shifts, your temporary period needs an extension, or you want to cancel altogether, you can do all of that online with the confirmation code.6United States Postal Service. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Lost the code? Go to a Post Office with your photo ID and file a new PS Form 3575 to override the existing request.
Canceling only stops future forwarding. Mail already in the pipeline to the new address will still get there.
What the Form Doesn’t Cover
PS Form 3575 redirects postal mail. It does not notify the IRS, the Social Security Administration, your state DMV, or your voter registration office. USPS states plainly that you “must still update government agencies…and companies…independently.”6United States Postal Service. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address
A few of the agencies people most often forget:
- The IRS, which uses Form 8822 to update a mailing address. If the IRS doesn’t have your current address, you may never see a notice of deficiency, and penalties and interest keep running whether the notice reaches you or not. Processing takes four to six weeks.7Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822, Change of Address
- The Social Security Administration. Retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries can update through the “My Profile” tab in a my Social Security account. SSI recipients cannot change an address online and must call 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office.8Social Security Administration. How Can I Change My Address or Direct Deposit Information
- Your state’s voter registration office. Most states require you to update it yourself when you move.
- Your state DMV. Many states require a driver’s license address update within a set number of days after a move, with fees and deadlines that vary by state.
Forwarding is a safety net for the months after you move, not a substitute for telling the people who send you important mail where you actually live.