How to Fill Out and Submit the Canada Post Mail Forwarding Form

The Canada Post Mail Forwarding form is a short application that redirects your letter mail from an old Canadian address to a new one. You can fill it out on paper (download the PDF from canadapost.ca or pick one up at a post office counter) or complete the equivalent request online. Either way, you’ll need the names of everyone whose mail should be forwarded, the old and new addresses, a start date at least three business days away, and government-issued photo ID.¹

Pick the Right Version of the Form First

Before you write anything down, decide which service you’re buying, because it’s the first thing the form asks. Mail Forwarding for Moves is for people who are not returning to the original address: homeowners, renters, or businesses that have permanently relocated or changed post office boxes, and anyone managing an estate. Mail Forwarding for Temporary Relocation is for people still tied to the original address who plan to return, such as snowbirds, people out of the house during renovations, or someone on a long work assignment.²

You then choose a duration: 4 months or 12 months. Pricing depends on the duration and how far the mail travels (within province, across provinces, or U.S. and international), and business rates are higher than residential rates. If the forwarding address includes a business name, business pricing applies automatically.³

Information You’ll Need in Front of You

Have everything below ready before you start writing. Gaps will send you back for a second trip to the post office.

Full legal names of every person whose mail should be forwarded. A single residential request holds up to eight individual names. A business request holds up to two business names plus six individual names.³
Current (old) street address, with unit or suite number and postal code.
New (forwarding) address, complete with postal code or ZIP code for international destinations.
A start date at least three business days in the future.¹
Government-issued photo ID (passport, driver’s licence, or equivalent). One valid piece is sufficient.⁴

Everyone listed on a single form must share the same original address and the same forwarding address. If people in the household are moving to different destinations, fill out a separate form for each destination.³

Filling Out the Form for a Deceased Person

You can complete the form on behalf of someone who has died, either online or at a post office. Two documents come along with your own photo ID:

A death certificate or equivalent. This can be a certificate from the provincial Vital Statistics office, a medical examiner’s certificate, a funeral director’s certificate, a cremation certificate, or a comparable document for a death that happened outside Canada.
Proof of your appointment as legal representative, such as a grant of letters probate, letters of administration, a certificate of appointment of the estate liquidator, or a completed Canada Post Statutory Declaration form.

If the death certificate itself names you as executor or legal representative, you don’t need the separate proof-of-appointment document.⁵

Submitting the Paper Form at a Post Office

Download the Mail Forwarding PDF from the Canada Post website and fill it in before you go; blank forms are also available at the counter if you’d rather do it there.⁶ Take the completed form and your photo ID to any retail post office. The clerk verifies your identity and processes payment.

In person, you can pay by cash, credit card, debit card, money order, or business cheque or certified cheque.⁷ You’ll walk out with a printed receipt showing a reference number. Keep it: you’ll need it to change, extend, or cancel the service later.

Filling Out the Online Version Instead

The online request at canadapost.ca collects the same information as the paper form and is usually faster. Sign in to (or create) your Canada Post account, then work through five steps: enter the old address, new address, and names; choose the service type and duration; pay by Canadian credit card (or bill it to a Canada Post account); and, if prompted, visit a post office to finish identity verification.

During the online request, Canada Post runs an identity check powered by Equifax, using your credit card information and questions about your credit history. It doesn’t affect your credit score. If the automated check can’t confirm who you are, the purchase still goes through, but the service won’t activate until you show photo ID at a post office along with the barcode from your confirmation email.⁴

The Mover Data Service Checkbox

The form includes an optional program called the Mover Data Service. If you leave it selected, Canada Post shares your new address with organizations that already have your correct name and old address, so they can update their records. Participating organizations agree to use the information only for that purpose.

If you’d rather control who gets your new address, opt out one of three ways:

Check the opt-out box on the paper form when you fill it in.
Sign in to the self-serve tool at canadapost.ca and change the selection under Contact Details.
Call Canada Post at 1-800-267-1177.

Separately, Canada Post may send you special offers on its own behalf or on behalf of other organizations, but does not share your personal information with those organizations for marketing purposes. You can opt out of the offers at canadapost.ca/mailforwarding-optout.¹

What the Form Does Not Cover

Mail Forwarding handles standard letter mail delivered by Canada Post. Filling out the form does not redirect:

Parcels (Xpresspost, Regular Parcel, and other tracked packages)
Prepaid envelopes
Newspapers and flyers delivered by anyone other than Canada Post
Personal mail sent to a business or institutional address (office buildings, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels)
Mail at a shared postal address used by more than two businesses
Mail routed through a privately administered mailbox company

The parcel exclusion catches people off guard. If you’re expecting packages, contact each sender directly with your new address; the form will not redirect them.²

After You Submit

Online buyers get the confirmation and reference number by email; in-person buyers get a printed receipt. Set the start date to line up with your actual move date, and allow the three-business-day lead time for the change to take effect.¹ If mail hasn’t started arriving at the new address within a few days of the start date, contact Canada Post with your reference number.

Changing the Request

You can change details on the request, such as the forwarding address or the names on the account, through the self-serve tool at canadapost.ca or in person at any post office. You’ll need the reference number and the postal code from the original address.⁸

Extending Before Expiry

Extend the service before it expires to avoid a gap. Online, sign in with your reference number and original postal code, pick a new duration, and pay. In person, bring your reference number and photo ID. Lost the reference number? A clerk can look it up using your last name, postal code, and phone number.⁹

Cancelling

Cancel before the start date and Canada Post refunds you. Once the service has started, no refund is available, even if you cancel the same day it activates.¹⁰

1
Canada Post. Mail Forwarding
2
Canada Post. Forward Mail When You Move or Relocate
3
Canada Post. Mail Forwarding Service Terms and Conditions
4
Canada Post. How to Purchase Mail Forwarding
5
Canada Post. Mail Forwarding – What to Bring to the Post Office
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Canada Post. Purchasing Mail Forwarding on Behalf of Another Person or Business
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Canada Post. Mail Forwarding – How to Pay
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Canada Post. How to Make Changes to Mail Forwarding Service
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Canada Post. Extending Your Mail Forwarding Service
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Canada Post. How to Cancel Mail Forwarding