Who to tell when you move house in the UK
Around 32 organisations need your new address, and three of them carry a real penalty if you skip them: the DVLA V5C (a fine of up to £1,000), your car insurer (non-disclosure can void your cover) and your old council (leave the council tax account open and you keep being billed for a house you no longer live in).
The other 29 are admin. Annoying, but nothing bites you.
The single most useful thing to know is this: some of them must wait until after you have moved in. Tell HMRC or the DVLA too early and you create a mess at the other end. Everything below is grouped so you can see what to do when.
Do these after you have moved in, not before
- Council tax — both councils. The bill follows the property, not the person, so the old council has to close your account and the new one has to open one. Find the right authority by postcode at gov.uk/find-local-council. If you are now the only adult in the property, claim the 25% Single Person Discount — it is not applied automatically.
- HMRC. Update at gov.uk/tell-hmrc-change-address. Doing this before you move can push a tax-code change through against the wrong address.
- DVLA driving licence. Free, online, at gov.uk/change-address-driving-licence. You can keep driving while you wait for the new one.
- DVLA V5C log book. A separate job from the licence — this is the one people miss. gov.uk/change-name-address-v5c. The new V5C should arrive within 4 weeks; if it has not come after 6 weeks a replacement costs £25. Vehicle tax updates itself once the V5C is done, and the MOT is tied to the registration, not the address, so there is nothing to do there.
- Electoral register. Re-register at your new address at gov.uk/register-to-vote. It also feeds your credit file, which matters if you are about to apply for anything.
Do these before you move
- Royal Mail redirection. Book at least 5 working days before you want it to start; you can set it up to 6 months ahead. It is the safety net that catches everything on this page you forget.
- Energy, water and broadband. Give notice, book the switch, and take meter readings at both properties on the day.
- Buildings and contents insurance. Cover needs to be in place at the new address from the moment you are responsible for it, which may be before you physically move.
- Schools and nursery. In-year admissions go through the local authority in England, and the process takes weeks rather than days.
The rest, grouped
Money. Current account · savings and ISAs · credit cards · mortgage or loans · pension providers · investment platforms.
Insurance. Buildings and contents · car · life · pet, breakdown and private medical.
Health. GP · NHS dentist · optician · any hospital clinic you are under. You do not need to contact your old GP — your records transfer automatically once you register at the new practice. Find one whose catchment covers your postcode at nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp. Start the NHS dentist search early; availability is the bottleneck, not paperwork.
Everything else. Employer HR and payroll · TV Licence · vet and Petlog or Microchip Central · subscriptions and streaming · gym · loyalty schemes · professional bodies and unions · DWP if you claim anything.
Where the four nations differ
| Nation | What changes |
|---|---|
| England | The default. Council tax bands A–H. |
| Wales | Council tax runs A–I — the only UK nation with a band I. |
| Scotland | Register at mygov.scot/council-tax/register. Water charges are combined with the council tax bill. |
| Northern Ireland | No council tax — domestic rates, via Land & Property Services. Driving licences go through the DVA, not the DVLA. School transfers go through the Education Authority. |
How long it actually takes
Most of these are a two-minute app or web form. The realistic total is an evening, spread over two or three sittings — provided you are working from a list and ticking things off. The reason moving feels endless is not that any single task is hard; it is that there are 32 of them and no one hands you the list.
Last checked 2026-09-22 against the official sources below. Rates and fees change — if you are reading this long after that date, follow the links and confirm.
The printable version
Everything above, on paper, with somewhere to write.
You do not need this to use the guide. It exists because a checklist you tick with a biro is easier to finish than a web page you keep scrolling back to.
