How To Update Your Mailing Address When Your USPS Address Change Is Not Working

Whether you're moving to a new city or a new state, updating your mailing address can be tricky. While forwarding your mail can help ensure you don't miss any important postage, finding out that your USPS address change is not working is more than a headache. Not only will forwarded mail only be a short-term fix, but finding out what went wrong on the change of address form can leave you worried that you've missed bills, important letters and invites from friends, and more.

So, how exactly do you update your address to prevent any lost mail?

How To File for a Change of Address with USPS on Your Own

Updating your address with USPS is more than writing down your address and signing a form. With USPS, there are multiple pages of critical details you'll need to sit down and complete. When filing your address change, you'll need to declare things like:

• Is the address change for an individual, a family, or a business
• Whether the forwarding request is temporary or permanent
• What date should USPS begin forwarding your mail
• What the address you're moving from is + what the address you'll be moving to is

Aside from the very basic questions you'll need to answer, you may run into some challenges. Most issues arise if you're moving internationally, either to the US or from the US. If this is the case, then it means you have to contact that foreign postal administration to take the proper steps.

Keep in mind, that if you choose to file for an address change online you'll be paying $1.10 for a validation fee. If you go to your local USPS office, you won't have to pay a fee, but you will have to fill out the form by hand. With both options, be sure to double-check numbers and street names to ensure you've provided USPS with accurate information.

How Quickly Do You Have to File a Change of Address with USPS?

When planning a move, it can be beneficial to request a permanent change of address with USPS two weeks prior to your move. This is due to the fact that while many address requests are approved within 3 business days, sometimes it can take longer and when that happens it's likely that mail might get delivered to your old/current address rather than your upcoming address. Additionally, requesting a permanent change of address will ensure that rather than temporarily forwarding mail, you continue to receive your mail at your updated address long after you move.

USPS follows a pretty strict timeline on returning unreceived mail to the original sender or discarding of it. Depending on the mail class, temporary forward requests will only last 60 days to a year before your mail.

Mail Class Forwarding Timeframes for USPS are:

• First-Class Mail®/Priority Mail® - Forwarded for a limit of 12 months and includes bills, invoices, personal correspondence
• Priority Mail Express® - Forwarded for a limit of 12 months and includes merchandise or printed materials
• Periodicals - Forwarded for a limit of 60 days and includes magazines or newsletters
• USPS Marketing Mail® - Forwarded ONLY if the mailer specifies forwarding instructions
• USPS Retail Ground® - Forwarded for a limit of 12 months ONLY to domestic addresses
• Library Mail, Bound Printed Matter, and Media Mail® - Forwarded for a limit of 12 months ONLY to domestic addresses

That's a lot to keep up with, right? Fortunately, DoNotPay can update your address change so that your favorite magazines and mail always get to the correct address.

How To File a Change of Address Using DoNotPay

If you want to file a change of address but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 5 easy steps:

1. Tell us the new address and when you want to start forwarding your mail.

2. Tell us who is moving (is it just you, your family, or your business).

3. Select whether it's a temporary move or permanent.

4. Add the option to extend your mail forwarding period beyond 12 months (you can get your mail delivered from your old address for up to 2.5 years)

5. And that's it! DoNotPay will take care of the rest on your behalf. You should receive a confirmation email from USPS after your request is completed.

Why Use DoNotPay to Change Your Mailing Address

With DoNotPay, you can rely on easy-to-follow steps that make changing your mailing address a breeze. The services DNP offers can save you time, money, and the frustration of making sure you're not missing any necessary steps. Three benefits of using DoNotPay include:

What Other Services can DoNotPay Assist With

DoNotPay doesn't only offer services for changing and updating your mailing address with USPS. You can also use DNP's easy to follow guides for things like:

1. Updating your address with the DMV
2. Social Security Changes
3. Informed Delivery