How to change your address with USPS without overpaying

You searched for "change of address," clicked the first result, and a site asked for $39.95 or more. The wrong assumption is that a site with a post office logo and a form that looks official belongs to the Postal Service. USPS says plainly that third party sites charge $40 or more for what it does for $1.25 online, or free in person.

Type the USPS address yourself instead of clicking a search ad

Go straight to moversguide.usps.com, the page USPS names on its forward mail page. The browser bar should end in usps.com. Paid ads often sit above the real result and use words like "official" or "postal."

Choose who is moving and when

Pick Individual, Family, or Business. Use the family option only if everyone moving shares the same last name and the same new address; otherwise file one individual request per person. Choose permanent or temporary forwarding. A temporary order runs from 15 days to one year. You can file up to 90 days before the move or up to 30 days after it.

Verify your identity and pay the $1.25 fee

USPS confirms who you are through your mobile phone and charges a $1.25 identity verification fee to a credit or debit card, as of October 2026. The card's billing address has to match your old or your new address. A confirmation code arrives by email.

File in person for free if you prefer

At any Post Office, ask for the free Mover's Guide packet, fill in PS Form 3575 inside it, and show photo ID at the counter. There is no fee this way.

Watch for the two letters and keep the code

USPS mails a Move Validation Letter to your old address and a welcome kit with a 16 digit confirmation code to the new one. Allow up to two weeks, though forwarding often starts within three business days. Use the code and your new ZIP Code on Manage My Move to change or cancel the order.

Update anyone whose mail will stop following you

First-Class Mail and Priority Mail forward for 12 months, magazines for 60 days, and most marketing mail not at all. Change your address directly with your bank, employer, insurers, and government agencies before the 12 months run out.

If you already paid a look-alike site. Call your card issuer and dispute the charge. Our guide to disputing a credit card charge walks through it. Then file with USPS anyway, since those sites may never submit anything.

If you get a letter about a move you did not make. Someone may be redirecting your mail. Contact your local Post Office right away and report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Sources. USPS, Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address, USPS FAQ, Change of Address: The Basics, USPS official change of address form, USPS Manage My Move, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, report a crime.