Change of Address Checklist When Moving in Texas

Changing your address after a move is not a single task – it is a category of tasks that involves government agencies, financial institutions, utilities, employers, and dozens of digital accounts, each with its own process, timeline, and consequence for being missed. In Texas, several address change requirements carry legal deadlines that most new residents do not know about until they are past them. This checklist covers every organization and agency you need to notify, in the right order, with the specific Texas deadlines and processes that make this state different from a generic moving checklist.

Start Here: The Order That Matters

The most common mistake people make with address changes is treating them as a single task to handle after the move is complete. In practice, some changes must be scheduled before your move date, some have hard legal deadlines after you arrive, and some take long enough to process that starting late causes real disruption. Work through this checklist in the sequence below and nothing will fall through the cracks.

For the full moving preparation timeline from 8 weeks out through moving day and post-move, our ultimate moving checklist and timeline covers every phase in order.

USPS Mail Forwarding

File your USPS change of address before your move date – not after. Mail forwarding takes 7 to 10 business days to activate after submission, which means filing the week of your move results in a gap where mail is still going to your old address with no forwarding in place. File at least 2 weeks before your move date for clean coverage from day one.

The only official USPS change of address portal is moversguide.usps.com. There is a $1.25 identity verification fee for the online submission. Any website charging significantly more than this is a third-party service, not the official USPS portal – several scam sites exist that mimic the government form and charge $40 or more for the same service. If you prefer no fee at all, file in person at any United States Post Office location at no charge.

Understand what USPS forwarding does and does not cover. First-Class mail forwards for up to 12 months. Periodicals and magazines forward for only 60 days. Standard marketing mail is not forwarded at all. And some government mail marked “Do Not Forward” or “Return Service Requested” returns to the sender rather than following you. USPS forwarding is a safety net for mail you have not yet updated directly – it is not a substitute for notifying each organization individually.

Texas Driver’s License Address Change

Texas law requires you to update the address on your Texas driver’s license or ID card within 30 days of moving to a new residence. This is not a suggestion – it is a legal requirement under Texas Transportation Code. Failing to update within 30 days technically puts you out of compliance, and an outdated address on your license can complicate insurance claims, traffic stop documentation, and voter registration verification.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, changing your address requires applying for a replacement (duplicate) license and paying the associated replacement fee. The fastest method is online through the Texas.gov TxT system, which handles address changes for eligible Texas residents without requiring an in-person visit. Eligibility for online processing requires a valid (not expired, suspended, or revoked) non-commercial Texas license with an active Social Security Number on file with DPS.

If you are not eligible for online processing – for example, if your license has expired or you need to upgrade to REAL ID compliance simultaneously – you must visit a Texas DPS driver license office in person. Driver license offices are appointment-only; same-day appointments may be available at some locations but should not be counted on. Book your appointment as soon as you know your move date rather than waiting until the 30-day deadline approaches.

When you update your address with Texas DPS online, the system offers the option to simultaneously update your Texas voter registration. Select this option – it is the most efficient way to handle both updates in a single transaction.

Texas Vehicle Registration Address Change

Your Texas driver’s license and your vehicle registration are maintained by two separate agencies. Updating your license with Texas DPS does not automatically update your vehicle registration. Vehicle registration address changes are handled through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) and your county tax assessor-collector’s office.

You can update your vehicle registration address online through the TxDMV website or in person at your county tax assessor-collector’s office. In Harris County – which covers most of Houston – this is handled through the Harris County Tax Office. Galveston County residents in the Webster, League City, and Friendswood corridor use the Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector. This is also where you will need to update registration if you are moving between counties, since Texas vehicle registration is county-specific.

Texas requires vehicles to be registered in the county of the owner’s residence. If you are moving to a different county, update your vehicle registration at the next renewal or sooner to ensure your registration reflects your actual county of residence.

Texas Voter Registration

Texas voter registration is address-specific. If you move to a different county, you must re-register in your new county. If you move within the same county, you can update your existing registration online or by mail. In both cases, voter registration updates must be completed at least 30 days before an election for the new registration to be valid for that election.

The fastest method is updating your voter registration simultaneously when you change your driver’s license address through the Texas DPS online system. Alternatively, update directly through the Texas Secretary of State’s website or submit a paper Voter Registration Application (Form VR-1) to your county voter registrar. In Harris County, contact the Harris County Clerk’s office. In Galveston County, contact the Galveston County Elections Administration.

Federal Tax Records: IRS Form 8822

USPS mail forwarding does not reliably route IRS correspondence. Some IRS notices are marked “Do Not Forward” and return to the IRS rather than following you to your new address. A missed IRS notice – about a balance due, an audit, or a required response – carries financial penalties that far exceed the inconvenience of filing a form.

File IRS Form 8822 (Change of Address) to officially update your address with the Internal Revenue Service. The form is available at irs.gov and can be mailed to the IRS address listed on the form for your state. Processing takes 4 to 6 weeks. File this within the first 30 days of your move, and keep a copy of the submitted form for your records.

Utilities: The Texas-Specific Process

Houston and most of the Bay Area corridor operates in the ERCOT deregulated electricity market, which means you choose your retail electric provider independently from the company that maintains the power lines to your home. CenterPoint Energy maintains the delivery infrastructure for most of Greater Houston – but you contract separately with a retail electricity provider such as Reliant, TXU Energy, Green Mountain Energy, or NRG, among dozens of others. When you move, you are canceling service with your current retail provider and establishing new service with a provider at your new address – which may be a different company entirely depending on which plan offers the best rate at the new location.

Electricity, gas, and water service transfers typically require 3 to 5 business days. Internet and fiber installation is the longest-lead utility in Houston – most providers require 14 to 21 days for new installs, and some fiber options have specific appointment windows that fill up. Schedule your internet installation first, before any other utility, because it has the longest lead time and the most immediate impact on your household when not ready on arrival day.

Water service in the Houston Bay Area varies by municipality. Houston proper is served by the City of Houston Public Works and Engineering. League City, Friendswood, Webster, Pearland, and Clear Lake have their own municipal water services or utility districts. Contact your new municipality’s utility department directly to establish water service – this is not transferable through a single provider the way electricity is.

Set your old address utilities to disconnect the day after your move. Set your new address utilities to activate the day before you arrive when possible. Arriving at a new home without electricity, water pressure, or internet is avoidable with 3 to 4 weeks of lead time and is entirely avoidable if you schedule this during the 4-weeks-out phase of your moving timeline.

Financial Institutions

Update your address directly with every bank, credit union, and credit card company you hold accounts with. Most institutions allow online address changes through your account portal. Your bank address affects statement delivery, card mailing, and fraud alert accuracy – an outdated address on a bank account also creates complications if you ever need to verify identity through a mailed document.

Also update: your investment and retirement accounts, any loans or lines of credit, your PayPal, Venmo, or other payment platform accounts, and any accounts associated with auto-pay billing. Subscription services tied to your credit card address – streaming services, software subscriptions, membership accounts – should be updated at the same time to prevent billing address mismatches that can flag transactions as fraudulent.

Employer, Payroll, and Government Benefits

Notify your employer’s HR or payroll department of your new address immediately after your move. Your address on file with your employer affects your W-2 mailing, your state withholding setup if you have moved between states, and any employer-provided benefits tied to your location. For Texas residents moving between Texas cities, state withholding is not an issue – Texas has no state income tax – but your address still affects W-2 delivery and HR records.

If you receive any government benefits – Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veteran’s benefits, or disability payments – update your address with each agency directly. Do not rely on IRS Form 8822 or USPS forwarding to route government benefit correspondence correctly. Each agency maintains its own address records independently.

Insurance Providers

Your home address is a primary rating factor for auto insurance premiums in Texas. Moving to a different ZIP code – even within the same city – can change your auto insurance rate, sometimes significantly. Notify your auto insurance provider of your new address immediately after your move. Failing to update your garaging address – the location where your vehicle is primarily kept – can affect your coverage validity in the event of a claim, since insurers base premiums on the risk profile of your actual location.

Also update your health insurance, homeowners or renters insurance, life insurance, and any umbrella policies. For homeowners or renters insurance, your new address policy needs to be active from the day you take possession of the new property – do not assume your existing policy covers the new address automatically.

Healthcare Providers

Update your address with your primary care physician, dentist, specialists, pharmacy, and any mental health or therapy providers. If you are moving to a new area within the Houston Bay Area, confirm whether your current providers are within your insurance network at your new address – network availability sometimes changes by ZIP code even within the same metropolitan area. Request copies of your medical records from providers you will not be continuing with, and transfer prescriptions to a pharmacy near your new address before your move if possible to avoid a gap in medication access.

If you have children, update school records and request official transcript transfers if you are changing school districts. In the Houston Bay Area, Clear Creek ISD serves Webster, League City, and parts of Clear Lake, while Friendswood ISD serves Friendswood and parts of neighboring communities. Enroll in your new district as early as possible to secure class placement before the school year begins.

Subscriptions and Digital Accounts

The most commonly forgotten category in any change of address checklist is digital subscriptions and delivery accounts. Update your address on Amazon, every food delivery and grocery delivery service you use, any subscription boxes, your gym or fitness membership, professional association memberships, loyalty program accounts, and any online shopping accounts with a saved default address. Most of these accounts do not send confirmation notifications when they deliver to your old address – they simply deliver there, and you find out when a package goes missing or a membership renewal goes to the wrong location.

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Conclusion

A Texas change of address after a move involves USPS mail forwarding filed before your move date, a Texas driver’s license address update within 30 days of moving via Texas DPS, a separate vehicle registration update through TxDMV, voter registration update through Texas Secretary of State or DPS simultaneously, IRS Form 8822 for federal tax records, utility setup with specific lead times for electricity and internet, and direct notification of every financial institution, employer, insurance provider, healthcare provider, school, and digital account you hold. None of these steps are difficult on their own. The risk is not in any single task – it is in forgetting one when you have fifty to complete. Use this checklist as your reference from move day through the first month in your new Texas address.