Moving Home: Who Should You Notify When Changing Your Address?

Your moving date is approaching, and you want to make sure you inform all the public bodies and service providers that need your new address. Rest assured. To know who to notify when moving, when, and how, ENGIE provides you with practical guidance. With a checklist and a bit of organisation, your administrative formalities will go as smoothly as a letter through the post!

Which organisations should you notify when moving home?

You’ve got your moving boxes ready, you’re preparing to pack, dismantle furniture, and you’ve rented a moving van… Well done, you already have all the ingredients for a successful move!

But to complete your organisation, don’t forget to anticipate your administrative procedures, especially notifying public authorities and service providers of your change of address.

Logically, all organisations that hold your address must be informed of your departure. A useful tip is to review your documents: invoices, statements, and contracts will help you identify the key organisations to contact.

Looking for a clear list to guide you? ENGIE has compiled the main organisations you should notify first, which you can supplement depending on your personal subscriptions.

Notify La Poste when moving home

Setting up mail forwarding ensures you continue to receive postal mail after your move, even if you forget to notify certain organisations. This paid service can be arranged at a post office or online. You can choose the start and end dates of the forwarding contract, which typically lasts 6 or 12 months.

Changing address: how to notify public authorities

Before your move, prioritise informing public administrations of your change of address. These include:

• Your tax office;

• France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi);

• CAF and/or MSA (family allowance funds);

• Your social security bodies (CPAM) and pension funds.

• If you pay a household waste charge, contact your local town hall to stop the payments.

Don’t forget to inform your employer about your move

If your move involves a change of employer, this is obviously a priority. Notify them as soon as possible. In some cases, this may help you negotiate your departure, for example through a mutual termination agreement.

Even if you stay with the same employer, still inform them of your new address. Your collective agreement or company policies may also include a “moving day” leave entitlement.

Inform your insurance companies

When moving, you must inform your insurance providers in advance:

• Health insurance;

• Home insurance;

• Personal liability insurance;

• School insurance;

• Car insurance.

Depending on the insurer, you can update your details by phone, online, or by registered mail. Some contracts, especially home and car insurance, may need to be reviewed.

Your mutual insurance provider should also be informed in the same way.

Notify your energy suppliers

If you keep the same energy supplier (electricity and gas), most providers offer online procedures to transfer your contract to your new address in just a few minutes. Otherwise, you can contact them online or by phone. You will need to provide your new address and moving date.

Moving home: inform the water service

When changing address, notify your local water supplier at least 15 days before moving in. This allows time to open the water meter at your new property. This can usually be done by phone.

When moving in:

• Provide the meter reading from your previous home;

• Provide the meter number of your new home and its initial reading.

Banks and change of address

Whether or not you wish to transfer to a branch closer to your new home, inform your bank of your change of address. This can be done online, in branch, or by phone.

If you have loans with credit institutions, also inform them of your new postal address.

Internet service providers (ISP) and mobile operators

Moving home often means changing internet providers or mobile operators. Start by checking service availability at your new address (fibre, 5G, etc.). This ensures your current service is still suitable.

If you decide to switch providers:

• Cancel your subscription for the moving date;

• Plan ahead and subscribe to a new provider so activation matches your move-in date.

The same applies for cable or satellite services.

Do you need to inform streaming services?

If you subscribe to Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Prime, or similar services, update your address in your account settings, as billing information may include your postal address.

When children are involved in the move

If your children are in school and your move requires a change of school, contact their current school. They will provide a school transfer certificate needed for enrolment elsewhere.

If they remain in the same school, still inform the institution to ensure correspondence (such as report cards) is sent to your new address. Also notify related services such as school canteens or after-school care.

Depending on your situation, you may also need to inform sports clubs, associations, newspapers, or delivery services.

Changing address: make sure you notify the right organisations at the right time

Now that you know who to inform, the next step is when to do it.

T – 3 months

Start early by notifying your landlord, letting agency, property manager, or co-ownership syndicate depending on your situation.

T – 1 month

One month to two weeks before moving, notify public bodies using the online system: social security, vehicle registration, pension funds, tax office, France Travail. Then contact your bank, insurance providers, energy suppliers, internet and telecom providers.

After the move

After moving, update your vehicle registration address with the prefecture within one month. This can be done online and is free of charge. After this deadline, you may be fined €135 and your vehicle could be immobilised.