How To Get An Address For A New House

Moving is always complicated, but there are some extra challenges when you're moving to a newly built house. For example, how the heck are the mail carriers and other delivery drivers going to know where to find you? The question of how to get an address assigned to a new home and the question of how to get USPS to deliver mail to your new address are two separate issues. Here's how to do both.

The question of how to get a street address is relevant at the very beginning of the process of building a new house. A street address is assigned long before you're ready to start getting mail at your new place. USPS has nothing to do with the process of creating street addresses for new builds. This is overseen by local government agencies. New street addresses have to be approved and registered with your local government so that first responders can locate your home if you call 911, among other reasons.

Typically, the work of getting a new build home address approved is something the builder takes care of because an address may be assigned to a parcel of land before any construction begins. Every municipality does things in its own way, but it's often the city or county zoning department that deals with approving plans and street addresses for new construction.

A lot of people who move into a newly built home wonder about how to register a new-construction address with USPS. They figure they need to know how to establish an address with the post office because otherwise, how will USPS know that the newly constructed home exists?

Getting mail delivered to new construction is a two-part process. The first step, per USPS, is to visit a post office in the area of your new home to establish delivery to the new address. Essentially, make sure the address is in the USPS database and assigned to a mail delivery route.

USPS doesn't provide a lot of guidance about what to bring or what you'll need to fill out to establish delivery to your new address, but it's a good idea to bring the deed to your home along with a photo ID. Once you've spoken to a clerk and verified that your address is in the USPS database, the second step is to update your address so USPS knows you've moved.

Fill out the USPS new address form any time your address changes, even if it's a temporary move. This form ensures that the post office knows where to forward any mail that's sent to you at your old address. The change-of-address form is available online and takes just a few minutes to complete. You may also fill out the USPS new address form in person at the post office. (Filing the form in person is the only way to update your address if you're moving to another country.)

Submit one change-of-address form to forward mail for an entire family if you all share the same last name and are all moving together. Provide your old address, new address, and the date when you want mail forwarding to start. Pay $1.10 to complete your request when you submit the form online. There's no cost to file a change-of-address form in person at the post office.

Make sure to update your information with anyone who sends mail to your old address. USPS will forward your mail for up to one year unless you pay extra to extend your forwarding period for an additional period of up to 18 months. USPS also facilitates voter registration updates for anyone who's filling out a change-of-address form. (Don't forget to sign up for informed delivery too; it's just one of many USPS hacks that make getting mail easier than ever before!)