Having many options for notifying your contacts of a new address should take some of the edge off your move. Many of your contacts, including the U.S. Postal Service, provide convenient online or printed forms to receive your change of address. For all the rest, dispatch an email or customized move-announcement card to convey your new address. For your business, you could also announce your new location as part of a press release, invitation to an open house or formal business letter. Whichever method you use, make your written notice short, accurate and timely.

Headline your message appropriately to indicate whether your move is impending or completed. For example, make the subject line of an email, letter or announcement card read “I’m Moving,” or “We’ve Moved.” For invitations, write “We’ve Moved: Come Celebrate Our New Digs.”

State the date of your move, details of your new location and, if applicable, updated contact information. For example, write “Dear Marge: Effective (move date), my new address and contact information will be: (address), (phone number), (email). Please update your records accordingly. Feel free to contact me for additional information. Thank you. Sincerely, (your name)”

Include your old address and an account number for a change-of-address notification that also requests a transfer of service to your new location. For example, “My current account number is (number). Effective (move date), my new address will be (new location). My old address is (old location). Please transfer service to our new location by (move date), along with all related correspondence and billing. Thank you. Sincerely, (your name)”

Forgo salutations on announcement cards and invitations. Simply indicate your name or company name, move date, new address and updated contact information, if any. For an invitation, provide the details of your open-house event along with a phone number and deadline for RSVPs.

Add marketing spin when broadcasting your move in a press release. For example, craft a headline such as “XYZ Company Expanding Headquarters Downtown.” Compose a short announcement that includes your new address and suggests that your company that is moving onward and upward.

Tip

Make a checklist of all your contacts to whom you should send a change-of-address notice. Include your personal contacts, your employer, local government agencies, educational and health care providers, banks and other financial institutions, associations and clubs, and publications to which you subscribe. Also include all your clients, consultants and vendors if you have a business.

Most institutions and publications have an online change-of-address form. Consider using this option, or calling a published phone number, to save on postage and speed up the process.

Choose a medium of communication based on expediency and familiarity with your recipients. Announcement cards and emails generally suffice for all, but formal business letters may be warranted or requested by certain contacts.