A change of address letter is written by someone who is moving due to a change of office, buying a new property elsewhere, etc. They write this letter to inform significant people such as their friends, family, colleagues, business associates, and more regarding their planning to move.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is a change of address letter?
- 2 To which entities do you send your change in address letter?
- 3 What should be included in a change of address letter?
- 4 Different types of change of address letters:
- 5 How do you write a change of address letter?
- 6 What is the importance of a change of address letter?
- 7 For your change of address letter, proper writing etiquette:
- 8 Before sending your change of address letter, things to check:
- 9 Conclusion:
- 10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a change of address letter?
A change of address letter is written to notify your personal and business contacts that you are moving to a new place of residence. Once you have decided to change your home, you must inform about it to the people you are connected with. By sending advance notices of new address, you can avoid problems in the future while delivering.
Furthermore, you can send this letter to your employer, customers, bank, post office, educational institutions, colleagues, or business associates. It is your utmost responsibility to let all the concerned people or entities know about your relocation when you are changing your address to a new location. However, it’s up to you whether you write it before or after the transfer. The letter must contain the start date of your stay at the new address.
To which entities do you send your change in address letter?
Changing residencies is a complex process that can be very difficult. You might forget to compose and send a change of address notice due to all the hustle and bustle involved. There are several business and personal contacts to whom you send this letter. In case, you are composing a business change of address letter, send it to clients, customers, and other essential entities.
However, if you are making a change of address letter then send it to the following;
- Bank
- Clients
- Credit card companies
- Credit union
- Dentists and doctors
- Magazine subscriptions
- Mobile and home phone providers
- Other types of financial institutions
- Utility company
It is essential to inform the post office regarding your change in address. Before you move, give them with your forwarding address. You may have to fill out a “change of address form” while updating information at the post office. You may also like envelope address templates.
What should be included in a change of address letter?
You should include the following details in your change of address letter;
- The name of the recipient, your title, and the name of your business should be provided.
- In addition, mention your mailing address, phone number, and email address.
- The recipient’s name title, company name, address, city, state and zip code.
- A salutation.
- In the opening statement, reason for the letter.
- Other information such as the new address, date of effectiveness and request to update records.
- A closing statement including your name and title
Different types of change of address letters:
Change of address to post office
As its name implies, this type of change of address letter send to your local post office. It informs the postmaster of your new address. The letter must include the date that inform them when any mail that comes in should be forwarded to your new address. On this service, there are time limits so when your new mailing address becomes valid, it’s wise to complete this step.
Change of address for school
It is also necessary to inform the new address and the date that it takes effect to your schools and colleges where you, your spouse, or your children attend. This way, you can avoid mail being returned to the institution as undeliverable.
Business change of address letter
Tell your business changes address to your clients and business contacts by sending this letter. This letter contains the new address and when the changes will take effect.
Change of Email address to bank
This letter informs your financial institution regarding a change in your email address. When your new email address is activated, it should be sent with a request to update their records to prevent missed notifications.
How do you write a change of address letter?
If you’re planning to move yourself, your family or your business to a different place, then a change of address letter is a very important document. Here are some tips for you on how to write this letter;
- You should use a formal template when you’re writing the letter for business purposes. In case, you are planning to send the letter to a lot of contacts, then come up with a mailing list.
- You should set up the address block because it is an essential part of tradition business letters. In the address block, specify your name, address, the name of your recipient, and the recipient’s address. Use the current address for your address and
- After that, begin your letter with a greeting and salutation. When you are writing the letter for organizations, businesses, government agencies or companies, don’t use the word ‘Dear’ for them. You can only use this greeting when you are writing a letter for individual persons.
- Provide a short introduction to your change of address letter. Don’t write a too lengthy and too word introduction as it may confuse the reader and defeat the purpose of your letter. If you want to keep your letter about one page in length then you should make it brief and straight to the point.
- Your next step is to write the body of the letter. You have to provide the date that will indicate when you officially move to the new address. In this way, if your recipients are planning to send you a letter or a package, they will know whether they should use your previous address or your new one. Furthermore, you should send the letter as early as you can in order to provide your recipients time to get it, change your information on their records, and use the information you provided appropriately.
- You should also include your new address in the body of the letter. Inform your recipients that they can send all future correspondence to your new address from the date you’ve specified. Mention the address in the same way as you would format it on an envelope. This makes it easier for your recipients to copy.
- Include any other important information if required like your contact details. You may need to include information on the basis of the situation like whether you will move by yourself, with your family or if your whole business will move to a different place as well. For businesses, state that during the period of the relocation whether or not your business will stay open.
- Thank the recipient for reading the letter all the way to the end before closing it. Keep the closing short and to the point just like the introduction. In case, you are writing the letter for a business associate, then include a statement that states how you appreciate and value their business.
Next, give the recipient your contact information for getting in touch with you. You can either provide your email address or your mobile number so your recipients can get in touch with you in case they have any concerns or questions. If you are relocating your business, this is very important. Give the contact details of a person that your recipients can speak to regarding any concerns in case you think you’ll be too busy to communicate with your customers during the move. - After that, complete your closing part. It would be recommended that you should compose this part first before drafting the body of the letter. The word you will use for the closing should depend on your relationship with the recipient/s.
- Make sure to use a formal closing like “sincerely” or “best regards,” in case you’re writing a business change of letter address. But, you may use a more informal closing word such as “thanks” or “regards,” if you will send the template you create for both business and personal contacts.
- If you have the time, craft several templates to send the letter to businesses and close personal contacts. You should do this so that each time you print it out, you won’t have to keep on changing parts of the letter. Create templates for businesses, financial institutions, friends and family members, and more. You should ensure that all templates include essential information, most importantly, your new address. You should also check the address book template.
What is the importance of a change of address letter?
Change of address letter has a great importance because it enables you to notify your concerned people and entities about your relocation to a new address. In case, you can’t send them the change of address letter, they will fail to visit you or you may miss out some of your important items.
Postal correspondence should be done on a frequent basis as it is imperative. So, you must inform all your important contacts whenever you change your location of residence. In addition, the businesses that are planning to transfer to a new location, change of address letter is important for them as well. This letter not just notify your clients and associates about your new address also it will make a good impression of your business on them without involving much effort or time.
For your change of address letter, proper writing etiquette:
You should compose your change of address letter template in such a way that you can send it to different people and businesses. When writing the letter, you should follow the following proper writing etiquette;
- In the letter, mention your name, your previous address, and your new address. Also, specify any other contact information that may have changed.
- Include your account number in case you’re sending a business change of address letter to a bank or other types of financial institutions. You have to be straightforward and maintain a formal tone throughout the letter.
- By name, address the recipient and in the first paragraph of your letter, state your change of address.
- Inform all your clientele along with the other people you work with about your new address in case you’re moving to a different business address.
- Businesses or companies have to inform their clients when they are moving to a different business address;
1- Previous business address
2- New business address
3- The reasons for your move
4- The date when you are planning to open new business address
5- For your clients, any local and marks in the area which will make it easier for them to find your new location
6- Your grand opening time and date
Before sending your change of address letter, things to check:
You should make sure that all the information on your change of address letter is complete and correct before you send it. Nevertheless, there would be no any point in sending the letter. Do the following before sending the letter;
- Before sending, proofread it carefully. You have to proofread it before even print it out. You have to make sure the correctness of all the information. Ensure that the letter doesn’t have any spelling or grammatical errors.
- Furthermore, it is essential to ensure that the information of the recipient is also correct. Otherwise, the letter can’t reach to the right recipient.
- Print the letter after you’ve checked and finalized it and then affix your signature.
- Compose this letter well in advance as much as possible and send it to all the essential people in your life. If you can send the letter before you make a move, it is even better. Next, specify the date when you’ll officially relocate.
- You need to send the letter even earlier if you have any international contacts. Do this as it takes a longer time for them to get the letter than your local contacts.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, a change of address letter is an essential tool that you can use to inform your significant people regarding your plan to move. Before sending the letter, you should make sure that all the information is accurate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Writing a change of address letter is an effective way to inform your suppliers about your relocation. In the letter, just write about the change of address and use your firm letterhead.
You will have to take the alignment of the board members in order to change the address of your company’s bank account. Also, you have to write a letter to the bank manager in which you make a request to change the address. Your letter should contain your company’s previous address and new address and other bank and personal details. You must attach relevant documents as evidence.
You have to attach the copies of the following documents along with the address change application;
1- The electricity bill
2- Government identity card
3- Bank account statement and other relevant documents.
It depends on the bank but generally it takes 8-10 working days to update the details.
Grace Harry is an experienced freelance writer with an experience for 12+ years. She got her Master’s in Financial Management degree from the University of Dennison in 2007. She worked at California State Bank to help clients with their credit, investments, and bank accounts. She likes to assist people in reaching their financial goals when it comes to financial planning.
