Is it a legal requirement to contact post office when moving? (insurance, credit)

[Dramigens]

I have a question regarding moving and contacting the USPS.

Say someone wants to move out, while the rest of their family is staying, and they and a sibling have hyphenated FIRST names that are similar. For anonymity's sake, let's pretend one is named John-Louis Smith while their sibling is named John-Adams Smith. Usually people contact the USPS when they move so their mail can be forwarded for a certain time, but wouldn't there be complications in this case because of the similar names?

I talked to one former post office worker who said that it WOULD be a problem because when forwarding, they look at both the last name and then the first few letters of the first name. So in this case, they would make no differentiation between these two names and thus would indeed forward both siblings' mail to to the new address.

I'm thinking to avoid this, you would just NOT contact the USPS, but continue to notify the usual places individually (DMV, voter reg, banks, etc.), and since the rest of the family are still living at the old address, they can just forward any missent mail to the new address themselves.

But is this legal? Is it a legal requirement to contact the USPS when you move like it is with the DMV?

[ryuns]

I don't believe so. They provide mail forwarding only as a service, and it expires. I wish it were illegal, then we'd stop getting so much crap meant for the house's previous owners.

[CSD610]

The post office worker has no clue what they are talking about, it is not illegal not to contact the post office when you move but if you do a change of address you would do a SINGLE change NOT the entire household so IF the post office forwards mail for anyone other than the single name listed on the change of address card (can also be done online) that would be THEIR ERROR and not on you.

[Dramigens]

Thank you for the responses everyone!

Originally Posted by CSD610

The post office worker has no clue what they are talking about, it is not illegal not to contact the post office when you move but if you do a change of address you would do a SINGLE change NOT the entire household so IF the post office forwards mail for anyone other than the single name listed on the change of address card (can also be done online) that would be THEIR ERROR and not on you.

The problem is that two siblings share very similar names. So the sibling who is staying behind might have their mail forwarded as well. Apparently the forwarding system only takes into account the last name and the first 3 letters of the first name, which happens to be the same for both siblings. I think I'm going to have to contact them directly in person or by phone to confirm once and for all. :/

[ferretkona]

Not a law to notify the Post Office.
We did just find that it is illegal to not change your voting registration address.
You are required by law to update your auto registration and drivers license within 10 days of moving.

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by Dramigens

Thank you for the responses everyone!



The problem is that two siblings share very similar names. So the sibling who is staying behind might have their mail forwarded as well. Apparently the forwarding system only takes into account the last name and the first 3 letters of the first name, which happens to be the same for both siblings. I think I'm going to have to contact them directly in person or by phone to confirm once and for all. :/

I have moved 8 times in 5 years and it is NOT a requirement and the post office is supposed to look at the ENTIRE NAME NOT JUST the first few letters of the name.

I contact everyone individually simply because I do NOT want all the junk mail and crap being forwarded but it is NOT a law to contact the post office and they cannot legally forward any mail for anyone who has NOT requested their mail be forwarded.

[Dramigens]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

We did just find that it is illegal to not change your voting registration address.

That's interesting since I don't think you're necessarily required to register to vote to begin with.

Originally Posted by CSD610

I have moved 8 times in 5 years and it is NOT a requirement and the post office is supposed to look at the ENTIRE NAME NOT JUST the first few letters of the name.

I contact everyone individually simply because I do NOT want all the junk mail and crap being forwarded but it is NOT a law to contact the post office and they cannot legally forward any mail for anyone who has NOT requested their mail be forwarded.

Thanks for the input. Sadly these similar names have caused my family lots of headaches before :/ Some people just seem to assume that the 2nd part of the compound first name is just a middle name, so they ignore it.

[caligirlz]

Just a thought, but If you are one of these alleged siblings, why don't you legally change your name & make it less confusing for everyone?

[Dramigens]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

Just a thought, but If you are one of these alleged siblings, why don't you legally change your name & make it less confusing for everyone?

Believe me I've spent many sleepless nights contemplating it, but it would create its own paperwork headache, especially now that I'm in my 20's (whereas if I was much younger it wouldn't be as much of an issue). People do it all the time but there will be inevitable mixups due to name changes as well. Education records would be one issue. This whole debacle has given me so much stress.

[SDbeachbum]

You are not required to notify the post office that you have moved. Just change your address with all of the appropriate creditors, banks, insurance companies, etc. And notify the DMV if you have a driver's license/State issued I.D, or car registered in your name. If you are living in the same county, the DMV can also change your address with the registrar of voters. If you've moved to a new county, you will need to re-register to vote in your new county (if you so wish, as being registered to vote is not a requirement.)