So you’ve finally found your home sweet home! The papers have been signed, the trucks unloaded and the movers paid -time to relax, right? NOPE… As you’ll quickly learn with home ownership, there’s always something to do!

This final step in the home buying process is quick, easy and can even save you a ticket or two!  In Ontario it’s your responsibility to notify the appropriate department of an address change.  Failure to do so can result in a ticket during a road stop, or worse – a longer delay at the hospital.  To save some time, I’ve included links to several sites that will allow you to update your information in a few clicks!

Driver’s Licence, Vehicle Registration, Health Card and Outdoors Card –  Ontario.ca can update these 4 cards in a few clicks.  Visit the “Change Your Home Address” page to get started.  There is no fee to complete the change and the whole process should take about 15 minutes.  Be sure to read the tips provided on the site before you begin!

Canada Post Permanent Change of Address – Canada Post allows you to redirect your mail from your old address to your new address, and all online! Several features of the service include: having 4 individuals or 4 families moving to the same address in one residential request, having 2 businesses and 2 individuals moving to the same address in one business request, redirects your mail for 6 or 12 months (your choice), and is available for moves in Canada and internationally.  From my experience, some mail may still go to the old address so it’s a good idea to speak with someone at your previous place and ask them to hold any mail that comes in!

The above two are the most important, but certainly not all of the people you’ll need to contact.  Below are a few others:

Phone and Internet Companies - In today’s age of dependence to our cell phones and internet, many buyers set this change up before any of the others listed above!  For the few that may have forgot, be sure to call your provider and alert them of their new address.

Place of Employment – Contact your HR department to avoid any delays in pay cheques that may be sent to the house.

Banks and Credit Cards – With all the fraud out there, updating your info with the banks and credit card companies is crucial in the event your card is compromised.   Plus if you move to a totally different part of the province, the change of location in your spending habits may set off an alert to lock down your card for security (happened to a past client of mine). It can quickly be corrected by calling in, but by changing your address in advance you’ll save that extra time on hold!

Library cards, gym membership and any other group that you belong to should also be updated.  A great tip to ensuring everything has been updated is by pulling out all the cards in your wallet and creating a list of places to notify!

Happy moving!