Forwarding treats a Ground Advantage box and a Media Mail box very differently, and the choice was made when the label was bought.
Filing it without paying somebody else
USPS runs this itself at usps.com, and the page states the charge plainly: Pay the $1.25 identity verification fee. Sites that resell the same filing for far more exist, and the way to avoid them is to start from usps.com rather than from a search result.
- 1. Pick permanent or temporary firstUSPS frames the short version by duration: If you are only relocating for 15 days up to 1 year (like going to school or staying with family or friends), submit a temporary change of address request. Anything open-ended is the standard filing, and that one is described on the same page as lasting 12 months.
- 2. Choose the counter or the websiteBoth routes exist. The forwarding page puts a price on the online identity check and does not put a figure against filing at a window, so ask at the counter rather than assuming one way or the other.
- 3. Clear the identity checkOnline, USPS verifies you before it will accept the request. If that fails, USPS emails instructions and a barcode to take to a Post Office with photo identification.
- 4. Set a start date you can live withThe date drives everything downstream, including which pieces are already in the network under the old address and therefore travel under forwarding rules rather than being delivered normally.
- 5. Tell the people who actually ship to youMarketplaces, subscription boxes and anyone holding a saved address will keep printing the old one. Updating them directly is the only fix that stops the forwarding clock from mattering.
Fee, duration and temporary wording read from usps.com/manage/forward.htm on 2026-07-28.
What forwards, for how long, at whose cost
USPS sets this out class by class in the Domestic Mail Manual rather than on the consumer page, and the differences are large enough to decide whether a shipment lands or bounces.
| Class | Forwarding window | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage | Months 1 through 12 | Piece forwarded at no charge |
| First-Class Mail and Priority Mail after the first year | Months 13 through 18 | Returned to the sender with the new address attached |
| Periodicals | First 60 days | Forwarded at no charge, then an address correction fee applies |
| Media Mail and Library Mail | Forwarded | Charged at the single-piece First-Class Mail or USPS Ground Advantage retail price |
| Package Services and Parcel Select | Months 1 through 12 | Postage collected on forwarding, and the addressee may refuse the piece |
| USPS Marketing Mail | Depends on the endorsement the mailer printed | Treatment varies by that endorsement rather than by a single rule |
Read the bottom half of that table as the risk register. A Ground Advantage or Priority box follows a customer for a year at nobody's expense. A Media Mail carton reaches the same door with money owed on it, and a Package Services piece can be refused outright, at which point it starts the journey back to whoever bought the label.
The cost of finding out too late
A refused or returned parcel is not one price, it is two: the label that failed and the label that replaces it. Below is what a single ordinary carton cost on eight lanes out of Newark on the same afternoon, which is a fair way to see the size of the second bill before you risk it.
| Destination | Cheapest rate returned | Carrier and service | Transit window returned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoboken, NJ 07030 | $10.37 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
| Philadelphia, PA 19102 | $10.37 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
| Atlanta, GA 30303 | $13.52 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
| Chicago, IL 60601 | $14.02 | USPS Ground Advantage | 8-9 business days |
| Dallas, TX 75201 | $15.49 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
| Denver, CO 80202 | $16.47 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
| Los Angeles, CA 90011 | $19.14 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
| Seattle, WA 98101 | $19.14 | UPS Ground Saver | Not supplied |
The Ground Saver rows came back without a transit window attached, so we have left that column honest rather than filling it in. What the ladder does show is that a coast-to-coast re-send cost roughly double a local one on quote day, which is the real penalty for shipping to an address that moved. If a parcel has already turned around, our guide to packages sent back to the sender covers what happens next, and an insufficient address explains the label errors that produce the same outcome without anyone moving house.
Practical notes for shippers
Update the buyer record, not just the mailbox
Forwarding is a safety net with a deadline on it, and it was never designed to carry an ongoing commercial relationship. A customer who moves and updates only USPS will still be getting boxes at the wrong door in thirteen months.
Media Mail is the class that stings
It is the cheapest way to send books and the least forgiving one when an address changes, because the forwarded piece is charged at a retail package price and the person at the new address has to want it enough to pay. Sending books to an address you are unsure of is a false economy.
Private carriers never see the filing
A change of address is a USPS instruction and governs USPS handling. A parcel tendered to UPS or FedEx follows that carrier's own address tools and its own rules, so a customer who filed with the Post Office has done nothing at all about the courier deliveries.
Change of address, answered
How much does a USPS change of address cost?
USPS charges $1.25 for the identity verification step when the request is filed online, stated on usps.com as of 2026-07-28. Third-party sites that offer to file the same request typically charge a great deal more for it, so begin at usps.com rather than at a search advert.
How long does USPS forward mail after a move?
Standard forwarding runs 12 months. Under DMM 507, First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and USPS Ground Advantage are forwarded at no charge in months 1 through 12, and First-Class and Priority pieces are then returned to the sender with the new address in months 13 through 18. Periodicals get 60 free days.
Will a parcel already in transit follow my customer?
It depends entirely on the class the label was bought at. A Ground Advantage or Priority Mail box is forwarded free inside the first year. Media Mail and Library Mail are forwarded at a retail package price, and a Package Services piece can be refused by the addressee, which sends it back toward whoever paid for the label.
Does a USPS filing redirect UPS and FedEx deliveries?
No. The filing instructs USPS about mail USPS carries. UPS and FedEx run separate address and redirect tools of their own, and a customer who has only filed with the Post Office has changed nothing about parcels moving on those two networks.