Most change-of-address advice you will find is American. It sends you to the DMV, tells you to notify the IRS, and assumes one government update cascades to the rest. In British Columbia none of that is true, and the one genuine legal deadline in the whole process is tighter than the advice usually suggests.
Here is what actually applies, who enforces it, and the order that saves the most trouble.
The one hard deadline: ICBC, within 10 days
ICBC states it plainly: “In B.C., if you move, you are required to update ICBC with the address of your new home (or other residence) within 10 days.”
Ten days, not thirty. That is the number most moving guides get wrong, because thirty days is the common figure in the United States and it gets copied across the border without checking.
Two things make this deadline matter more than a bureaucratic tidiness rule. ICBC in British Columbia is not the equivalent of a US motor vehicle department. It handles your driver’s licence, your vehicle registration, and your basic auto insurance in one place, so a single stale address sits across all three records at once. And on the insurance side ICBC’s own warning is blunt: “If your policy isn’t up-to-date, you might not be covered.”
Moving to BC from another province is a separate clock. ICBC allows 90 days to switch a licence over after moving to British Columbia. Do not merge the two numbers: 10 days to report an address, 90 days to exchange an out-of-province licence.
Mail forwarding: what Canada Post will not forward
There are two versions of the service. Mail Forwarding for moves is the permanent one. The other, for temporary relocation, is sold in a minimum of three months.
Prices seen on Canada Post’s site in September 2026, for a residential customer:
| Service | Within province | Across provinces | US / international |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moves, 12 months | $100.75 | $126.25 | $292.00 |
| Moves, 4 months | $66.50 | $82.75 | $196.50 |
| Temporary, 3 months (minimum) | $61.50 | $77.25 | $114.00 |
| Temporary, each extra month | $20.50 | $25.75 | $38.00 |
Confirm the price at checkout. No Canada Post pricing or purchase page states whether these figures include GST, so we are not going to guess at a tax treatment the seller has not published.
Notice that the price depends on where you are moving to, not only how long you want forwarding for. No American guide explains that, because USPS does not price it that way.
The part that catches people: it does not forward parcels. Canada Post says so directly: “If you’re expecting parcel deliveries you must advise the sender(s) of your new address, even when you have the Mail Forwarding service in place.”
Also excluded, in Canada Post’s own words: prepaid envelopes; “newspapers and flyers delivered by other parties”; “personal mail delivered to a business/institution such as an office building, a hospital, nursing home or a hotel”; “mail received at a shared postal address (for example, when the same address is used by more than 2 businesses)”; “mail sent through a privately administrated mailbox company”; and anything endorsed “do not forward,” which goes back to the sender instead.
You will need photo ID. Canada Post requires valid government-issued photo identification to verify your identity. Buying online runs an identity check through Equifax using your credit card information, and if that check fails you can still finish the purchase by verifying in person at a post office. Buying at the counter has to happen at least three business days before you want forwarding to start. Ordering 30 days ahead is their own recommendation.
Forwarding is a safety net, not a substitute. It buys you time to update the senders who matter. It does not tell anyone you moved, and Canada Post’s own moving page covers only its own services — there is no checklist of other organisations on it.
The CRA tells no other department
Update your address with the Canada Revenue Agency and exactly one organisation knows: the Canada Revenue Agency. It says so in terms: “The CRA will not share your change of address or other personal information with other government departments.”
There is no federal one-stop. The American mental model, where one government update propagates, does not exist here. Every department is a separate errand.
How to do it, with the CRA’s own processing times:
| Method | How long the CRA takes |
|---|---|
| Online, through your CRA account | Immediate |
| Phone, 1-800-959-8281 | Immediate, once you reach an agent and confirm your identity |
| By mail, Form RC325 | 4 to 6 weeks after they receive it |
| On your tax return | Immediate if filed electronically, about 8 weeks on paper |
You cannot update an address through NETFILE.
There is no statutory deadline, only guidance to do it as soon as possible, because your address affects benefit eligibility and payments. Anyone receiving benefit or credit payments should treat this as the update with money attached to it.
British Columbia does have a partial one-stop, which is more than the federal government offers. It is called Address Change BC, and the Province’s own MSP guidance confirms that an address-only change gets redirected there. Use it, but do not assume it has covered everything on this page.
MSP: the balance of the month, plus two months
Use the online MSP Account Change request. You need your Personal Health Number and supporting documentation, and there is no login or password. Allow 21 business days for the request to be processed. A paper form is available if you need one for accessibility reasons.
Three groups need to go elsewhere instead: if your coverage is managed through a provincial ministry, through the First Nations Health Authority, or through an employer group plan, contact that organisation rather than MSP.
Anyone moving to BC from another province should read this next part carefully, because it is the most commonly mangled fact in Canadian moving content. The MSP waiting period is not three months and it is not 90 days. The Province’s wording is “the balance of the month in which residence is established, plus two months.”
That means arriving on the 28th of a month costs you almost exactly the same waiting period as arriving on the 2nd. The fraction of the arrival month is dead time either way. With any flexibility in your moving date, arriving early in a month wastes less of it.
Two more details. Each household member’s waiting period starts independently, on their own arrival date in BC. And during the wait you are advised to keep your coverage with your previous province’s plan — do not cancel it on the assumption BC picks up immediately.
If you are arriving from the United States rather than another province, the paperwork is a different exercise entirely. Our guide to cross-border moving between Canada and the USA covers the customs forms, the ownership tests, and what can and cannot cross.
Utilities: BC Hydro charges $13.50 to move
BC Hydro applies a “$13.50 + GST charge for all new accounts and moves.” The GST is explicitly extra here, unlike the Canada Post prices above.
Residential move-in and move-out requests go through MyHydro online. Have ready: your move dates, both addresses, contact details, a rate plan selection, and, for renters, the landlord’s name and contact information. Business customers cannot use the online portal and have to contact BC Hydro directly.
On timing, BC Hydro says only to contact them “well before your move in date.” No number of business days appears on its pages, so ignore any guide that gives you one.
Renters with no BC Hydro history should know about the deposit. An account may require a security deposit, and the amount is “a dollar amount that’s two or three times the estimated average monthly bill for your location.” It can be returned after two years of good payment history. It is triggered by having no BC Hydro credit history, by a failed or incompletable credit check, or by having no utility reference letter — and it can be waived by passing a credit check or by providing a reference letter from another utility confirming twelve consecutive months of on-time payments. Former customers of another utility should request that letter before moving.
For gas, contact FortisBC directly. Worth knowing: FortisBC electricity serves largely the Kelowna area, while its natural gas footprint is broad, so many Metro Vancouver households deal with FortisBC for gas and BC Hydro for electricity.
Vancouver homeowners: tell BC Assessment, not the City
This is counter-intuitive enough to be worth its own section. The City of Vancouver does not take your mailing address change. You file BC Assessment’s Change of Address Notification Form, and that one change updates your property tax notice, your Vacancy Tax notice (Empty Homes Tax), your BC Assessment notice, your utility bills, and related correspondence.
Two hard limits. Tenants cannot do this. The City states that tenant requests to change the mailing address for either the tax notice or the utility bill cannot be processed by the City or by BC Assessment. The one exception is strata complexes of three or more units, where owners and property managers may change it. And the change may not appear on your next tax notice, so do not assume it took effect in time.
Speculation Tax and Home Owner Grant deadlines
Both of these are owner-only, both are annual, and both arrive by mail, which is precisely why they belong in a moving guide.
The Speculation and Vacancy Tax declaration is due 31 March. Owners in the designated taxable areas declare every year, and the Province is explicit that you declare “even if there is no change to your information.” Each person on title makes a separate declaration, including spouses and relatives. The declaration letter goes to the mailing address on file with BC Assessment, and the program receives weekly updates from BC Assessment that include change-of-address information. So the BC Assessment update above is the one that makes this letter find you.
The Home Owner Grant must be applied for every year. The Province states that directly, and the application runs through the provincial portal. The Home Owner Grant page does not address what happens when you move to a new principal residence mid-year, so ask rather than assume.
ICBC does not tell Elections BC
Federally, the easiest route is the Elections Canada section of your annual tax return — ticking “yes” keeps your registration on the National Register of Electors current. Elections Canada also runs an online voter registration service and accepts registration forms by mail, email, or fax.
The register itself is updated from several sources, and the published list includes the Canada Revenue Agency, provincial and territorial driver’s licence agencies, and provincial and territorial electoral agencies. So there is a real data-sharing arrangement, and it runs into the federal register.
Provincially, do not assume the same. Elections BC’s public registration page describes registering or updating when you vote in person or by mail, and does not mention ICBC, the BC Services Card, or Address Change BC. Do not rely on your ICBC update reaching the provincial voters list.
Canada Post’s National Change of Address is not among Elections Canada’s listed sources either, so mail forwarding does not keep your voter registration current.
Everything else worth updating
Service Canada. My Service Canada Account is the channel for Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, and Old Age Security records. Check each programme if you receive more than one.
Your Social Insurance Number. Do not go looking for a SIN address update. Service Canada’s SIN record covers corrections to personal information, legal name changes, and status in Canada. Any checklist telling you to update the address on your SIN is likely repeating an American template.
Your passport. Nothing in official Canadian passport guidance covers an address change. There appears to be nothing to do here.
Fair PharmaCare. Registration requires consent for PharmaCare to check your income with the CRA. Because Fair PharmaCare works from MSP records, the MSP update above is the practical action.
Schools. Registration is district by district, so a Vancouver instruction does not apply in Burnaby, Richmond, or Surrey. For the Vancouver School Board specifically, there are two steps: an online application, then verifying documentation by appointment. During the school year, September to June, that appointment happens at your catchment school. In summer, June to August, it happens at the Newcomer Welcome Centre. Look up your catchment before you assume which school it is.
Mail security during a move
Official Canadian guidance on this is thinner than you might expect. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s two relevant points are to “retrieve your mail on a regular basis to limit possible mail theft” and, “when you move, notify the post office and your relevant financial institutions and service providers.”
The sensible practical version: collect your mail promptly at both ends during the overlap, and update your bank and card issuers early rather than relying on forwarding.
The order that wastes the least time
This sequence sits inside the wider timeline in our BC residential moving checklist, which covers the notice periods, condition inspections, and deposit deadlines a renter also has to hit.
- Six weeks out, or as soon as your date is firm: order Canada Post mail forwarding (they recommend 30 days ahead) and book your BC Hydro and gas start dates. If you are renting and have utility history elsewhere, request the reference letter now so a deposit does not surprise you. This is also the point to book your movers, since summer and month-end fill first.
- Three weeks out: the CRA, because benefit payments depend on it. Then Address Change BC, then MSP directly if the redirect does not cover what you need. Banks and card issuers around now too.
- Moving week, and within 10 days either side: ICBC. This is the one with a deadline. If you are new to BC, your 90-day licence clock starts too.
- After you land: if you own, BC Assessment’s Change of Address Notification Form, which carries your property tax, Empty Homes Tax, and utility billing addresses with it. Then employer, Service Canada if applicable, subscriptions, and the senders of any parcels you are expecting, since forwarding will not move those.
One practical tie-in: if you are packing at the same time, a numbered inventory makes the “what was in that box” question answerable later. Our guide to labelling boxes properly covers the room-and-number system.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to change my address in BC?
Ten days for ICBC, which covers your driver’s licence, vehicle registration, and basic insurance. Nothing else in the process carries a firm deadline. Update with the CRA as soon as possible, though no statutory deadline is stated.
Does changing my address with the CRA update anything else?
No. The CRA states that it “will not share your change of address or other personal information with other government departments.” There is no federal one-stop. British Columbia’s Address Change BC covers more than one provincial agency, so do not treat it as complete either.
Does Canada Post mail forwarding cover parcels?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about the service. Canada Post tells you to advise parcel senders of your new address yourself, even with forwarding active. Prepaid envelopes, flyers and newspapers delivered by other parties, mail sent to an office building or hotel, shared business addresses, private mailbox companies, and anything marked “do not forward” are all excluded as well.
How much does mail forwarding cost?
As of September 2026, twelve months within British Columbia was $100.75, and four months was $66.50. Moving across provinces or internationally costs more. Whether tax is included is not stated, so confirm the total at checkout.
I am moving to BC from another province. When does my MSP coverage start?
After a waiting period of the balance of the month in which you establish residence, plus two months. Keep your previous province’s coverage through the wait. Each family member’s waiting period starts on their own arrival date, so a household arriving at different times has staggered start dates.
Do I need to tell the City of Vancouver I moved?
If you own, you do it through BC Assessment’s Change of Address Notification Form rather than through the City, and that single change updates your property tax notice, Empty Homes Tax notice, BC Assessment notice, and utility bills. Renters cannot change it at all, because the City does not process tenant requests for the tax notice or utility bill address.
Is there a fee to update my address with ICBC or the CRA?
No CRA fee applies. For ICBC, call 604-520-8222 or 1-800-910-4222, or ask an Autoplan broker.
What about my Social Insurance Number and passport?
Probably nothing to do. Official passport guidance says nothing about address changes, and the SIN record covers name and status changes rather than addresses. Ignore any checklist that tells you to update both.
