When you move home you must notify both your old council and your new council about your change of address for council tax. Councils do not share information with each other. You are legally required to do this within 21 days of moving. Use the GOV.UK council finder to locate the correct council for each address, then notify each one directly through their online portal or by phone. You can also use Moveinout to notify your council alongside over 9,000 other organisations in one process.
Key Takeaways
- You must notify both your old council and your new council when moving between council areas. They do not share information automatically.
- You have 21 days from your move date to notify each council. Failure to notify can result in a financial penalty.
- Council tax is charged daily. Exact move dates matter. Give both councils your precise move-in and move-out dates.
- Registering to vote and updating Council Tax Support are separate processes. Changing your council tax address does not update either automatically.
- Use the GOV.UK council finder at gov.uk/find-local-council to identify the correct council for any UK postcode.
How do you find your local council?
Council tax is administered by local authorities, and there are over 300 billing authorities across England, Scotland and Wales. The correct council for your address is determined by your postcode. The fastest and most reliable way to find the right council is the GOV.UK council finder.
Find your local council
Enter your postcode to find the correct billing authority for your old address and your new address.
Find your local council on GOV.UK → gov.uk/find-local-council, official GOV.UK serviceYou will need to do this twice: once for your old address to find the council you need to notify about moving out, and once for your new address to find the council where you need to register. If both addresses fall within the same council area, you only need to notify one council.
Do you need to notify both your old and new council?
Yes, if you are moving between council areas. Councils explicitly confirm on their own websites that they do not share information with other councils. Councils confirm directly on their own websites that they do not share information with other councils. This means notifying your new council does not close your account with your old council, and notifying your old council does not register you with your new one. The two notifications must be made separately.
The only exception is if you are moving within the same council area. In that case, a single notification to your existing council covers both the closure of your old address account and the opening of your new one.
Moving within the same council area
- Notify your council once
- They close your old account
- They open a new account for the new address
- Any overpayment is transferred or refunded
- Direct Debit is usually transferred automatically
Moving between council areas
- Notify your old council, report your move-out date
- Notify your new council, register at the new address
- Old council closes account and issues final bill
- New council sets up account from move-in date
- Use gov.uk/find-local-council for both postcodes
How do you change your council tax address?
Every council has its own online portal for reporting a change of address. The steps below apply to the process as consistently described across council websites throughout the UK.
Use gov.uk/find-local-council to identify the correct council for both your old address and your new address.
Go to your old council's website and find their moving home or change of address section. Report your move-out date and provide your forwarding address. They will close your account and issue a final bill.
Go to your new council's website and register for council tax at your new address. Provide your move-in date, the names of all adults in the household, and tenancy or completion details.
You are legally required to notify your councils within 21 days of your move date. Council tax is charged daily, so the exact dates you provide to both councils determine how much you owe and what refunds are due.
If you are now living alone at your new address, you may be entitled to a 25% single person discount. Ask your new council about this when you register, or apply through their online portal.
What information do you need?
Before contacting your council, have the following ready.
| Information | Why it is needed | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Council tax account reference number | Required by most councils to access your account online | Your latest council tax bill (top right or top left corner) |
| Your old address | To identify the account being closed | Your current records |
| Your new address and postcode | To set up the new account | Tenancy agreement or completion paperwork |
| Your move-out date | Determines the final day you are billed at the old address | Completion date or tenancy end date |
| Your move-in date | Determines the first day you are billed at the new address | Completion date or tenancy start date |
| Names of all adults in the household | Required to assess liability and any applicable discounts | Your household members |
| Landlord or agent name and address (if renting) | Required by many councils for rental properties | Your tenancy agreement |
What are the different moving scenarios?
Buying a property
You become liable for council tax from your completion date. Give your new council your completion date as the move-in date. Your old council charges you up to the date you sold your previous property. Give them the completion date of the sale as your move-out date.
Renting a property
You become liable for council tax from the date your tenancy begins, not necessarily the date you move your belongings in. Give your new council your tenancy start date. Your old council charges you up to the date your tenancy ends or the date you vacated, whichever applies.
Moving into a newly-built property
If your new property has not yet been assigned a council tax band by the Valuation Office Agency, contact your new council about provisional payments while banding is completed.
Moving in with someone else (no sole liability)
If you are moving into a property where someone else is already paying council tax and you are not becoming liable, you may not need to set up a new account. However, you should notify your old council of your move-out date so they close your old account correctly.
Moving from parents or a property where you were not the liable person
If you were not previously responsible for council tax at your old address, you only need to register with your new council. You do not need to notify an old council.
Council tax is charged daily. Unlike many bills, council tax liability is calculated on a daily basis. The exact move-in and move-out dates you give to both councils directly determine the charges. A difference of even a few days can affect the final amount owed or refunded. Always give the precise dates from your completion certificate or tenancy agreement rather than an approximate date.
How long do you have to notify your council?
You must notify your councils within 21 days of moving. This is a legal requirement. Councils across the UK confirm you must notify them of all changes in circumstances that affect the amount of council tax you pay within 21 days of the change, whether this means that you pay more or less.
Missing this window creates financial risk. You may continue to be billed at your old address while an unpaid liability builds at your new one, and councils can take enforcement action to recover unpaid council tax.
Do not wait until you are fully settled. You can notify your councils before you have unpacked. All you need is your exact move date, both addresses, and your account reference number. The notification itself takes around five minutes online. Delaying costs money and creates risk.
What happens after you notify your council?
Your old council
Your old council will close your account from your move-out date and issue a final bill sent to your new address. If you have overpaid, they will either transfer the credit to your new account (if you are staying in the same council area) or issue a refund to your new address. Allow around 10 working days for the final bill to arrive. If nothing has arrived after two weeks, chase with your account reference number.
Your new council
Your new council will set up a new account from your move-in date and send you a council tax bill for the remainder of the financial year. Bills must be paid in full by 31 March. Your new council will confirm your payment schedule and set up your instalment dates. If you previously paid by Direct Debit with your old council, you will need to set up a new Direct Debit with your new council.
What else do you need to notify separately?
Several things are commonly assumed to update automatically when you change your council tax address. They do not.
- Electoral register: Registering to vote at your new address is a completely separate process from council tax. Multiple councils explicitly state this on their moving home pages. Visit gov.uk/register-to-vote to update your electoral registration separately.
- Council Tax Support: If you receive Council Tax Support (formerly Council Tax Benefit), this is administered separately from your council tax account. You must notify the benefits department of your change of address independently. Check your council's website for the correct benefits change of address process.
- Housing Benefit: Similarly, if you receive Housing Benefit, this must be updated separately with the relevant department.
Your council tax update does not notify any other organisation. Changing your address with your council updates only your council tax record. It does not notify the DVLA, HMRC, your bank, your energy supplier, your GP, or any other provider. Each organisation holds your address independently and must be notified separately.
Notifying your council alongside all your other providers
Your council is one of the most important notifications on your moving day list, but it is far from the only one. HMRC, the DVLA, your bank, your energy supplier, your GP, your dentist, your employer and dozens more all need to know your new address. None of them share information with each other or with your council.
Moveinout is a UK change of address notification service covering over 9,000 organisations across 24 provider categories. You enter your details once, select who needs to know, and Moveinout dispatches notifications to each provider on your behalf. A dashboard shows which providers have been notified so you can track progress throughout your move. For a full view of everything you need to update, see our complete change of address checklist.
Council sorted. Now for the rest of your list.
Moveinout notifies HMRC, the DVLA, your bank, energy provider, GP and over 9,000 other organisations, all from one process, without a single phone call.
Get started with Moveinout →Identity fraud protection. Save hours. Avoid penalties.
What happens if you do not notify your council?
- Financial penalty: Some councils can impose financial penalties for failure to notify within 21 days. Check your council's own guidance for the specific amount that applies in your area.
- Continued billing at your old address: Your old council will continue to bill you until they are notified. You may receive a larger final bill than expected, along with late payment notices.
- Accumulating debt at your new address: Your new council will not know to bill you. Council tax debt accumulates from your move-in date regardless of whether a bill has been issued. When the debt is eventually discovered, it may include months of unpaid council tax plus penalties.
- Enforcement action: Councils take council tax debt seriously. Unpaid council tax can lead to a liability order, which enables the council to take enforcement action including bailiff visits, attachment of earnings, or in serious cases committal proceedings.
- Credit file impact: County Court Judgements arising from council tax debt appear on your credit file for six years and can affect mortgage, loan and credit card applications significantly.
Quick summary: council tax change of address
- Notify both your old council and your new council when moving between council areas
- Moving within the same council area: one notification covers both
- Find the correct council for any postcode at gov.uk/find-local-council
- Legal requirement: notify within 21 days of moving
- Failure to notify within 21 days can result in a financial penalty. Check your council's own guidance for the amount that applies in your area.
- Council tax is charged daily, exact move dates are essential
- Electoral register is separate: update at gov.uk/register-to-vote
- Council Tax Support and Housing Benefit must be updated separately with your benefits department
- Use Moveinout to notify your council alongside HMRC, the DVLA, your bank and over 9,000 other organisations in one process
Frequently Asked Questions
The most common questions about changing your council tax address when moving home.
Yes. You must notify both your old council and your new council when you move. Councils do not share information with each other. You are legally required to notify within 21 days of moving. Failure to notify can result in a financial penalty.
Use gov.uk/find-local-council to find the correct council for both your old and new addresses. Then notify your old council of your move-out date and register with your new council with your move-in date. Both processes are done online through each council's own portal. Have your council tax account reference number, both addresses, move dates, and details of all adults in the household ready. You can also use Moveinout to notify your council alongside over 9,000 other providers in one process.
Yes, if you are moving between council areas. Councils explicitly confirm they do not share information with each other. Your old council needs to close your account. Your new council needs to open one. If you are moving within the same council area, a single notification covers both.
You must notify your councils within 21 days of moving. Failure to notify can result in a financial penalty. If you fail to notify on more than one occasion, the Council tax is charged daily, so the exact dates you provide matter for both the final bill at your old address and the opening bill at your new one.
You will need your council tax account reference number (on your latest bill), your old address, your new address, your precise move-in and move-out dates, the names of all adults moving with you, and tenancy start or completion dates. Your landlord or agent details may also be required if you are renting.
You may continue to be billed at your old address and not billed at your new one, while council tax debt accumulates from your move-in date. Councils can impose financial penalties for late notification. Unpaid council tax can lead to enforcement action including bailiff visits and County Court Judgements that affect your credit file for six years.
No. Registering to vote is a separate process. Multiple councils explicitly state this on their moving home pages. Visit gov.uk/register-to-vote to update your electoral registration separately after you move.
Yes. Council Tax Support and Housing Benefit are administered separately from your council tax account. If you receive either, you must notify the benefits department of your change of address separately. Check your council's website for the correct benefits change of address process, it is usually a different form or portal from the council tax one.
Use the GOV.UK council finder at gov.uk/find-local-council. Enter the postcode for any UK address and it will identify the correct billing authority. Do this for both your old address and your new address to make sure you are notifying the right councils.
Yes. Moveinout is an online change of address service that lets you notify your council alongside over 9,000 other UK organisations including HMRC, the DVLA, energy providers, your bank and your GP, all from one process. You enter your details once, select who needs to know, and Moveinout dispatches notifications on your behalf.
Council sorted. Now for everything else on your list.
Moveinout notifies HMRC, the DVLA, your bank, energy provider, GP and over 9,000 other organisations. All in one process, without a single phone call.
Get started with Moveinout →Identity fraud protection. Save hours. Avoid penalties.
