How to Change Your Address in Georgia

The Georgia address-change checklist

• USPS mail forwarding — file an official change of address at usps.com/move so mail follows you while you update everyone else.
• Driver's license — report your new address to the Georgia DDS within 60 days (online via DDS 2 GO, or in person).
• Vehicle registration — update your address with your county tag office; Georgia handles this through the DRIVES eServices system.
• Voter registration — update through the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page so you're assigned the right precinct.
• Utilities — schedule electric (Georgia Power), water, natural gas, and internet to stop at the old place and start at the new one on move day.
• Everyone who mails or bills you — employer/HR, bank and credit cards, insurance, the IRS (Form 8822), subscriptions, and any memberships.

Do it in this order

1. File the USPS forward first (start it 1–2 weeks before move day). It's your safety net for anything you forget.
2. Line up utilities so power, water, and internet are on the day you arrive — nobody wants to unload in the dark.
3. Update your license and car once you're settled with proof of your new Georgia address.
4. Update voter registration and financial/government accounts — these are easy to postpone and easy to forget, so knock them out together.

Doing a full move? Pair this with our 8-week Atlanta moving checklist.

Address change FAQ

Your first 30 days in Georgia — interactive checklist

Georgia puts two real clocks on new residents: 30 days to transfer your driver's license and 30 days to register your vehicle once you've established residency. Everything else fits around those two. Check items off as you go — this list saves in your browser — or print it for the fridge.

• File USPS mail forwarding (ideally a week before the move) — the step that buys you time on everything else.
• Start utilities at the new address — electric, gas, water, internet — a week or two ahead so they're live on day one (providers by area below).
• Transfer your driver's license at Georgia DDS within 30 days — bring identity, residency, and SSN documents. Full document list in the Georgia driver's license guide.
• Title and register your vehicle at your county tag office within 30 days (details below — budget for the new-resident title tax).
• Update or register to vote via the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page — then confirm it took.
• Update your address everywhere official — bank, insurer, employer, IRS — using the address-change checklist above.
• Enroll kids in school — districts ask for proof of residency (lease/closing) plus immunization form 3231; start with your county district's enrollment page.
• Update auto insurance to a Georgia policy — Georgia requires coverage from a carrier licensed in the state, and you'll need it for registration.

Utilities in metro Atlanta: who actually serves your address

Metro Atlanta utilities are a patchwork — the provider depends on the address, not the city name on it. Confirm with the provider before move day; here's the map in words:

• Electric: Georgia Power serves most of the urban core; large parts of the suburbs are served by member-owned EMCs instead — Cobb EMC, Jackson EMC, Sawnee EMC, Walton EMC, and GreyStone Power are the big five in the metro. Your address belongs to exactly one; the provider's address lookup settles it.
• Natural gas: most of the metro is on the Atlanta Gas Light pipe network, but you buy gas from a marketer you choose — compare price-per-therm plans on the Georgia Public Service Commission's certified marketer list before picking.
• Water & sewer: run by county or city systems — e.g. Atlanta Watershed (City of Atlanta), DeKalb Watershed, Cobb Water System, Gwinnett Water Resources. Deposits and start-service lead times vary; a few days' notice is usually enough.
• Trash & recycling: city-run inside most city limits, county or private haulers (you pick and pay) in unincorporated areas.

Set start dates for move-in day and stop dates at the old place for the day after — the overlap day covers the “why is the fridge warm” class of surprises. Timing for all of this lives in the 8-week moving checklist.

The two 30-day clocks: license and vehicle

License (30 days): transfer at a Georgia DDS center — identity, residency proof ×2, and SSN documentation; out-of-state license surrendered. The complete document rundown, Real ID notes, and appointment strategy are in our driver's license guide.

Vehicle (30 days): title and register at your county tag office (Georgia runs registration by county, largely through DRIVES e-services). Bring the out-of-state title, proof of Georgia insurance, and your new license. Two budget notes new residents don't expect: Georgia charges a one-time Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) when an out-of-state vehicle is titled here — new residents get a reduced rate, but confirm the current percentage with your tag office before you go — and 13 metro Atlanta counties require an annual emissions inspection for most gas vehicles before you can register (Georgia's Clean Air Force lists stations and county rules).

County quick reference

• Fulton: tag offices in Atlanta & North Fulton; water varies by city (Atlanta Watershed in the city proper). Emissions required.
• DeKalb: county tag office; DeKalb Watershed for water. Emissions required.
• Cobb: county tag office; Cobb Water System; electric often Cobb EMC or Georgia Power by address. Emissions required.
• Gwinnett: county tag office; Gwinnett Water Resources; electric often Jackson EMC, Walton EMC, or Georgia Power. Emissions required.
• Cherokee: county tag office; Cherokee County Water & Sewerage Authority; electric often Cobb EMC or Sawnee EMC. Emissions required.

Moving here from out of state? The full relocation picture — neighborhoods, cost, timing — is in the Moving to Atlanta guide, and if your dates don't line up, storage during a move explains the options.

Keep reading

Sources

• USPS — Official Change of Address (usps.com/move)
• Georgia Department of Driver Services (dds.georgia.gov)
• Georgia Secretary of State — My Voter Page (mvp.sos.ga.gov)
• Georgia DRIVES eServices — vehicle registration (dor.georgia.gov)