How to Redirect Mail and Change Your Address with India Post
Moved house, or sent a Speed Post to the wrong address? These are two different fixes. Here's how each one works, what it costs under the current Post Office Regulations, and the point after which nobody can change the address any more.
Trying to change the address on one item?
Check where it is first. Once it shows "Out for Delivery", the post office can't take an address-change request for it.
Short answer: India Post can send your post to a new address, but only if you ask in writing at the post office. If you've moved, give a written change-of-address notice to the post office that delivers to your old address. It stays in force for up to three months. It's free if your new address is in the same post office's delivery area. Otherwise the fee is ₹6 per item redirected.
If it's one Speed Post or parcel going to the wrong place, the sender or the addressee can make a written request to change its address. The fee is the same ₹6 per item, and it has to be done before the item goes out for delivery. After that, the regulations say the request can't be entertained.
Most pages online mix these two situations together, and several quote monthly fees like ₹30 or ₹60 that we couldn't find anywhere in the rules India Post follows today. Below is what the Post Office Regulations, 2024 (notified in the Gazette of India on 16 December 2024) actually say, turned into steps you can follow.
First, Which Situation Are You In?
Pick the row that matches you. Each one has a different fix and a different deadline.
| Your situation | What to do | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| You moved and want all your post to follow you | Written change-of-address notice at the post office serving your old address | Free in the same delivery area, otherwise ₹6 per item |
| One Speed Post or parcel is in transit to the wrong or old address | Written request to change the address (sender or addressee) before it's out for delivery | ₹6 per item (free for the addressee in the same delivery area) |
| You just booked it and the address is wrong | Go back to the booking counter the same day and ask to cancel or correct it before it's dispatched | Ask at the counter |
| Tracking already says "Out for Delivery" | Too late to change the address. Contact the delivery post office about the delivery or collection instead | No change possible |
You've Moved: Redirect All Your Mail
Regulation 69 lets any resident give the post office a written notice of their new home or office address, so that items addressed to them are delivered to the new address. Here's how to do it.
Find the post office that delivers to your old address
This is the office whose postman brings post to your old home. It's usually the post office for your old PIN code. If you're not sure, look at any old Speed Post tracking history: the office next to "Out for Delivery" is your delivery post office.
Give a written notice with both addresses
The regulations ask for written intimation. They don't name a specific form, so a signed letter works. Some offices may hand you their own form, which is fine too. Include:
- Your full name (and the names of family members whose post should also move)
- Old address with PIN code
- New address with the correct PIN code
- The date from which you want post redirected
- Your mobile number and signature
Carry a photo ID and something showing your new address. The regulations don't list documents for this, but the counter will want to be sure it's really you asking. Nobody wants a stranger redirecting your bank cards.
Understand the fee and get a receipt
If your old and new addresses fall in the same post office's delivery area, say you moved two lanes away, redirection is free. If the new address is outside that area, the fee in the regulations is ₹6 per item redirected. It's a per-item charge, not a monthly subscription.
The regulations also say the post office must give you a receipt for any fee you pay. Ask for it, and keep it with your copy of the notice.
Mark the three-month limit in your calendar
A change-of-address notice stays valid for a maximum of three months. That's the rule, not 6 or 12 months as some sites claim. Use those three months to update your address everywhere it matters: bank, Aadhaar, PAN, insurance, employer, and online shopping accounts. If you still need redirection after three months, ask the post office whether you can give a fresh notice.
Skip this and post goes back. Under Regulation 65, if the addressee is known to have left without telling the post office where to redirect their post, undelivered items are returned to the sender. Items with no sender address go to the Returned Letter Office. If you're expecting a PAN card, cheque book or exam admit card, giving the notice is worth the trip.
Sample Change-of-Address Letter You Can Copy
Write or print this, fill in the blanks and sign it. Make two copies so you can get one stamped as received.
To,
The Postmaster,
[Name of post office], [PIN code]
Subject: Request to redirect my post to my new address
Sir/Madam,
I have shifted from the address below and request that all postal items addressed to me (and to [family members' names]) at my old address be delivered to my new address from [date].
Old address: [house no., street, area, city, PIN]
New address: [house no., street, area, city, PIN]
I will pay any applicable redirection fee. Please give me a receipt. My mobile number is [number].
Yours faithfully,
[Signature]
[Name], [Date]
One Item Going to the Wrong Address: Change It in Transit
This is the more urgent case: a Speed Post you booked to your old flat, a parcel with a typo in the address, or an e-commerce return label with the wrong house number. Regulation 55 covers it.
If you're the sender
You can ask for the address or the addressee's name to be changed, or for the item to be recalled, by paying the ₹6 fee. You don't need the addressee's consent.
If you're the addressee
You can ask for the delivery address to be changed. It's free if the new address is in the same post office's delivery area, and ₹6 otherwise.
This facility is for accountable domestic items: items you get a booking receipt and tracking for, and which need a signature on delivery. The regulations name Speed Post, India Post Parcel and Magazine Post among them. Since Registered Post was folded into Speed Post in 2025, most letters people care about fall in this group. Ordinary untracked letters aren't covered by this in-transit facility.
How to make the request
- 1Track it now on SpeedIndiaPost.com. Note the latest office it reached and whether it's already at the delivery office.
- 2Write a short request with the 13-character consignment number, the address on the item, the correct address, and the reason (for example "addressee has shifted" or "wrong house number written").
- 3Hand it in with the fee at the post office and keep the receipt. Senders usually start at the booking office with their booking receipt. Addressees usually start at the delivery office.
- 4Phone the delivery post office too if the item is already there or close. They're the ones holding it, and a quick call gives them a chance to act before it goes out on the morning beat.
No guarantee, but a refund if it fails. The regulations say the post office isn't liable if it can't carry out the request, and fees normally aren't refunded. The exception (Regulation 58): if the request isn't fulfilled, the fee charged for it is refunded. That rule is worded around the sender's request, so if you're the addressee, confirm the refund position at the counter. Either way, asking costs you little.
The Speed Post Window: When You Can Still Change the Address
Speed Post moves fast, so your window is short. Here's how the chances change as the item moves along the tracking timeline.
Booked, not yet dispatched: easiest
Go back to the booking counter with your receipt. The regulations allow an item to be cancelled before it leaves the booking office. An amendment to the regulations notified in July 2026 also allows counter bookings to be cancelled on the same day of booking, and items booked on India Post's website or app to be cancelled before the post office accepts them, with any postage refund handled under India Post's administrative instructions. You can then re-book it to the right address.
In transit (Item Bagged, Dispatched, Received at hubs): possible
This is when the written request under Regulation 55 makes sense. Move quickly: on a short route the item can reach the delivery office within a day or two.
Arrived at the delivery office: call today
The item is sitting at the office that will deliver it, usually going out on the next beat. Phone that office and get your written request in before it leaves.
Out for Delivery: too late to change
Regulation 56 says no request from the sender or addressee will be entertained once the item is out for delivery. If the delivery fails, it comes back to the office. Then collect it or arrange re-delivery within the holding period.
How Much Longer Does a Redirected Item Take?
India Post doesn't publish a fixed delay for redirected items, so be wary of any site that quotes exact numbers. Think of it this way: the item first travels to the office it was originally addressed to. Then it starts a second journey from there to your new address.
If you moved within the same city, that second leg might add only a day or two. If you moved from Chennai to Delhi, expect roughly the time a fresh Speed Post takes between those two places, on top of the original trip. Our Speed Post delivery time guide gives typical times between cities.
For anything time-critical, like a job joining letter or a document with a deadline, it's usually faster to ask the sender to send a fresh copy to your new address than to wait for a redirected one.
Limits and Special Cases to Know
It's a counter process, not an online one
The regulations require a written request handed to the post office, and we couldn't find an online redirection form on India Post's website, indiapost.gov.in. Plan on visiting the post office. The national helpline, 1800 266 6868, can help with a specific consignment, but it can't replace the written request.
Money orders are redirected free
Under Regulation 151, the payee of a money order can have it redirected to another address free of charge by making a request with proof of identity. The payee's name, though, can't be changed.
International items follow separate rules
An amendment notified in July 2026 moved international items into their own regulation. The addressee of an accountable (tracked) inbound international item can ask for redirection (free within the same delivery area), and the sender of an outbound one can ask for a recall from the booking office. Items already abroad depend on the other country's postal service.
A wrong PIN code is a different problem
If the street address is right but the PIN code is wrong, the item may go to the wrong delivery office first. See what happens with a wrong PIN code for that case.
Ordinary letters have no tracking
A change-of-address notice under Regulation 69 covers items addressed to you, but with ordinary untracked post you can't check whether a particular letter was forwarded. For anything important, ask the sender to use Speed Post to your new address.
Mistakes That Cost People Their Post
Going to the new area's post office
The notice belongs with the office that delivers to your old address. The new office never sees your old post, so it can't redirect it.
Telling the postman verbally
A word with your postman is kind, but the rules need a written notice. The postman may be on leave, transferred, or simply forget.
Forgetting the three-month expiry
After three months, post may start going to the old address again. Update your address with banks and government departments well before then.
Writing the new address sloppily
A redirected item is only as good as the address you give. Follow our address format guide, with the right PIN code and a landmark.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to Do Now
- Moved house? Print the letter above, sign it, and take it to the post office for your old PIN code this week, with ID and proof of your new address.
- One item heading the wrong way? Track it now. If it isn't "Out for Delivery" yet, get a written request and ₹6 to the post office today, and call the delivery office.
- Already out for delivery or attempted? Follow our steps for out for delivery but not delivered, and file a complaint if the post office won't help.
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