Find out what your new temporary address will be. Without the new address the Postal Service will not be able to begin forwarding your mail.
Fill out a Postal Service Change of Address form, 3575, at your local post office or online at the USPS website. Form 3575 authorizes the post office to forward your mail to a new address, either permanently or temporarily. For a temporary change of address you can request up to a six-month forwarding service, with the option of renewing the authorization for another six months. Fill out the form carefully as indicated for you situation, with your old and new addresses and the mail forward beginning and end dates.
Notify all magazines and other mail deliveries, in writing, that do not come via first-class mail. The Postal Service continually forwards first-class mail because the forwarding fee is already paid for in the postage fee. However, second-class mail will only be forward three times and third-class mail is discarded.
Inform any other senders that you may be expecting important mail from, such as a refund check from the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration.
Check to see if your state's Department of Motor Vehicles requires you to file a temporary change of address. If you are not a U.S. citizen be sure to inform the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of your temporary relocation plans.
