Is it possible to update the address of my second home via La Poste?

Reader Question: We have sold our old second home in France and bought a new one in a neighbouring department. We do not receive a lot of mail, but do not want to miss out on any important documents. Can we change our address via La Poste?

You can forward your mail from an old address to a new one through La Poste, regardless if it is your main or secondary residence. 

This is done through their re-expedition service, which allows you to subscribe for up to one year and redirects your mail to a new address in France or abroad.

Read more: Can La Poste forward my letters to me outside France?

However, you cannot change your address directly through La Poste and will need to take the initiative of informing companies and services of your new address.

This typically means sending each service a lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception (registered post), which is available on the website of La Poste. 

You can send registered post electronically online or by traditional post. For more information about this service see here. Price start at €6.60 

La Poste also has around 200 model letters you can use to communicate with companies or state services – including for insurance claims, cancelling subscriptions or for personal situations such as registering a birth. . 

Official service to register new addresses

While many companies require you to update your address with them individually, some are included in the state’s Service public change of address service.

This system registers your new address and forwards it to multiple important services, including the tax authorities, EDF, Engie, most pension and benefit providers and car registration services. 

You can do this for free online here. Note, that the service is only available in French. 

For more information on what services you need to inform – including a timeline of when you must inform them, see here.