How to Change Your Business Address

Room filled with office workers packing cardboard boxes while moving from one business address to another.
Photo: Portra Images / Getty Images

Sometimes your business grows and other times your rent may have increased, but moving your business and changing your business address should not keep you awake at night. Besides your customers and vendors, there are many people and agencies who will need to receive notice of your new address.

Be sure you notify the federal, state, and local taxing authorities and departments when you change your business address. In some cases, you will need to notify both the officials in the location you are leaving and those in the new jurisdiction where you will be relocating. 

For All Business Changes of Address

If you have any federal, state or local licenses or permits, you will need to change these with the appropriate agency. For the Internal Revenue Service, you don't have to change any existing elements if you are moving your business within your state—for example, your employer ID number (EIN)—but you must complete Form 8822-Change of Address (Part II).

On the form, you can designate whether you want to change just your mailing address or if you want to change the address where you receive notification of matters relating to your business income, excise tax, employment taxes, and other tax matters. This form is also used to change the name of the responsible party.

Moving Within Your State

If you move your business within your state, you must notify several different state departments or agencies as well as some in your county or city.

State Secretary of State

Notify the secretary of state if you have moved within your state. Each state's procedure is a little different, but you will probably have to amend your organizing documents (Articles of Incorporation for a corporation or Articles of Organization for a limited liability company). If you are a sole proprietor and you have registered your business name in your state, you may have to inform the secretary of state of this change of address. There will probably be a small charge for this address change. 

State Department of Revenue

Notify your state department of revenue (or equivalent) about your new address, so they know where to send information on sales taxes, state income taxes, and other state taxes. You must notify the old state revenue department to cancel your account, and the new one to establish a new account. 

City and County

For licenses and permits, contact the locality and the county where you are doing business to let them know of the change to your address. You should notify the old location of your change as well as the new location. 

Moving Out of City/County/State

City and County

If you move out of your city or county, let the old location know you are gone, and get a business license with the new city. You will also need a new fictitious name/DBA with the new city or county.

State

If you move to a new state, you will need to register your business legal entity (LLC, partnership or corporation) with your new state, through the state's secretary of state business division. You may not need to set up a new LLC in the new state; you may be able to register as a "foreign" LLC in the new state. If you are leaving the old state completely, you can just let the state registration lapse. Each state's requirements are different, so check with the new state.

You must also register with the new state's Department of Revenue, to collect state sales taxes and for other taxes.

Any state licenses or permits will need to be canceled in your old state. You will need to check with your new state to see about getting the same licenses of permits in that state. 

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