ESA Change of Address

How to complete your ESA change of address

You can do this in two ways.

Option 1) Call the Job Centre Plus: Simply call the Job Centre and provide details on your change of circumstances/new address. The lines are open Monday-Friday 8AM – 6PM. You can call the Job Centre in the following ways:

By phone: 0800 169 0310

By text phone: 0800 169 0314

NGT text relay: 18001 then 0800 169 0310

In Welsh: 0800 328 1744

Option 2) Write to the Job Centre: You can write to the hob centre to let them know you need to do an ESA change of address. To know where to post the letter, simply check the address on the letters you get from ESA

Things to Keep in Mind:

Report quickly: Notify the DWP within a week of your move.
Other benefits: If you also claim other benefits (such as Universal Credit, PIP, or Council Tax Support), you must notify those specific departments separately.
Universal Credit: If you get means-tested ‘income-related’ ESA, moving may affect your claim and require you to transition to Universal Credit. Check your situation with Citizens Advice before moving if you are on income-related ESA.

For further details, check the official GOV.UK ESA Change of Circumstances guide.

Report quickly: Notify the DWP within a week of your move.
Other benefits: If you also claim other benefits (such as Universal Credit, PIP, or Council Tax Support), you must notify those specific departments separately.
Universal Credit: If you get means-tested ‘income-related’ ESA, moving may affect your claim and require you to transition to Universal Credit. Check your situation with Citizens Advice before moving if you are on income-related ESA.

For further details, check the official GOV.UK ESA Change of Circumstances guide.

Do I need to update my address with ESA?

If you’re wondering if you even need to update your address with ESA, the answer is yes. It’s really important that you keep ESA informed to any changes in your personal circumstances, including your address changes. When moving home you update your address with ESA by updating your address with HMRC, which you can do here.

So, why? Well, you must report any changes to ESA to make sure that you receiving the correct amount of money from your Employment & Support Allowance. According to ESA, your claim may be stopped or reduced if you don’t report a change of address (or circumstances) right away.

If you have been paid too much, you would need to repay. You can learn more about benefit overpayments here.

Beyond an ESA change of address, here is everything that is considered a change in circumstances from ESA’s website:

moving home
if your benefits change (or anyone’s in your household)
If you get sick pay or money from a charity changes
If you change your name
If there is any change to the money you get (such as Student Finance, Grants etc…)
If you start an apprenticeship or other training
If people are moving out of or into the place you live such your a partner or child
If you begin education, work or have changes to your savings, investment, property or pension
If you go into hospital, a care home or sheltered accommodation
If you change your doctor or there is any change to your medical condition (or even disability)
leaving the UK for any amount of time

Quite a lot in there. The bottom line is to simply keep them in the loop as your circumstances change and as you move home.

When do I need to update my address with ESA?

If you move home you must complete the ESA moving home process – ie, tell them your updated address.

However, when it comes to whether or not changing address affects your benefits, it doesn’t It isn’t classed as a change of circumstances (CoC). Report any changes to the ESA and they will in turn inform you of any changes to your benefits.

It’s important that you update the ESA within a week of your home move.

How do I change address with ESA?

You can change address with ESA by calling the Job Centre (0800 169 0310) or writing to them at the address listed on your ESA documentation. You also need to update your address across other institutions (HMRC, NHS, DVLA, Council, Water etc…) which you can do online with SlothMove’s moving home platform.

Does moving house effect ESA?

Moving home doesn’t class as a change of circumstances so shouldn’t affect your ESA – you must update them about your address change nonetheless. Moving home may affect other benefits such as the bedroom tax.

How to update your address with Child Benefits

You update your address with Child Benefits (and many other Governmental institutions) by updating HMRC. You can let Child Benefits/HMRC know you’re moving by using SlothMove’s home moving platform. You can also do so on your Government Gateway account.

ESA moving home and beyond

You can complete your ESA change of address easily by picking-up the phone and calling your Job Centre. You must also update your address across your other accounts, such as your Water, Council and personal accounts. SlothMove can help you update your address across all of your accounts online and automatically. However you update your address, be sure to keep people informed. This helps you keeps all of your documentation and means you don’t miss-out on any key information.