I moved to a different state. What has a deadline?

Moving between states resets more than people expect. Four things have deadlines, and only one of them is federal.

1. Your driver's licence — usually 10 to 30 days

Most states give you between 10 and 30 days from establishing residency to exchange an out-of-state licence. Some accept an expired out-of-state licence if it expired recently; most do not.

2. Your vehicle registration — usually the same window

And here is the part that catches people: the two are often coupled. Some states will not register a vehicle to someone who does not hold that state's licence, so doing them in the wrong order means a second trip.

3. USCIS — 10 days, and it is federal

If you have any pending or approved immigration case, you must report the address change to USCIS within 10 days of moving. This is the shortest deadline of the four and the one most often missed, because nothing prompts you.

It matters more than it looks: immigration notices carry deadlines measured in weeks, and USCIS envelopes are marked return-to-sender rather than forward, so the postal service's mail forwarding does not cover them. A notice you never received is still a notice you missed.

4. Your car insurance — immediately

Insurance is priced by garaging address. Tell the insurer you have moved before you move, not after; the minimum required coverage differs by state, and your existing policy may not meet the new state's minimum.

What has no deadline but will bite later

Voter registration, your state tax situation, and your health plan. Marketplace coverage is sold county by county — moving is a qualifying life event that opens a 60-day special enrolment window, and a plan bought in the old county may cover nothing in the new one.

Start a fresh residency file on day one: the lease, the first utility bill, a bank statement. Every one of the offices above wants two proofs of address, and they are fussier than you expect.