FAQs about GovHK Online Services

Change of Address

Q1. How can I submit a change of address notification?

You may submit a change-of-address application to multiple government departments and non-governmental organisations online. Simply follow the guided steps here.

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Q2. Which government departments/non-governmental organisations accept change of address application online?

You may submit your change of address application online to the following organisations on the specific services provided or applicable users/areas:

Government Departments

Services/Applicable Users or Areas

Water Supplies Department Application for Termination of Water Account for the Old Address
Application for Taking up of Water Account for the New Address
Change of Mailing Address (not involving termination of a water account)
Rating and Valuation Department Change of Payer's Particulars
Hongkong Post Local Standing Order (LSOS) Account Holders
Housing Department Applicants of public rental housing (Waiting List)
Inland Revenue Department Individual Taxpayer
Labour Department Boilers and Pressure Vessels
Employees' Compensation (for Employers only)
Employees' Compensation (for Employees only)
Lands Department Payment of Government Rent/Premium Installments in the Urban Area
District Lands Office (Islands)
District Lands Office (North)
District Lands Office (Sai Kung)
District Lands Office (Sha Tin)
District Lands Office (Tai Po)
District Lands Office (Tuen Mun)
District Lands Office (Yuen Long)
District Lands Offices (Hong Kong Island)
District Lands Offices (Kowloon)
District Lands Office (Tsuen Wan & Kwai Tsing)
Leisure and Cultural Services Department Hong Kong Public Libraries
Office of the Telecommunication Authority Licensee
Official Receiver's Office Change of Address
Registration and Electoral Office Registered Electors
Student Financial Assistance Agency Applicants and claimants under the Continuing Education Fund
Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-Secondary Students
Financial Assistance for Primary and Secondary Students (Senior Secondary Fee Remission / School Textbook Assistance / Student Travel Subsidy)
Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme
Student Loan Repayment (Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes & Non-means Tested Loan Scheme)
Applicants under the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes
Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority Broadcasting Licensees
Film Distributors
Film Section (Panel on Film Censorship)
Special Effects Licensing Section (licence / permit)
Television and Radio Consultative Scheme
Transport Department Driving Licence Holders and/or Registered Owners of Vehicles
Treasury Pensioners

Non-Governmental Organisations

Applicable Users

Greenpeace China Donors
Médecins Sans Frontières Hong Kong Office Donors
Oxfam Hong Kong Donors
The Community Chest of Hong Kong Donors
The Salvation Army Donors
World Vision Hong Kong Donors

Q3. When should I provide my proof of identity?

Some organisations require a proof of identity in order to process your application, which are listed below:

Organisation

Authentication Requirement

1
Inland Revenue Department Either Digital Certificate or eTAX Password
Registration and Electoral Office*
Digital Certificate
Transport Department*
Digital Certificate
1 - You should select the appropriate authentication means in Step 1 in order to submit your change of address application to the respective organisations.

* - These organisations also require the applicant to digitally sign the change of address application using the digital certificate.

* - For detailed requirements of digital certificate, please click the following links:

Personal certificate

Organisational certificate

Q4. What address types (residential or correspondence) can I change through this service?

The following table lists the address types which can be changed through this service:

Organisation

Residential Address

Correspondence Address

P.O. Box

Overseas Address

Water Supplies Department
- Application for Termination of Water Account for the Old Address Support Support Support Not Support
- Application for Taking up of Water Account for the New Address Support Support Support Not Support
- Change of Mailing Address (not involving termination of a water account) Support Support Support Not Support
Hongkong Post
- Local Standing Order (LSOS) Account Holders Support Support Support Not Support
Housing Department
- Applicants of public rental housing (Waiting List) Support Support Not Support Not Support
Inland Revenue Department
- Individual Taxpayer Support Support Support Support
Labour Department
- Boilers and Pressure Vessels Support Support Support Support
- Employees' Compensation (for Employers only) Support Support Support Support
- Employees' Compensation (for Employees only) Support Support Support Support
Lands Department
- Payment of Government Rent/Premium Installments in the Urban Area Not Support Support Not Support Not Support
- District Lands Office (Islands) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (North) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (Sai Kung) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (Sha Tin) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (Tai Po) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (Tuen Mun) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (Yuen Long) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Offices (Hong Kong Island) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Offices (Kowloon) Support Support Support Support
- District Lands Office (Tsuen Wan & Kwai Tsing) Support Support Support Support
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
- Hong Kong Public Libraries Support Not Support Not Support Not Support
Office of the Telecommunication Authority
- Licensee Not Support Support Not Support Not Support
Official Receiver's Office
- Change of Address Support Support Not Support Support
Rating and Valuation Department
- Change of Payer's Particulars Not Support Support Support Support
Registration and Electoral Office
- Registered Electors Support Support Support Not Support
Student Financial Assistance Agency
- Applicants and claimants under the Continuing Education Fund Support Support Support Support
- Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-Secondary Students Support Support Support Support
- Financial Assistance for Primary and Secondary Students (Senior Secondary Fee Remission / School Textbook Assistance / Student Travel Subsidy) Support Support Support Support
- Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme Support Support Support Support
- Student Loan Repayment (Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes & Non-means Tested Loan Scheme) Support Support Support Support
- Applicants under the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes Support Support Support Support
Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority
- Broadcasting Licensees Support Support Support Support
- Film Distributors Support Support Support Support
- Film Section (Panel on Film Censorship) Support Support Support Support
- Special Effects Licensing section (licence / permit) Support Support Support Support
- Television and Radio Consultative Scheme Support Support Support Support
Transport Department
- Driving Licence Holders and/or Registered Owners of Vehicles Support Support Support Not Support
Treasury
- Pensioners Support Support Support Support
Community Chest of Hong Kong
- Donors Support Support Support Support
Greenpeace China
- Donors Support Support Support Support
Médecins Sans Frontières Hong Kong Office
- Donors Support Support Support Support
Oxfam Hong Kong
- Donors Support Support Support Support
The Salvation Army
- Donors Support Support Support Support
World Vision Hong Kong
- Donors Support Support Support Support

Q5. How long will it take for the change of address to be effective?

The Government departments and organisations concerned will update your address in their records within 14 days.

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Q6. What information is required for the change of address notification?

For individuals, you have to provide your identity document number such as your HKID card or Passport number. For organisations, you need to give your Business Registration Number. You also need to provide your contact information and other organisation-specific information so as to enable the organisations to process your applications.

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Q7. Can I save the information I have entered and retrieve it for submission at a later date?

Yes, this service allows you to save your partially completed application before submission. A password will be generated for your subsequent retrieval. You may retrieve your saved information within a month.

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Q8. Can I reprint the acknowledgement after submission?

Yes, you may reprint your submission acknowledgement within 3 months after submission. To do so, you need to provide your personal or company particulars together with the submission reference number.

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Q9. What are the hardware and software requirements to use this service?

The software requirements are as follows:

  • Operating Systems: Microsoft 2000, XP and Vista, or Mac OS X, or Linux with Kernel 2.2.14 or above
  • Web Browsers: Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, or Firefox 2.0
  • JavaScript enabled
  • Java Plugin: Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.4.2 or above
  • Adobe Reader 4.0 or above
The hardware requirements are as follows:
  • CPU: Pentium 500MHz compatible or above
  • RAM: 256MB or above
  • Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 preferred

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Q10. Why do I need to provide information about my old address?

Some organisations services require the applicant to provide information about their old address for processing change of address request on particular services or applicable users/areas.

Organisations and the Services/Applicable Users or Areas Concerned

Water Supplies Department
- Application for Termination of Water Account for the Old Address #
- Application for Taking up of Water Account for the New Address #
- Change of Mailing Address (not involving termination of a water account) #
Hongkong Post
- Local Standing Order (LSOS) Account Holders #
Housing Department
- Applicants of public rental housing (Waiting List) * #
Labour Department
- Boilers and Pressure Vessels
- Employees' Compensation (for Employers only)
- Employees' Compensation (for Employees only)
Lands Department
- District Lands Office (Islands)
- District Lands Office (North)
- District Lands Office (Sai Kung)
- District Lands Office (Shatin)
- District Lands Office (Tai Po)
- District Lands Office (Tuen Mun)
- District Lands Office (Yuen Long)
- District Lands Offices (Hong Kong Island)
- District Lands Offices (Kowloon)
- District Lands Office (Tsuen Wan & Kwai Tsing)
- Payment of Government Rent/Premium Installments in the Urban Area
Treasury
- Pensioners
World Vision Hong Kong
- Donors

* - Not accepting P.O. Box
# - Not accepting overseas address

Q11. Can I submit one application to notify multiple organisations at the same time?

Yes, you can enter your personal or company details once and update your records at multiple Government departments and non-Governmental organisations. You can further select multiple services/applicable users or areas provided by various organisations (as menioned in Q2) for your application to take effect on.

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Q12. Will I receive an acknowledgement of my application after I have submitted the change of address?

Yes, you will receive an acknowledgement of your application via email if you have provided your email address in Step 4 for email notification.

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Q13. Will I receive separate confirmation from the department(s) / organisation(s) concerned after my address record has been updated?

No. However, if there is any problem in updating your record, the department or organisation concerned will contact you direct.

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Q14. If I have submitted the notification to a wrong government department, what can I do?

You can contact the GovHK Help Desk at (852) 183 5500 or corresponding department's helpdesk to ask for their advice.

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Q15. If I have submitted wrong information online, how can I correct it?

You can contact the GovHK Help Desk at (852) 183 5500 or corresponding department's helpdesk to ask for their advice.

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