MovePlanPremium Bonds change of address when you move house
Don't count on your bank, HMRC or a Royal Mail redirection to update NS&I for you. Update it directly, and know which prizes actually depend on it.
"Premium Bonds and any savings accounts" is usually one line on a moving checklist, filed next to the bank as if it works the same way. It doesn't. NS&I — the government-backed savings organisation behind Premium Bonds, Income Bonds and the rest — keeps its own record of your address. Redirecting your mail forwards the post; it doesn't change what NS&I has on file. Update NS&I directly rather than relying on anything else on this list to do it.
How to update it
- 1
Find your holder's number
It's on any NS&I statement or your welcome letter. NS&I's own instructions ask for it before anything else, so dig it out before you start rather than part-way through.
- 2
Change it online — no account needed
For Premium Bonds, NS&I has a short online form: you can change "yours or your child's address and contact details by filling out a simple online form. No need to create an account or send us any paper." If you already have an online account, log in, go to "Your profile," then "Your details," and select "Change" against the address.
- 3
Changing your name at the same time
NS&I's page points name changes to the same online change-of-details form, and also lets you write in with your previous name and signature and your new name and signature. Post is the slower of the two.
Why this matters more for some prizes than others
There's no fine and no deadline — this is nothing like the DVLA. But it isn't purely cosmetic either, because NS&I tells winners in two different ways depending on how big the prize is, and only one of those ways touches your postal address.
| Prize size | How you're told | How it's paid |
|---|---|---|
| Under £25,000 (most prizes) | Email or text — NS&I's own wording: "we'll let you know the good news by email or text message" | Bank account or NS&I Direct Saver by the 7th working day of the month, automatic reinvestment as new Bonds, or a cheque by post if you ask for one |
| £25,000, £50,000 or £100,000 | By post: NS&I says "we'll send you a claim form". Claim forms go out on the first working day of the month | Only after the claim form is back: "you must complete and send back to us before we can pay your prize". This is the step that depends on your address being right |
| £1 million jackpot | In person: "our Agent Million will visit you in person to give you the good news" | NS&I's Premium Bonds page doesn't describe the payment, only the visit, which goes to the address on file |
So an out-of-date address won't stop you hearing that you've won something small — that notification goes by email or text either way. What it threatens is the claim form for a prize of £25,000 or more, the jackpot visit, and the cheque option if you've chosen that over a bank transfer. All three reach you only if the address on file is current.
Children's Bonds and other NS&I accounts
If you hold Premium Bonds for a child under 16, NS&I sends confirmations and prize payments to the nominated parent or guardian until the child turns 16, so it's your address that matters for those too. The same Premium Bonds form covers a child's details. Where more than one parent manages Bonds for the same child, each has a separate holder's number for that child, so each one updates their own.
Your holder's number links all your Premium Bonds. It isn't the same as your NS&I number, which you get when you register for online and phone service. If you're registered, "Your details" in your online account is where you change the address. If you're not registered and hold other NS&I products, NS&I's general change-of-details form does it without an account.
Where this fits in the move
Nothing about it is tied to completion day, so there's no reason to rush it before moving day the way council tax or insurance are. The one reason to do it early rather than months later: the statement with your holder's number on it is exactly the kind of paper that gets boxed up and filed away mid-move, and it's easier to find now than six weeks from now.
The rest of the money-and-insurance group — your bank and building society, pension providers and the full list — is on who to notify when moving house.
MovePlan doesn't have a letter built specifically for NS&I, because the online route above is quicker than post for almost everyone and doesn't need one. If you'd rather write, the generic change-of-address letter in MovePlan's pack is a starting point to fill in with your own holder's number and addresses. MovePlan doesn't contact NS&I on your behalf and doesn't submit the online form for you.
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