The short answer
When you move, tell VA within 60 days, because your address affects Community Care drive-time and state-based eligibility. Ask your current VA primary care team to connect you with the Traveling/Relocating Veteran Coordinator, who helps set up care at the new VA. Don't assume active Community Care authorizations, prescriptions, or appointments move automatically.
What do I need to do when I move?
Tell VA, coordinate your care, and recheck anything that's tied to where you live. Your VA health care goes with you, but the pieces of your care don't all move on their own.
Why does VA need my new address within 60 days?
Because 38 CFR 17.4010(b) requires you to tell VA about a change of residence within 60 days. Your residence is what VA uses to decide:
- whether you meet the 30- and 60-minute drive-time standards;
- whether your state has a full-service VA medical facility; and
- which VA facility and Community Care office handle your care.
Update your address in your VA.gov profile, which updates your VA health care record. Also tell your care team, especially if you have active Community Care.
What counts as my residence?
38 CFR 17.4005 defines it this way:
- It's your legal residence or personal home.
- It can be seasonal. Many Veterans live in one state in summer and another in winter.
- You can have more than one residence, but only one at a time.
- A PO box doesn't count.
If you split the year between two homes, tell VA when you switch. Your drive-time eligibility can change with the season.
How do I move my VA care to a new area?
Start with your current VA primary care team (PACT) before you move.
- Tell them whether the move is temporary or permanent.
- Ask them to involve the Traveling/Relocating Veteran Coordinator. This VA staff member helps set up care at the new VA, shares your care needs, and helps with registration and pending consults.
- List anything time-sensitive: upcoming specialty follow-ups, therapy, pending tests, refills.
- After you move, confirm your new primary care team and appointments with the receiving VA.
Your VA medical record is generally available across VA, but a record isn't the same as an appointment or a care team. Those need to be set up at the new location.
What happens to my Community Care?
Check it before you move. A Community Care authorization names a provider, services, and dates. If you're moving away from that provider, the authorization may not be useful anymore.
Ask your Community Care office:
- Can I keep seeing this provider after I move, for example by telehealth?
- If not, who starts a new referral near my new home?
- Which VA facility will own my Community Care after the move?
- Will my eligibility change? Your drive time to VA may be shorter or longer now.
Moving to a different state can also put you in a different Community Care Network region. See CCN Regions, Optum, and TriWest.
What about prescriptions?
Make sure you have enough medication to get through the move. Update your mailing address so VA's mail-order pharmacy ships to the right place. Ask your current team which VA will manage your prescriptions going forward, especially for controlled substances, which can have extra rules.
What if I already moved?
Contact the VA health care system near your new home and tell them you've relocated. Update your address on VA.gov. If you have active treatment or Community Care, call your old VA team too so they can hand things off.
If you have an urgent health need during the switch, say so directly. Don't wait for paperwork to catch up.
Moving checklist
Before you move:
- Tell your PACT team and ask for the Traveling/Relocating Veteran Coordinator.
- List active care, follow-ups, and refills.
- Review any Community Care authorizations.
- Update your address on VA.gov.
After you move:
- Confirm your new primary care team.
- Confirm specialty and mental health follow-up.
- Confirm prescription routing.
- Ask whether you qualify for Community Care at your new address.