Moving

Start by Registering Your Move

You need to register your move with Registers of Iceland within 7 days of moving, which can be done online or at Registers of Iceland office´s in Reykjavík and Akureyri with a certified ID. Other items may be required depending on specific circumstances as detailed below.

You may change your legal domicile to take effect up to 14 days in the past, or if you have supporting documents that verify your address for a certain period, you can change the effective date up to one year before the date the request is made.

Remember that the postal system is not automatically notified of your new address, so you need to remember to notify the post office of your move as well.

Moving within Iceland

If you have decided to move between municipalities, it can be helpful to take a look at the new municipality's services, e.g. schools, sports facilities, and economy. The best way to do that is on the municipality's website. The Icelandic Association of Local Authorities has an information site for all Icelandic municipalities.

You must register your move with Registers Iceland within 7 days of moving. This can be done online or or at the offices of Registers Iceland in Reykjavík and Akureyri as long as you have a certified ID. Individuals 18 and older must register their moves themselves.

Only a residential property may be registered as a legal domicile and if under construction, the property must have already reached progress stage 4. Under certain circumstances individuals may register their legal domicile at certain institutions or housing resource programs.

Register change of address within Iceland

Once you have registered a new address with Registers Iceland, the information is automatically updated with other government agencies, including your new municipality. It is however recommended that you check your registration with the local health care centre. At Heilsuvera, you can check where you and your family is registered. If you need to make changes, you can do them via Iceland Health's website portal, Réttindagátt.

Moving Back to Iceland from Abroad

When an Icelandic citizen moves back to Iceland from abroad you must register your new address online within 7 days of moving. After beginning the process online, you will need to complete the process in person at the Registers of Iceland office in Reykjavik or Akureyri or a local police station, where you will need to present your travel documents. At that point the move is registered.

If, however, you're a Nordic citizen (including Icelandic citizens) moving to Iceland from one of the other Nordic countries, you can fill out and print form A-258 from the National Register of Iceland (available below), but you must present the form in person to complete the process at one of the Registers Iceland offices or a local police station.

Notification of moving to Iceland from another Nordic country

For foreign nationals moving to Iceland, there are different regulations depending on if you are a Nordic foreign national, other EEA/EFTA foreign national or foreign national from outside the EEA/EFTA region. Please see the section on for more information.

Moving Abroad

When moving abroad you must register your move with Registers Iceland within 7 days of moving. In the case of married or cohabitating couples, the spouse must give their approval for the move.

When moving to another Nordic country, the individual must register the move with the relevant office in the host country so that the various rights and privileges can be transferred between countries.

Register your move from Iceland abroad (except to another Nordic country)

Changing the Legal Domicile of a Minor

Registering a new legal domicile for a minor in shared parental custody will only be accepted by the Registers of Iceland if both parents have given their approval. If the minor is moving from one parent with shared custody to another, you must also submit an agreement to update the legal domicile of a minor from the district commissioner's office.

If the minor is moving to a third party, you must also submit approval from the third party and approval from at least one of the parents with custody if the parents are married or registered as cohabitating.

If one parent has full custody, then their signature is sufficient, but the non-custodial parent must be notified of the new legal domicile at least six weeks before it takes effect.

When the move is international (to or from Iceland), you must also submit information on the custody arrangement from the minor's home country. This enables the new country to register the minor's custody arrangement and simplifies other aspects of the minor's move to the new country.

Changing Legal Domicile as a Couple

As a rule, partners in marriage and partners registered as cohabitating share the same legal domicile. However, partners are allowed to register different legal domiciles if both partners agree to the registration.

If the couple wishes to enter a trial separation, this information should be provided in the comment section when registering their new legal domiciles with Registers Iceland. A legal divorce, however, is processed by the district commissioner. If a legal divorce has been finalized abroad, supporting documents will need to be presented.

If a couple decides to register their legal domicile together again after a trial separation, approval is needed from both partners. Once a couple has registered their legal domicile together again the legal implications of the trial separation are removed.

Change your legal domicile as a couple

Transfer Utilities

When you move, in many cases you need to submit the final readings from your electricity and hot water meters. The relevant utility will normally accept a reading from the departing or new residents.

To move your Internet connection to your home you need to submit a request to your Internet service provider.

Property Taxes, Public Sewage Fee and Trash Collection

Property taxes are always levied on the legal owner of a residential property. When a property is sold, the taxes and other public fees associated with the property are generally transferred when the deed is signed. Property taxes are calculated based on the property's assessed value and generally includes fees associated with trash collection, but that may vary from municipality to municipality. Public water and sewage fees are based on the property taxes plus a fee per square meter.

So when you move your property taxes and public water and sewage fees will inevitably change depending on the size of the property and any other extra charges for the location.

Moving Children between Schools

When you move into a new school district, you need to notify the relevant municipality and apply to any preschool or primary school as the case may be.

Daycare facilities/child minders are not administered by local authorities, so you'll have to deal directly with the facilities/child minder. Once a child has been allotted a spot in daycare you can apply for a subsidy to the municipality.

Changes to housing due to disability

If you need to make changes to your new home due to disability, reduced mobility or working capacity, you can apply for a special needs loan from the Housing & Construction Authority.

The special needs loans are indexed loans with fixed interest rates for 5 years at a time or for the duration of the loan. When you apply for a special needs loan, you need to show that your special needs lead to an increase in cost of changing, adding, building or buying housing. The application must include a medical certificate and a confirmation of estimated construction cost. Later you will also need to turn in a confirmation of construction cost.