If you have just moved to Liverpool, spend the first week on the services that affect bills, healthcare and daily travel. The city will still be there after you have found the stop tap.
Start with your GP, council tax, water account and meter readings. Then work out your regular bus or rail route and the correct bin day.
The short version
- Register with a GP near your new address.
- Tell the correct council when you moved in.
- Set up your United Utilities account and record energy meter readings.
- Check your usual journey through Merseytravel rather than assuming one ticket suits every service.
- Find your bin day and join the nearest library.
Register with a GP
Use the NHS GP search with your new postcode. Some surgeries accept online registrations; others use their own form.
You do not need ID, proof of address, proof of immigration status or an NHS number to register. A surgery can ask for information that helps transfer your records, but the NHS registration guidance is clear about what is required.
If a surgery refuses your application, it must explain why in writing. The NHS page gives contacts for registration problems.
Look for NHS dental care separately
Dentists do not register patients in the same way as GPs. Search for a practice through NHS Find a Dentist, then contact it directly to ask whether NHS appointments are available.
You may need to contact several practices or join a waiting list. For urgent help when you cannot get an appointment, use NHS 111.
Tell the correct council
If your home is inside the Liverpool City Council boundary, use the council's change of address service. A Liverpool postal address does not always mean Liverpool City Council. Homes in Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens or Halton use their own council.
Use the GOV.UK council finder if you are unsure. Report the date you became responsible for the property. You can also apply for any discount or exemption that fits your circumstances, including the single-person discount or full-time student rules.
Set up water, energy and internet
Liverpool's water company is United Utilities, not Severn Trent. Use its moving-home service to open or close an account and submit a meter reading if the property has a water meter.
On the day you move in, photograph the electricity and gas meters and send readings to the existing suppliers. Do not assume the supplier named by the landlord or previous occupier is still correct. Your first bill or the meter's details should help identify it.
Check broadband availability at the exact address before signing a long contract. Speeds can differ between neighbouring streets and even between flats in the same building.
Partner offer
I use YouFibre's full-fibre broadband myself and rate the speed. Order with my code WE5AZL and you can both get a reward, up to £100 depending on the package and current terms.