A Guide to USPS Mailbox Regulations
The United States Postal Service (USPS) requires residential mailboxes to conform to a number of rules and regulations. The standardization of mailboxes helps to ensure the safety of mail carriers and the items they deliver. While some rules apply to all mailboxes in general, there are separate, specific regulations for locking, package or wall mount mailboxes.
General USPS Requirements for Curbside Residential Mailboxes
- All manufactured mailboxes must meet the internal and external dimension requirements of the USPS.
- Curbside mailboxes must be placed on the right-hand side of the road and facing outward so that mail carriers can access it easily without leaving their vehicle.
- The box or house number on a mailbox must be represented in numbers that are at least 1 inch tall. Numbers must be positioned visibly on the front or flag side of the box.
- Mailboxes must be placed 6 to 8 inches away from the curb; the incoming mail slot or door must be 41 to 45 inches from the ground.
- Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide. Steel or aluminum pipes with a 2-inch diameter are also acceptable.
- Newspaper receptacles may be mounted on the same post as the mailbox, but they must not contact it directly or be supported by it.
USPS Regulations for Locking Mailboxes
Locking mailboxes effectively prevent theft of incoming mail. They must meet the same functional requirements as standard mailboxes and must be approved by the postmaster. All Mail Boss curbside boxes are USPS approved.
- Slots for incoming mail must be at least 1.75 inches high by 10 inches wide.
- Protective flaps on locking mailboxes must be oriented inward so that mail carriers can place mail into the slot without additional effort.
- Locking mailbox slots must be large enough to hold the resident’s normal daily volume of mail.
- Slots must also be large enough to accommodate unfolded US Priority Envelopes.
- Locks cannot be used on contemporary or traditional mailbox designs.
- USPS carriers do not open locked mailboxes and do not accept mailbox keys.
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USPS Regulations for Package Mailboxes
A T3 mailbox is sometimes called a large rural or Package Mailboxes. It shares most regulations with standard mailboxes but can accommodate larger items.
- Dimensions for an approved package mailbox are no larger than 22 1/2 inches long, 8 inches wide and 11 1/2 inches high.
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USPS Regulations for Wall Mount Mailboxes
Wall Mount Mailboxes are convenient in areas where postal carriers travel on foot. They are also helpful for residents who are physically impaired.
- The USPS does not have specific dimension requirements for wall mount mailboxes, but local codes and regulations may apply.
- Customers should seek advice from their local postmaster or mail carrier before installing a wall mount mailbox to ensure proper placement and uninterrupted mail delivery.
- The flap on a wall mount mailbox should operate smoothly and reliably.
- Mail carriers must have safe and unobstructed access to the mailbox.
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I have a mailbox that is made of standard side post that has been ran into by neborhood
vehicles 3 times in the last 3 months. I thinking of putting up a steel 4×4 tubular post. If I’m paying for this why does it have to be made of wood?
A mailbox owner can end up facing a lawsuit in the event of motor vehicle accedent damange and/or injuries from a mailbox not installed in accordance with USPS regulations. Mailboxes account for 70 – 100 deaths a year. The post has to be able to break or bend if hit by a vehicle. So the priority is not places on your personal inconvience or cost but on the safety of the people hitting it. Don’t kill the messenger. 🙂
That’s the dumbest crap I ever heard. If someone is going to run off the road into my mail box, chances are they will be hurt but just the event of running off the road. What if they hit a tree on my yard? Can they sue the tree?
If you planted the tree in the road easement (usually about ten feet from the curb) then yes, you could lose a lawsuit if it injured someone. Mailboxes are generally in the road or street easement. There are limits. You cannot put things either intended to injured, or could foreseeable injure, in the road right-of-way.
How do the brick mailboxs give way like a 4×4.
If you re-read the regulations, a post can be used with a 2-inch diameter. That would be equivalent to a chain link fence-post. Also, the person or persons who damaged the post and or mailboxes are required to fix and or replace them. They are part of your private property. If someone is injured when they hit the mailbox it is the same as getting injured doing anything else on your property. In California to Los says that they can hold you responsible. That’s really for the courts to decide if it goes to that extreme. Again, don’t shoot the messenger. This is the way the law is written. Check laws near State we’re injuries on private property. Otherwise use a fence pole it works best. They’re made of iodized metal so they don’t rust.
I live down a dirt road where I’m putting up a mailbox for my private road how far off of the road do I need to put my mailbox and how tall does it have to be please
Hi Holli, thanks for your inquiry. First off, check with your local post office to determine the proper physical location of your curbside mailbox. Then, the standard regulations apply. Make sure the incoming mail slot of the box is 6-8 inches away from the edge of the road surface, and 41-45 inches above the level of the road surface. If you are using our mounting post and curbside box, then that would place the top of the installed post at roughly 33-35 inches. Good luck, and feel free to call or email us with any technical questions.
Do you know how far back from a stop sign your mailbox needs to be here in Arizona specifically
If mailboxes are considered private property and someone who is not authorized to be on my property hits my mailbox why would I be liable for physical damages? Basically they are considered trespassing on my property and then ran into my mailbox.
So you are saying then if someone breaks into my house to rob me and I shoot them in self-defense I am liable for bodily harm?
So does the above mean that I can sue the City or State for having a gutter if I accidentally run into it?
I have an issue with a substitute letter carrier that will not pick up my outgoing mail.
Of you meet all the other requirements can you move your mailbox from one side of your driveway to the other?
Hi I have a question, I live in Elkridge, MD. In a community called Quail Ridge, under Residential Reality. I want to know who pays for new mailboxes with 15 slots? Our HOA says its the post office and the post office is saying its the HOA.
Thanks,
Carole Reb
I have asked other lawyers for their help on this and heard nothing back.
Hi Carole. Sometimes, the USPS will subsidize the costs of new HOA cluster style mailboxes, and other times they will ask the HOA to cover the cost entirely. I’m not sure that there is a standard answer to this question, or at least I do not know it. Best of luck! Cheers, Gabe
The Federal Highway Administration gives recommendations through approved mail and sign support vendors/manufacturers. In my state the Dept of Transportation gives guidance that it is generally acceptable to have a mail box support made of metal with the STRENGTH of a 2in diameter steel pole. That gives a lot of latitude. Also, in the federal statutes 18 USC 1705 makes it a crime to willfully destroy or vandalize a mail box. I couldn’t find any other federal statute regarding destruction of mail boxes. It would be up to the individual states or localities to set laws for support size and who would be liable. If there are no applicable laws I would think under normal civil procedure if a car hits a mail box encased in concrete, the driver would generally be liable for any destruction of property. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. I have just interpreted my own research into the matter.
The power company has their transformers on the ground within the easement, much more dangerous than a mailbox.
Are schools required to have. Large mailbox if they get lots of mail and pkgs?
My mailbox and several others are located on a different road than the one we live on. Can we move the boxes to our road?
Hi Carl, thanks for reaching out. That will depend on your mail carriers route. You’re going to want to reach out to your local post office / post master to work with them on determining a solution. Regards, and good luck!
If previous tenant refuses to file a change of address, and continues to come on to my property (4months) now to pick up his mail, how do I handle this?
If I moved to a different house that had a mailbox that has been there for 20 years inside the driveway off of the yard, and the post office asks me to move it to the road, do I have to move it? I have little kids that get the Mail and I’m nervous to have them go out and get it on the busy road that goes past my place.
Hi Todd, I would recommend having a chat with your local mail carrier, and/or speaking to your local postmaster, they should be able to help you with this issue.
If you end up needing to move your box closer to the roadside, consider our Street Safe or Street Safe – Latitude boxes, as they have rear keyed access to help you safely retrieve your mail away from traffic.
I didn’t know where to write my complaint about the carrier in our area which I’m from Cahokia Illinois and the carrier wants to walk across my grass a d floweres to go to the next yard and I moved here about 8 months so I loves a pretty yard and I told him no so he
Just kept walking across my yard ignoring what I asked him not to do so I reported him and had my grandson moved the box on the side of the garage. Well he went and told a lie to the post office and now they are holding my mail and want release it to us but when my neighbor saw him jerk my mailbox down he told the post office it fell down which was a lie I have neigbors that mailbox is down and he don’t have no ault against them my one neighbor said he’s been walking across peoples yards for years but when all white lived in the area he didn’t do it yes I’m mixed but you know they consider me black which I don’t care I’m a retired RN and he will respect my grass flowers and yard at first when I reported he it was like they were going to ask him to stop now my grandson has secured my mailbox again and they still want release my mail even when I go to the main postoffice to pick it up I want to know what can be done before I seek my lawyer to see what can be done about it I’m nit a roudy person but I demand respect for what and where I live bc if I go to your neighborhood I’m going to respect your property but first thing they will do is called the police on us my son is a lawyer and I will seek advice from him before he recommend me to someone by him living in Canton Georgia also my niece is a field supervisor over many offices I will be seeking advice from her also because I think this is rediculious so if anyone have any advice please feel free to reply to my text thank you and have a nice day
Our mailbox has been on the left side of the road for years but now the new owners of the property are complaining. Can I just dig it up and move it to my side of the road which will be the right side or do I have to notify the postal service?
Hi Becky, thanks for your inquiry. Typically, the area nearby the road is actually owned by your local municipality (city or county, etc.). So the area where the mailbox is placed is likely not your neighbors property, strictly speaking. However, I completely understand wanting to be amicable with your neighbor and I would personally prefer my mailbox to be on the same side of the road as my house for convenience sake.
Especially with regards to relocating a mailbox to the opposite side of a road, you will definitely need to check with the USPS before proceeding. If there are mailboxes on that side of the road as well, they will likely not have any issues with the change. But if the mail carrier only runs one direction along that road then all of the mailboxes will also need to be on the same side of the road. Definitely reach out to your local post office or try to catch your mail carrier before deciding to move the mailbox location. Regards, and good luck.
Fire Hydrants, and highway road signs are also designed to sheer off, without injuring the occupants of a vehicle. Safety and human life are worth far more than low-cost infrastructure.
What if your wife, son, daughter, partner hit my I-BEAM mounted mailbox, and their vehicle was cut in half, killing them all in a fiery accident?
Look, my mailbox is 36″x36″ masonry with a solid concrete interior reinforced with rebar. Quite a few of my neighbors have a similar setup. The maximum speed in my development is 20 mph and there is a concrete curb, this is FAR safer than passing oncoming traffic at 55 mph. People have to calm down and be realistic.
Our mailbox, along with three neighbors’ are all welded to a metal post (over 65 years old). We want to upgrade to a locked box. Does everyone attached to that post also have to do this?
Hi Dottie, not everyone will have to switch to a locked mailbox, but it will be easier and more streamlined if everyone installs in the same fashion.
Let us know if we can help, our spreader bar might be able to be simply attached to your existing post. Send us a picture / inquiry at: Info@mailboss.com and we’ll take a look and try to get you a better answer.
I have court order vacating an easement for my neighbor to stop using my driveway. I want to have home move his mailbox located at the entrance to my property. How do I get this done?
Maybe your wife, son, daughter, or partner should have been driving at a safe speed, watching where they were going, not texting, or they should have been un-inebriated. If I want a mailbox made out of 12 inch thick stainless steel and it is on my property, then, it should be nobody’s business.
I have read all the comments about hitting mail boxes.
However no one has address the snowplow smashing mail boxes. The state hwy office claims that my box is installed on the state hwy right of way and say sorry but we won’t fix .
So that means the plow driver can smash down my box as frequently as he wants and I must replace it out of my pocket. I feel that if the driver can’t control his plow, he should be fired.. so what can one do in this case?
Record this Idiot mail person walking across your lawn and flowers and bring that to your lawyer or send it to the post office. If that doesn’t work i would get and train a Pit Bull and secure him on a runner on your lawn so it can’t reach the mailbox but pretty much every where else.
Uhhh, Maybe they should hv stayed on the roadway. Using your logic if they run off the road and hit my house and are killed, Im at fault for hvg a house put there??? You run off the road….the negligence is on you! Where does accountabilty begin???!
As long as you haven’t planted a tree with roots that extend more than 24” into the ground. The tree must be able to break in the even of an accident. Otherwise, you may be liable, you arborist monster!
Uhhh, Maybe they should hv stayed on the roadway. Using your logic if they run off the road and hit my house and are killed, Im at fault for hvg a house put there??? You run off the road….the negligence is on you! Where does accountabilty begin???!
Agree with you, I am tired of mine getting hit. I am moving mine back but putting a super heavy duty post.
How many mail boxes are allowed to be put in front of a house? We have 11 now.
Thank you
I don’t believe there is an official rule regarding the amount of boxes that can be placed in front of a house or property… however this could depend on your locality. I would suggest reaching out to your local post office or even post master if you are concerned about the placement of a mailbox.
How fast does a vehicle have to be going to destroy a really big brick mailbox placed very close on a curved road?
The post office poured a cement slab at the entrance of my driveway. It is approximately 8”” from our fence. They have since relocated the slab and cluster box, but left the cement. We were not informed of the pouring and fastening bolts protrude from the cement. We are concerned not only about leaving a mess at our entrance but as a safety issue. They say they will clean it up but it has been since last May. How can we get this taken care of quickly?
Imately
Yes, if they are injured hitting a tree on your property, they can sue you for damages. This has been true in the USA since the US Constitution was ratified. If they break into your home to rob you and cut themselves on the window glass they can sue you for damages including pain and suffering (providing they are willing to fess up to the crime).
Not really. They can sue you for putting in a shotgun to automatically shoot you when the open a bedroom door. They cannot sue you for foreseeable and natural consequences of the illegal act. They are a trespasser not an invited guest. If you do things like “Home Alone” then they could sue you for assaulting them, as long as you had no need to fear for your life under the circumstances. Also, I had a case where the owner of a rural mailbox had it damaged multiple times. He did as the gentleman wanted to do. The kids, after graduation from high school, went down the road knocking down mailboxes. His was anchored by cement and a steel post welded and screwed to the top. The kids were found guilty, but he was also found guilty of a FEDERAL crime for having a non-conforming mailbox. Also, for assault with bodily injury in criminal court. Then he was sued by the parents of the kid because guess what…he had a baseball scholarship, full ride, and he broke his arm and shoulder and lost the scholarship. Don’t set yourself up for a very painful downfall, Troy. Plus, you have knowledge already, making your act willful and bringing any harm to a higher level of culpability. Not worth it. Put in some cameras instead and catch the idiots. And no, you cannot be generally sue for someone hitting a tree on your property unless you planted it in the right of way easement owned by the city, county, or town. That would mean YOU are the trespasser, and but for your illegal tree the person would not have been injured. Check the ordinances in your area..
If they break into my house and cut themselves on the glass they just broke, that would be the very least of their problems, LOL
No
They will get a slick attorney and sue you
Robbery? What Robbery are you refering to officer? No burglar here. Im just out here enjoying my new in-ground pool. Investigation closed….no “concrete” evidence.
I need to know how can i move my mail box cause the neighbors park in front of it and the mail man won’t stop
Hi Joan, thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear about the parked cars in front of your mailbox. That seems to be quite a common issue, especially in cities and suburbs. You might try mounting a ‘No Parking’ on or by your mailbox to deter parkers if you haven’t already… The resources for your situation are going to vary by locality, so check in on the legality of mailbox blocking in your area and report to the proper authorities if possible. Finally, you can always reach out to your local post office/ post master to see what they might recommend for your specific circumstance. Good luck!
How far away from a fire hydrant must a mailbox be?
Hi Frances, thanks for the great question! Since fire codes vary by city, county and state, this would be a question best asked to your local post office or fire station. Good luck, let us know the answer for your locality if you get the chance, and stay safe!
How many high speed carriages and backboards hit trees because they were texting in 1789?
Be ready for this my brother, If even driving drunk they go off the road and hit your tree the property owner can be sued for failing to prevent a vehicle from hitting the flipping tree. Now I think the mailbox issue is a laugh. Have a cold one and ponder that,.
I agree. A bunch of BS. If you hit my mailbox drunk and get hurt.You can sue ME. Ive been in my house for 5 yrs. Im about ready to replace my mailbox for the 3rd time. 1st time a drunk driver,my conclusion .Because of tracks from my yard to the next. Now,the mailman keeps pushing over and over. Know way he doesnt know. Ive taken pics. So,i was going to build a mailbox to stop you in your tracks.Then i was told about being sued. So,you run on my property,destroy my property.But,i can be sued.
I have read all the comments about hitting mail boxes.
However no one has address the snowplow smashing mail boxes. The state hwy office claims that my box is installed on the state hwy right of way and say sorry but we won’t fix .
So that means the plow driver can smash down my box as frequently as he wants and I must replace it out of my pocket. I feel that if the driver can’t control his plow, he should be fired.. so what can one do in this case?
Report your mailman to your local postmaster!
not the tree but you for putting the tree there
I own a piece of property that has an older house on it. Is it required to have a mailbox at that location since nobody will be living there?
Thanks!
Christy
No, Christy, it is not
That explanation isn’t dumb at all! Assuming that a tree in your yard gets hit by someone isn’t a valid argument at all. The tree is in your yard and no one has any given right to drive into your yard and hit your tree. Hitting a mailbox – in the highway right-of-way – shouldn’t happen, but those who wrote the regulations also decided that a mailbox must be made of materials which would limit vehicle damage and personal injury. If someone builds his mailbox out of unforgiving materials, then he has failed to adhere to the standards and could well be sued for establishing a deadly fixed object (DFO) in the highway right-of-way. Likewise, the municipality in charge of the highway along which the mailbox was placed could be sued as well for allowing it to be there! What is allowed to be placed in the highway right-of-way is subject to the rules of the municipalities involved, as well as the USPS! Building mailboxes out of ANY materials which if struck by an errant vehicle might cause injury to anyone involved is absolutely forbidden for the very reasons that the commenter stated. That includes side rails that adorn driveway entrances, which might look very nice, but to highway departments and the laws of most states, are considered DFO’s. I know this to be fact because I worked 35 years in the NYSDOT and ran across similar occurrences many times during my career which I had to have rectified by either the property owners or state forces. Objects which either are not condoned (like ornamental masonry or solid wooden driveway guide rails) or are allowed with restrictions (like mailboxes) must limit the possibilities of injury to the traveling public. You, as an adjacent property owner, who is suffering monetary loss because your mailbox is being struck, again and again, should review the location of your post as perhaps it could, and should, be relocated to a safer place? It would seem that you have a problem that given some thought might involve a solution that isn’t readily apparent to us due to missing information? Since vehicles aren’t supposed to drive off the roadway, they must be doing so in order to hit someone’s mailbox?
You have every right to establish a mailbox along a rural thoroughfare, just as long as you adhere to standards of state law and USPS regulations!
In a word, yes.
Yes Troy. The tree is derooted and taken to court.
I don’t know how to add a new comment so I’m replying. So recently my mailbox broke bc the wood froze from bad weather. I can’t fix it bc it has to be a post in the ground, and the ground is frozen solid . Any tips??? The mailman left a note asking for it to be fixed but offered no solutions.
Hi CSS, thanks for your comment. As long as there is some 4×4 post exposed, you could purchase our 38″ Mounting Post and attach it to that exposed wood post using Lag Screws. Then, when spring comes and it thaws, you can remove the bolts and sink our post into the ground, pour some fast-setting concrete and voila! Just make sure your post is at the right height, or at least close. Cheers and good luck!
Last week a young lady fell asleep and ran through our mailbox. She was drowsy and fell asleep. The mailbox perfectly split in two, and she is okay. I can say definitively I’m happy the worst that happened is she took out my properly installed mailbox, and she was okay.
I’m glad she is ok too. I was thinking about all these mean spirited comments and yes, the 16-year-old should not have been texting, but does he deserve to die? Sheesh. Also what if the drunk driver runs a completely innocent law abiding citizen off the road and that person, through no fault of his own, hits the mailbox. Does he deserve to die? Good grief. I get it. It’s not fair they have to keep replacing the mailbox or posts but it’s not an offense worthy of death.
Can someone saw your mail box down and tell you to move it. When you have been getting mail there for over 50 years. If someone has to ask the postal Service if it’s alright to move it
Hi Troy, I am planning on making my own mail box, can my dimension be
11 1/2” h, 12 1/2 “w, 15 1/4 “L? Thanks
The above didn’t say the 2” steel pipe couldn’t mostly be solid. Or filled with something as pipes are.
Don’t worry too much. There is pretty much nothing you are going to build that wont give way to a vehicle. Physics will win here. If you are able to build something as strong as a large rooted tree – you are simply awesome.
Yeah… it’s a LIVE OAK
Right on sugar lips! They would have to be inebriated or something worse to go off a rural street and hit your mailbox. They’d hit my car first. Does that have to be made of rubber too or it’s my fault?
Plant a tree, put rocks, retaining walls made of 6×6’s everywhere you can to stop drug addicts or other careless idiots from entering your property.
I put 6x6s along edge. Drunks ran their car up on it & police caught them. Boundaries are necessary to protect against disregard & disrespect.
What a stupid response. If someone hits a tree in my front yard and dies, I’m not liable for their death for putting a tree in their path. You are perfect within your right to protect your property from damage. If my mailbox were repeatedly destroyed by vehicles hitting it, I would mount bollards on both sides and there’s no way you can sue me if you run into it on my property.
What are bollards? And I live on the edge of a 55mph speed highway, my mailbox has been destroyed twice and in 6 years I’ve lived here there has been 7 vehicles run off the highway in the strip of highway in front of my property.
There called accidents for the most part no deserves to die or have a pickup truck travling at 25mph that’s totaled with a bent frame from hitting a brick mailbox by ACCIDENT
But they can. It’s a fact. Call your local government to have them confirm. Stubborn ignorance may feel good when writing a snide comment but when it actually happens to you you’ll wish you’d never been so big headed.
It probably isn’t your land. It is probably an easement owned by the municipality or county… the easement where I live is 12′ from the center of the road, meaning that the ~4′ of lawn nearest the road (where my mailbox sits) is not my property. If I were to build a wall on the easement, I would be liable for any injury that involved that wall.
Plus, not getting a permit.
The difference is that mailboxes are installed on a public easement rather than private property in most situations. It is because of this that you will be held liable, the same goes for trees that you plant on a public easement.
Post proof of your made up crap. You can build a fully stone structure for curb mailboxes.
Mailboxes used to be on my side of the street but neighbor across the street moved directly across the street in the exact middle of my driveway. Every who backs out hits it as it is in the blind spot of your side mirrors until too late. Hinted that it needed to be moved but to no avial..What can be done?
Hi Terry, thanks for your inquiry. Your post master / local post office is the ultimate authority on the locations of mailboxes, so it would be wise to discuss the location with them. If there is a real safety concern, they are obviously more likely to take your request more seriously than if is just an aesthetic request.
Am I allowed to move my mail box to the other side of my driveway? Instead of on the right going out, move it to the left side.
Hi Terry, thanks for your inquiry. Something like this should usually be no problem, as long as the mailbox stays on the same side of the road. However, just to be sure you should double check with your carrier or local post office.
I have lived at the same residence for 18 years, which is several blocks from the post office. I have always had to pay for a mailbox at the post office, because they said they could not deliver to my street address; not on their route. I did some research and found that if they did not deliver, they could not charge me a fee for the PO Box. Two years ago, the then Post Master stopped charging me for the box, wrote a letter stating why. Now, the new PM told me that I can install a box 2 blocks from my house. Is this legal??
My neighbor didn’t like my mailbox in front of his house. He tore it down and said if we put it back up he will take it down again. The mailbox has been in the same place since the beginning, 70 years. What recourse do we have?
Hi Edith, thanks for reaching out to us. Tampering with a USPS approved mailbox is a federal crime. Once your USPS approved mailbox is mounted up and location is approved, it technically becomes ‘federal property’. This is a law passed to protect the USPS delivery system, as well as citizens from mail theft, etc.
However… realistically, it is likely not worth your time pursuing any legal action. If it were me, I would reach out to my local post office/ post master, tell them what happened and then have them advise you on where to place your box. The road edge is usually government / city / county property, so it was likely not in your neighbors right to remove your mailbox, but it is likely not worth your time.
Your mail carrier will likely have no issue delivering your mail on the same route, so just check where you should remount the box, and hopefully it can be in a location even more convenient/ preferable to you as well!
Regards, and good luck – Gabriel
O.k. Peps. It’s been established…….. the installation of a mailbox is federally regulated and by l;aw required to be constructed and installed in a specific manner. In the instance a drunk drive runs is to a mailbox and is injured a home owner was not legally authorized to make any decisions concerning the installation of a mailbox, The federal government assumed exclusive jurisdiction over the mail box installation and therefore should be held liable for any injury suffered by a reckless driver bicyclist, and delinquent teenager.
STOP VOTING FOR THE SAME OLD SELFSERVING CORRUPT POLITICIANS WHO SEEK TO PENALIZE INNOCENT PEOPLE TO SERVE THEIR OWN PERSONAL PREDILECTIONS!
Bill Foti what are you smoking bro?
Hi Brad. Apparently in america the general populous will acquiesce to just about anything. Systems which restrict a god given right are sold back to us as a license. Citizens not only abide by nonsensical rules and laws, but they emanate them.
During an auto accident: the legal theory of negligence. Under this theory, a driver must operate his or her vehicle with reasonable care given the circumstances. A driver who fails to drive with due care is negligent and can be held liable for any injuries that result. However: Mailboxes are considered federal property, and federal law (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1705), makes it a crime to vandalize them (or to injure, deface or destroy any mail deposited in them). Violators can be fined up to $250,000, or imprisoned for up to three years, for each act of vandalism.
Government agencies enjoy certain protections not available to private citizens. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, citizens are generally powerless to sue the government for losses arising out of government employees’ mistakes.
So in essence: every one else is responsible except the government who mandated that you place the mailbox in the high risk zone near the road.
Self explanatory message. I need to obtain a higher level of immunity.
I’m hearing a lot about your rights but nothing pertaining to your responsibilities as a member of this incredible society which has given you so much.
I live on a busy hwy. I have a autistic 5 yo that enjoys checking the mail, a love he gained when we lived on a less busy road, but its not safe for him to do so now. We have to walk 20 yards down the side of the hwy or up a 65° embankment of a ditch to get the mail. We asked post master to move it closer to the drive. He replied with no and said I could call with questions but never answers the phone number provided. It is a straight away. The closest hill, drop down is actually closer to where boxes currently are. Are their any other options? Box on the house? Anything would help. Thank you.
Mary I’m Just a reader researching my own mailbox placement as it was driven over for the second time in the past year. But would a small bridge over the ditch help to access the mailbox? I’ve seen some small arched bridges allowing access across ditches at personal properties looking like to make bus stops.
We are selling our hoe and have been asked by our carrier to remove our mailbox when we leave. The new buyer will then get their mail at a cluster box several blocks away. However it is my understanding mailboxes in residential neighborhoods are grandfathered in. Should we just leave the mail box for the new buyers?
Am i allowed to place. Directional sign on my mail box an arrow
Do my steps have to be cleared of snow to receive my mail
That would be interesting to see cause most people that hit mailboxes are intoxicated. ???? a drunk driver suing for damages cause they hit a mail box sounds pretty $*&*#*&* to me
The shortcomings of others do not abrogate you of all responsibility.
I have been in my house since 1964 , the mailbox has been on the house since 1965 now they’re making me put it to the curb all because the new mail lady is lazy I feel, because like I said it’s been there since 1965.
Hi Connie, thank you for your comment. I hear your frustrations, and it would certainly be worth a chat with your local post office / post master directly, as they are the ultimate authority on mailbox locations in your area. Good luck!
I live in a rental house I’ve paid my rent before the due date for 12 years my crazy manager took my mailbox off of the house and put it on a stair railing where my mail is getting destroyed what can I do? I contacted my local mail office they can’t do anything the police won’t do anything what can I do ? she’s doing this to be malicious she also took out our front window and boarded it up.
I have put in an 8″ post with a heavy gauge special built mailbox made at a metal shop buried 3 feet in cement. many cars were towed from my mailbox and many have left their ins. co. info for me to gather my claim for the damage to my mailbox. it was mostly the ignorant, that was speeding and not paying attention that received the most damage and was towed.
Therefore I call bull on the facing lawsuit story.
What does S.B. stand for? Oh wait, I think I know.
I have a mailbox in an apt building an my out going mail has been laying in my box for a week at the end of the box where the carrier could easily e see,talked to the post office an they don’t know..They don’t know nothing about it.dont know what to say ..they not sapose to pick up mail from the apt building ,,so does that mean they should not be delivering mail there if there not sapose to pick it up. .also when I try ordering items on line alot of times it will say not a valid address.what to do?
Can you use big spring to hold up the mailbox ? That way it could flex if someone ran into it then pop back up when they do the run part of hit and run:) Also, I saw a 20 pound mailbox at Home Depot that shows a baseball bat shattering, I would think that was dangerous to an errant driver? Wouldn’t be the first thing that I have seen at Home Depot that isn’t compliant with the associated Code.
Hi Ben, thanks for your comment. Yes, they have breakaway posts and also even rotating posts available for mounting mailboxes on. These are common in areas where the roads need to be plowed in the winter because the plows so frequently damage the mailboxes without the breakaway feature. Your local or state jurisdiction may require breakaway style posts, or even have certain limitations on the depth of installation to prevent major accidents, however this is less of a concern if you live on rural streets with lower speed limits.
Provide citation to US Law. State Laws might be different, but generally, a vehicle leaving the roadway is inherently responsible for any property damage in the Right-of-Way, and the Owner of the Property. USPS only has regulations over the proper placement of Mail Utilities and not General Traffic Laws.
Arguing that a brick mailbox injured someone would likely be unsuccessful… It would be similar to arguing that a brick house caused someone’s injuries in a car accident… Neither are on the roadway and therefore.. one has no duty to attempt to protect drivers from this type of an unforeseen hazard.
So no trees near road
Hello Brad, can you share a link to that document, thanks!
AGREE TO DISAGREE.. Your comment skips how I can fortify my mailbox within a concrete or brick structure.. THAT sure does not just bend, nor simply break
Do you have the actual law for this? Section number, article number, case etc?
Why are the requirements for postbox a virtual guarantee that they will be taken out by snow removal equipment at least a half a dozen times per winter? When the ground is frozen and you can’t dig a post hole to put in a new post but they won’t deliver mail unless it’s got a post in the ground because that’s what the stupid requirements say even if you manage to construct a mailbox that you can replace easily for snow removal purposes.
Hi Lori, thanks for your comment. To my knowledge, the USPS does not require that a post be in the ground – just that the mailbox is installed at a certain height and distance away from the road edge. In fact, your jurisdiction may have different requirements for how to secure your mailbox at the roadside. Some popular and creative options include posts that ‘rotate’ out of harm’s way when hit – called a ‘swing away post’ or ‘plow resistant’ mailbox post. We don’t make those style of posts, but I do know that our mailboxes could be secured to some styles of those mailbox posts as I have seen successful customer installations in the past. Best of luck, and be sure to let us know if you find a cool option that works well for you! Feel free to email us at: info@mailboss.com for any further technical assistance as well. Cheers, Gabriel
My current mail box is around the corner on a mail road. I want to move it to I front of my home. My street is a gravel road which is state maintained. Does the USPS have the right to deny me?
Yes, Adria Appleby, the USPS can deny your request to move your mailbox. Decades ago our mailbox was 3 streets away from us. Eventually we got it moved up a street closer, then moved it two other times. Right now it’s on the corner of our street and it will never get moved any closer because we’re on a dead-end (not a cul-de-sac) street and the driver would have to back out or use a driveway to turn around.
Oh well!
Our mailbox has to be hung on a tree over a ditch. We live in the country and have had our mailbox hit many times from plows. Buy New York state law are we allowed to suspend our mailbox by a chain to reduce the chance of having our mailbox hit?
Is it illegal for a person to leave something in your rural mail box that is not post marked by the.post office?
Sue, the answer is YES! YES, YES, YES!
Your mailbox is considered a FEDERAL piece of property & can ONLY be used for stamped/post marked/metered mail that comes through the USPS & is delivered by a USPS government employee!
If your mail person finds ANYTHING inside your mailbox that the USPS did not deliver, they can/will remove the item and you COULD be fined for using FEDERAL property for non-USPS items! As far as the item removed, it’s up to the USPS employee as to what to do with it! I THINK that they could leave the item on your property but I believe it could be confiscated to use for prosecution (especially if your mail person is ‘disgruntled.????)
I learned this from being a travel agent and needing to have airline tickets delivered to various clients. We NEVER left airline tickets in the client’s mailboxes after one agent had the Postmaster call them and inform them that it was a FEDERAL crime to put ANY item in a mailbox that was not an USPS “approved” item delivered by an USPS employee!
Of course, the “rules” mat have been changed her the years but I guarentee you, for the most part, most of what I told you is still true today! Call your local Postmaster and ask. That way there is no doubt. Hope this helps! Have a GREAT day! ????
it states that a 2 inch diameter steel post is acceptable.
“Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide. Steel or aluminum pipes with a 2-inch diameter are also acceptable.”
If a member of my immediate family gets mad at me and tries to punish me by putting a padlock on the mailbox, in an attempt to prevent me from accessing my mail, could this be illegal? I live at the same address and use the same box for that address, but I don’t have a key to fit the padlock he placed on the mailbox.
I have a mailbox up on my house porch. I want to move it away from my house. What are the perimeters and is there a different rules in the neighborhood you live in? If so where can I find the correct information before I move my mailbox?
Hi Angie, thanks for your inquiry. It’s a good idea to reach out to your local post office, as they are going to be most helpful in determining your mailbox placement. Good luck!
Local City or county laws can be different but if your box or post cause injury to a person that hits it, you may be liable. A friend recently had a car in a little dead end curved street hit their brick Housed mail box that was not allowed in there area it flipped and they ended up with a helicopter in their front yard. Don’t know yet about getting sued. Just worried about driver. They did not replace with brick
Can a rural customer have a lock on their mailbox? If it meets all codes and the slot is sufficient to hold the customers daily mail?
It doesnt..the article stated it could be meatal poles
I have been seeing a lot of pictures on social media of mailboxes being locked with a red metal device and a padlock. I am wondering what the reason for this is and if possible a source of information regarding this issue. Thank you very much and have a nice day.
I live on a rural/county road and I too have had to replace my mailbox several times due to vehicles running them over. The last time was too close for comfort. My sons and I had just taken a break from shoveling the driveway and upon returning to finish up noticed that the apron was covered with snow, tire tracks and pieces of a vehicle and the mailbox assembly. The box itself was 100 feet away in a tree. There have been a few tragedies in this town involving people going to the road to get their mail, the latest being a young boy. These, along with our close call was enough. I moved my mailbox up the driveway and put it in a location where it allows the carrier to deliver without having to exit the vehicle. The driveway is plenty wide enough for the mail truck to turn around and continue on their route. The local USPS will not deliver to it. I’ve spoken to the person in charge there and he tells me that the union prohibits them from entering a private driveway. So they’ve been holding my mail and I go to the Post Office twice a week to pick it up. Now their telling me that I must put the box on the street. I don’t want to wait until someone is injured or killed to have to sue the USPS. In our conversation I also mentioned to him that this location is safer for both customer and carrier. He shrugged and replied, “Union rules.”
Hi Steven, thanks for your comment. Our Mail Manager Street Safe or Street Safe Latitude models sound like they could be a perfect fit for your use case/ scenario. They allow the user to retrieve their mail via a locked, rear access door. The Latitude version of the street safe features both front, and rear locked access doors. That way, you can mount your mailbox at the USPS approved location, while still feeling comfortable about retrieving your mail. They are both full service locking mailboxes, and are approved by the Postmaster General.
On busy highways, rural roads, and even in neighborhoods, I would sure feel a lot more comfortable not having to risk my life and step out into the road to retrieve my mail! Hopefully this works out to be a good option for you.
Hi Steven, As a rural letter carrier I can assure you that our union does not make the rules on how to deliver the mail. The rules are the purview of the USPS. As Gabriel said, talk with the Postmaster as to where to install the mailbox so that the carrier can deliver your mail.
My neighbor across the street has placed his mailbox directly across from my driveway . I have a small camper and can’t back into my drive without fear of hitting his box . Is this ok ?
I have an issue with a neighbor parking in front of but not totally in front of my mailbox. I have asked him several times to leave enough room for the mail to be delivered. But he continues to do it. Are there any actions I can take to remedy this?
Contact a local building contractor or landscaper. They dig up huge rocks all the time. Place a few on either side of your mailbox about three feet away from the post. When someone runs into those boulders it’s their car that will ruined.
Actually you can use a steel or aluminum post per USPS Guidelines.
USA ky
I am a letter carrier and can tell you that people use all kinds of things to put mailboxes on…augers, old pallets, I’ve even seen old airplane propellers. As long as it is the correct height and is sturdy, go for it. A 4×4 post would be perfect.
Is it legal to mount a mailbox to a telephone pole ?? My neighbor has done this and her mailbox is now 2 or 3 feet behind mine and other neighbor
And when I snowblow my box clear these people push the snow from their driveway in front of my mailbox!!
I agree. I’m on 4 in 4 years and they are always hit in the middle of the night and not once has anyone stopped or come back to fix it for me. If people can have the large brick and cement mailboxes, I’m just going with my 6×6 post that I happen to have already. Speed limit is 25 thru here so if you’re drunk or speeding, hate it for you.
I have a mailbox on a post setup with a few other mailboxes in a row. Recently all of our mailboxes were taken out by some terrible driver. When I bought my house 5 years ago, there was no mailbox there. So I put one up in one of the empty spaces that happened to be the west side of this arrangement(south side of road, east bound lane). Consequently my mailbox was repeatedly damaged by snow/ice debris flying off of the passing snow plows. So this time when I put my new mailbox on the rail, I mounted it on the east side. I then cancelled my mail forwarding. Today I found a note from the local mail delivery guy that said I had to move my mailbox to the west side of the arrangement. There are currently only two other mailboxes there. In the past I would always get other peoples mail in my box so I can’t imagine it’s an issue with confusion, it wasn’t done properly from the beginning. Are there USPS guidelines that require your mailbox to be placed in a certain order depending where your house is located from the community mailbox arrangement? Or is this just a personal preference of the mailman and/or him imposing his will onto me. The local postmaster said he refuses to forward mail for some people and I’m afraid if I don’t move it from here
[x] [ ] [ ] ____ to here __[ ][ ][x]__, he will refuse to deliver my mail. Does he have grounds to refuse my mail delivery?
Hi Wayde, thanks for your comment. Yes, the USPS is the ultimate authority on mailbox locations. You should always double check before moving your mailbox to a different location. I believe it would be fine – as long as there are other mailboxes on that same side of the road – but you will want to reach out to your local post office or postmaster to have the change approved. Regards, and good luck!
perhaps a surface-mounted box would be an option. Check with postmaster in your area
It clearly states you can use that as well.
I read USPS regulations that stated a rural mailbox post cannot be made of concrete or steel, but aluminum is an accepted metal for posts (as well as wood). Hope this helps.
There may be no law against using a 4″ x 4″ tubular steel post. But if someone runs into it and is injured because the post doesn’t give way, you can expect a lawsuit demanding that you pay for any medical expenses resulting from the incident.
I bought a home in a neighborhood where there are combinations of single mailboxes and double ones at the street in front of homes. I’ve heard many times how the mail in this area is often stolen. On the second morning after moving in I found our mailbox on the ground and broken. I decided I would install a locking mailbox closer to my driveway…I asked the mail carrier where it could be placed and he said that as long as I follow the guidelines on their website it could be placed anywhere near the street in front of my home. So I bought the box and had it installed according to USPS guidelines. There is nothing on their website stating that permission is needed to move a box near the street, it does specifically say that moving a box from the street to the house does need permission.
I was very happy to have my mailbox installed and waited for the carrier to come by to make sure he saw where it was…..different carrier and his first words were “did you get permission “ no I didn’t there was no info stating that I needed such. Now the carrier refuses to approve the box and wont deliver my mail, I am befuddled. The box is on the same side of the street and installed accordingly, it is exactly the same as many other boxes in the neighborhood, and when I went into the post office to speak to someone the man stated that this carrier is a pain, he hates this carrier and the carrier is not likely to approve my mailbox. I am contemplating a lawsuit against the carrier for his stance without reason. This is a personal decision on his part to either act out of meanness or he is discriminating against me and it is not acceptable.I made every reasonable effort to do this properly and he seems empowered to deny my efforts. Is this behavior on his part permitted by the USPS? Is it actually the USPS or am I dealing with the mail carriers postal system? this is a situation that should not in a sensible world be an issue, instead of simply going on about his job he is choosing to cause me stress and aggravation, seemingly because he can……
All I can say is good luck suing……It was their fault for not being in control of their vehicle in the first place.
We continue to receive post it notes in our mail stating that the mailbox was blocked by a car. Not so. My question is, what are the rules regarding the clearance distance allotment, between the box and possible blockages?
Carrier must have unobstructed access to and from mailbox with vehicle without backing up.
35 feet
What side of the road do I need to put my Mail box on the right or left can you please tell me more on this
Hi Jerry, thanks for your comment.
You will need to reach out to your local post office/ postmaster to inquire about the location to place your mailbox. They are the ultimate authority when it comes to mail routes in your area.
Cheers, and good luck!
I to am getting constant notes of not leaving enough room between cars that have no place to park but on the road is there a legal distance? There is about 15 feet in between cars which takes up one parking space as it is we have to park on the other side of the road we’re ever we can find a place to park. I live in a duplex an the courier has to get out for the house right next to us for there box is on there house can we not have boxes put at our units ?
Postal regulations require that carriers dismount to
deliver to a box that is temporarily blocked. Postal
Operations Manual 632.14
15 feet before and after the mailbox are the rules for snow removal of a mailbox, so I assume it would be the same for a vehicle blocking a mailbox.
Our mailboxes were knocked over and are currently laying on the ground therefore no mail is being delivered. Is it our responsibility (me an my 4 neighbors) to fix this? BTW we do not own this home we are renting.
What is the rule/regulation allowing the post office to return mail? I’m looking for a citation, please. The post office said they are returning all my mail because a year ago there was snow blocking the mailbox. I have not received regular mail since then.
Do mailboxes HAVE to be in numerical order?
Hi Mona, thanks for your inquiry. Mailboxes are certainly supposed to be in order, though we aren’t sure if they HAVE to. Sometimes when new houses are built, homeowners are told to add their units onto the ends of existing gangplanks or stands. I would double check with your local post office to be certain about the location of your curbside mailbox.
Good news about our post and spreader bar options – is that they can easily be unmounted and remounted in the correct order. Just four bolts on the inside of each box, and voila! Have a good day, and let us know if you have any other questions.
Need help how can I get someone from our merrillville Indiana post office to come out to make sure our truck is 15 feet from our neighbor mailbox my husband has become disable and no longer can drive his truck we live in a townhouse area where neighbors aren’t so nice thank you for your help in this matter concern neighbor
We have to be able to pull into the box and pull away without backing up.
The fact of the matter is that your carrier is a federal employee and therefore is almost impossible to fire….so the chance of him/her getting off of their lazy butt to walk 3 feet to your box without bitching about it is almost zero percent.
If my mail gets delivered to a clusterbox, am i permitted to place a curbside box so that the carrier doesn’t have to walk up the driveway to my front door to deliver a larger parcel?
Hi Jim… often the locking cluster-boxes that I see will have a dedicated package area. We don’t manufacture cluster boxes so I can’t speak with authority on the subject. You should reach out to your local post office/ post master for approval on the installation of an additional locking curbside mailbox. I don’t foresee an issue with installing one, since it should make your mail carriers route quicker and more efficient. Thanks for your interest!
I was told I could not put up a wall mount mailbox where the postman had to go up one step. My other post mailbox got bad and I had to take it out. Thank you
They’re just lazy to walk up to the door
My mailbox is on the road and centered to my house. From the mailbox to my drive way it is approximately 20 ft. The box has been there at least 15 years. I received the following from the mail carrier:
“If Mailbox is not moved to either side of driveway by xx/xx mail delivery will be suspended until it is”.
By what regulation is this required? Why now?
Thanks
So what’s the answer. Can I move my mailbox from one side of the driveway to the other ?
I spoke to the Postmaster.
1) He told me that since the box has been previously established as a delivery point, the carrier cannot ask me to move it.
2) The carrier says it is a safety issue and refuses delivery until the box is moved. He says he has approached his union about it and they back him.
3) It is a new carrier – the old one never said he felt there was a safety issue.
4) Its going to be a hassle and expense to move the box.
5) I’m thinking of getting a lawyer and filing a formal complaint
I think they are all lying to me.
As long as there is nothing obstructing the mail delivery point like cars,snow etc…the carrier should have a clear path to and from without having to back up.
By what stretch of the imagination is that a safety hazard?
Did you follow through on this and if so what happened? We are having the same issue? Thank you! Becky
Is a lawyer cheaper than moving the box to conform to regulations? Just sayin’…
My mailbox is in my driveway approximately 20 feet from the dirt road which runs by my house. The mailbox has been there for 50 years and is the last stop on the route heading North. The carrier turns around in my driveway and heads south to complete his route. The postmaster (new in the last months) has sent a letter requiring me to move it to the right side of the road either north or south of my driveway. The ditches are deep and water can overflow those ditches after heavy rains. The PM says there is a regulation prohibiting a carrier from driving into a private driveway to deliver mail. He will however continue to turn around in my driveway because it is the easiest and safest thing for him to do. Which regulation should I be looking at, and who would I write to to confirm that I am not being lied to?
Hi Len, sorry to hear about your predicament. Carriers can refuse to deliver to curbside or residential mailboxes for more than one reason. Did they tell you why? They should have left you an official note on your box to describe what needs to be changed. Sometimes it can be the height of the box, other times if the door or any operations of the box are not working correctly, then there is good reason to not deliver. Is the box impossible to drive up to? Either way, this is something you will have to work out with your local carrier/ post office/ post master, as they are the ultimate authority regarding these matters.
Is a mailbox required to have a door? I didn’t see it list in the requirements.
Funny sight: Many years ago I saw a mailbox made out of beer keg with a toilet seat as a door and “US Mail” in big letters. Mailman actually delivered there. It’s long gone now,
If safety is the reason then you need to move it even if it is established delivery. It is ultimately the carriers call.
My neighbor who shares my driveway and runs an equine vet business from her home has affixed a laboratory testing box (for blood samples etc) to the lower part of her mailbox on the pole and resting on the ground. This is on a county road and next to my driveway. How safe is this and is it allowed? Seems it could be hazardous if someone hits the mailbox.
They lie constantly to me telling me I MUST put a box at the curb, when I know damn good and well that the box on my porch meets postal requirements because I have the same fight every three or four months because my carrier is a lazy ass.
I have had the same Issue but there are steps you can take. call postal consumer affairs they will be able to find and take pictures of your box and send you a copy of there findings . If the walkway has a crack in it or the steps are crumbling away then yes it is a hazard as they can stub there little delicate toe and trip , simply because the carriers do not look where they are stepping. but if none of that exists and you have money to burn you can sue that carrier for harassment but keep in mind that the carrier is a federal employee so her lye’s will out weigh your truth. the best solution I did after a 6 year battle was to call the post master and ask for a compromise on this issue and what all you need to do to make it a safe passage to the box where it sits.
I recently moved into a new luxury apartment community. I noticed that my neighbor and I Each have a key that opens both of our mailboxes. Is this against the law that the complex has allowed this to happen? Please advise
I once worked for a major door lock/knob company. They made only 10 internal key-lock combinations. Think about this.. if you purchase a home in a residential neighborhood or multi level apartment in which the contractor bid the entire job, this means one of ever 10 locks uses the SAME key. This was 8 years ago and many manufacturers have remedied this with modern changes. However, I can imagine millions of homes and apartments are easily entered just by walking around your apartment building or neighborhood.
Hi TJ, that’s not good… I don’t know about any legalities, but I would definitely reach out to the complex as well as the manufacturer of the box. Our MailBoss locks have over 1500 unique key patterns/ numbers available. If it is one of our boxes please contact us at: Info@mailboss.com and we would be happy to get you sorted! However, we don’t make cluster boxes (usually what is found in apartment communities) so it is unlikely that we are the manufacturer of your box. Good luck!
If using a rural shared drive, where should the mailbox be located? I don’t think my neighbor would approve placement of our mailbox next to his (his mailbox is on his property). Can a mailbox be installed on our side of the drive(?) .will the mail person deliver mail to us inboxes not together?
Shouldn’t be an issue.
The regulation on the placement of mailboxes on Rural Mail Routes differ from those on City Routes. The boxes on Rural Routes are placed according to the Line Of Travel that the carrier is required to travel. Because your carrier’s pay is based partly on the “exact” number of miles driven, the USPS makes sure that the number of miles on every route is at a minimum. Rural Carriers do not work by the hour. Their pay is based on their routes evaluation. While the following scenario seldom occurs, an added 1/10 of a mile can possibly increase a carriers pay by over $1,000/year! It can also mean the difference between a carrier having to work 5 days a week, or 6 days a week! So the Post Office takes very seriously the number of miles on every Rural Route. This is why rural patrons are sometimes required to plant their mailbox on the other side of the road. HOWEVER…if when your home was built you, or the original owner was told to place their box on their side of the road, the Post Office “cannot” make you put it on the other side at a later date. It’s been my experience as a carrier and supervisor that most customers will comply when asked in a polite manner.
WHY WAS IT REQUESTED THAT MY BOX BE PUT IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE IN THE FIRST PLACE? The answer is probably because when your house was first built, it was one of the only ones in what now be a larger community. I delivered to an area that was one square mile and had only 5 houses. Today that area is TWO COMPLETE MAIL ROUTES! In areas like this it’s impossible to anticipate future growth, let alone where a mailbox should’ve originally been placed.
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS!!!
Be happy that you live on a Rural Route. While ALL postal patrons can order stamps online for the next day, ONLY RURAL CARRIERS can deliver them in a moments notice.
1) If you need a book or two of stamps, you can simply leave a check or cash in an envelope, write what you want, and your carrier can fill your order that same day!
2) If you have a few letters (usually up to 6) that need postage, simply leave enough money to cover the cost and your carrier will affix the stamps on the envelopes.
3) If you have a package to be mailed, simply leave a note in your mailbox and your carrier will pick it up. Not sure of the postage? If you think it may cost $5…give your carrier $10 — they’ll see to it that your package is mailed and return your change and a receipt the next day.
THE RURAL LETTER CARRIER’S MOTTO IS — “A POST OFFICE ON WHEELS.”
I hope I’ve answered the original question, plus given a little insight as to why some things are done the way they are.
I share a the post, but not a mail box with the house across the street. The post is broken and we currently have it in a bucket with cement. If they aren’t willing to help with the cost of the post to hold 2 mail boxes, can I just replace it with a post to hold the one? Post that hold 2 mailboxes are much more expensive
I own a restaurant in a shopping center in Merced, California. There are no mailboxes anywhere in the center, and I cannot get mail delivered to my restaurant. Is there not a law requiring a developer to install mail boxes in a shopping center?
I’m also having the same issue. Leased commercial property in a strip mall for my retail store and there’s no mailboxes. I’m now being refused service because my businesses isn’t opened at 9am when the driver try’s to hand deliver the mail to shops in the plaza. We open at 11am and I was told to change my hours if I want to get my mail.
My mailbox is currently located to the front side of the ditch in front of my home but near the street. As of lately someone continues to hit it. I was wondering can i relocate the mailbox to the back side of the ditc closer to the fence of my home so that it’ll be out of the way.
nope
I have a question about our mail box situation. Our mail box is on another road. The mailboxes are on a very narrow road at the bottom of a hill and a lot of logging trucks are on that road. It is very hard to plow out by the mail boxes because of the hills and all the traffic. We live on a town road. We were wondering if we could move our mail boxes in front of our houses. All of our neighbors agree with us. We asked the postmaster a couple of years ago and he denied our request. We have had to many close calls on that road with all the traffic.
Best options are to get your mail carrier to believe it is a safety hazzard for him to deliver on that street or to have the neighbors all go in on a cluster box at the end of the street. Many post offices will supply the cluster box unit if there is a concrete slab poured.
My HOA’s regulation is that the mailbox flag has to be blue. I have always seen them red. Is there a regulation that the flag has to be red?
It’s a power play and sense they are federally employed and backed by a union suing them would be a waste of money and time. …they are the mail gods and are very demanding with there power….even filling a complaint will do you no good.
Nope. I’ve have multiple bird shaped and a pine tree shaped “flag” on my route. Color and design don’t matter only functionality.
I have a large standard size mail box and live in a very rural area. My mail box keeps getting beat by vandals can I build an indestructible mailbox to solve the problem?
can i have a locking mailbox? our carrier says she has to have a key incase she drops the wrong mail in our box
I just read above that mail carriers aren’t allowed to possess a key to your locked mailbox so now she is lying
Hi, yes a USPS approved mailbox is allowed. All of our curbside units are USPS approved, and when installed correctly by the owner should cause no issues with mail delivery. You should reach out to your postmaster / local post office if there are any ongoing issues with your mail carrier. Regards!
It sounds like from all these dialogues that the postmaster is the absolute authority. After over 6 months our carrier has decided that a basketball goal located within 3 feet of our mailbox is a safety concern. The goal is a feet behind the mailbox post, making it impossible to hit. It’s also anchored to the ground so it cannot fall over. Are there no specific regulations for items located near mailboxes? I find it highly frustrating that the carrier and postmaster can deem something a “safety concern” with no concrete backing. The postmaster sent a note, including their phone number. I’ve tried to call, with no answer. Do I have any options? Are there online regulations?
My USPS mail delivery person told me I cannot have a box on my house, it must be on the road. He delivers to all three of my neighbors who do not have roadside boxes. It sounds like he lying to make his life easier. Any thoughts?
the reason is because the post office is losing money and if people continue to get door delivery one of these days the post office is going to cut everyones door delivery and go straight to cluster boxes to save money
They can only ask you to move it to the street, as the one that is already there is a established delivery point. They can not force you into moving your mail box. but they also at the same time refuse delivery
Hi Jenny – what is the process for installing a larger keyed-mailbox? I would like one that can fit packages, where the carrier puts the package in the large box and drops the key into the regular mail box. I used to have one like this at my old house, but have since moved to a new neighborhood, where package theft is common.
Our neighbors all have their mailboxes on a post in front of our empty lot. There are currently five mailboxes on the post. We are building a house on that lot and want to remove those mailboxes. Do we have to get permission from the postmaster to change the location of those boxes so they do not sit on our property?
Are there any regulations I can reference?
There is no consistency in our neighborhood concerning mailboxes. Some homes share mailbox posts while others have their own in front of their individual house. I want to avoid having six mailboxes in front of my house.
the mailboxes are probably not on your property but on the right of way. the distance is not the same in all cities but is a set amount of feet from the center line of the street.. check with the city to find out what it is.
My bf and I just moved into a new place. The landlord didn’t get the mailbox key from the previous tenant and said we had to get it from the post office. They said they don’t hold keys and that we have to have to replace the lock. They want to charge $40 to have them do it. My bf is a locksmith and they told him it would be illegal for him to change it himself.
What are the regulations regarding motor vehicles parked in front of, or a foot or 2 beyond, rural mailboxes? Most times the driver is able to drive ito the mailbox area, but he needs to back out. The offender lives across the street and refuses to alter the parking location of her vehicle, yet there is plenty of room else where on the street, including in front of her residence.
Backing up is a big no no for a carrier. They can be disciplined for doing so. They can refuse delivery if they have to back up. Every carriers worst fear is inuring/killing a child. Backing up causes bling spots.
We have a problem with the curb in front of the cluster mailbox. It is not square it is rounded and especially in the winter when it is icy. I thought it had to be flat so a person in a wheelchair could have access to the box. We are now being told it is too expensive to change and that I need to put in my own box in my driveway. I have a box in the cluster and they are not willing to help me get my mail.
Because of a safety issue, we recently received approval to move the mailbox from the street to the front door. Instead of mounting the box to the brick house we were considering installing a pole mounted box beside the front porch. Are there specific regulations we need to consider?
Are there mailbox access regulations? Can the mail delivery person refuse to deliver mail if he/she needs to take a step out of the truck to place the mail in the box? We have a car that parks perpendicular to the mailbox. It is not blocking the mailbox, but it sticks out about 6 inches into the street so that the mail truck cannot drive right next to the box. Are there regulations that mail will not be delivered if the mail delivery person needs to step out to put the mail in the box?
the carrier could/will refuse delivery if they have to dismount to deliver. Routes can have 1000 deliveries in a day. If a carrier had to dismount for every one they would never finish their route. It has to be consistent.
I bought a house and it seems to not have a mail box. All of the mail boxes on the street are on the opposite side, and there IS a cluster of mail boxes about 100 feet down the street with a mail box that has no numbers and is empty. I tried at least 4 separate occasions to have local post office tell if that is my mailbox or not but they have not responded. If I just install a mailbox across the street form me will they deliver mail?
My neighborhood association is contemplating two homes sharing one mailbox. I do not want my neighbor going through my mail. What are the requirements for two in a box.
Remember your neighborhood association cannot overrule the Postal Service. The Postal Service doesn’t want people sharing their boxes for that very reason.
I have locked mail boxes in my yard. I planted flowers around the slaved cement 3 years ago. The mail carrier complained that she had to walk 2 extra feet around to put mail into boxes. She complained so I put a walk way in for her in the spring. Now she is complaining that she might get stung by a bee because of the flowers so she wants me to move the walk way closer to the cement. What is the regulations for my property?
Hi I have a neighbor across the street whom address is actually Main St, and I am.o corner of Patrica and Main, his driveway is directly across mine, He has placed his mailbox directly behind my driveway on a 8 in wood post placed in concrete and placed a spike on the pole that protrudes out past the mailbox right below it. So if we back out of my driveway and bump that mail box the spike will damage my vehehicle!! Is this legal and why is his box not having to be on Main St where is address is?? Please any input would be appreciated.
We have a house mounted mailbox and our carrier has always walked up and delivered (most houses on our street are the same). We recently installed a front yard fence with a gate and received a notice that we need to move our box to the outside of our fence. No other homes on our street have their boxes outside their fences . Do we have to move ours? We live in a heavily foot trafficked area.
I am 82 years old and just moved but don’t have a mailbox in front of my home. Most of my neighbors on my street have one. I was told by the realtor that I will have to use a cluster box that is clear across past 4 homes or call the post office. I was taken to the local post office (because they refuse to answer their phone) to request permission to put a box in front of my home because I am physically impaired and unable to walk the distance to retrieve my mail. They told me to sign up for a cluster box key and wait. It’s been 2 weeks and I haven’t heard from them. I call and call and either the phone is busy or no answer. Is there any thing else I can do? Please help.
My mailbox is currently on the left side (if you are standing in the street facing the house) of my driveway. Can I move it to the opposite side?
Do I need to get any kind of permission if all I am doing is replacing old boxes with locking boxes but not changing their housing structure? If so where do I find any regulations pertaining to housing structures around mailboxes ?
Thanks
Hi Doreen, thanks for your inquiry. You should have no problem replacing the boxes and receiving your regular US mail deliveries, as long as they are being installed in the same location. Be sure that the incoming mail area, or the point of mail delivery on the box itself is between 41-45″ above the road surface, and 6-8″ away from the road edge! Good luck with your install, further details on USPS mail regulations can be found on their website, but we recommend reaching out to your local post office if you have any detailed questions.
I live on a county road where there are five houses all on the left side of the road. The postal service says the mailboxes must be on the right hand side of the road so the carrier can access them. This requires me to cross over the road to get my mail. Traffic coming past our houses on the right side of the road travel up a hill with a right curve before straightening out and passing our houses. It is extremely dangerous crossing the road because drivers do not honor the speed limit of 40 mph. I have bad knees and was almost hit today because I couldn’t run to get out of the way. Why can’t our mailboxes be placed on the side of our houses? It would be safer for us and our mail carrier.
I have the same question. We do not have a blind curve, just a blind hill. I want to move the mailbox to same side of the road (40mph) as our house. I’m trying to find out what USPS considers a safe distance from that hill for the safety of the stopped mail truck.
Great question! We do not know the answer to that but are certain that your local postmaster should be able to give you a good recommendation. You can find out who your local postmaster is on the USPS website, here: https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/postmaster-finder/postmasters-by-city.htm
Does a wall mounted mailbox actually have to be hung on the wall for mailman to deliver mail. Outside of my house is irregular stone and flush mounting a mailbox is difficult.
In a rural community does the USPS require the community cluster mailbox station have a mailbox for every lot in the development even though over half of the lots are vacant? At the rate things are being built, it will be 20+ years before the current boxes will be have a home needing mail delivery. It seems like an unnecessary expense and by the time our current mail boxes are full, the whole mail station will probably need to be replaced anyway. Is this really a rule of the Post Office.
Also, I’ve seen the question about accommodation for elderly. A rural mail delivery person saw my mother (in her 90’s) struggling to cross the busy street. He went to her house and arranged with her to roll her cement bucket mailbox across to her driveway. Until she died, at 98, her mail carrier dropped her mail off on his way home. The carrier’s thoughtfulness and extra effort was appreciated. It really gave her a sense of independence, kept her safe and gave her extra years at her home.
My neighbor’s mailbox is currently located in my yard which is on the right side of the street. The mailbox looks bad and requires me to mow around. Can I request the box be moved form my yard to hers?
My mail was being taken so I bought a lockable mailbox. It is a wall mount style, as long as I make it easily accessible can I mount It to a post, curbside?
Hi, I live in an apartment building that has had a CBU hanging on the wall outside for at least 4 years. The post office built a new CBU in the apartment office building’s parking lot, which is about 0.25 mile from the building in which I live, without notification! I (we) just stopped getting mail in the old CBU on the wall right outside of our apartment building, without notice! After about 1 month (I had a vacation to Wyoming during this time, that’s why it took me 1 month…not that it’s relevant anyway, lol), I asked the rental office for my mailbox key, at which time the usually kind secretary (or whatever her job title is), asked me to sign a “standard” key liability statement. The key liability statement stated that ‘…I’m responsible for any fees should the mailbox lock need to be replaced…”for any reason.” So obviously I explained to them that I can not be responsible for “any” reason, I should only be responsible IF the lock needs replaced due to loss/damage of key, if that.
So now it’s been about 2 months without mail, not that I miss the deluge of coupon-book-spam, because my mailbox (CBU) was relocated without notification, and I don’t have a key.
Also, let me point out that the building I live in is one of about 15 buildings, of which only 3, or less, had the CBU relocated to the rental office parking lot. There are senior citizens living in some units and i can imagine it’s not easy for them to retrieve their mail 0.25 mile away.
Anyway, hope someone can offer some advice…should i get a lawyer? perhaps talk to the local news station?
thank you!
I will try to make a long story short! I have a mailbox on a post across the street from my cottage. There are several others as well, including my neighbor and the woman’s whose property the boxes sit on. They are all right at the edge of the street, and mine has been there since my grandmother purchased the place in 1964. My mailbox, being very old, finally fell off and was left on my porch with a terse note from the woman. Oh well, I have to replace the old, not-so-pretty box, which is reasonable. I went down to check on things weeks later to find she had pulled my post out! I contacted my PO, they understood the situation, went down to the cottage,motor photos, and even spoke with her. Not hearing back from them, I assumed all was well (first mistake), proceeded to purchase a new box and post, and went down to install. She came out and told me she didn’t want anything else on her property, etc. The PO gave me the feeling that placement is grandfathered (it’s been established even before 1964!) and that I should put the new one up in the same location. She told me they understood and said she could remove and not allow my post and mailbox to be installed. Does she even have the right to remove anything of mine in regards to the US Mail, and demand it not be put back up? All mail boxes are on the right and have been well established for decades.Any thoughts on this? Thanks.
Oops…darn autocorrect. Should have read “took photos”
How far away does a car need to be parked from a mailbox? I got a note saying to move my car. There is plenty of room to pull in but back into the mailboxes.
I just moved in to an apartment & realized that the mailboxes there are open to all, not secured & there are no locks or identifiable numbers to distinguish one from another and are tacked on to a post. How do I ask the manager to change this? Is it within my rights?
For decades our Church has been told we had to have mail delivered to a PO Box not the physical Church address. We are locate in a small town on Kauai and the church is located on the “main road”. Directly behind us is a small residential street–all who get mailbox including the house literally next door to the Post Office. There are other businesses on the road a block down who get mail service and all of residents living across the main road get mail service. With the PO Box the postmasters sends any package back if it doesn’t have our PO Box number, even though it has our physical address and church name, everyone knows us–it is a small town. How do we get mail service at our physical location? If the house directly behind the church building is able to get mail service, shouldn’t we able to if we have a mailbox?
I have a mail box at the house that is mounted on a wooden pole. I am wondering if it would be OK to mount a weather station to the back side of the post? This would put the station on the other side of the post from the box and a bit above it. It should not interfere with the box or access to it. The box is in the best location for the station and would not require getting another post and having it installed.
Is there a minimum house requirement on a road for mail to be delivered on it? I am moving to a new house and I was told by a neighbor my mail box had to be placed on the main road . How can I petition this to change?
My postal carrier will complain that my trash dumpster blocks his route. (We place our trash ON OUR DRIVEWAY before we leave for work. The trash guy comes before the mail guy. Trash guy puts our can anywhere he wants, often on its back with the lid open. We have no control over this. The mailman will sometimes leave us a nasty note or move the can to the center of our driveway so we can’t drive into our driveway without getting out of our car to move it. This is NOT OUR FAULT and the postal carrier is just being a jerk. The GOVERNMENT has a lot more pull with the trash company than I do! I’ve asked the trash men to not leave the can in the middle of the road and I can’t be home to babysit the trash can, I have a day job. I understand that this is extremely frustrating to the postal worker, especially on trash day, but one home owner can not change the practices of the trash companies the post office can be very pursuasive if they would intervene.
I also got a nasty note once about potholes on my road. Like paving is my responsibility! The road is not my property nor my responsibility.
To my postal worker: stop being a brat. Know that the pot holes on the road and the location of my empty trash can are beyond my control!!! Tell your boss to contact the appropriate government offices and/or threaten legal action against the trash contractor if they continue to be so careless with the cans.
I moved into my new home in December, there is one house to the left of mine and 2 to the right. Nothing across the street. It’s a rural area and I’ve been told that these 4 houses had to move their mailboxes to the top of the hill on the road because A). The mail carrier refuses to go up and down the hill in the winter, B). He/She has nowhere to turn around. Keep in mind the hill is not that steep the trash truck goes up and down FedEx and UPS deliver to everyones door, we all have driveways to turn around in and half of us don’t have 4WD and survive just fine. Getting tired of walking 1/4 mile to get my mail. I can’t even see the box from my house. My neighbors are on board too, so do I just move my mailbox? Or do I need permission?
Does a mailbox have to be adjusted higher because the local post office has SUV’s now instead of cars, They are making the whole town raise their mailboxes 50 inches from ground for this reason.
Is it legal for a Township to put a moritorium on putting up a mailbox forcing that same person to rent a PO Box at the annual fee of $48. I am on disability and cannot afford this extra expense. I am only about a mile, if that, from the Post Office and there is mail delivery to every house around me…even my next door neighbor about 100 feet away. Thank you in advance for your time.
Is a home owner allowed to fix a fire sale sign on a post box post?
Is a home owner allowed to a fix a forsale by owner sign on a postbox post?
On rare occasions someone will drop off a document, book, etc and if we are not home they will put in our large street side mailbox and call our house to let us know. If the postman gets there before us the item will be removed and tossed on ground. Not all postmen do this. Why is there not a leniency rule when this ins not a burden on the PO.
My 90 yr old mom lives on rural route and a neighbor walking by one day picked up her newspaper and put in her large road side box because of impending rain. Mom is on a walker. Mom watched the postal lady open her box and toss the paper out into the rain.
Has this ever been addressed with PO.
my current mailbox is located on the curb between the sidewalk and street-for example, see:
( http://hottytoddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DSCN6213-2.jpg )
it was newly installed for my new house, however, i would like to replace it with a mailbox that would be capable of receiving packages, see:
( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/51/02/c6/5102c60451bfe450f928dfe74957e6a9.jpg )
this larger mailbox would require its placement on the side of the sidewalk opposite the street, about 4 feet from the curb instead of the current 8 inches.
on one hand, the usps guidance is that the mailbox be very close to the curb, but on the other hand, many of my neighbors have their mailboxes either on the side of their houses, door slots, or set back several feet from the street. have my neighbors been “grandfathered in”? can i relocated the mailbox further away?
please identify the rule or regulation (i.e U.S.C. ) that mandates mailboxes and their placement.
My wife has a small business next to our house. Presently we use two separate mailboxes with separate numbers mounted side by side on one post…(one for the business and one for the house). We would like to go to one large mailbox with both numbers mounted on the one box. Can you advise?
i have a hanging mailbox since every year during the winter, Otto the plow truck took great pleasure in removing it and sending it to it’s demise to be recovered in the spring. i refuse to replace the mail boxes since the way i see it 90% of the junk delivered is not worth replacing posts and boxes. now the postal person refuses to close it because she said she cant close it with one hand, i showed her how to do it with only 2 fingers from one hand. but apparently that too is way too much effort. so now i am stuck with soaking wet mail or mail blown up and down my road. i asked her since she was too lazy to close the door on the mail box that she could ever so gently throw it in my driveway as she sped by. i have complained to the postmaster who of course stuck up for the carrier’s laziness. now that my venting is done what is the regulation on hanging mailboxes (only discusses conventional post but noticed hanging boxes are common practice) and or what defines effort the postal carrier must apply to properly close the box. seems silly she is a federal employee delivering federally protected material and placing as you stated earlier into federal property. there for it should be secured by that federal employee to ensure proper protection of federal material and property
I have recently moved into an older neighborhood, where most of the mailboxes are at the front door. When I moved in, the house had a curbside mailbox that was badly installed and falling over, so I removed it since there is a mailbox at my front door and very few homes here have curbside boxes. I received mail for a few days, then it stopped without notice. When I went to the post office to get my mail, there was a note saying that I needed to install a curbside box.
I have been trying to contact the postmaster about this, but have not been able to so far. Today I went to the post office to pick up my mail, and there was a note saying “don’t give customer mail. He has been instructed to place his mail box back in its original location.” Fortunately the postal worker didn’t see the note and gave me my mail.
So is this allowed? Can I be required to install a curbside mailbox even though very few of my neighbors have one? And can they refuse to let me pick up my mail?
Thanks, and sorry for the long explanation.
I sure hope you were able to resolve this but based on the note left about placing box back in it’s orginial location, because of it being an older home/neighborhood, wasnt the original location of the mailbox on the wall by your front door?
This is absolutely ridiculous!!!!! My mailbox has been on my house since 2012 and now i get a letter from the mailman telling me i have to move it to the curb because its too far from the curb!!!! This mailman has been walking from yard to yard delivering the mail and not caring about the shrubs hes damaging. I spoke to him several times asking him to be careful of my shrubs. So i put up a 4ft. Legal fence forcing him to go around my shrubs and now im being told my mailbox is too far from the curb so it has to be moved or he wont deliver my mail!!! I will be filing a legal complaint against him!!!!
My driveway is not on the same road of my street address. I have a corner lot. Can I place my mailbox near my driveway and still get my mail delivered?
I would like to know if it is a requirement (law) USPS to have your house number on the mailbox, or is it suggested? We already have house numbers on the house. The box is on a post at the curb. We are talking about a new community over 200 homes.
Thanks
Jim W
My 83yo across the street neighbor, Gene, has moved his mailbox 4 1/2 feet from street edge into my yard.
The street was torn out 4mo ago by the road commission and remade (paid for by the residents).
All mailboxes were uprooted and reset per P. O.
Specifications (6 to 8″ from street edge). Gene says
It is a safety issue for him to stand on the street to get his mail. I suggested he get a rear opening box and step off the street into the easement and or my yard to fetch his mail.
With his mailbox into my yard so far, the mail lady will have to drive a distance of 20 feet or so and about 3 feet onto the new sod to reach his box.
He also is complaining about my underground sprinklers getting his mailbox wet and that they get him wet when retrieving his mail! I do not sprinkle daily and when I do it is at a set time 8am per the 20″ timer.
I keep my property neat and tidy he has mowed
some of his yard X 3 this summer. He is angry about the new road and life in general.
What are my options. Does he have say over my sprinklers? He claims the PO said he could put his mailbox anywhere he wanted.
Thanks for your input.
I have a triplex and all the mailboxes are on the door of each apartment. I recently installed an unlocked fence and was told that I need to move all the mailboxes to the curbside. Is it law that I have to move my mailboxes and if so where is the written rule and regulation for it?
Is there any rules or regulations about decorating a mailbox. We were considering covering our post and mailbox itself with Lego’s. As long as the Lego’s are sturdy and do not fall off or block access to opening and closing the door, this should not be a problem….correct?
I live in a rural county road. At the end of this road is subdivision on the river. About 15 residents have a secondary mailboxes in front of some additional property that we acquired. We would like to place a new driveway and expand the yard on this new property for our adult children. What are our options. The boxes only get used if the roads become impassable in the subdivision and the other 250 plus residents pick up their mail in town at the post office
Is it legal for someone to out unstamped sealed envelopes in your mailbox?
Parking in front of a mailbox is obviously wrong. However, people should still be able to park on that side of the street as long as they provide access.How many feet before and after the mailbox should be kept clear in the street?
I placed a mailbox according to the regulations next to my driveway. I then found out it had to be on the opposite side of the road. I went to the post office and confirmed that. I then asked for them to tell exactly where it had to be placed across the street as I didn’t want to have to put it in a 3rd time. They told me across from my driveway. All of the property across the street it owned by others. Now those owners say it can’t be there. Doesn’t the post service have some right of way or don’t they have to be able to tell me exactly where it can and must go? Very frustrated!
Our house was built in 1996 and we purchased it in 2008. We received a note in the mail box (more handwritten than on an official post office letterhead type) that we needed to raise the mailboxes. The 4 bank of drive up boxes sit half on our lot and half on the neighbors. The two across the street see it as our issue not theirs. Wouldn’t the mail boxes be grandfathered in? These boxes have been in place for 20 years and are on 4×4 wooden posts.
My mailbox has been in the same place and at the same height for over 23 years, with a replacement post and mailbox installed in 2008. Our mail carrier recently left a note saying that my mailbox needed to be raised 6 inches or she would not deliver the mail. She left notes for neighbors saying that long-installed mailboxes need to be raised, moved, straightened, etc. This all happened after residents in this subdivision complained about her throwing packages from the street into our driveways, leaving packages on the curb by the mailboxes, leaving untrue notes that she’d attempted to deliver packages when residents were home and knew she had not, repeated mixed up mail delivery, etc. The postmaster told a neighbor that the carrier had back problems and we’d need to change our boxes to accommodate her as a result.
Do we have to raise our mailboxes after 23+ years, or do we have any rights or grandfathering here? Thank you.
Our neighbor across the street and us have our two mailboxes on a single post. The mail boxes have been in the same location , which is now part of the road right of way for over 45 years. The mailboxes are on my side of the street between our drive way and the neighbors to the right. These neighbors have lived next to us for 8+ years. All of a sudden they want the mail box moved out of the right of way. She is throwing a tantrum over this demanding the boxes moved. She tried to dig out the post and broke some of the concert surrounding the post . We have informed her that the boxes are not going to be moved as per the postmaster. The postmaster said they are grandfathered in and not to be moved. Needless to say we are no longer neighborly with them which is unfortunate. Are we ok?
I was hopping to get a door slot for my mail. Is this possible?
Can I build a mailbox out of wood and install it at a roadside location as long as all of the dimensions and height location are per postal regulations?
According to the rules of rural delivery, if you live within a half mile of the mailbox they need to deliver packages to your door that don’t fit in the mailbox. Our mailman has done this for the past few years. Now all of a sudden in the past two weeks, we have had to go to the post office to pick up our packages. This is frustrating because we can’t get there every day before the post office closes due to where we work and the travel time it takes to get there. I talked to the postmaster the first time it happened and he said he would talk to the mail carrier. Now it happened again!! The lady at the window said to talk to the postmaster. Well that worked so well the first time. What can I do?
I recently moved to a neighborhood where I don’t feel safe having my mailbox out on a heavily foot trafficked street. My fiance and I decided to take down the original curbside box and install a wall mounted box by my front door as most of the other homes in the neighborhood have wall mounted boxes we didnt’t think it would be an issue. I received my mail in the wall mounted box one time then for 5/6 days I received no mail, no note, nothing. I went to post office to inquire and was told that since the property was registered as a curbside that I would have to keep the curbside box and that I couldnt’t take it upon myself to move to a wall mount. When I asked if I could change the registration to be a wall mount they also said no. I asked if I could pick up my mail that I hadn’t been receiving and was informed that the post office didn’t have it. I would just like to know why I can’t have a wall mount when so many of my neighbors have them and how can I get my mail.
Instead of installing a mail box 6-8 inches away from the curb. Can I install it near my house instead? Like close to the steps?
Hi! Just saw this site, and thought I should make an inquiry. I recently moved into a 1956 house with a mail slot in the front door. It meets regulations per the USPS website for mail slots (i.e., is located at an appropriate height, is an appropriately sized slot, etc.). I have been receiving notices from my postal carrier that I must install a curbside mailbox. NO ONE on my street, for 3-4 blocks, has a curbside box; everyone has mail slots. The postal carrier said that “all new homes” must have a curbside box. I am obviously not in a new home, but rather am a new homeowner in this older home. While I’m not completely opposed to installing a curbside box if that is really what is required, I get the feeling that this is pressure from the carrier, and NOT really required. Any thoughts for me as to how to handle this?
We have had recent mailbox tampering in our neighborhood so a resident purchased a “area under video surveillance” metal sign and nailed it to the mailbox shelter – a structure that holds and covers about 8 boxes. Does this signage fall under the law that states nothing can be posted on or around mailboxes? If so, what are the consequences if they don’t remove the sign? (So far our mailman has not said anything.)
I have 5 mailboxes in front of my house they sit
in the middle of the sidewalk.. I can’t parked there. how can Ihave them moved to a better location
maybe at the end of my driveway
Is there a certain amount of feet your mailbox has to be away from your home,? If yes where can I find it in the USPS manual. My mailbox is across the street, two houses over. My box sometimes gets vamdalize, can’t hardly see it, & deliveries always goes to the home my box is in front of.
On Rural Mail Routes…do we have to serve “Locked Mail Boxes” and if the have a small package…say 2 inch by 2 inch and it will not go in the 1.75 inch hole do we have to take it to the door or can we leave a notice for pickup…not Lazy but with 660 mailboxes and about 100 packages each day and 300 to 400 at Christmas and walking to each house 1 to 3 min. I’m very thankful I only have 6 locked mailboxes.
We have what our post office considers our mail route as “rural” and i was told our mailbox is required to be on the opposite side of the road from our house. The problen we are continually having is that the neighbors across the street ROUTINELY park directly in front of the mail boxes ( ours and theirs) which results in no mail delivery, ive spoke with the neighbor directly about this to no avail, ive spoke with the post master about this and no change as well. The neighbors constantly park out front of the house and directly in front of our mailbox. Can i move our mailbox to our side of the street since obviously nothing can be done? I dont believe i should be forced to purchase a PO box just to consistently and routinely get my mail.
Our mailbox is located across the street from our house where we share a post with our neighbor but have separate boxes. Who’s responsible for snow removal so the mail carrier can access?
There are 8 metal mailboxes in my apt bldg. My box, for two months, has a broken lock, causing the door to be completely–wide!–open when I get home; exposing all contents. I force it closed, only to find it open again (literally, someone on their way out, texted me “FYI, your box is opened–tried shutting it, but it reopens.”)
I have asked the apt staff to fix this headache-producing concern. They have not; not even a follow-up call, after taking my number. Any suggestions on what I can do? Thanks.
I have a curbside mail box. I have a locked gate and fence surrounding my property. I have do no tresspass and no soliciting signs posted. What are the rules for the postal worker to get out of the truck, walk over an easement, reach over the locked gate and gets bitten by my dog? She has been trained NOT to do this when in fact she could have set the box down on the OUTSIDE of the locked gate and no injury. Where is this woman’s common sense? And now filing a claim against us for her stupidity.
I hope you can answer this as I am getting no where with our local postmaster. I am trying to find the official rules and regulations on mailbox placement. We live in a new subdivision, but each house is on a 10 acre lot. The mail carrier is saying we have to put our mailbox with the other which is outside the subdivision almost a mile away. That hasn’t bothered me too much as I just rented a mail box from the post office, but today they charged me $5 to get mail that was addressed to our physical address rather than our PO box. I am sooooo angry. So I want to put a mailbox in, but I want to follow the exact rules and hoping it can be somewhere within our land and/or driveway!
Would you please tell me what are the guidelines for a mail Slot? Specifically, is a carrier required to push my mail completely through my mail slot? My home has a mail slot that brings my mail directly and safely into my home. Yet, carriers seem to constantly leave the mail hanging out of it even after I’ve called my local post office and spoke to a carrier supervisor about this! I even have a note laminated on the slot asking them to please push the mail completely through. The entire point of the mail slot is to protect my mail from being stolen and they leave it hanging out exposed! (My mailslot was built with the home in 1965.)
That’s absolutely ridiculous. How much more effort does it take to push it through? Sounds like you angered the mail carrier and they are taking it out on you.
I’m building a house on a lot in a developed neighborhood. Can I put up a mailbox (it has a designated street address) while the house is under construction?
Hello! Our current mailbox is attached to our home but we recently put up a locked security fence because our neighborhood is a high crime area. We want to install a pedestal mailbox behind the locked gate where the postman would have to reach through the bars of the gate to deliver the mail into the pedestal mailbox. Is this against any laws? We are in California and I’ve done some research, but I can’t see anything that makes it sound like it would be illegal or our mail would stop being delivered. If anything, it’s closer to the street and doesn’t involve any steps so it would be easier delivery! And the bars are spread apart enough that getting a hand and mail through would be easy. And we don’t have any dogs or other animals in the yard. Any thoughts on the legality?
I moved into my apartment december 28. I have been without a door to my mailbox since signing the lease. whenever i bring up the issue the tell me they will get it fixed. its been over a month now and i still have no mailbox door & i realize my mail is now being found lying on the ground. What can i do? and is this illegal?
I purchased a “Mail Boss” from you. My local post office is insisting that I mount the Mail Boss with the bottom of the mailbox located 45″ from the road surface. This puts the actual mail entry slot significantly higher that the required 41″-45″ height also mandated by the USPS.
Are you aware of any written USPS clarification regarding the height placement of this type of locking mail box?
If a mailman hits your mailbox, is it their responsibility to fix or the homeowners?
If I have a community locking mailbox but I want my own mailbox, at my house, is that possible? How do I go about it if so?
I am a new managing agent for an HOA. The cluster boxes were recently replaced and a residents box was moved to a different cluster down the street. This was the only one displaced and they are very angry. The postmaster said they would not let us trade boxes with a resident willing to switch. My understanding is that the postmaster decided which address goes to which cluster. The postmaster is blaming the HOA for the displacement. Who decides who goes to which cluster?
We are at a standstill with getting this resolved.
can you mount your box on a neighbors post without permission ?
my neighbor has done just this without me getting into the story of it all.
Can I put a lockable insert into an existing standard mailbox located at the curbside?
My mailbox is located at the end of my city street, approximately two blocks from my house on a row of other individual mailboxes. I have a busy life, and I can’t be bothered to go down on a daily, or even weekly basis to check my mailbox. I am thinking about moving my mailbox to a post at my driveway, which is on a public city street. Either that, or just closing it altogether. There doesn’t seem to be any federal regulations barring my placement of my mailbox in any manner that is in accordance with the above. Also, I would challenge any city ordnance that seeks to enable the local post office to withhold delivery of mail to this location as a violation of federal law, as city ordinances do not supercede federal law, and interference with the delivery of the mail is a federal offense. Am I off base here, or do I have a chance at getting my mailbox closer?
Hello,
What are the requirements for the postman to close the door on your box?
We live in a rural area in the northwest, with a contract delivery person. It rains a lot here and 5days a week he lives the door ajar and our mail gets soaked to the point of damaged. 1day a week when he is off and the Fill in driver delivers, we have no problem.
I’ve spoken to the driver politely and he hasn’t stopped leaving it ajar.
Is the local postmaster for our area the next step?
Regulation regarding closing the door?
Feeling frustrated.
Thanks for your response.
Is it a postal regulation to have a door on the front of your mailbox, or may it be left open?
our neighborhood has a metal mailbox with multiple locks on the back for each house. i hate this, my mail is bigger than my box every day and my carrier just crams it all in there. Plus this box is in my yard and my neighbors walk through my yard to get their mail and complain if my sprinkler system is running when they want access. I want this removed from my yard and would like a normal single box. How do i go about doing this?
My mail box was knocked over by a snow plow. The mail box was set in the ground according to USPS regulations.
The town’s street director told me, according to town ordnances the mail box was located to close to the street and it should be moved back. This would make my mail box not conform to USPS specifications and again cause a conflict with the rural mail carrier.
Who is correct: The Town Street Director or the USPS ?
I have no mailbox placed yet,I live on a hill and the mail carrier told me if i put up a box,she wont deliver if road is slippery…can she do that?
When we moved in the landlord told us that there is no mailbox for our house but if we wanted to buy the box and everything we could put one u. My question is since there has never been a mailbox for this address do I have to fill out any kind of forms or can I just put one up?
Can you place your mailbox in front of a utility pole? What are the guid lines for this.
I just move to a new place that has no mailbox they say that I have to get a pill box in town and I live in town can I put a mailbox in the front of my place and have it be legal with my address on it
So I just placed my mailbox on the upstreet side of my house as the mailman would come as I was told from a friend. My neighbor says it’s in his property but it is only 2 feet away from my driveway is it legal to keep it there or am I supposed to move it to the other side?
Our mail is normally delivered to our curb side mailbox.
We have small children that play on our driveway/front yard. To prevent vehicles from coming onto our driveway we place bright orange cones across the entrance to our driveway. One day our USPS carrier drove in-between the cones to deliver a packages. Luckily we were on a bike ride in the neighborhood. When we saw this we stopped the delivery person and told her not to come on the driveway because the children play there. All she said was “I didn’t see any children so I drove in-between the cones.” She was then asked to please do not drive onto the driveway. All the other substitute delivery person park the vehicles in the street and walk packages to the front porch. Our carrier decided that she will no longer deliver packages to us because she can not drive on the driveway. Is this possible? MUST a USPS carrier have to be able to drive on the driveway to deliver a package?
We have lived in our neighborhood for over 10 years. Our mailboxes have always been in the same location, on our private road at the entrance to the neighborhood. About a year ago, we got our road paved. The mail person is constantly driving into the neighbor’s property to turn around when she delivers the mail, causing huge ruts and killing the grass. The neighbor put up stakes to prevent the mail lady from tearing up his yard. Today we received a letter in our mailbox stating that our mail will be held at the post office now because it’s a safety issue for the mail lady to deliver in our neighborhood. Are you aware of any regulations on how wide the road must be for them to deliver? Our road is at least two lanes wide – I can make a 3 point turn with my minivan – I just think the mail lady is being a jerk. Is there a regulation I can reference to support our side? Thank you!
Is it allowable to surround the base of the post with a planter as long as the construction does not impede delivery? We recently had this done, and then received a PS Form 4056 from the carrier requesting “Before you bury the post could you raise it up 6 inches”. The mailbox is at the height that it’s always been for the past 15 years with never a problem…bottom of box (not bottom of door) is 45″ from the ground. Why would the carrier want it any higher? Does the dirt in the planter become, in effect, the new “ground”? Seems silly, but I would think raising it up 6″ would clearly make the box non-conforming.
I live in a rural area, my carrier says my box is too small for my volume of mail…do I have to get a bigger one?
Our neighbor recently installed a fence blocking a turnaround that has accommodated mail delivery to our 5 (rural) homes for at least 60 years. Consequently we are locating locking mailboxes on the road. The location that was chosen is the only dangerous area on the 1/3 mile road–a busy school parking lot entering a busy road at the end of a curve– immediately across from the mailbox location.
Four of us know the location is dangerous. We have seen many near accidents over the years–I saw one as i was leaving the school earlier this week, upon which I called the supervisor again and was told that all 5 boxes have to be located in the same place, and, again, that she had chosen it because it was the safest place, but she would try to come out to look at it again.
Two of the three people have placed their boxes because they do not have time to run to the postoffice, and just wanted to get their mail delivered. When I had previously talked to the carriers’ supervisor she stated she had approved it because it was the safest place on the road; all the boxes have to be at the same location, and on the same side of the road as our driveway. Is this true? Does she have the authority, or do we need to talk to the Postmaster? Several people have told us to place the remaining two boxes where we want them (meeting the placement requirements), and it will be fine.
Thank you. We need your helpful advice. We do not want to be troublers, but we know that location is the most unsafe location on the road. All the other potential locations do not even have driveways entering the road.
This month (May 2017) our apartment manager sent us a notice assuming we “know” things when we do not:
The notice said something like “…as you know, we now own the mailboxes… and we are changing all the locks. You must come to the office and get a new key. If you lose your key, we will charge you $5 for a replacement key.”
When we moved in here, I had to go to the US Post Office and purchase a new lock with 3 key.
Today, I went to check the mail, and all the locks were replaced with new cheap chrome-plated locks. Pieces of the old locks could be seen on the ground and on top of the mailboxes.
How am I going to be re-embursed for my damaged lock I paid for?
Can the landlord legally have a key to “my” mailbox? I really do not trust them (HUD subsidized housing) and I worry they may get into our mail.
Ed (last name witheld)
Arcata, CA 95521 USA
Apparently, according to our mail delivery person, we have a business mailbox in a residential neighborhood. They left a note in the mailbox today, stating that we need to replace it. Is this true? I think the only reason they say this is because it locks. We have a locking box because we are on a main road and our house is quite a ways back. We are near a school and I don’t want to risk mail being tampered with or stolen. We have had the same box for a couple years already.
My mailbox is currently “Curbside” I say it that way because I live in a Cul De-sac on a gravel rural road.
I have been there for 11 years now, receiving mail in the same box.
I recently had a mail carrier I believe is terrified of Pit bulls because she complained continuously about my son’s dog. I let this dog play with my 1 year old grandson all the time.
Since then, my son moved out, and I have had no complaints about the other 3 dogs who are in a large 20×20 kennel most days. This week, I received a letter stating I had to move my mailbox across the street with the other mailboxes that neighbors have moved. It went on to say that if the trash can was blocking the mailbox, I could pick up my mail the next day at the post office.
Now my mailbox is located North of my driveway, between my driveway and the neighbor’s driveway to the north of me.
My trash can when by the street is always on the other side of my driveway behind where the curb would be, in the grass. There is absolutely no way the trash can could prevent her from getting to my mail box, and would only make have to not drive on my yard to get to the next mailbox (which is one of the ones moved so it is not an issue any more).
My question is can they require me to move my mailbox across the street. From what I am reading, they can not.
We have a mail deliverer who leaves packages on top of our roadside mailbox, and leaves mail sticking out of our mailbox. We bought a locking mailbox because we have seen people take our neighbors’ mail, and it wasn’t like they were doing it as a favor for someone on vacation. We have medications delivered to our home, and IT was laying on top of the mailbox when we got home. We have also had packages waiting for us in the grass by our mailbox. Is this appropriate? Our regular mail carrier does not do this stuff, it is the guy who fills in on the other guy’s days off. Our regular mailman said that the postal service has tried to fire the guy before, due to a TON of complaints, but couldn’t due to the Union.
What are the regulations regarding antique mailboxes. We recently acquired an older mailbox (there is a date from 1901). It works well and looks really cool and we would like to mount it curbside and replace our current mailbox. What restrictions or regulations should we make sure we are following (besides the 41″ – 46″mounting height)
I rent and the units all share a post (rack) that holds all boxes.
I recently had some mail stolen, is there anything that can be done to require the landlord to secure the mailboxes against theft?
Hi!
I wish I could send you a picture it would be so much easier to explain my question but here goes . A friend of ours has decided to put angled numbers under his mailbox on the angled post . Wanting to be sure that the numbers can be easily read when coming from both directions the question arises does the number start from the top left to the bottom right if the house number is say 2345 and then when you’re looking from the other direction would it be starting from the top right to the bottom left? 5432??? I say it should be read top to bottom and not left to right??? So then it would be 2345…. How do you say
I live in a rural area of Georgia my neighbor lives around the corner two houses up ,his land has a small strip that comes down behind my land and behind my neighbor on the corner. He has his mail box in front of his house but is using the street I live in name and uses this as his address is it legal to do that sence his house isn’t facing my road and he dose not live on the corner?
I Own my home and share a drive way that’s between my home and the nighbors, can the mail carrier tell me that the nighbors mail box has to be in my yard?
I planted grass around my curbside mailbox. And now the post office is refusing to deliver mail. Is that legal?
Can I move my legally replace my curbside mailbox with a mailbox that is attached to the side of my house?
Our post man sent a notice saying he can’t deliver mail because we have a couple flowers growing around them which are only about 6″ above the ground
They’re the same flowed that bloom for the last 20 years. I don’t get it, and he has been our regular postman for the past 4 years and now it’s a problem?
He told my wife it’s a safety concern but wouldn’t say in what capacity and I couldn’t find any further information
I mean i could understand if my address was blocked or he was unable to deliver because if of, but what gives?
The mail boxes were installed facing the street, and deemed safe yet the mailcourier came today and turned them around. It is my understanding that all postal approved boxes are to face the street (per the USPS guidelines). We live in a rural area(even though there are more than 100 homes in this area). When I asked the gentleman why he said it is being done for his and only his safety is this a good reason or is he just pulling the wool over my eyes? If so, I need the boxes returned to their original position.
Our neighbor is putting a mailbox on our side of the road, in the front of our yard. We would like them to put it down by the other mailbox so we don’t have to mow around it and it looks better but they want to put it in the middle of the yard. Who get to determine where it goes and is there any problem with us moving it?
We have had a mailbox for over 12 years. For some reason, a new mailman one day decided to put a small package envelope to the rear of my house by a door that is never used. We have two porches that are in use – one clearly states to use the other. Is the mailman legally allowed to not use the mailbox and put mail elsewhere?
Hello,
I recently bought a house, located in a golf club community at the end of the street ( see drawing: ——l ), Our house is at the corner on the right side and our mailbox is attached to our house. I received a letter stating. I had to place a mailbox at the end of our drive way. I also noticed that no one else on my street has a mailbox at the end of our drive way. I spoke with previous owners who stated, they received their mail in the mailbox located on the house. Has regulations changed?, is it because I’m the new owner?, just don’t understand why i have to change mine and no one else has to change theirs.
I live in an apartment where all the ail boxes are mounted on the wall together side by side.
The boxes are to short inside on either side that the neighbors can get my mail from either side of my box.
What can I do ?
We built a house in 1985. It is on a cul-de-sac, we share with five other homes. We were told by the, then, postmaster, to erect our mailboxes in a row on the right side of the road, as one exits the cul-de-sac. That places the mailboxes across the street away from our residence and about 200 feet from our drive. All six boxes are lined up about 1 1/2 feet apart. They are all similar in size, but are mounted on different size/shape posts. Ours is on a 1 1/4 inch steel post. The bottom of the mailbox is 43 inches above ground level. The front of the mailbox is 7 inches from where the curb swale meets the grass. It was approved by the postmaster when it was initially installed. I have maintained our mailbox over the years, but, have never changed the structure or placement. Other families have come and gone. Some of the other mailboxes have been changed out. A couple months ago, our (new) carrier started giving us written notices that our mailbox is too far from the road. The messages instruct us to move our mailbox closer to the road to conform to the others in the line. Ours, currently, is about 4-6 inches further from the road as compared to the others. This last week, we have received absolutely no mail, which is highly unusual. I’m sure they have stopped delivery. I will be at the Post Office bright and early tomorrow to have a discussion with them about this. I’m just wondering what your thoughts are about this. I might mention that I had to retire a couple years ago due to a physical/health related disability. Mobility has become a large issue. (I retired after five years as a firefighter and 35 as a law enforcement officer.) This might also be a good time to bring up the issue of moving our mailbox from the, “cluster,” to a location more convenient to my home. What do you think?
Our address is in one steeet but our mail box is on a different street. We seem to always miss mail due to that issue. Can we move the mail box to the actual street that is our address is?
Is their a hieight requirement for wall mounted mail box? I say this because the mail box has been their for at lease 10 years and now a new carrier has thjreaten to stop delivery because its too high for him to reach the lostal lock that is 56″ from the ground. We live in central texas and the apartment management says its legal to have it that high. I’m worried about my mail..
Our carrier is afraid of our dog in the fenced-in yard and the mailbox hangs on the outside of it. He refuses to deliver mail on many days although the dog is not a threat. We live in a large city and most streets have walk up delivery like ours but only two blocks away they have curbside delivery. Is it possible to put a curbside box at our location, when all others are walk up? Also it states that all curbside boxes must be mounted on the right side of the road… who’s right?
The mail carrier told me that I cannot open my mail box if she is still delivering mail. I live in an apartment. So if she is at one end of the mail room putting mail in the boxes, but MY MAIL box is closed…am I not allowed to access until she leaves?
I use a PO box and have submitted a change of address card from my residence to the PO box (even before the house had completed construction). I do not wish to receive mail in my mailbox, but live in a neighborhood with mailboxes defined by the HOA. The postal service continues to place mail in the box. I talked with the post master about this, and he said that I shouldn’t have to do a change of address card every year. May I place a lock on the box or place something inside that prevent letters from being delivered?
I live out in the country and my mailbox is on the opposite side of the road is there anyway the I can have it moved to the same side of the road my place is on
Several people in my town and on my street have there curbside mailboxes bricked.
I would like to get mine done is this still allowed?
We have a shared private drive. When putting up a new mail box which side of the current box should the new box be placed? The number of address will be higher than the other address.
Is there a rule about sharing a mailbox? My parents and my brother and sister in law have been sharing a mailbox for months. Both addresses (300 and 330) are marked on the outside of the box and it is a large box. It hasn’t been an issue but now our mailperson left a note saying they need to put up a box. It has been something constantly since she started delivering for us.
We have one of the Cluster Box Units (CBU), which has become slightly overgrown by a pine tree. Recently the postal carrier left a note, which I found on the ground next to the unit, saying if it wasn’t pruned, there would be a problem (I forget what it was, stopping delivery, or penalty, something like that). What is the vertical clearance required for access to a CBU? The CBU is between two properties down the street a couple houses. I would be happy to prune it up. In fact, I’ve already tidied it up some, having taken off a broken limb that the carrier probably caused and some other obvious bits, but I don’t know how far up to go.
Silly question but we are dealing with the USPS. My house number is 7… I plan on getting a custom mailbox with the number 007. Will this be a problem with my mail delivery?
Is there a rule for leaving the mail delivery person a little note on the outside of the mailbox? Thank you
I am in a rural area and our USPS designation is Highway Contract Route. Our “neighborhood” has a group of mailboxes and locking parcel sized boxes gathered at the entrance to the community. Since USPS got the Amazon bid our Parcel Lock Boxes fill up pretty quickly and there are not enough of them to deal with the increase in packages and the number of our residents. I have requested that more of the parcel lockers be installed and have been told “No”. Is there a statute preventing this? It is no fault of the residents that USPS got the Amazon bid, so why won’t they install more of the parcel lockers and if they won’t do it, what is the alternative?
My address is on one street, while my mailbox is on a different street. I’m disabled and when I spoke to the post office they said that the mail man would have to take a different route, if my box was moved to a more convenient location. I explained to them if I put a box on the corner he would just have to kind of do a half circle on my road then a half circle on the other road. They still won’t let me move the box. It is very painful to walk in my yard. So I said why don’t you just change my address to the other street. Any suggestions?
We have a rural mailbox that we put up. Can I have a neighbor once a month drop off some papers, which I would retrieve before mail would be delivered?
The section of my town that I live in is only accessible by entering into the next town over and then crossing back to my home town. Are rural carries permitted and or required to cross town lines to deliver mail for their coverage area? Thanks!
I have two defunct mailboxes (there are notices from the USPS that says they are defunct) in front of my recently purchased house. The boxes are right beside my own mailbox and are not on my property. The boxes originally served houses behind me that were accessed by a flag lot easement/driveway next to the mailboxes, but this easement has recently been annulled, and the land now belongs to me. My question is, can I remove the defunct mailboxes, or do I need permission from USPS?
My mailbox is on the same structure as a few other mailboxes, but my mail keeps getting stolen and broken into. I can just buy a locked mailbox and install it there myself? I guess as long as it fits?
Does my mailbox have to be installed before my driveway apron or after my driveway apron on the roadway
I work out of my home (we live in a single-family home in a city, I have a room that is my office.) I was wondering if it would be possible to put out a second mailbox on our house that has my business name on it. (Basically, I would like to keep my business mail separate from that which might be brought into the house and misplaced etc. by other members of the household. You know, not that that’s ever happened, har har har… :/ ) Is this something that can be done? I am guessing I would probably need to talk to the P.Office about it first?
My fiance and I are currently renovation our new house and have yet to move in, but started getting mail to that location, and was told we needed to get a mail box (previous owner must have taken theirs). We went out and purchased a wall mounted mail box, because they are cheaper and we have already invested enough money into this house. Now we are getting notes saying we need to get a curbside mail box, but our post master is a very rude man and insists we have to make it a curbside. From our previous experiences with curbside is that during the winter, they get covered with mounds of snow or the snow plow will knock them over, and we are stuck to replace them adding more expenses, and all we really receive is junk mail. Do we have any legal rights to keep our mailbox on the wall by front door? I find this to be ridiculous. Most of our mail is junk mail that we just throw away, because we do paperless billing. There is a mail carrier that walks around to the other houses on the block so I know it is a safe area and very accessible for him or her to walk up and put our mail in the mailbox.
CAN I HAVE A SECOND MAILBOX FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES WITH ME?
Me and my roommate have a house together. She removed our normal mailbox that’s on the wall next to the front door and switched it to a locked mailbox and she refuses to give me a key. Is there something I can do
Do I need to notify the post office when I switch from a curbside mailbox to a mail slot in my front door? Are there any cities that don’t allow mail slots? All my neighbors have curbside boxes…
Recently two of my three mailbox keys have disappeared and I am almost sure they were stolen by a disgruntled family member that used to live with us. As this family member is a criminal already, I would like to have a new lock installed along with new keys for it. How would I go about that and what’s the cost?
My gated community has privately-owned roads. Our mailboxes each serve about twelve homes with locks on each home’s individual slot. We have a problem with cars blocking the boxes during delivery times. The HOA Board would like to mount a high-quality sign on the street side of each mailbox (which is currently blank steel, as all access is on the sidewalk side) prohibiting parking within 10′ of the box during delivery hours. We’ve gotten conflicting information on if this kind of signage affixed to the mail receptacles is allowed. Where can we receive a definitive answer before paying to have the signs printed?
My wife planted daffodils around four adjacent mailboxes, including our own, that are on the road between us and the property to our north about 5 years ago. New neighbors moved into the house north of us a couple years ago and this past week dug up all the bulbs, even as my wife was explaining to them that she purchased them and they are her property. The mailboxes are in the road set-back so they are on neither of our properties but sit in front of the neighbor’s property near the property line. His mailbox is the first to the north and ours is the 4th to the south but he dug up all the bulbs, including around our mailbox. Is that legal? The other 2 mailboxes belong to neighbors across the street and they never had a problem with the landscaping.
Is there a rule mandating how far a mailbox must be from a stop sign?
Trying to find out if its illegal to cement my post on side of busy road can’t seem to find anything official about it for wisconsin need to know my liability if someone hits it
Can you share a mailbox with your family that you share the same driveway with? Is there a form that both families can sign that can allow this? My parents have a brick mailbox and we can not find the same brick to add to theirs and they are gone all week and come home on the weekends and so I pick their mail up anyways. Is there a way to make it possible to share?
We’re on a private road with mailboxes at the top of the road. The mail carrier told a neighbor that three boxes weren’t used so to remove or let someone else use them. I thought mailboxes were private property plus, we have seasonal residents on the road that two of those boxes belong to. Is it common for mail carriers to suggest reassigning mailboxes, is that allowed?
My community of 1,100 single family homes is planning on replacing our present, standard type, curbside mailboxes with new ones that have spring loaded doors. Are spring loaded doors on curbside mailboxes legal or not? In the event that they are not legal what are the possible penalties, if any, for the homeowner, the seller and the installer?
My local postmaster recently informed me that they could no longer deliver mail to my wall mounted mailbox and that I needed to install a curbside mailbox. They sent me a letter stating that the prevailing method of delivery in my neighborhood was curbside delivery. Well I drove around my neighborhood and there are very few curbside mailboxes! Not only that, but I asked several people on my street and they said they hadn’t received such a letter. Why am I being singled out? I’ve always had a wall mounted box and I’ve lived here for decades. I’m elderly and it’s not easy for me to walk to the street to get my mail. Are they allowed to do this?
I don’t know if I’m posting this in the proper place so please excuse or guide me elsewhere. We purchased a home 3 months ago on Salem Oregon and there is a cluster box on the curb between our house and the neighbors. The curb space for the box is small enough that a mini car can not fit within the space which leaves people blocking our driveway. The neighbors drive up, block our driveway, then often reverse fast and are off to their homes. We have a 6 and a 4 year old; the neighbors have a 4, 2 and 6 month old. This seems like a major safety hazard. Any suggestions? There are plenty of other places along the street that the cluster box would be more appropriate and safe. Thanks!
Hi I am reading up on the regulation here and had a question. I have three packages in the larger lockers of the mail box and the key has not been placed in my mail box. I don’t know if the packages are still there or if a neighbor now has them. What other steps can I take to try and retrieve the packages? I have already reported to my local USPS about it. Is there a way the locker can be open to see if my packages are there or do I need to start asking neighbors? I have been losing sleep over this any help would be great.
Please can onyone give me info. i have a question.
We own property and it is vacant because we moved out. We are currently doing some repairs, and it is empty, and no one claims it as their residence as in rented, and now lives in it or receives mail at the location. Can the post office legally still allowed to leave mail. Also… I have put up no tress passing signs because i am so tired of the mail carriers leaving junk mail like occupant news papers.
Is it legal for me to remove the mail box so they cant stuff trash in it? . No one…. no one recieves mail at this address any more, and all former residents have changed their addresses to recieve mail elsewhere. Is it legal for me to remove the mail box so they dont deliver the occupant junk mail, mostly newspapers? The post office representative says it is illegal for them to deliver mail to an old address if the address of the person has moved? Is old junk occupant mail allowed to be put in the mail box of a house that exhibits no trespassing signs? I want to do it right but its so annoying to pull weekly occupant mail out of the mail box.
Is there any regulations as far as how unique a curbside mailbox can be?
Hi, our neighbors have recently either backed into their mailbox or have decided to demolish it. They have replaced their existing mailbox with a metal rod and have hung an orange bucket from it. Is this up to code? I’m hoping it’s not, as it is an eyesore. How could it be reported?
Thanks!
Today I got a note on my mailbox that said.
NO NAME
NO MAIL
On a small tag note. I’ve lived here owning my house for almost ten years and they have always delivered my mail. Is this legal to with old my mail in a one family owned semi detached house?
After having our mail box knocked over for the third time, we rented a post office box. The post office refuses to deliver large packages to our home, because they say there is no mailbox. Our street number is clearly displayed on a wooden post near the end of our driveway, about 3 feet from the edge of the road. The packages wouldn’t fit in a mailbox if we had one. Is this just the mail carrier not wanting to deliver the package or is their determination correct?
I had the mail box in front of my yard and moved it to the curb because we put a patio wall and got a new mail box to put it on the pillar of the patio wall and as we’re installing the new mail box on the pillar the mail person passed by and said once we move it to the curb side we couldn’t move it back.
I would like to get a roadside mailbox where the access door is hinged at the top, so it lifts upward, rather than dropping downward. If the carrier doesn’t slam it closed, it falls open and mail gets wet or flies out of the box. Is there any rule on which way the door opens?
I recently switched from a P.O. Box to curbside. The postmaster approved the post position but will not approve the mailbox I installed. It is a standard, run-of-the-mill, USPS approved mailbox purchased at Home Depot. Our postmaster is insisting that we install a T4 box which costs about 80 bucks. I cannot find any paperwork from her stating it is mandatory for me to use the T4 box. There was no mass mailing touting the benefits of said box and no one else is being forced to change out their old boxes for this new one. My mail delivery is being with held because of this. Does the postmaster have a leg to stand on? I’m not backing down.
Hello,
Am I allowed to have a mailbox on my property if there is a cluster box down the street? Lock is broken. Trip in for new form wasted as we had to have mail key to be allowed to fill out form. Mail carrier refuses to deliver packages to house while lock issue continues. Thank you
I live on a very big piece of property with three houses on it and not very close together all 3 houses have to use the same mailbox because we are all on the same address is there a way i can get my own mailbox? With my mail coming to it ? How would i do that ?/do i need to like get my part of the property a new address or something ? Please reply asap
What are the rules if my door falls off my mailbox when the carrier is delivering mail, or the whole box falls off a rotted post while the carrier is trying to put mail in it? Thanks
Where can I find your “USPS Regulations for Locking Mailboxes” on the USPS website or do you have a PDF of the reguration? I need to convince others your website is correct. Thanks.
Is a town aloud to make you get a p.o. box or is it your right to have a mail box with out have to pay for a p.o. box
Most people live on one side of the street where their house is located, sitting on the lot of land they own. Their mailbox is then across the street on property belonging to someone else. Aren’t there laws against this? Shouldn’t someones mailbox only be on their own property?
Can the post office make me move my box to the other side of the street ..now that they are servicing both sides. Box has been there for over 18 years.
Hello, Reciently someone hit my mail box. I got a not in the mail from the post office stating i had 30 day to replace it and I had to purchase the news TGen4. Which is some where between $80 -$100. I did replace the box with a regular standard box. Then i got another letter saying if i dont buy the newest one my mail will be with held. Is this leagal? Why isnt everyone else in town required to “upgrade”? What are the rules/laws for a mail box size in 2018? Thanks.
Could we put a box next to our mail box for people to put stuff in? I’m trying to collect box tops from the community and I want to put a box so the people can drop the box tops their.
I just purchased a vacant piece of land in a rural area, but an established subdivision that has a cluster mailbox at the entry to the subdivision. I went to the post office with proof of purchase (my deed) and applied for mail delivery to my new address. After taking my application, I was called later that day and told I needed to show proof of a building permit before I could receive mail. While I will be building, I want my mail delivery to begin now, since I am staying in the area, and don’t want to drive 100 miles to my existing PO BOX in another town. I am not expecting delivery to my plot, just to the existing cluster mailbox. Is there any regulations requiring a building to exist to get mail?
Yes. Solution: keep having mail delivered to your PO Box until you gat a building permit. And don’t start building before you get the omit baca use that would be, well, you figure it out.
Just moved into the neighborhood, and my neighbor is turning out to be a nuisance! Constantly blocking my mailbox. Trying to be friendly, but thinking about moving my box just to avoid the BS.
Hi I recently purchased a house and temporarily placed the mail box in a gravel-filled bucket that allows me to move it when needed during renovation. I was receiving mail in it the first few weeks but in the last three weeks I have received nothing. The mailbox meets all regulations except for possibly the heigth. If that was the problem would I receive some sort of notice?
What would be the reasoning for a landlord to put a tenants name on two boxes but two different apartments? Example: John Doe 305a, John doe 306a.
My neighbor mail is on my property he lives across the street from me is there a way I can have him remove his mailbox
Does USPS have any regulations on portable basket ball hoops in front/blocking of a community mail box?
Good evening
We are not able to open our mail box. We share one large one with different compartments. Each address has his own small locker, but we aren’t able to open it. The key is not even able to go in, so we can try to twist and open it. Tried several things and nothing. What do we do?
Fort Worth Texas 76123
Carmin L
I am developing some properties and do not know whether the sites are on driving routes or walking routes. Is there a way to determine how mail is delivered? I need to know whether I can have individual mailboxes at the unit entry or if I need to provide boxes at the street.
The reason for no heavy steel pipe or concrete/brick structure is because of safety concerns. I actually had a cousin that was killed by a big elaborate concrete/brick structure. The homeowner buried a steel pipe 4ft into the ground and then surrounded it with brick and concrete to “dress it up”. That homeowner was sued and had to fork out a large sum of money. I understand why the regulations exist, and they make perfect sense.
Is there any law on useing concrete to hold the post in the ground
Can I use a street-side “locking” mailbox. My mail lady wrote a note that I cannot lock the box.
I knocked over a mailbox with my car mirror while parallel parking (left them my contact information) I wasn’t even within the required 12 inches from the curb. The mailbox was sticking pretty fair out into the street. The post was right up against the curb. (Mirror wasn’t damaged at all, but box was knocked right of the post.) I looked up the postal regulations and the box should be 6 to 8 inches away from the face of the curb. Because it was sticking out into the road, am I still financially responsible?
Can you have two mailboxs when theres know one lives in that home and they have a different mailbox
We bought a house with an existing on house mailbox and were told by the postmaster when we bought it that that was fine if we chose to keep it, we finished renovations and moved in almost 2 years later and received a notice from the post office saying that they were going to hold our mail unless we put in a curbside.
I live on a corner property. Our mailbox is at the front of the house, but our driveway is on the side.
For 15 years we have not had package delivery, because our carrier won’t deliver to the driveway. This has become a hardship for us now that Amazon and everyone ships UPS then it goes to USPS — we can’t order anything delivered to the house.
I don’t know what to do. We technically have 2 addresses because of the corner property, maybe install another mailbox at the driveway address?
I
My mail carrier left a note on an outgoing piece of mail that was Return to Sender stating I needed to put my name on my mailbox. Is this true?
We have a home in Mountain Shadows area of town which have curbside mailboxes. My question is , if we have a PO Box and don’t want a curbside mailbox at our home does USPS require we have a mailbox even if we don’t want it?
Our neighbors are using a tide pod container with a flag nailed to the side as a mailbox. NO LIE! Where do we report this?
I have a question my mail box key broke off for the 2nd time so i again told my landlord and she told me she cant replace it a 2nd time with out the post office bin present.. Is this true?
About to put up a mailbox in a rural area. I would love to have on MY SIDE OF THE PROPERTY. Am told by my local mail office that it cannot be on my side that the carrier doesn’t run down
On that side. I am in a curve, BOTH DIRECTIONS and am retired age. I don’t want to cross the road. I Deerfield across the road stop in vehicles all the gime, nearly get hit. They drive springboard boxes. We also have a neighborhood man who goes on multiple boxes ADVISE, PLEASE.
I have had a pobox for the longest time but since I moved I want curbside delivery like everyone else here. I see the mailman in his little truck every day. If I install a mailbox in front of my house and go to the main facility post office to change the address, what documents must I bring with me?
Can I move my mailbox from my curb to my house?
What can you do when you have problems with the postmaster? 2 years ago a new one came in and demanded everyone change the height of their boxes, location( on boxes that have been in the same place for 50+ years!) And various other things. The Carrier’s CONSTANTLY put the wrong mail in the wrong boxes from the wrong roads even! When I talk to the carrier about it ( we live in the country so it’s a drive to the neighbors) she is snotty and the next day I’ll get notes that I need to fix my box or do xyz or I won’t get my mail.
I’ve dealt with vandals so my box is in an old milkman wired to cement blocks so they cant throw it in the ditch. It’s been beaten with bats too at one point and I cant afford to replace it right now anyhow. So the door shuts when you slam it- this person never closes it. And she drives the lowest car I’ve ever seen and hangs on the boxes to put the mail in. That’s loosened the wires so it wiggles now. The postmaster that everyone hates backs up the carrier. I’m sick of dealing with them!!! I cant afford a box in a different town so how can I get different people in that actually do their job?
Hi .we live in a fairly new 55 and over community where there is a number of rows of mailboxes that we need to drive to and pick up our mail. Very inconvenient, especially in rain or if it freezing out as key will become harder to open the mailbox. We only have 20 houses and expect 247 when completed. We were told these are mailboxes mandated by USPS and nothing we can do. There is no covering over them, and once most of houses are built we foresee a major issue with all people going to one area for their mail. How can I find out if this is USPS or the HOA. Most are older and afraid of failing in bad weather
Jen, Len stated that the mail man wanted him to move his mail box after it was established or not to deliver mail. There is case law in Kentucky that states you are the owner of the mail box and the USPS can not dictate that you are to move your mail box. Found it in researching. My question is this. I am disabled and have a rural mail box. It was established via being connected with the deed on the property that folks bought. They asked to put it at the service entrance and were told no they could not move it there because it did not line up with their deed to the property. So they placed it in 8-11-2015. I was arrested for alleged criminal trespass parking on the right of way to get the mail at the mail box where the post master declared the box legal and regulatory and established. Ex deputy sheriff uses the sheriff to bully and this is the case as he threatened a special needs adult to punch him out when the kid was doing me a favor for weed wacking around the box to keep fire danger down. The kid did not get arrested but only me? Neighbor moved his property lines, however, I was told it does not meet any criteria to remove the box regardless he moves his property lines, and the box per the case law is property of my folks and declared legal. Am I not allowed, because of my disability to pull off the road to get to the box? Seems the Sheriff is trying to promote this guys rights over that of the elderly and disabled. Plus this ex deputy has put it in writing threatening to use people to take out the mail box. I have encountered letters torn off, the box vandalized and no one will do anything even with this guy putting it in writing and the box has taken a beating. I report it to the Sheriff and they laugh it off. Where do you go with this?
Regardless of any disability it is not honored by the post office. They really don’t care and will blow hot smoke to clear themselves with media instead of correcting this and honoring the disabled and elderly when it comes to the mail being delivered safely. It only involves THEIR safety not YOURS. Been there and one that tee shirt with USPS. They are not a federal agency by the way.
I have kinda a weird question. I live in a house and we have a mailbox with a lock on it due to have had mail stolen in the past. The house I live in is my family home in which I moved back into to help out my parents whom have started having medical issues as well as some things that have happened in my life. The problem lies in that I have not been given a key to the mailbox and feel I do not always get my mail! Someone told me it was against the law for a key to be withheld from me. Is this true? Thanks in advance for your help.
My husband and I have lived in our current home for 13 years and today we came home to find a handwritten post-it note attached to our mail that says, “boxes all need raised to 48 in.” We live in a rural area and said “boxes” are at the end of a lane shared by six families. There are six mailboxes that are set on a frame with a roof over it. These boxes have been in place long before we moved here. I’m wondering if this is a legitimate note and if we need to comply.
I have a mailbox installed curbside in 1999 and we have lived here for 10 years. We had the same delivery person for that time and he was wonderful. He recently (a few weeks ago) bid on a new route. Last week I noticed that a delivery person was driving on our grass. I called the post office and complained and put a large stone on my lawn to keep the tires off the lawn. Today I got a notice in the box that I have to move my box 9 inches closer to the street or delivery may be stopped. That mailbox has been there for 20 years with no complaint from the post office. When I called they said the delivery person was a short armed woman that couldn’t reach the mailbox. I measured other boxes on the street and some were close and some further away by a few inches both ways. Seriously for 6 inches?
I have a rural box across from my house, it is approx 60 ft away from my door.
My question is due to ongoing physical issues it is getting harder to go to
get the mail, also my house sets at the top of a 20 deg angle hill. Is there anyway I could have my mail delivered to my house? This is especially an
issue in winter with ice and snow.
thanks
I just recently purchased a house in a small rural town in NH. As soon as we purchased this house we started to receive notices that our mailbox wasn’t high enough (apparently the standard height of 41-45). Of course my issue is the people that had lived here for the last 30 years go their mail without difficulty. For a month now I have had to drive to the post office to pick up our mail. My husband did just that today and spoke with said Postmaster. She informed my husband (which she slapped a piece of paper on the counter with our mail they have held hostage) and said these are the requirements and you received your first notice in November. My husband argued with her (oh yes he argued) and told her the same that I just said. It was ok for the last family? After back and forths, she called the police, who said either way there was nothing they could do. She also refused to give a phone number to any of her superiors that we could contact. She said she was the highest rank and we wouldn’t find anyone above her. Please help me with contact to place a complaint of holding my mail at free will.
Thank you, Tina
Our mailbox was damaged by a snowplow during a recent storm and I had to replace it. the box I had before was a what I believed to be a standard sized “breadbox” type mailbox. I replaced with a USPS approved “breadbox” type and now I am being told I must now upgrade my mailbox to what I am being told is a T4 large style mailbox.
Our delivery person left a flyer in our mailbox telling us the rules changed to the USPS-STD-7 regulations on September 13, 2016 that requires all new mailboxes to meet this new large T4 requirement. However, I cannot find anything stating this as the new required standard.
Additionally, I noticed on some of your sites comments that you cannot find this requirement, but that it could be a local rule? Can you please give me some direction on this requirement?
Thank you
I just got permission for a hardship wall mounted mailbox. I ordered one to their specifications. It does not have a red flag. Do I need to have one so my outgoing mail gets picked up.
A neighbor who owns rental cabins was told he could not place a sign on the highway advertising his business. To get around this, he has recently installed a mailbox that has the name and address of the business in large letters–which I’m sure is okay–but then an arrow pointing to the location of his cabins, which I’m not sure is okay. Can a rural mailbox legally be used for this kind of advertising?
I live at a dead end street, it is me and one other house. I moved my mailbox next to my neighbors about 8-10′ in from the road on their driveway per the postmaster. They are house 508 and I am 509 the mail lady, who frankly is a bully, said I have to put my mailbox on the other side of theirs so it is in numerical order. I originally had my mailbox in another location but she refused to deliver my mail because of a small bump in front of my mailbox from water draining. So, this will be the 3rd time I am moving it to satisfy her. If I put it on the other side of their mailbox it will be about 12′-14′ in onto their property. Do they have to be in numerical order?
Hello, I am moving into a new home and my mailbox has been moved. My question is how do I find out the correct location of where my mailbox should be placed? I do know that it is so deep and so many inches from the curb. The neighbor across the street where the mailbox should be placed wants documentation in order to move into their yard. Right now they have it down a ways on the other side of their driveway. How do I find out or get documentation to present them so the mailbox can be moved back directly across from my house?
I live in a townhome community of 233 units. We have been told by our postal carrier that we are going to be required to install MailBoxes (similar to what apartments use) instead of the carrier walking around the community to put mail in the individually mailboxes in front of our homes. Each townhome has it’s own address. Can the postmaster make us do this? Our homes were built in the 60’s and have been like this ever since. Seems like we are being asked to incur additional expense for no reason.
Our condo compound has 7 post-mounted individual mailboxes. Our HOA has voted to install a CBU. One of our members does not want to be included in the CBU? Is this going to present a problem for us who want to use the CBU?
As a retired postmaster who supervised rural routes, I know that them USPS very much discourages rural carriers from backing up to the point of even having them go around a block should they discover the had mail for a box that the had just passed a few feet ago. About the only approved time to back up is if there is no other choice such as a dead end street where there is not sufficient room to make a U-turn or when a mail box is located in a driveway where the carrier will then back out and return in the direction he had just come from which is called a turnaround point.
The questions about cars blocking mail boxes where the carrier cannot pull into the box for delivery and then be able to continue on forward after delivering the mail would be a good example of this. The carrier would not be allowed to back in part way to make delivery if a car is parked in such a way that the carrier could not pull directly up to the mail box.
It’s there laws on building your own mailbox
Yes.
Hello,
Although nothing has been said to us, we have a neighbor who has repeatedly told us in the past two days that we can no longer park a car in the area adjacent to our driveway, between two mailboxes. This car has been being parked there for over two years, with somewhere between 4-6 feet of space on both sides. I see other cars parked with similar distances between mailboxes without issue. This lady has a history of being a pain… Anyway, we need our two adjacent parking spots, afforded to us as places we can park by our city’s coding, next to our driveway, as we otherwise don’t have enough places to park. We tried to then park in front of her house, since it is not realistic to just get rid of someone’s vehicle all the sudden. She is still bothering us. ***Her mailbox is located by itself in our yard*** (our mailbox is shared with the neighbor across the street, but hers stands independently in the middle of our yard). It could be easily moved 3-4 feet to the left (definitely farther if necessary or possible) to make it possible for us to continue to park there without impacting anyone else or any safety concerns as far as we can tell. It will literally just be 3-4+ feet to the left, in the same grassy area in front of our yard.
How would it work for us to find out if this can happen? Can we call the postmaster about someone else’s mailbox that’s in our yard?
We do not have a “red flag” installed on our curbside mailbox due to thieving and thugging these days. We have never used it for “outgoing” mail in over 18 yrs, when we built our home. The carrier put mail to the wrong name and address in our box. I put it back in the box and it has been there 4 days now. The local PO Supervisor says he doesn’t have to pick it up without our red flag being raised. He can clearly see it there when he delivers our mail. It is not a regulation to have a red flag. It is not listed as a regulation. I am not going to do the work for the USPS and hand deliver it or make a 4 mile round trip to take it back to the PO. IT’s not our mistake or responsibility. What’s a person to do in this situation? Anybody see my point?
I am renting a house that already had a wall mounted mailbox. One of the mail carrier complained about it saying she should not have to get off her car to drop off my mail. The other carriers have no problem they even walk to the nearby houses to drop the mail off.
I leave on base housing and our Residents mailbox does not face the mailman drivers side he or she has to go around it to get the mail. We also dont have a outgoing mailbox to send mail out. Outside is the only side that still has a old mailbox that is also broken and hasn’t been fixed on Alabama ct Silverdale, Wa. If our military members are serving their country to keep us safe why are the post office ignoring getting this issue fixed for there families. Not all of the families have an extra car to drop of there outgoing mail . This mail stop needs to be updated. All other mail stops already have a new mailbox and outgoing mailbox for Residents we are the only block with an old one and the driver has to get out and go around it to put the mail in the slots. I read that it has to face them when they park in front on them and we are required to have an outgoing mailbox too.
Are their regulations regarding design of the mailbox? Can I make one that looks like an airplane if it meets the size regulations?
I moved into my house in 2010, at that time my post office told me that I needed to place my mailbox curbside and stated that it was a requirement of all homes on my block to change their mailbox location to curbside by the end of the year, well as of now I am only the second home who has curbside out of 12 homes on my side of the street, My neighbors on the right and left side of me still have their mailboxes by their front door. I recently had new checks stolen out of my mailbox and they wrote over $600 on my account, I contacted the post office and nothing came of it. I am currently waiting to have both knees replaced, and it is too hard to walk down to my mailbox, so I had it removed, and placed a wall mount one by my front door, just received a letter stating that I didn’t meet the Current postal guidelines and to place my mailbox curbside??? None of my neighbors have one, what should I do?
I just got a note from my rural carrier asking me to raise my mailbox to 49-50 inches after he bought a larger/taller truck. My mailbox is currently at 44 inches ( within the 41-45 inch USPS mailbox height regulation. Do I have to comply with his request and change my mailbox every time he changes vehicles?
the postal delivery keeps tore our mail box lid off by grabbing before stopped and hit it with his mirror is there a lay against damaging a mail box it used to be a crime
I would like to move my rural mailbox from across the road from our driveway actually into our driveway. The carrier currently turns around at the next mailbox and comes back by our house. He could turn into our driveway and deliver our mail last and then continue back up the road. There are a couple of reasons I want to do this. First and foremost is safety. This is a rural road however log trucks and trash trucks and well as regular traffic drive 55mph plus by my house. There is a slight curve in the road that is hard to tell if something is coming. Many times I have had to start running to get across the road. The other reason is the neighbor across the road where my mailbox is. She insists that I stay away from her property. She has said that she doesn’t want to see me on her side of the road except just to walk over there and get my mail. When the mailbox or post needs painting or staining or I want to do anything to it for holidays she has a complete meltdown at me. Frankly I just don’t want to have to deal with her anymore. Can I move it into my driveway? Do these reasons seem like legitimate ones that the postmaster will consider? I have mentioned this to my local post office, but I don’t believe it was the postmaster. They were unwilling to even consider letting me do this.
Are courier services (e.g. FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc) able to leave packages at the base of the mailbox post (not inside)?
I put a house in for my daughter next door to my house at first she was using my mailbox to get her mail we recently had a fall out she has now put in a new mailbox with my address on it is she allowed to take my address I’ve had for 20 years and put it on her new mailbox In front of the house I put in for her
Hi, I have a cbu and parcel box… actually on my driveway about 1.5 feet from the front sidewalk. This is also located in front of my RV parking which gets very close to almost getting bumped into when I park my truck or even worse trying to move trailers. Not to mention. Where it’s located is on a sweeping turn that comes from a down hill where people fly and hug that corner almost causing a wreck as they don’t seem to care much no a days for people’s safety. I also have people parking in front of my driveway to collect mail which sometimes they also just seems to hang out blocking entrance to getting or out. And the other neighbor parks in front of his driveway sometimes when he has a work trailer blocking the postal services drop off parking.
Wondering if they would consider moving both boxes on a new slab….still on my property on the same side just behind the sidewalk again but about 200 feet down. Plus I can pour the concrete slab to there specs and even roto hammer the lugs in so they are ready to mount. I also would do this for free. I already have approval from the 12 neighbors who are perfectly fine with it and would get in writing. Do you think this is double as it would be safer for the postal worker….more convenient for people picking up mail and also for both my neighbor and I as the garbage pick up is darn near same area.
I think if I was to pay for material and labor it should be a win win…?? Thoughts..??
I’m having a hard time finding a straight answer to required colors on curbside boxes. I’m using leftover paint. Could the box be white with a black or blue or green flag. Or, does it have to be black with a red flag??
Bud
Mailbox can be any color as also the flag as long as they are contrasting colors. i.e. white mailbox with a black, blue, red flag
I’ll try again. What is straightforward answer as to whether the flag on my mailbox has to be red. Can it be any other color…I’m using leftover paint. Bud
We recently had construction work done on the cross-road going past a row of 6 mailboxes that belong to myself and the other residents on my road. I came home one day to find that the mailboxes had all been replaced by a new stand that held a row of 6 new mailboxes. I originally had a locking mailbox and the new box designated for my address does not lock. The local Post Office said that they did not replace the mailboxes and that it may have been the construction company. The construction company representative stated that it was part of the project which was being done by the Nevada Department of Transportation. Can they just arbitrarily remove my mailbox and put up a new one without notifying me?
No They should have informed you of the change before moving or replacing the mailboxes. Did the mailboxes being removed have any mail in them? If locked how would they know? Did they accidentally damage the mailboxes with their equipment? You need to get answers from DOT
I have lived in this rural area for 15 years. The mailbox was already here on a post on the dirt “shoulder” which is wider than the paved road. For all 15 years I had the same mail carrier until recently when she retired. The box was old when we moved here but the metal piece at the top front holding the door closed was still strong and solid. Our carrier and we maneuvered it gently but firmly to keep it strong yet get it up to open the door.
In less than a month the piece of metal has been forced up to almost vertical so often that there’s a weak spot where it is about to break off. It’s just like when one takes a piece of metal and bends it repeatedly back and forth to deliberately create a weak spot so it breaks along that line.
I am angry but feel powerless. The USPS “owns” the box (a ridiculous, outmoded concept IMHO) yet if she breaks that piece off I am the one who has to buy a new box and have it installed. In fact, I heard through the grapevine at the post office that when one replaces a box it has to be a larger, more expensive one per the USPS “NEW” requirements.
What should I do?
Thank you.
My mailbox is attached the the outside but of my house, but it doesn’t have a top on it. Lately I haven’t been getting any mail. I don’t usually catch my carrier because I’m not home, so that I can ask. Does it have to have a lid on it?
YES
I live in Bangor housing in Washington state and we are the only ones with no outgoing mailbox but every other street has one.
I called post office and was basically told to walk a few blocks to someone else’s mail stop for outgoing. That in our area they are not required to pick up any outgoing mail.
I have no problem walking a few blocks to drop my outgoing mail. I can’t drop it of at the post office because my husband being in the military needs it more then I do.
My thing is is that they don’t think about the pregnant wife’s or the elderly that can’t drive to the post office or walk a distance.
When measuring the height of a post mounted mail box is the measurement taken from the bottom of the opening or the top?
Isn’t it my right to have a mailbox? I live in city limits in a town of 1300 people literally no more than 100 feet from our local post office and they are telling me I cannot put a mail box up because they do not deliver ‘over there’. They are telling me I can have a post office box but will have to pay $6/month for a key. I am dumbfounded by this because my parents live out of city limits but have a mailbox FOR FREE and I know many other people who live out of city limits that get mail delivered to them.
I built a new home on a corner lot, does the mail box have to be installed on the street that is my physical address or on the other street where my driveway is?
Ask your mail carrier what is their “Line of Travel” . If they turn at your corner without having to do a u-turn to get back on the route you may be able to locate the mailbox near the driveway
My address is 108 Cane Dr. and we have “108” on our mailbox which is in front of our house on Cane Dr.
The house DIRECTLY across the Street also has 108 on their mailbox which is also placed on Cane Dr. The other home is on a corner and their true address is 108 (not Cane Dr.) but the side street name, however their mailbox is placed on Cane Dr. This causes ongoing delivery and service problems for us, not them because if someone is looking for their house its not a Cane Dr. address. Another issue is in case of an emergency at my home, help could be delayed as when the GPS says “you have arrived” the first mailbox seen with 108 on it is where help will go. There was never a problem until they put “108” on their mailbox, even though it was in the same place before with no numbers on it. How can this be remedied?
Place
108 Cane Dr on the mailbox visible from both directions of travel
I live in a 20-25 year old subdivision of 600+ single family homes each with a mailbox at the curb. Recently the mail carrier has been putting notes in many mailboxes informing the owners that their mailboxes must be raised to conform to the 41″-45″ above the street level USPS regulation. How long has the 41″-45″ criteria been in effect? Was there a time when a lower dimension was acceptable? This particular mail route does not cover other nearby subdivisions and to my knowledge no one else has received notices to raise their mailboxes. Viewing mailbox heights throughout the area, both subdivision and other, all served by our Post Office, reveal many, many boxes significantly BELOW the minimum 41″ criteria. Also, in some subdivisions where cluster boxes are used, the LOWEST boxes aren’t even close to the 41″ criteria.
I live in a rural area. My neighbor has placed his mailbox about two foot away from my property corner. The mail carrier has to come in a an angle to deliver to his box. the mail truck driver is destroying my front lawn by driving over it. I asked her politely NOT to drive on my grass. She says in order for her to deliver mail safely to my neighbor, she has to drive on my grass. What do I do? Neighbor will not relocate his box’ it is cemented into the ground.
Notify the Postmaster that the mail deliver to the neighbors mailbox is unsafe according to the mail carrier own statement.
I have had a locking mailbox for nearly 10 years now, and it meets the criteria above (1.75″ x 10″). I received a note in my box stating “You must unlock your box so your carrier can access your parcels into box. Or replace box to one that can open”. The note states that if this is not resolved by today’s date (05/20/19) service may be suspended. The note is dated 05/10/2019, which is complete BS as I check my mail every 1 to 2 days and this is the first I am seeing of it. My question is, can they legally, after 10 years, force me to replace my mailbox? It meets the criteria above, and it stamped with the “Approved by the Postmaster General”. In addition, the only parcels I receive are clearly marked prescriptions for my son, which my thoughtful carrier leaves in plain sight on top of the mailbox, so I am unsure her complaint.
USPS Regulations for Locking Mailboxes
Locking mailboxes effectively prevent theft of incoming mail. They must meet the same functional requirements as standard mailboxes and must be approved by the postmaster.
Slots for incoming mail must be at least 1.75 inches high by 10 inches wide.
Protective flaps on locking mailboxes must be oriented inward so that mail carriers can place mail into the slot without additional effort.
Locking mailbox slots must be large enough to hold the resident’s normal daily volume of mail.
Slots must also be large enough to accommodate unfolded US Priority Envelopes.
Locks cannot be used on contemporary or traditional mailbox designs.
USPS carriers do not open locked mailboxes and do not accept mailbox keys.
You may need to file a release of responsibility with the postmaster if it is acceptable
If the slot for incoming mail must be at least 1.75″ high, why are the incoming slots on your wall-mounted mailboxes (“Townhome” and “Metro”) only 1.63″ high? Do these mailboxes meet USPS regs?
I have a mailbox kit (with post) I purchased from HD online. The mailbox has the “Approved By The Postmaster General” statement on it, yet the metal post (which comes in two pieces that slide into each other and are secured with screws) is 3″ (not 2″) in diameter. We live in a subdivision, so no one should be going fast…is this allowed? Finally, we have a sloped curb that is a foot wide. Is the 6-8 inches measured from the bottom where the street starts to curve up, or from the top of the curb where it meets the grass, or somewhere in between?
Regarding the question 12/26/2015 asking about flag color being blue. According to USPS-STD-7B. section 3.10 “The color of the mailbox and flag must be in accordance with the following requirements. The mailbox may be any color. The carrier signal flag can be any color EXCEPT any shade of green, brown, white, yellow, or BLUE. The preferred flag color is fluorescent orange. Also, the flag color must present a clear contrast with predominant color of the mailbox”.
are there any requirements that apartment complexes must have a location where outgoing mail can be dropped off that is suitable to tenants needs? The place I moved to has a small chair in front of a desk away from the main area where mail is dropped off. Carriers often neglect to pick up packages. The office staff has claimed that it is the responsibility of usps to check in each day for outgoing mail. USPS has said that they must be notified that there is outgoing mail and that sub-carriers are unaware of where outgoing mail is stored. Either way, my packages are often missed…
I want to replace out regular curb side standard mailbox with a curb side wall mounted box. In other words, we would like to build a little 2.5′ by 4′ wall and hang a wall mount mailbox on it. I will check with our local post office, but I’m interested to know if you think it would be acceptable. I have seen these before and I like the way they look.
Hi Harry. You will need a mailbox approved for curbside delivery to be officially acceptable by the USPS. The USPS does not approve wall mount mailboxes for curbside delivery.
Is it illegal to to have a personal advertisement or private business email (.com address) posted anywhere on a US postal mailbox. Even if it is your own mailbox?
YES
3.1.3 Mailbox Accessories – Decorative art and devices can be attached to the exterior of
approved mailbox designs provided they do not interfere with mail delivery or present a safety
hazard. Devices can also be mounted in the interior of approved mailboxes, provided they do
not cause the intended mailbox to fail either capacity test described in 4.2, and do not interfere
with mail delivery or present a safety hazard.
Any advertising on a mailbox or its support is prohibited.
Unrestricted spring-loaded devices and designs are prohibited.
Auxiliary flags or devices used to signal the customer that the mail has arrived must operate automatically without
requiring additional carrier effort.
Jenny says, above, that the mailbox should be mounted 6″ to 8″ from the ROAD.
The USPS guidelines say 6″ – 8″ from the CURB. The curb might be considered to
be 6″ or so in width. So, there seems to be a question here. It would appear that
the guideline might read 6″ to 8″ from the pavement side of the “curb”. Would
that be correct?
Hi William, based off the technical drawings, we believe the curb to be defined as the the edge of the road and curb. In other words, where the road ends, and the curb begins… Keep in mind that the front of your mailbox should be 6-8 inches away from this location, to ensure safe access for your mail carrier. On areas where there is no improved curb, we believe it should be 6-8″ away from wherever a safe location that the mail carrier can pull up to. If you have more specific questions about where you should place your mailbox, I would recommend trying to catch your mail carrier on their delivery route, or reaching out to your local post office/ post master. Cheers!
I live in a suburban town in MA and would like to build a brick mailbox with an approved insert. Are there any restrictions on doing this?
You may need to check with DOT for local policies on placing structures near the roadway
My daughter hit a concrete and stone heavily reinforced mailbox which destroyed her car and they are now demanding $1200 restitution. Was that mailbox legal? Does she have to pay such an extraordinary fee?
The very first comments that appear on my view of this blog address this very question – see “Brad Post’s” 9/5/19 response to “Terry Dutton’s” original post on March10, 2015 on this topic; also see the immediately-subsequent posts from “Chox” on April 21, 2015 and “Dave” on May 2, 2015 (there may be other related ones – I haven’t perused this entire blog yet).
The upshot seems to be that, far from your daughter owing the mailbox owner, it’s the other way around: the mailbox owner probably owes your daughter for damage to her car and any injuries suffered by her or her passengers due to the installation of a non-breakaway mailbox support.
You should consider suing the mailbox owner for the damages caused to your daughter by the non-standard mailbox installation. Talk to your insurance agent about this first though – they may have already settled with the other party. If they never went after the other party, and you decide you want to do so, depending on the value of your daughter’s damages you may get directed to small-claims court whereat your daughter will probably have to represent herself. She should consider finding and hiring an experienced attorney for a couple of hours well beforehand to advise her on the law and how to conduct things (and she should ask to be reimbursed for these and any other legal and court costs In her suit).
George – please keep in mind that in any court action your daughter persues related to the mailbox incident the other party can raise and pursue claims for damages from your daughter due to her negligence in the incident. In the end both parties may wind up with valid and offsetting damage claims.
We are building a new home – got an address assigned. Talked with the local postmaster regarding our mail delivery. There are 3 house down a county road. The previous 2 address had mailboxes located on a corner just prior to the beginning of that county road but have since removed them (and rented po boxes) due to it being on a corner and them constantly being taken out by wreckless motorists or snowplows and are how renting po boxes. I talked with the local postmaster about relocating the boxes .2 miles down the county road which would be safer for the mail carrier for delivery and avoid the wreckless corner. All 3 homeowners are in favor of this. The local postmaster is in favor of this and approved it wholeheartedly and agreed with it being a safety issue, as did the local carrier but said it had to go to the main post office in Michigan – located 6 hours away. They disapproved it and said the boxes need to go on the corner where previously located. What is the appeal process? Our local postmaster didn’t believe there is one.
Was there a reason given on why the suggested location was disapproved? If there is any safety concern for the mail carrier? Does the carrier have to do a U-turn or back up the vehicle?
I have lived in my rural home for 26 years and my mailbox is located next to my driveway. My uncle bought the pasture next to my driveway 2 years ago. My husband started mowing the tall grass around my mailbox yesterday when he hit a 1-inch thick metal pipe sticking about 8 inches out of the ground. It was not visible due to the grass and weeds being much higher. It knocked a hole in the engine of my riding lawnmower and now I have to buy a new mower.
Right after my husband hit the pipe and the mower began hemorrhaging oil and gas, my uncle, who lives down the road and across the street from my house and his pasture, walked over and told my husband that he placed the metal pipe in the ground to mark his property. He told my husband that my garbage can and mailbox are on his property and I would have to move them to the other side of my driveway (which is impossible because there is a drainage ditch and my other neighbor’s property is on the other side of the ditch. I don’t think he is correct and my dad & I are going to measure today. I am supposed to own the 30 ft from my other neighbor’s fence line, so I think my mailbox and trash can are on my property. My dad says the county actually owns all property next to the road, including the area where my mailbox is located.
Since my uncle never mows that area and we do, I think he should have notified us that he placed a metal pipe in the ground. He is a very mean, nasty person. I think he did it hoping to cause some damage. He has security cameras everywhere and watches them on his living room television. I guess that’s how he knew to walk over to the scene of my lawnmower’s destruction.
His son told me last month that his dad has dementia and if he says anything ugly, to just pay him no attention.
If I find that he is correct, do I have to move my mailbox? It has been there for 26 years, it is less than 3 feet from the edge of my driveway, and it is next to a pasture that has nothing but a few goats on it. And technically, I think the county owns the 5 feet from the road on everyone’s land.
If I am correct, can I hold him responsible for the damages to my mower? Even if he has dementia?
This is not a postal issue but something you have to address with local planning board.
Amazing how this article’s comments section is getting active replies for so long! Thanks to whoever is managing this. One question: is it a requirement to install only USPS approved boxes? We have a new house that has finished construction in San Francisco. Would like to use this box, but it’s not technically USPS approved–https://www.homedepot.com/p/QualArc-Black-Freestanding-Locking-Mail-Parcel-Drop-Box-ALX-800-REAR-BK/207155021. The dimensions of the slot and height above ground and approach all comply with regulations. Can we just install it or do we need to do anything special? Thanks in advance
Hi, I have a box at the curbside across the street from my driveway. My mail has been tampered with wherein I didn’t get mail for a week because someone took it, held it for a week and then put it back in my box in a lump sum. I ask my mail carrier if he was making a second delivery and he said no. He found it odd to that I didn’t get mail in my box for a week. My question is, can I move my mailbox to my side of the street at the end of my driveway instead? Delivery made my a mail truck is not saving the postal service money, rather costing them more for gas and wear and tear versus doing it on foot. In all the years the postal service has been in business they have lost money. I wonder why? Delivering it a truck at the curb is more costly than if the postman did it on foot. Meanwhile my mail is being tampered with. Getting a locking box won’t do either, because I get a lot of large packages, and leaving it on my door step would present a problem of it possibly getting stolen. I can’t always be at home when I am expecting a package. Why can’t I have my mail delivered either with a mailbox on a post at the end of my driveway or at my house. Why is the government “controlling” how we get mail? Why can’t we control how we get it – up at house which would alleviate mail tempering, or better yet, have it where we get in delivered through a slot in our front door. We should have a right as to how we want it delivered…Not being forced to have it delivered a certain way that is only convenient for the carrier.
Delivering mail by truck is not more costly than if the postman did it on foot. A walking mail carrier may deliver 300-400+ deliveries in a day but a truck delivery carrier may deliver over 800 in a day. If you live on a rural delivery route that may be why your mailbox is across the street from your house. the mail carrier can deliver faster without have to turn around.
As for why you can’t control how you get mail is because you do not pay for the service. The only payment for mail service is made by the sender. NO taxes pay for mail.
I got a note from my carrier, stating that I have to keep my mailbox clear from objects blocking it. The only thing that is close is my truck which is 6ft from the mailbox. What is the area that has to be cleared around the mailbox?
15 FT approaching the mailbox and 15 FT departing after delivery
I live in Brockton Massachusetts and I am about to build a column mailbox (inserting a mailbox in a column), to the left of my entry door. Now my current mailbox is on a wall to the right of my entry door. Do you see any problems with my new settings. Thanks (Hans).
For rural mail boxes, can the post be cemented into the ground. The post is not cemented but can the post be cemented
Hi Kathy. To find out for your specific location, you should reach out to the DOT in your state / county. Usually some cementing to a minimal depth is allowed, but if you are on a highway or high speed road cementing your post may cause dangers.
Hi Gabriel! My mailbox post is currently right in front of the house and my driveway is a little farther straight down along the street. It is approximately 20-30ft in between distance. I want to move the mailbox closer to the corner of the driveway for more convenient access. Do you think this will be a problem? It’s still on the same side of the street and still in the direction of the USPS truck.
Hi Nam, would the mail carrier have to drive further down your driveway to make that stop? If so, the post office might not allow it for the sake of reducing efficiency. If you are concerned about mail theft because your mailbox is currently further away than you’d like it, I would recommend the purchase of a MailBoss locking mailbox. For the final and official answer on where you can move your mailbox, inquire with your mail carrier / local post office. Cheers!
We moved to a new house with a box on the house. The mail carrier said we had to install on the road – said to put it next to our neighbor’s box (on the neighbor’s property). We asked the President of the Homeowner’s Assn her opinion because we didn’t want a problem with the Board (or that neighbor who is on the board) She said the Board would prefer us to put it on our property. We followed the rules as best we could and put a box up best location we could – the property is very small and oddly shaped. The mail carrier came by today and told us that there is no location on our property that is acceptable to her. She told us to get a bucket, fill it with rocks and place it (what amounts to in the middle of a culdesac in front of a sewer grate) and was annoyed that the Homeowner’s association said they don’t want us to put it in the grouping on the neighbor property (as the postal carrier told us to do). We wrote to the board, explained today’s happening and said we will put the box anywhere they want – no reply. Going to talk to the Postmaster tomorrow. I feel like we are getting off to a bad start with the Homeowner’s Association – but the beef is between them and the Postal Carrier – we don’t care where the box is. How does this usually play out – we can’t be the first in this situation.
Established delivery rules state that you can’t be forced to install a curbside box unless it’s was only permitted for a medical necessity for the previous owner. As a letter carrier it is annoying to jump out of the truck for just one house but that’s just part of the job.
I have been putting some outgoing mail in my mailbox and the mail man just ignores it and crams my mail in the mailbox and leaves.. I live in the city of Lafayette, IN. I have always put my out going mail in my mailbox and they have taken it to mail, in fact just last week. Am I doing something wrong?
Do you have a flag on your box?
Not only Do you have a flag on your box? but are you raising it up so that the carrier knows there is outgoing mail as he approaches the mailbox
Brad Post, David F-P, Ken McGill, Gabriel, others? –
In some posts herein some of you (see Ken McGill’s September 4, 2019 response to Dale Fenner’s June 4, 2019 original post) cite postal regulations (“3.1. Mailbox Accessories”; “4.2”); could you please provide a link to the most current version of these regulations?
Mailboxes on the rights of the street may impose a danger for residents living on the left side of the street in moderate to heavily traffic areas. This is only for convenience of the postal carrier. If an accident occur because if this rule the postal service maybe liable. Some residents have been struck by cars that have resulted in death. This rule should be change immediately and our for safety state the risk involve and allow this to be changed.
Hi Xavier, thank you for voicing your concerns. We are not the USPS and therefore have no control over the location of your mailbox. I do know that the USPS can be exceedingly flexible and willing to work with the public, especially at the local level. I would recommend reaching out to your local postmaster to voice these concerns, and I’m sure they would be happy to assist you in coming up with a solution for you.
Who is responsible for the grass around the mail box across the street from my house
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your inquiry. The answer to that question largely depends on whose property those mailboxes reside. Most mailboxes reside on the undefined area between city/county property, and individual’s property. When you ask who is responsible for it, do you mean damages to the grass, maintaining the grass?
Am I required to have a mailbox at all? All I ever get is junk mail or bills I already have access to online. Amazon walks all my packages to the door. Is there a legal requirement to put up a mailbox.
I live on a Farm to Market Road. The mail carrier made us put our mail box down the road and directly in front of our neighbor’s house because we live on a corner. Our property line is not on the corner, but the mail carrier said that it is still to close to it. He will not let us put it in our driveway either. We even offered to make him a turn around. Where our mail box is now, it is a far walk and my wife and I both have asthma. Our neighbor is an ex-convict who yells at us and it disturbs him when we pick up our mail especially after dark. I asked him if we could move it to the other side of the corner at about the same distance and he said that it was to close to the corner and I would have to put it directly in front of the neighbors house on that side and with his mail box. It is further away and could cause aggravation from that neighbor as well since it isn’t near my property line. What are our options?
Hi Jeremy, thanks for your comment. The postmaster is the ultimate authority regarding mailbox locations. I would recommend voicing your concerns directly to the postmaster, and perhaps you can come to a mutual agreement on the new location of your curbside box. Good luck!
Brad Post, David F-P, Ken McGill, Gabriel, others? –
In some posts herein some of you (see Ken McGill’s September 4, 2019 response to Dale Fenner’s June 4, 2019 original post) cite postal regulations (“3.1. Mailbox Accessories”; “4.2”); could you please provide a link to the most current version of these regulations?
Does the post office dictate the exact location on where your mailbox should be. Our subdivision installs the mailboxes and we know the 6 to 8 inches from the road on the right side of the road. Usually we find they are right across from the driveway. Is this standard practice?
Hi all, please bare with us while we are in the middle of building out our new website. Some of the comments and replies appear to be missing from our upload. Please be patient while we get these all processed and displayed, and if you have any specific questions that you cant seem to sort out, as always, please direct them to info@mailboss.com
I have traditional mailbox without the lock at my business by the curb on the side where it is not visible from my business. When I receive the packages, usually it is left inside. there has been lots of mail theft in our area and I want to replace mail box with the locked one. If the new mailbox only has small slot for regular mails, but not big enough for packages, does the mailman bring the packages to my business? or would it be left underneath it? or even sent back to seller? Right now they would bring in huge packages to the business, but anything that will fit in the traditional mailbox they cram into the mailbox.
Hi,
My wife and I are purchasing a home, and we want to move the mailbox down the street about 20 feet so that it is in front of our home (it is currently next to another mailbox). Can you tell me if I can move my mailbox so that it is in a new location in front of our home? Thank you so much!
Is it legal for 2 house holds to share a mailbox? We have done it in the past, and now we are told that we can’t.
Just replaced my mailbox 2 weeks ago. The entire row got ran into and taken out. I don’t see any guidelines as to how Heavy the mailbox it’s self can be. Say for instance I build one out of 3/4” or 1” steel plate, and mount it onto the wooden 4×4 that is still in the ground. Technically it would break away when hit, but hopefully make their vehicle immobile enough for authorities to be called and have their asses fined. Does this idea/scenario sound legal, enough?
Can I put a mailbox on the street, across from my home, were there is already a box for the neighbor, if there was never one there before? when I go online to change my address it says there is no such address in the USPS system. I do not want to get a PO Box because I will forget to pick up my mail. What do I do ??
I want to put up a flyer to inform my neighbors about a party at my house. Can I put a flyer on our communal mailbox?
What you call racist and what someone else calls racist may be very different things. As example, a confederate battle flag, while YOU may have a problem with it, is protected by the 1st amendment to the constitution, as are most things he may wish to display!
All racist and demeaning signs and such are acceptable as long as no one is offended…duh.
Can I build a parcel box and install roadside? Our post office will no longer deliver packages to my house they say they can’t back up or cross the road any more? Our post office is only open a few hours a day and if I get packages I have to leave work early to get them. This is really inconvenient for me now. I was just wondering if I build a 36″x24″x18″ steel box and put by mailbox if that would be acceptable?
Can a mail carrier refuse to deliver mail to someone’s house because a car is next to a mailbox (not in front)?
I live on a rural road but there is quite alot of traffic going by and fast. My mailbox sits about 2 feet from the road on the other side of my driveway as the driver approaches. and has been hit many, many times by cars so that I’ve had to replace at least 10 times over the years. The mail carriers have always slowed on approach and usually drive over my grass and driveway to reach the box and that has caused ruts now after so long. I do NOT drive up to my box at all. I walk to get my mail. Now the carrier has given me notice that I must repair ruts caused by HER. As far as I know, there is an easement that the county requires and in fact they also mess around with the grading almost every 1-2 years. WHO is responsible for filling the potholes? The person causing them, the county or the homeowner? Also, carriers throw cigarette butts onto the ground all around the box. Is that allowed?
Thanks
Is it illegal to place a neighborhood watch sign below a mailbox on a metal post that mailbox is attached too….?
Hi Teri, thanks for your inquiry. We’re not sure of the “legality” of doing that, but as long as that sign does not hamper or endanger the carriers ability to safely deliver your mail, I wouldn’t foresee any issues with doing that or think that would cause any issues…
Are residential homes required to have curbside mailboxes? I’m asking because I have a curbside mailbox and a wall mounted mailbox. However the mail carrier will not deliver mail to my curbside box if it is blocked ( a car is parked in front of it). I work during the day, so I am not at home and have no control over who parks there when I’m at work.
I live down a dirt road aprox 3/4 of a mile. All the mailboxes are located at the hard road, I called my local PO and they told me it could not be at my house because that is out of their lime of travel. My problem is when usps delivers a package that wont fit, it has to go back to the local post office which is approx, 10 miles away because our carrier isnt allowed to travel more than .5 miles past the boxes. Am I allowed by law to move my mailbox to my house and they must deliver or does the county get to dictate where I put my mail box?
I was wondering if it’s illegal in Maine to use a cement lined mailbox. Tired of kids destroying them with a baseball bat. Thanks!
Hi Brenda, Please DO NOT line your mailbox with cement. I understand that destroyed mailboxes can be frustrating, but you should just consider getting a stout, USPS approved mailbox like any of our curbside mailboxes. They will stand up better to impacts and abuse, and better yet they keep your valuables safer from mail theft. Someone could become seriously injured from hitting a concrete mailbox with a baseball bat, and while they shouldn’t be doing that in the first place, the legal responsibility and repercussions for that injury COULD fall upon whoever put that mailbox up/ modified it. DISCLAIMER: we are not offering legal advice of any kind, we are not a qualified lawyer or similar.
I read in a mailbox code site that boxes on the street need to have a rear door to get your mail so you do not have to step into the street.
Also, are there any regulations on how close to or far from a utility pole a mailbox can be?
Hi Phyllis, thanks for your comment.
I don’t know of any official USPS regulations that necessitate rear-entry into a curbside mailbox. Their could be some local regulations or laws that require or suggest this, but that would be dependent on your location. If you would like a rear entry secure locking mailbox, you should check out our Street Safe and Street Safe Latitude Mail Manager boxes.
Regarding utility poles, I am not aware of any rules for the distance to or from, thought I would think it’s best to avoid placing your mailbox too close to a utility pole so as to not interfere with the functions of the utility or provider itself.
Can I paint the post any color I want in Texas. I will not paint the yellow reflectors that are at the top of post. Thanks
Hi Cindy, there shouldn’t be an issue with painting your mailbox post the color that you’d like! To be sure, I’d just check with any local regulations and your post office, but it should be okay. Good luck!
I have a mailbox post that also has my neighbors mailboxes on it. So, it has mine, a neighbor behind me, and one across from me. They all have to pass my house to get home, so they just pull up in my yard and get their mail.
I have a couple of problems with this. The post was there when I moved in. It is clearly in my yard. The neighbors drive through the side of my yard leaving huge ruts in the yard to get their mail. They sometimes block me from coming and going out of my driveway for a few minutes.
My second problem is that it is hideous. I won’t go into detail, but the neighbors don’t care because it’s not in their yard.
Last, there is no reason why they can’t put a mailbox in their yard. No obstructions, the mailman can get to them…..just absolutely no reason.
I want to remove the post and the other two put their mailboxes in their own yard. I called USPS awhile ago, and they said I could do that, but I forget what all they said about it. I don’t remember if there were any rules or things that I had to do. I’m not sure.
So, can I ask the neighbors to move their mailboxes out of my yard?
I was wondering what are the hours I’m permitted to park in front of a mailbox in Multnomah County if I didn’t have the 10ft clearance?
Hello, I live in a townhome/condo. Our front doors have slots where the mail is delivered. Some residents have mounted metal and baskets over the slots for the mailman to deliver mail. This has been going on for years, and the post office has never said anything negative about it. Two next door neighbors are involved in a noise issue, and one resident smashed the others mail basket mail box that was hanging on the outside of the front door. Is this considered tampering with a mailbox, I don’t think it is, but of course one of the neighbors says it is. I know it is vandalism. Your response is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi James, thanks for your comment. As a disclaimer, we are neither lawyers nor officials. It does sound like a crime of some kind was committed, and if you feel that way you should go ahead and call your local authorities non-emergency line for further advice. Since this mounted metal basket is not referenced in the USPS door slot litigation, it doesn’t officially seem like part of the mailbox to me, but again I am not an official regarding this kind of legal advice. It sounds like a property crime to me, but I’m not sure if it would be considered ‘tampering with a mailbox’, or if any resolution would even come of it. Good luck!
as long as its not touching the actual mailbox, may I put a neighborhood watch sign on the post ?
thanks
Hi Dan, thanks for reaching out. As long as the sign doesn’t interfere with mail delivery or compromise the safety of carriers or pedestrians, then I don’t see a problem with installing that sign on your own mailbox post. Good luck!
I live in Georgia on a dirt road. The family and I just bought this house and moved here. The existing mailbox is a large one, but the door is missing. Inside the box is a postal warning not to use this box. My sons and I would like to build a wooden replacement, it will be similar in size and will mount in the exact same place as the existing box. Is this legal, and if so, are there any guidelines we should follow? Thanks in advance.
Hi William, thanks for your comment. What exactly does the note say? If there note is for safety issues, then you’ll need to install a new curbside mailbox. I would double check with your carrier/ post office to be sure as to how to proceed, as the notice may just be for somethings simple enough to fix.
If you end up needing a new curbside or wall-mount box, please consider a Mail Boss locking mailbox. They are simple to install, sturdy and secure. Cheers!
Hi. For my law class, we have an extra credit question, “why is the mail box blue?” Any ideas?
Hi Riley, I asked around here at Mail Boss, but no one seemed to know why. If you do find out why all the U.S.P.S. collection boxes are blue, do please let us know!
Eiffel 65 did say that everything was blue…
We have a neighbor, in our single-family-house suburban/rural neighborhood, who doesn’t even have a mailbox. He lives at the top of a moderately steep 200-foot driveway, and every day the mailman has to get out of his truck and walk up the driveway to drop the neighbor’s mail on his front step. (Driving the mail truck up the driveway would force him to back down it.). The rest of us on the street all have mailboxes of one sort of another, either reachable from the truck or by a 30-foot walk to the porch.
When I questioned him, the mailman said, “We can’t force him to have a mailbox or specify where it should be put. It’s all voluntary.”
Is this true, or up to local post office discretion?
Fedex placed a package in my mailbox. The mail carrier removed the package and took it to the post office. I asked him how I could get it back and he said I would need to talk to the postmaster, refused to give me the number and said I would have to go in person. Mind you postal workers are running around in latex gloves and face masks, post office has set up sneeze shields like the salad bar at Pizza Hut, but I am required to go against stay at home requests. I went to the post office and caught the postmaster leaving the office. Just so happens he was carrying my package. I explained what had happened and he checked my ID gave me my package and scolded me for Fedex putting a package in my box. Are they allowed to hold my property? As far as they knew this package may have been medical supplies. And can I place a large package container not blocking the usps box but close by to only be used by non postal deliveries? The mail carrier is going to have to keep bringing his packages to the porch.
Over 30 years ago when my mom bought their property, the post office told them where to put the mailbox and it has been fine there ever since. Suddenly this year they were notified that the post office could no longer deliver to their mailbox because they turn around at her house (although it is a thru road an there is another house 50 feet. They told her she must move the mailbox approximately 5 feet closer to their driveway. (I assume it is irrelevant that at most 2 cars travel this part of the road on a busy day.) My mom’s measurement is almost exactly 50 feet but they refuse to deliver the mail. Instead they hold the mail at the post office and my 81 year old mom has to go to the small post office to pick up her mail, despite the current Corona guidelines. When I asked for the policy he said it is not a policy, that it is in his email and so he must follow it…and he can’t share his email. However, he did, what I took as a subtle threat, mention that they don’t have to hold the mail. Instead they can send it back to the sender. So, then my mom wouldn’t get the bills and the electric and phone would be cut off. What can she do? She can’t move a mailbox at 81 years old and during Corona she can’t hire someone to come and do it.
Hi Melissa, thanks for your comment. That sounds like an upsetting situation, especially during such already distressing times. I would highly recommend that your mother (or you in her stead) reach out to your local post master with this issue. There should be proper documentation regarding the location of your mothers mailbox, and it is possibly that your local mail carrier is simply overworked and looking to make their route quicker (also understandable). However, any kind of undermining that the carrier might be doing to the proper rules should be avoided by simply speaking to the post master. I wish your mother good luck, and let us know if she needs a high security locking mailbox to keep her mail safe!
My neighbor is a complete jerk, but lives across the street. Therefore, his mailbox is on our front lawn (on the right side of the road). I’m tired of his rudeness and would like him to remove his usps mailbox from our property. If all the mailboxes are on my side of the road, can i still have his moved to his side? If it had to stay on my side of the road, How far away from their driveway can it be placed. It would be ideal if we could at least avoid him coming into our front yard.
I am putting in a new paved 30′ wide with curb & sidewalk road, 150′ long at the end or a dead end street. I want my mailboxes (7 of them) off of the dead end road down my paved road with turn around for security for myself and my tenants. Does the PO have any regs or guidance for or against such on a new installation? The city does not have any such guidance.
My thoughts would be to make it the home owner’s responsibility. You are renting the property, The mailbox is not your responsibility to fix. Does he want you to paint his house too? If he never gotten the key for you, that’s not your fault. He should have a back up key like anything else.This raises a new question; is it a requirement for a landlord to have a mailbox for the tenants?
I can’t visit my daughter because her home is on the corner and her (too closely located) neighbor has her mailbox both on the wrong side of her walkway than other residents and it is moved even further toward my daughter’s property than any of the other residents. I am handicapped and cannot park further away. Because the mail lady needs to access both mailboxes, the only time I can see my daughter is on Sunday when the mail doesn’t run. And when I do, the neighbor leers at me. Because my daughter lives on the corner, I have to park in front of her mailbox. There is simply nowhere else that I can park if I want to see my daughter. I also may be moving in with her in a few months because, my health has declined. What can I do?
Hi!!!! You’re a god-send:)
I have read the regulations regarding the size and distance from curb requirements. I would like to move my mailbox to a different location on my lot but there are two utilities boxes placed further in from the curb. Is it permissible to place my mailbox in front of them?
Thanks!
Hi,
Im in Carlisle, Pa. two of my neighbors have mailboxes on the corner of my property. If I have private property signs up, can they install plants around the mailboxes, and if so, how far out from the boxes. Have a pervy neighbor spending a lot of time at the mailbox, installing plants while he stares at my 16 yo daughter sunbathing and in the pool in our backyard.
I’m going through a divorce but my husband and I still live together. He has but a lock on our contemporary mailbox so I can’t access my mail. Is this illegal for him to do? What actions do I need to take to make sure I can get my mail?
I do not understand why a carrier has full authority to make u-turns that gouge my front lawn removing grass for 2 1/2 ft by 4 ft then they get back on the road . when there is a full access for a u-turn 25ft away. they are driving fast enough to remove grass every time. To me not one carrier would want me to come to their home and do this. On Tuesday and Friday I have to place my garbage can in a spot so they can get the garbage and if I dont sit home waiting for who is to come first, I lose out on one. Law is 15 ft before and after , so why is a supervisor coming and taking my reflectors down that start at 15ft?
So I recently bought a house where the previous owner said the highway traffic (gravel trucks/snowplows) was constantly taking out the mailbox and post. I used to live on another highway and already fully understand the battle I signed up for. Anyway I was wondering what the legality would be of welding up a mailbox olmade of slightly thicker steel, but still with the same dimensions, of a store bought mailbox. My intensions aren’t to cause as much damage as possible to the trucks, and I’m not going to build it out of 1″ thick steel, I just want to make it strong enough that maybe, just maybe it could survive the constant beatings of the snowplows and trucks without having to be rebent and reformed, and still looking like crap everytime. Iwas also thinking of using larger post (6″x6″ or something like it) with a breakaway system at the bottom. Again, no malicious intent, just don’t want to have to replace the whole thing every time. Not sure what the legalities of my plans are, but I don’t want to spend half of my time living here replacing my mailbox. Lastly am I allowed to do landscaping at the end of my driveway around the mailbox? I see a lot of that in town, but I’m not sure on the legalities of doing it next to a highway. Can I level the ground around it? Use pavers? Install bushes? I’ll admit I really don’t know here. Thanks in advance
Hi Roov, thanks for your inquiry. All of the legalities regarding highway-side mailboxes and safety should be sourced from the Federal Highway Administration, and Department of Transportation. They will be able to answer these questions for you, but generally any heavy and stout mailbox on the roadside of a high-speed highway or fast-traveled country road poses a pretty significant risk to not only snow plows in the winter, but drivers and transportation along that road.
One in-genius way I’ve seen mailboxes mounted, and I am unsure of it’s legality but it seems reasonable, is to use a a post with a 90degree LONG extension that rotates around on an axis so as not to break the post, but have the mailbox swing out of the ways harm if it is hit or ran into… Basically a giant swingarm that moves around and then comes back to it’s resting position via spring or something.
The idea of a ‘breakaway’ but return post is the most enticing to me, that way your mailbox (and the car or driver or snowplow) suffers little harm, but then returns to it’s resting position. Good luck, and let us know what you find out!
Can I put up a mailbox for mail on a lot we own and stay on 6 months a year in a motor home
Hi Terry, I don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t be able to do that! Definitely speak with your post office about where your mailbox should be in terms of location… and then I would also suggest setting up mail forwarding to your other residence when you’re away! Good luck!
Hi! My mailbox was sunk in my concrete sidewalk at 18″ from the curb thirty years ago w/the permission of the postmaster at the time. No problem for 30 years. Safer in its current location, no chance of high-speed traffic careening out of control and damaging it or themselves. New postmaster this year and last wants to accommodate an aggressive-driving rural mail carrier and has instructed me to move my box closer to curb. I desist. USPS Customer Service instructed postmaster by email to me and him to hold my mail up to 30 days to give me time to move box and also to work w/me should I need more time. Postmaster blatantly ignored such instructions and has been sending all my mail back to sender, unbeknownst to me until today. As far as I can tell, this Postmaster feels his post office is his fiefdom. He told me today he will be sending all my mail back to sender until I move the mail. Requested advice again from Customer Service, they haven’t called back. My congressman’s office is working on it, I fear to no avail. My attorney is calling at 7. Any ideas what I can I do? I have several strong arguments for leaving my mailbox currently situated. My reading of the regulations also points up in numerous situations how the postmaster and rural carrier should work with the customer. In the month she hasn’t delivered my mail, the rural carrier has zipped past my house, breaking the 25 mph speed limit, and cutting through the parking next door to her next destination. The postmaster tells me a story about how she ripped a tire on my curb and had to be towed. Which I suspect did not happen bc my commercial neighbors, who have cameras, have no video or anecdotal record of same. How is her lack of driving skill my problem? Any ideas what I can I do?
Where do I report a mailbox that is too far from the road?
4 mailboxes are side by side.
3 of the boxes are 6-8 inches from the road but the 4th one if 17 inches from the road.
The mail carrier can’t reach it and strains back and neck and arm to get to it but they are afraid to report it.
What is the email address to report this too?
I would recommend reaching out to your local post office or carrier regarding this matter. The post carrier reserves the right to refuse delivery if the mailbox is not mounted within USPS specs (height and distance from road), so it is ultimately up to them.
We have been told by the local government permitters and Post Masters that local government cannot create regulations restricting the placement of roadside mailboxes. Can you point us to a regulation where we can learn more?
Hi Scott, thanks for your comment. I do believe that every U.S. citizen or resident should have the ability to access / receive US mail. However, the ability and legality of where you mount your box might depend on where you live! Often, roadsides are owned by counties, cities or even states, depending on what kind of road it is and where you live! I could see that there might be concerns or safety issues from certain roadside mounting areas, especially on highways and fast-traveled roads. However, your local post office should be the first starting point for figuring out the location of your mailbox. They will best know the rules for your locality!
Is your local government barring you from mounting your mailbox in the location that your local post master / post office has determined it should be?
We recently built an apartment on our property. So now we have two dwellings at one address. Can I put two mailboxes for the property and label one A and one B and include names of tenants inside the mailbox? Just curious if this is something I am allowed to do with USPS. Thanks!
Hi Amy, thanks for reaching out to us. That sounds like a possibility, though I am unsure. You will want to check with your local post office as their might be local rules regarding the legality of seperate residences/dwellings sharing one point of delivery. Cheers, and make sure to let us know what you find out!
Hi
Two questions:
Can i use cement to secure my post?
and can I put my address on the post rather than the mailbox?
Hmmmm
i have a question on how far away a mail box has to be from a drive way, i live in the country and we were planning on putting a driveway on the other side of our house so in the winter the snow won’t block our garage doors, our across the street neighbor refuses to put his mailbox with the mine and my other across the street neighbors so he put it right where the entry of our new drive way is supposed to go on our yard after we asked if he could move it, is there any law or anything saying how far a mail box has to be away from a personal driveway?
This is the best comment section I have ever seen. My question is: My new cheapo mailboxes (I have one for my neighbor too) were only $20 about, on Amazon. They are kind of flimsy. They do not say anything on them about being Approved by the Postmaster General. Why do most of the mailboxes I see in the world say Approved by the Postmaster General on them? Going by this Guide, it seems to be completely unnecessary. Someone else told me it is unnecessary because some mailboxes are built out of wood or brick or stone instead of stamped steel. Was that just a trick for mailbox-making companies to keep the level of competition lower on the mailbox-selling market?
Hi Kevin, great question and thanks for your comment.
All CURBSIDE boxes need to be approved by the postmaster general in order to be officially accepted for USPS curbside use. Wall-mount boxes are less regulated, and the USPS just states they need to be adequate and safe for delivery. They must adhere to certain design suggestions, but there is no official ‘approval’ process for wall-mounts.
Curbside boxes have an official USPS approval process, which all of our curbside mailboxes have undergone.
I live in town where there is an on-foot mail carrier. My significant other and I just bought this house a little over a month ago. The front doors are original with a mail slot in the door, as well as a wall-mounted mail box. We have went through the proper steps to changing our addresses and they have both been approved. The post office continues to hold our mail – our bills, might I add – saying that we HAVE to put in a mailbox by the sidewalk so the mail lady doesn’t have to walk as far. Why do we have to do this if we have TWO options to drop off mail? I think our wall-mounted mailbox is fifteen feet from the sidewalk, if that. They always have safe access to our mailbox. Isn’t it their job to deliver the mail on foot if that’s what they were hired to do? How did mail carriers do it for the last few hundred years? Is the post office making this up to be a pain in the rear? No other houses have had to comply with this, and I see no official rules stating that this has to be done.
I was recently informed that we must move our mailbox across the street. It has been where it is for 30 years. Depending on which way you stand it is currently on the right side of the street. We were given 10 days notice. The box is on the right side of the street, but the PO route heads the other way down the street. Why must a home owner take the expense, and now have to walk across a barely maintained road in inclement weather when a route could easily be changed. They claim there are 20 houses that have to move the box, in a town of less than 1800 people why can’t the route be altered. Across the street is also a deep ditch where current placement is a nice level surface. Can I do anything about this?
I live on a horseshoe road with a community locked mailbox with individual locked numbered boxes for each house. I noticed the postal truck did not stop to deliver mail one day and saw him drive right by.There was a car partially blocking the back of the metal box. Do they not stop if the street box is partially blocked?
I have fabricated a street side mailbox post of 3.5″ pvc plastic with a break score located 2″ above ground level for auto collision happenstance. Would as described meet usps regulations?
Since i recently purchased my hom we were receiving our mail for about two weeks in our wall mounted box. We then received a letter stated it needed to be moved curbside. All other home on my street have wall mounted boxes.
Are we required to move it?
I just got this message in my mailbox today. I’ve live here over 18 years and have had a car parked in front of the mailbox before. Mail carrier never said anything. If I do as they ask, I lose the parking in front of my house. I have four cars in my household and would likely end up blocking another mailbox on our street. Is this requirement real?
Dear Customer:
This is a reminder that the postal service depends on you to meet postal requirements regarding delivery of mail to curbside boxes. Keeping the approach to your mailbox cleared of snow, vehicles, and other objects permits the carrier to drive up to your mailbox to deposit and collect mail without leaving the vehicle. Please clear the approach to and exit from the mailbox on both sides to allow the carrier to drive ahead rather than backing up the vehicle after deliver.
I have squatters in my barn . He told me that because he received mail here it makes him a resident. He did not have my permission and I did not see the mail. Therefore he must have taken mail out before I got mine. I believe that is illegal. Now he remains as a squatter and I am trying to evict.
I live on a main road that has a shared driveway. The other homeowner is telling me that I have to move my mailbox to the other side of the driveway. What should I do?
Hi Sheila, thank you for your comment! Make sure to check with your local post office/ post master before moving the location of your mailbox. Most people don’t realize that the road edge and a certain distance past it is USUALLY owned by the county/ jurisdiction that your in. So your neighbor more than likely has no right to tell you to move the location of your mailbox. However, the post office might accommodate the change of location if you want to avoid unnecessary conflict… as long as it doesn’t change or alter their mail route in any way. Regards, and let us know how this situation resolves!
Can the post office give my neighbor an address on my private road if she has a county road that runs in front of her house?
There are 4 mailboxes installed in front of my yard and only one of them belongs to me. What is the procedure to move those to a common space (or maybe everybody can have their own mailboxes in front of their yard)? How should I go about it?
Why is it wrong for me to reinforce my mail box post, when it is free liberty for people to destroy it in a hit and run!? I have to pay, while committing a real crime is let go. This is the biggest BS ever! If someone hits a traffic pole, the government is not liable, so why is destroying my property legal? Help
My landlord installed a new mailbox with no access through the back. I currently live on a busy street (Emerson Ave.) off the 465 interstate. I have to look out for traffic to ensure I do not get hit in order to check my mail. Are there any safety regulations about this?
Do the regulations specify the clear space needed for a mail truck to access the mail box for delivery ?
I recently moved to my neighborhood, and I noticed that everyone has their mailbox mounted on the wall by their front door. Is there a law, saying that i can’t put my mailbox beside the driveway closed to the curb? I live in Newport News, Virginia.
Hi Robert, thank you for your inquiry. Some suburban and city areas have walk-up mail delivery, or even door slot delivery! If you are ‘grandfathered’ in for walk-up delivery, then you should be good to go, but you will have to check with your local postmaster/ post office before changing the location of your mailbox. Cheers!
I recently purchased a home that was a new build. The home is located on a corner. The front door is on one street while the driveway is on another. The address is where the front door is but the builder located the mailbox next to the driveway on the other street. Is this going to be an issue with mail delivery? What is the correct location of mailbox when front door is on one street and driveway on another street?
Just moved into a established neighborhood. The mail box is actually a door slot. Mail man told me i have to put up a mailbox at the curb or he will send my mail back. I used to deliver mail years ago. I had never heard of such a thing, the street is park and loop. I do not see another curbside box on my street. I asked what regulation is that ? Ive yet to hear a response
I live in a rural, small community and 2 years ago my mail carrier put a note in my mailbox and said it had to be raised to 48’’. I looked up the height requirements and measured mine and it was between 42-43’’. Then I went around and measured my neighbors mailboxes and theirs were all the same but I was singled out. I asked at the local office about it and they said the carrier had to open his door to and my mailbox is too low. I let it go and forgot about it and now this winter with all the snow the carrier put a rude note asking for me to raise my mailbox again. Can he ask me to raise it to 48’’? That seems higher than regulation.
I have a question about the carrier’s approach & departure clearance.
I have seen on this & other sites that there should be a 15′ clearance on approach and a 15′ clearance on departure. However, I can’t seem to find anything “official” about this. The only thing I can find is
3.1.4 Clear Approach
Customers must keep the approach to their mailboxes clear of obstructions to allow safe access for delivery. If
USPS employees are impeded in reaching a mail receptacle, the postmaster may withdraw delivery service.
Does anyone know where I can find something more detailed & official?
Thank you,
My mailbox was a slot in the wall next to the door and 20 years ago I bought a “rural” type box and mounted it on a post in a large flower pot next to the door. It’s not been an issue. I wanted to make a new box for the same spot. I live in Houston, TX. Do you know if I’d be allowed to make one out of wood? I want to make a gnome house or possibly something like the Keebler Elves would live in, so the post would look more like a tree trunk and the box more like a gnome house.
My mother, (82) lives on a very busy, blind hill, public highway. Her mailbox is on the other side of the road. She is basically a slow-moving target every time she crosses the road to the mailbox and even the neighbors, younger and more spry, trot to cross the road to reach their mailboxes. Since there are several houses on her same side of the highway, is it possible to get a private road designation on the driveway that services three homes, and install mailboxes there?
Hi Annette, thank you for your comment. That certainly sounds like a hairy situation for your mother to be crossing that road to retrieve her mail. We would highly recommend reaching out on her behalf to your local postmaster and local post office, as they may be willing to deliver her mail to the side of the road that her house is on. This is obviously dependent on the route and your unique situation, but it may be possible and it sounds like a scenario that is worth asking over. I would also recommend that she consider our Street Safe or Street Safe – Latitude models so that she may retrieve her mail safely from the rear of her curbside mailbox. Good luck!
Hello, I just bought a house and my mailbox is on the property line. It is one post but holds both mine and my neighbors box. We are the only ones on the street with a shared post. I would like to move mine closer to my front door and have my own post so I can landscape around it. Is there a rule saying I have to have a shared box? And if not, when I move mine, can they move theirs off my property? So I don’t have to worry about weed whipping it etc?
Hi Sammi, thanks for your inquiry! Often, the area near the road is actually state, county or government property! This is a common misconception, but your neighbors box is likely not on ‘your’ property and you may not have the greatest luck forcing them to move it. A friendly conversation is the best place to start. Secondly, you will want to check with your postal carrier regarding the new location of your box before installing it. Good luck!
Is there a limit to the amount of mail boxes on my street block next to my house that can be put in? I live on a corner lot in a small town in Idaho we have 8 boxes on our corner now and it keeps growing. There is much more traffic on the corner now. People pick up there mail parking the wrong way in on coming traffic to pick up there mail blocking anyone trying to turn right at the stop sign near the 8 now mail box strip. Residents that are putting boxes here live more than 4 boxes away is there a limit? This is unreal and its getting more hazardous in the winter at this corner where people get the mail here now in there car instead of just walking to the mail box. Can the limit of mail boxes on 1 city block be limited? The mail delivery person just keeps telling random home owners they can put there mailbox here. The Post Master tells me there is no limit and will not follow up with me on my questions and concerns of safety on this block corner. What can I do?
Okay so I got a weird question. My grandma she’s 75 years old and can barely walk. When I used to live with her she got her trash can moved up the driveway into our yard. Our driveway is about 20 foot long and has a incline into our yard. She lives on a highway and anything past the top of the incline is private property. We’ll, when she got her trash can moved back into our yard years back they told us if we wanted we could move our mailbox too. We’ll it just dawned on me the other day when my grandmother told me someone has been stealing her mail. So I go down there take the mailbox up and move it beside the trash can and call the post office to tell them I have moved it. The lady I talked to was so rude and told me that we CAN NOT move our mailbox because our driveway has huge holes in it. We’ll, I see this same mail lady get out and walk all over my town but can’t stop at the top of our driveway, get out and walk 15 feet? We have a dog but he is in our gate that’s about 30 feet away from the mailbox and trashcan. With her being disabled and how they treated me idk how to go about this.
I got a note to raise my mailbox. The mail box is original to the house when it was built in 87’. I don’t have the means to fix it right now. Will the post office with hold my mail if it is not fixed in the 2 weeks the have allotted me?
In the state of Georgia can you plant flowers on the right of way to help beautify the road way without getting a permit?
Seniors in my Maryland community would like benches near our mailbox kiosks to rest during their walks. Are there distance requirements or security restrictions on placing benches, trash cans, etc., near mailboxes or mailbox kiosks?
I have to put up a mailbox across the street from my house. I’d really prefer not to have to dig or put something in the ground. Is it okay to mount a mailbox to an existing telephone pole?
Morning – we just moved into Mine Hill, NJ – our mail box is right outside our door – there are some mailboxes near the curbside — our mail (lady) carrier left a note telling us that we have to put in a curbside mail post, The previous owners lived here for 40 years and they never had to moved their mailbox to the curbside. She said that for now on she will not deliver our mail and that we would have to go to the post office to get our mail – this is legal. We are in our 80’s and my wife is disable. According to what we have read under rules and regulations for mail boxes she can’t do that – what do you suggest – thank you and have a great day
Does the mail box have to be by the driveway or can it be somewhere else on the property but still by the same side road?
How close to a fire hydrant can a mailbox be placed?
can the usps hold my mail if i do not have a flag on the side of my mailbox? the flag has been gone for over 5 years and there has been no issue getting my mail delivered until 2 days ago. they say if i do not fix it by may 29 2021 they will hold my mail. so i am wondering why after 5 years now it is an issue?
Hi Mike, did you mail carrier leave you a notice including the reason why your mail service has been suspended? There could be a different reason. If their explanation is not satisfactory you can always bring it to the attention of the local postal supervisor/ postmaster. Good luck!
We moved into a home and the mailbox was already in place, however it is not near our driveway and delivery drivers and visitors often miss our drive way because the mail box is further up. Are we able to move our mail box down near our drive way instead of having it where it is?
Hi Holly, thank you for your comment. You will want to speak with your local post office/ post master, as they are the authority on the location of delivery points along the route. I would surmise, that as long as the new delivery point does not inconvenience the mail carrier, then they likely shouldn’t have any issues with the new mailbox location. To be sure, it’s best to check with them before moving the mailbox to make sure you don’t have any issues receiving your mail. Cheers, and good luck!
Our mailbox sits on the property line between us and our neighbors. Our neighbors park their 2 cars out in front of their house, on the public street in front of THEIR property. Their car is consistently about 2 feet away from our mailbox and our USPS Delivery person keeps telling us we need to call to have our neighbor’s car towed because it is blocking the mail truck. City Zoning and Planning has told us that we could be fined for moving our mailbox from the spot it is now, so moving it is not an option. Isn’t it the responsibility of the USPS to have the car towed? We do not park in front of our house at all, and have invited the neighbors to park their vehicle in front of our house instead, but they choose not to do so. The post office stopped delivering their mail and is hassling us to call to have the neighbor’s car towed. What is our best option? We work a combined 140 hours a week and the thought of being bullied into having to pay for a post office box and then find time to go get our mail daily seems unjust. USPS should be the ones calling to have the neighbor’s car towed off the public street in front of their own property. I hate feeling like we are being forced to to be the bad neighbors in this situation! Any advice?
Hi Jennifer, thank you for your comment. I empathize for your situation as it can be very frustrating to not consistently receive your mail. As long as the area in front of your mailbox is not marked as a ‘No parking zone’ by your city or municipality, then it is going to be quite difficult to get that neighbors car towed or to enforce the parking in any way. The municipality that you live in, not the USPS, is responsible for parked cars on the street side, and determining the rulings on that and enforcing them if necessary. Additionally, postal carriers can refuse to deliver to mailboxes where the path to mailbox is obstructed. Obviously, this presents a tricky situation with multiple entities, so firstly I would recommend reaching out to your neighbor to work out a resolution with the parking situation. If that doesn’t go well, then you could try speaking to your local post office/ postmaster to coordinate a new mail delivery point on that road. The roadside and curb area near streets is usually not private property, and is in fact usually owned by your local municipality, so your mailbox doesn’t necessarily need to be in front of your house. Alternatively, you could try posting a small sign on the post of your mailbox that says something along the lines of: ‘Please, no parking’ or ‘No parking’, etc. This may help to make your neighbors aware that they are in fact obstructing delivery to your mailbox. I wish you luck, and hopefully you can find a resolution with your neighbors/ post office without a bunch of headache along the way. Cheers.
I live in rural Wyoming. Near my house is “open range” and cows are using my curbside mailbox as a scratching post and have completely destroyed it. After I replace the mailbox what can I do to keep the cows away from it and, at the same time, have it accessible to the mailman in his vehicle?
We’d like to order house # signs for residents (6) on our easement road. At the entrance is a USPS supplied locking mailbox. Can we affix the house #s on the side of the locking mailbox? It would be simple, efficient, easy to see/read from both directions, and not add additional sign just for the house #s. Is that ok to do?
Hi Sharon, thank you for your comment. I would recommend asking your local post office if that would be acceptable to them. Since it is conveniently the same house numbers that the box deliver to, I would think it might be acceptable since it could be considered an indication of address. The complication is that the cluster unit was supplied by the post office, and is therefore not your property. I am not sure what the specific rules are for cluster units, but if you have curbside units then this numbering would be allowable to my knowledge. Cheers!
Dan A
Yesterday I picked up a Specially Handmade Meal for my daughters 39th Birthday
She notified me vis text that she and her husband would be gone but to leave it in the mailbox wrapped from the restaurant
I did
Now there was plenty of room left in the mailbox (Mequon, Wi) that the postal carrier could have left any amount of mail in the box
Upon returning home they were shocked to see the package and meal spread out all over the ground wherein the postal carrier had taken it out and Thrown it on the ground
After investigating the package it was clear that no animal had attacked the package
Now their mailbox sits on top of a cedar framed newspaper port that the carrier could have slid it into vs throwing it down on the ground.. but again I need to clarify that there was plenty of room for any amount of mail
This was a mean and malicious act on the part of the carrier
What are my rights?
Any recommendations before I approach the Mequon Theinsville Post Office and or District offices ??
Thank you in advance
Dan
What can we do about a Mail Thief driving up and down our roads and stealing our mail out of our mail boxes. We had this happen yesterday in our area. Have them on video. Isn’t this a Federal offense? We are in a rural area but lots of neighbors. We contacted the Sheriff’s Department, but is there another contact we should use.
Hi Nick, thanks for your comment. You should also report the theft to your local post office. Additionally, by purchasing an affordable and secure locking mailbox, like our Mail Manager model, you will have peace of mind against the growing crime of mail theft. Good luck to you and let us know if you need any assistance with choosing the best Mail Boss curbside mailbox for your application.
I have a two piece metal mailbox. USPS guidelines require that the door be 41-45 inches from the ground. I’ve had that mailbox in place for 3 years. A few days ago the mail carrier drove her truck onto my driveway when I was not home and drove off the 12 feet wide driveway onto the grass. Then spun her wheels leaving skid marks and surface damage. I reported this to the post master who supported her driver. A few days later I received a notification by that driver that I need to raise my box to a height of 44-46 inches from the ground. It sounds like retaliation. Can they do that?
I no longer use my mailbox for mail as I have a PO Box. Unfortunately despite how many times I’ve tried to stop direct mail circulars I cannot get the post person to stop delivering junk mail to my home. I removed my mailbox to no avail and even asked that they not deliver it because I did register to removed my home from DMA address lists. So now I am using a small galvanized can that the post person can place this crap into. This is important to me as I am an over the road truck driver and only home one week out of the month. If I had a mailbox, the mail would pile up and be a tell for burgulars. with no mailbox the post person still leaves this junkmail behind and it gets wind distributed to my neighbors. Is use of the galvanized can a cceptable?
I live down a dirt road, there is a long post at the end of the driveway with mailboxes for all the people who live on the road. There are about ten boxes mounted on the rail, one of them has a broken door on it, the rest of the boxes are in working order although none of them are new, they all still have working doors and are placed according to the regulations. Today the mail driver refused to put mail in any of the boxes, so everyone who lives here had to drive ten miles to the post office for their mail. I asked the postmaster there why the mail wasn’t delivered and she said the driver brought all the mail back and said she refused to put the mail in the boxes because they were all unusable. This is not true, she also said some of the mailboxes were broken off and laying on the ground, also not true, there is only one damaged box, and it just has a broken door, some are aged but not broken or unusable, others are newer and in fine condition, but she refused to deliver to any of them. Is it legal for a carrier to refuse to deliver if the boxes don’t live up to her personal standards even if they don’t violate any of the USPS regulations on mailboxes? It’s too far to drive ten miles just to check the mail every day, and I’m not going to pay for a new mailbox if she refuses to deliver to all of us due to one broken box on the rail. How can we handle this and get the carrier to deliver even if she doesn’t like one or two of the boxes on the rail?
Robbery? What Robbery are you refering to officer? No burglar here. Im just out here enjoying my new in-ground pool. Investigation closed….no “concrete” evidence.
Hello,
Our mailbox is located across the street from our house. However it is very close to a 2 block walk to get to it! We have an alley that is right next to our house. After jumping hurdles and quite a few months of going back and forth about my request, they FINALLY agreed. An older couple moved in next door about 5 years ago now and their house is a short walkway from the road had called the P.O. wanting his moved too. Long story short,It took me the longest time for them to FINALLY agree and it took 1 person and 1 phone call to change it! I HAVE to take the walk daily AGAIN! The post master was NOT WILLING to deal with me after that! I’m not old but have some medical issues and that walk can make or break my day!!! Do I have to be handicapped for them to even consider letting us have it by our house??
The P.O. has been whining about being broke for how long now? I have seen BRAND NEW BUILDINGS being built in some very isolated area’s!! And they are NOT willing to go out of there way for ANYTHING/ANYBODY!! Running a SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS is NOT going to last running it like that!!! Now, How can I get my mailbox moved back again?? going to the post master is NOT an option!!
Thank You,
Am I allowed in a neighborhood that has house-mounted mailboxes to remove the mailbox off my house and install a mailbox near the road?
Hi Lee, thanks for your comment. If you are looking to remove your wall-mount mailbox and opt for curbside mail delivery, that is usually preferred as it reduces the walking distance for the mail carrier and increases delivery efficiency. However, just to be sure you should double check with your local post office or postal carrier before making any changes. Cheers!
I moved onto a rural route area 30 years ago. I kept my PO Box in town where I worked and never put up a rural box at my home. I’m the original owner. I’m retired now and with all the parcels that come from online shopping I’m making 10 mile trips to pick them up at the Post Office.
So, today I bought a mailbox and installed it according to the USPS guidelines. Do I have to notify the mail carrier to start receiving mail and parcels here or will he just add my address to his route when he sees my box?
I tried calling the Post Office about 10 times today and it goes to fax after 6 rings. They have a separate fax number listed. It’s a 20 mile drive to my route postal station and I might have a parcel coming in about 4 business days. The vendor used my home address and shipped USPS instead of UPS. I notified them but they just said “sorry for the inconvenience”
What should I do to get my new mail here? I’m not going to forward anything just yet. I just want my parcels.
Thanks!
Hi Ronnie, thanks for commenting! Glad to hear you went with a mailbox at your address. To get that set up you should either email or call your local post office… or if you don’t get a response because of how busy the holiday season is you unfortunately might have to go in to your local post office and notify them to be sure that they know you have a residential delivery point now. Cheers, and good luck!
I have a neighbor, his mailbox is installed at the curb.
However, recently ( about two months ago) he has tied two flags onto the mail box.
The flags are political, one say “Go Brandon”, etc. and one says #F J B, etc.
Regardless of what the flags state, are they allowed on the mailbox?
I went to speak with him and he stated our rules apply only to political flags during an election and he can
display them. Many of our neighbors find these flags offensive, no matter what your political beliefs are.
It is dis – respectiul to the office of the Pres. of the USA.
Hi Ju, thanks for commenting on our website! We are simply a mailbox manufacturer, so we’re not really the authority on political displays on mailboxes… If you live in an HOA there may be some rules about mailbox decorations, however freedom of speech is one of the great liberties of our country.
I live in a residential urban neighborhood and all mail boxes are on separate posts in front of our homes. I frequently buy things online which are shipped thru USPS, but are too large for my newly installed locking mailbox… is it permissable to have a second regulation mailbox on the same level and on the same post, clearly labeled ” USPS parcels”
We live on a private road that is technically a separate county road. It is currently paved, but was only dirt when the homes were first built (starting 30 years ago). At that time the PO required all the boxes (8) be out on the busy connecting road, across from our private drive. The way I read the regulation, the boxes must be place in a way that delivery is on the right side of the road, safe, and convenient for delivery from the vehicle, and in a location that is safe for the resident. In the last 2 weeks we’ve lost mail boxes to vehicle going off the road. The last time it occurred after dark, only 5 minutes after a car wiped out 9 mail boxes and was totaled in the process. (the car ended up in a snow bank). I want to request that the boxes be moved to in front of our homes now that our road is paved to county standards. What’s the best way to convince the local PO to agree?
Hi Mark, thanks for your comment. I would recommend writing a letter to your local post office/ post master on the subject as they are the ultimate authority on this. I would suggest detailing the recurring nature of how your mailboxes are being hit, the danger that it might be to retrieve your mail on such a busy road (and for the postal carrier to stop there and deliver as well). Then detail on a map a few locations that you would propose to move the mailboxes to. If your road is not on the route currently, then they may not be willing to move it… but if there are many homeowners around you that feel the same way and you all voice your concerns they should be more willing to listen to and consider your request. You may have to be persistent as they are typically quite overwhelmed with requests, but be patient and work with them and I hope they come up with a good solution for you. As always, please consider using our curbside boxes to keep your mail secure and safe from mail theft, and let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. Have a great day!
Your guidance above refers to house address numbers, but I don’t find any requirement for house numbers in the actual Federal mail regulations.
Is it required to have house numbers on the mailbox and/or your house, and if so, can you provide the applicable statute?
Hi Greg, thanks for your comment. Here is the link to the USPS postal bulletin that shows the requirements for house numbers on page 4.
https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2020/pb22545/pb22545.pdf
Let me know if you have any additional questions. Cheers, Gabe
Gabriel (w/ MailBoss), 7 years later and you’re still going strong. Props
Thanks Dan. Cheers!
Is the mailboss 43″ in ground metal post okay by USPS guidelines?
Hi Kelvin, yes absolutely! You just need to make sure the incoming mail area on the mailbox is between 41-45″ above the road surface. Since our boxes are between 10-12″ from the bottom to the incoming mail slot… if you’re installation is level with the road surface you can bury the post 8-12″ into the ground, and have approximately 31-35″ of the post protruding above the road surface. Then, when the box is mounted it will be at the right height for USPS regulations.
If you need to bury the post deeper than 10-12″, then you can use a pressure treated wood post and slide it up insider our post and use the 4×4 as an extension deeper into the ground.
Cheers, and let us know if you have any additional questions.
Regarding the strength of the post; I assume that’s 2 inch tubing, not 2 inch solid steel; but what wall thickness?
I ask because a quick check of my post and a few of my neighbors shows a popular size for what appear to be purpose-made steel mailbox posts of about 2.4″ OD according to my cheap caliper, which is maybe nominally 2.5?
And the reason I’m embarked on this investigation is that my post folded up pretty easily when I accidentally nudged it gently with my bumper, so I don’t think it would have damaged a car in an actual collision.
However, I imagine the effects of a few decades of internal corrosion (none visible externally though) might be relevant.
Anyway, are these ~2.5″ posts technically illegal?
On a related note, do you have any opinions on those mailbox mounting posts which have a spring at ground level to allow them to survive a collision, a snowplow, whatever? I notice you don’t carry them.
Also, is that 12″ in-ground depth in the USPS regulations diagram also a mandated maximum, for safety of automobiles in collisions? I assume not since elsewhere you recommend deeper installations for northern climes.
Hi Gerald, the USPS does not regulate road safety. If you live on a high speed road or a highway, your local state department of transportation or highway commission may regulate such installs, so always be sure to check before you dig or install roadside fixtures of any kind!
Hi, Just want to know if installing a camera on a mailbox is legal.
We are having trouble with our US mail carrier turning her vehicle around out in our un-fenced pasture. But we don’t want a turnaround on our property. Reasons include not only not wanting to give up any of our land for something we don’t need and won’t use, but mostly, it’s because we have had a trespassing issue, particularly in that area. Joy riders/mud riders were once accustomed to riding their ATV’s and pickup trucks up our driveway and onto our property. Some fished in our pond when we weren’t here. Some picked our blueberries. Others hunted game on our property, without permission. Hunters have even used this area to park, and unload their equipment and ATV/UTV’s. Once, there were school children living here, and they let the school bus turn around there. We just now brought the area back to pasture grass, so the old turnaround is no longer visible from the street. So we are not keen on re-establishing any kind of turnaround on our land, especially one visible from the public road. The problem is, we the last address on our rural USPS delivery route. Our public road is not a dead end, but it might as well be, because the road turns from pavement to gravel/dirt/mud for several miles past our driveway. We had discontinued U.S. mail delivery to the place years ago, because the box would fill up with junk and we didn’t need it: we get our mail at another address across the state. And a full mailbox is a dead giveaway no one is home, which is like a welcome mat for burglars, or trespassers. But since retirement, we now live at this rural place at least half the time. So we have been having packages delivered directly here, by private carriers. FedEx and UPS had no problem with delivering to us, until recently. Now, sometimes, for some reason, the shipper will ship via FedEx or UPS, but then they sometimes try to have the U.S. Postal Service deliver the “last leg” of the delivery. That’s a problem when one is “off the Post Office grid” as we were until recently. The nice people at the local Post Office would sometimes call or put a note on our old out-of-service mail box saying please come down to the U.S. Post Office several miles away to get a package. But other times, the package was returned to sender, because the Post Office says they are not supposed to keep it if we don’t have an address on their grid. So to keep being able to use UPS and FedEx, we decided to re-activate our U.S. Mail delivery service. But we’ve hit a snag. Our mailbox was put put up by the previous owners over 40 years ago, near the end of our long gravel driveway. It is probably 30′ away from the public road, along our private gravel drive. The carrier says she is not supposed to back up her vehicle. But, again, we don’t have a turnaround, or a loop drive of any kind, and don’t want one, for reasons already mentioned. We were actually about move the mailbox out to the public street, because we plan on fencing and gating the driveway. We figured, the carrier can pull into our driveway in front of the gate, and back out into the street, to change directions. All we needed to know what what side of the road the Post Office, preferred for us to move the mail box. But now, we find out, mail carriers are not supposed to back up, at all. And the carrier would need to back up onto the public road. Getting a P.O. Box is out of the question for several reasons, mostly, because of expense and distance. The nearest U.S.P.O. is a tiny town we rarely visit, six miles from our home. We limit our trips “to town” to maybe one a week, and it’s not often to that town or even in its direction. What do you suggest? Maybe we haven’t thought of everything.
Do you realize that compared to the actual USPS website, your page is lying? Nowhere on their own site do they use the words “must”, “rules”, “regulation/s”, or “require/s”. It uses “guidelines”, “should”, and “recommends/s”. While there are instances where “must” is used, it’s limited to door slots and custom-made & wall mounted mailboxes. Everywhere else a direct “rule” is mentioned, it’s led up by the words “guideline/s” or “recommends”. Not to sound too much like a lawyer here, but your current choice of wording can be perceived as misleading and it implies more authority than the USPS actually has.
Something to chew on…
Source: https://www.usps.com/manage/mailboxes.htm
Hi Quincy, thanks for your comment. While the page you shared does only have recommendations/guidelines for mailbox installations, there are bundles of information and regulations buried in the depths of their website. See here for more info! One such example that is that “…a curbside mailbox must be placed to allow safe and convenient delivery by carriers without leaving their vehicles. The box must be on the right-hand side of the road in the direction of travel of the carriers on any new rural route or highway contract route…”
Of course, the USPS can’t really require or force you to install your mailbox at a certain height or location, etc. But they can also just withhold your mail or return to sender if delivering to your mailbox is too inconvenient, unsafe, etc. I certainly would prefer to avoid conflicts with my postal carrier because I know how hard my mail carrier works and just how overloaded they are with deliveries every single day. Might as well make it as convenient as possible for them to deliver your mail. We are just a mailbox manufacturer, (and mailbox nerds) and all of our curbside boxes have undergone the USPS approval process and are fully-USPS approved. We just try to give the best recommendations and guidelines so that all of our customers and readers have the best chances for success with receiving their mail without issue.
I will be installing a set of locking mailboxes for a rental property. The mailboxes are currently on the property side of the sidewalk (4′ wide). there is no curbside parking on the street. (sometimes the carriers temporarily park on the street, get out of the vehicle and walk to the far side of sidewalk. other times they park off street on the property and walk to the boxes).
my question is…how far off the sidewalk, on to the property, can the mailboxes be placed?
The town of Milton, GA recently installed a stop sign in front of our house. 4 ft from our existing mailbox. 6 feet from our driveway entrance. Is there a requirement for installing stop signs from existing mailboxes? We are worried that people who stop can easily reach into our mailbox and steal our mail! Help please.
Hi Bill, thanks for reaching out. I am not aware of any regulations regarding stop signs and mailboxes. I believe that would depend on your city/ municipality and their codes and laws for such matters. If you want some piece of mind, I would highly recommend installing on of our curbside locking mailboxes in that location, especially our Mail Manager unit as it will do a great job of preventing people from stealing your mail or reaching into your mailbox. Cheers, and good luck!
Hi Bill, We own a 32 unit mobile home park in Asheville North Carolina. We are currently using an old NBU mailbox. All of our homes have individually registered 911 addresses, no Lot # etc. The NBU is old and janky, and the postal carrier refuses to bring our mail because “She fears for her safety”. Can we install a regular post mailbox in front of each home.
Hi Bill,
Who has the last word on getting a mailbox moved? I am requesting an ISA marking and my neighbor has told the HOA that she would not have access to her mailbox. The perimeter of the marking will not block her mailbox in the first place and there is at least a 1 and 1/2 + feet to move it away from the perimeter.
Greetings Gabriel.
Janis in Reno following up due to addressing my question to someone named Bill…my bad. So, I’ll just start over:
Who has the last word on getting a mailbox moved? I am requesting an ISA marking and my neighbor has told the HOA that she would not have access to her mailbox. The perimeter of the marking will not block her mailbox in the first place and there is at least a 1 and 1/2 + feet to move it away from the perimeter.
My carrier keeps leaving us notes that our mailbox isn’t regulation so she won’t leave packages that she’s thinks would fit a different style box. It’s a large MailBoss locking box. It’s regulation. Every time we go in to pickup another medication, refill contact lenses, or some other time sensitive mail, the managers at the post office say she should have brought it to the door and that they would address it with more training, etc. it’s been a 1-1/2 years. 20 + trips to the post office because of her laziness.
What else can we do? We are compliant. She in not.
The Postal Service like the mailboxes 45 -48 inches from the bottom of the box to where the tires meet the road the simple fact is mail carriers just have one hand to put the mail in to your box and the packages and when they have to climb out of the windows to get to your box they not going to be happy meaning you’re not going to be happy that’s the fact. Just drive up to you mailbox from the wrong side and put mail or packages in your box let’s see how you will feel I see those poor mail carriers driving every day with no place for bathroom break or get something to eat at least what we can do is give them the proper mailbox hide for easy delivery and for them to get done with no incident. Remember one hand wash the other be nice to you mail carrier and they will go out of their way to please you to an extent
My postmaster is requiring me to have my mailbox across the road from my house for delivery purposes. I have installed a mailbox twice and my neighbor that owns the property across from me continues to tear down my mailbox and refuses to let me put it up. I have reported this to the postmaster several times with no help. Now he given me 10 days to replace my mailbox or purchase a postoffice box, if not all of my mail will be returned to sender. He told me this is a police matter. I’ve been to the police department twice and they have no idea about the laws and have not done anything about this. Does anyone have any advice on how to resolve this issue correctly before there are any more legal issues.
I live atleast 2 miles or more from the nearest delivery area in az. Someone put a mailbox up on a rd and put their address on it. Now the post office says we can’t get free mailboxes here. And the street Someone used is not my street and it’s closer to the mail box then my street. Does that make sense?
I live atleast 2 miles or more from the nearest delivery area in az. Someone put a mailbox up on a rd and put their address on it. Now the post office says we can’t get free mailboxes here. And the street Someone used is not my street and it’s closer to the mail box then my street. Does that make sense?
I meant po boxes.
The Comunity developer did not create an easement, we do not have an HOA, the 21 lot developer put two large mailboxes on my property & refuses to move them when requested. The local post master is confrontation & unwilling to help, says the post office doesn’t own the boxes, developer says the post office owns them, I’m thinking technically I own them since they are illegally on my property. POst master says they are m not responsible for where the developer put them & said they won’t move them. She also said they will not deliver to individual boxes at each house because it’s a gravel road, says they can’t be put on the main road because it’s dangerous to their driver & if I want everyone to get their mail from the post office I have to get the neighbors to sign a Legal document agreeing to not get mail on my property and pay for a pobox. She also said I couldn’t put up my own box only there that they won’t deliver to me only on my property because they only agreed with the developer to do a large Comunity box.
What are my options? I want them off my property so I can build a property entrance.
My neighbor has her dog chained outside 24/7. I have to walk tword it to check my mail, I’m afraid it will get off and come at me. How far away from mailbox should a dog be chained?
How far is to far. Are there any rules on how far from your home the usps can require you to place your ail box? For example, our street is required to place our mailboxes on a major street and the last house would have to walk approximately a third to half of a mile to retrieve mail.
The guidelines in this article say nothing about getting permission to move a mailbox at the street, as a thinking common sense kind of guy I feel like a child having to ask if it’s ok to reposition my mailbox to a more sensible place than where it currently sits. If I had not read these posts I would not believe the need for “permission” absurd!
I live a mile and a half down a dirt road maintained by the county. My mailbox is at the start of the road with an number of other boxes. A quarter mile down my road is another collection of mail boxes. Everyone between these boxes have their boxes at the end of their drives. I have submitted the paperwork for myself and for many of my neighbors to have our mailboxes moved to the end of our driveways. Reason for that is we have had multiple thefts in the past years where packages and refund checks were stolen from the mailboxes. I have filed a police report with no help. I have complained to the post office and they say “We know all about the issue”. No one has done a thing to help us. The postmaster has been very rude to many people that has complained about this issue. She has even told some that she will not talk with them and turned and walked away. I even talked to her boss and still nothing. I have tried what I could to push it farther up their chain of command and it’s like a secret as to who the next boss is. I’m fed up and my neighbors are fed up. What can we do?
I’m currently building a home. My neighbor, across the street, has a mailbox in the center of where my driveway will be. What can be done about this? How can this be resolved?
Hi S Webb, thanks for your comment. My best recommendation would be to have a quick chat with your future neighbor, and perhaps offer to relocate their mailbox for them. Any mailbox relocation needs to be approved by your local postmaster general, post office, or postal carrier. Generally, as long as the mailbox is going on the same side of the road and in the same general vicinity, they will have no problem with the relocation. Regards, and good luck!
I live at the end of a deadend road. I have 0 road frontage. I do not own any property on either side of the road. My property is at the end. We were told to put our mailbox in the county right of way in front of our neighbor’s house. We have a new neighbor who thinks that she owns to the middle of the road. She has threatened to call the police if we weedeat around our mailbox. That wouldn’t be so bad if she would maintain the area. Am I allowed to weedeat around my mailbox? Aren’t mailboxes in the county right of way?
One more question: Is the mailcarrier allowed to turn around in a driveway? The only place to turn around at our end of the street is in my neighbor’s driveway. The neighbor yells at the mail carrier for doing so. I would love to know of any laws/regulations that I could share with my neighbor.
Hi Sherri, thanks for reaching out to us. You did the right thing by asking the post office where to install your mailbox. We are not legal experts, but I believe you are correct that the municipality/ county likely owns the roadside, usually called a ‘right of way’. The mailbox that you install technically becomes federal property once it is installed in the proper location – see our article on that here. While you are responsible for maintaining the mailbox and can remove/replace your own mailbox at any time, your mailbox once installed is ‘owned’ by the federal government. This is what allows mail theft to be a federal crime. It is more than likely that the area wherever your mailbox is installed is either owned by the state, county, or municipality that you are in – HOWEVER – because it is an unusual situation of being on a dead-end road – it may not be. However, even if it is owned by your neighbor, you do likely have an easement on that road to access your home – which usually allows for utilities and fair and reasonable use of the road. I would recommend being cordial with your neighbor and trying to work something out with them so as to avoid any issues. However, if that doesn’t work out, you could explain the situation to the post office and ask them if you would be allowed to move your mailbox to a different location that would encroach less on your neighbor. I am not sure of the allowance of the mail carrier to turn around in a driveway, but it sure sounds like you have a grouchy neighbor, and I am sorry to hear that. I wish you the best of luck with your situation and hope you get something figured out easily!
@Ryan, YES people have been sued by robbers after breaking into a home and hurting themselves. As far as I know that was in Civil Court – and anybody can sue anybody. I doubt the. District Attorney has ever brought charges on a homeowner but yes, the DA decides what to do with information. I suppose you could put up fence on both sides – but I don’t work for this company – just a random Jane – My guess is that you can get creative with things. Laws often overlap
My neighbor from across the street put there box on my property over objection. PO said it was ok but I say no. What do you think. (NJ)
Hi Al, thanks for your comment. Firstly, are you sure the property near the road is actually your property? Often, roads have an easement of X amount of feet on either side that are actually owned by the county/ city or jurisdiction (and therefore are fair game to install a mailbox on if determined by your local post office to be the best spot).