# Am I required to have a physical mailbox? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627 "2010-04-01T19:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/21 "2010-04-02T01:53:46Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > yeah, you have to put your mailing address on your drivers’ license, tax return, etc. don’t you? What would happen then if you put down a street address or similar where the Post Office does not deliver? Many such systems (like our state’s voter registration, auto & driver registration, etc.) verify the entered address against the Post Office’s database of delivery points. So if you give a non-mailable address, it is rejected, and the clerk will make you give a good one. (This sometimes causes problems, in housing developments that are constructed very quickly, before these new addresses are updated onto the PO database.) ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/22 "2010-04-02T01:55:09Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If you have a residential address—and AFAIK there’s no way not to have one unless you live at somebody else’s home and never conduct any transactions that require you to provide address information—then I don’t think there’s any way of officially removing yourself from the USPS mailing list, so to speak. As others have mentioned, it is possible to not have a mailable (is that a word?) residential address. At one time I lived in South Lake Tahoe, CA, and we couldn’t have mail sent to our house. There was no residential mail delivery at all. We had a PO Box, and that’s the only way we could get mail. I’m pretty sure any mail sent to our house address would have been returned to the sender. I was really excited when we moved to another town, where we had a cluster box on the corner, and I could walk to get the mail each day instead of having to drive to the post office to check the box. Yeah, so I’m easily excited… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/23 "2010-04-02T02:53:53Z")
> [@10913](#): > > And I’m a libertarian who just on principle likes to tell the government to go screw itself. [QUOTE=United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8] The Congress shall have Power. . . To establish Post Offices and Post Roads; [/QUOTE] So, how long have you hated America? ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/24 "2010-04-02T03:03:13Z")
My grandmother went without a mailbox for years and years. There was literally not even a mailbox there to deliver to. My mother checked her mail at the post office. I guess back then there wasn’t much UPS which requires it, nor would my grandmother request anything via UPS. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/25 "2010-04-02T03:04:49Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Yes you can. There is no requirement that you have a mailbox. Many residences don’t. Some folks get their mail at a cluster box, and in some rural areas there simply is no delivery… you have to get your mail at the post office. If you don’t have a box, the post office simply won’t deliver any mail. You can even refuse to accept the mail if they continue to deliver ([DMM 508 1.1.2](http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/508.htm)) > > Whether you can function without a valid mailing address is a different question altogether. Some utilities require a residential address (ie, not a PO Box), and many business too. But if you want to live off the grid, mail is probably the least of your concerns. Indeed, it depends if the question is"does my house need to have a mailbox?" or “do I need to have a mailing address”? The answer to the first is clearly “no”, but the answer to the second is probably “yes”. For example, the IRS needs a mailing address so they can get in touch with you if there’s a tax issue. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/26 "2010-04-02T03:48:03Z")
I think a lot of posters here are missing the crux of the question. There is no doubt that there are areas of the country where there is no mail delivery and mail must be picked up at the post office. That’s not the point. I think what the OP is asking is something like, “If I live in a neighborhood where everyone else has a mailbox on the street and receives mail delivery, am I required to have a mailbox?” ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/27 "2010-04-02T03:49:51Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > I guess back then there wasn’t much UPS which requires it, nor would my grandmother request anything via UPS. Totally off-topic here, but UPS doesn’t care about mailboxes. UPS and FedEx will happily deliver to addresses with no mailbox or local mail delivery. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/28 "2010-04-02T13:09:09Z")
I asked my local postmaster dude this exact question a few years ago. I was unhappy with the way my mail was being delivered. The mailman repeatedly left the mailbox door open after placing the mail in it. I am in a rural area. Rain would get my stuff wet. So I complained. Turns out the people driving around delivering the mail (in my area at least) are subcontractors and the postmaster felt powerless to make them do a better job. He came to my location and confirmed that the box fit all the requirements (it was a “legal” mailbox). I was gonna remove the box and just pick up mail once a month or so at the post office. He said this was fine. Then many of my neighbors began complaining about the same issue and somehow that solved the situation.:dubious: Basically I was told that a physical address was important for EMS and the like, but I did not have to have a mailbox present. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/29 "2010-04-02T15:27:18Z")
No, you are not required to have a mail box. Cite: Our family vacation home in Arizona, genuine street address, every neighbor up and down the block gets mail, we do not. It’s been this way for more than 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/30 "2010-04-02T15:54:19Z")
When I was growing up back in the 60s & 70s, the house we lived in didn’t have a mailbox – we rented a box from the post office in town. Mom worked not too far from said post office, and our church was nearby, so we were able to pick up our mail at least once a week. This was on the outer fringes of a [city of some 30,000](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettendorf,_Iowa) in a metro area of roughly 300,000, so we weren’t exactly in the sticks. None of the houses near us had mailboxes at the house – the ones that didn’t use a PO box had their boxes in a cluster at the end of the paved road (we, as well as our neighbors, were on gravel roads connecting to the paved road). Some of these houses had been there for a while – my two closest neighbors were Norwegian bachelor farmers straight out of Lake Woebegon. Both had electricity, but neither had indoor plumbing. Having mailboxes at the house would have been problematic, since we didn’t get house numbers until 1980 or so, and those were assigned by the electric company for reasons I never could figure out. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/31 "2010-04-03T12:33:19Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > I think a lot of posters here are missing the crux of the question. There is no doubt that there are areas of the country where there is no mail delivery and mail must be picked up at the post office. That’s not the point. > > I think what the OP is asking is something like, “If I live in a neighborhood where everyone else has a mailbox on the street and receives mail delivery, am I required to have a mailbox?” And the answer is no. If you get rid of your mailbox one day, the USPS carrier may leave your mail in front of your door or ring your bell, and tell you need a box. If you tell him you want him to stop delivering and that you refuse all delivery, he’ll stop. Despite what we saw on that episode of Seinfeld, you can stop the mail. It’s not that complicated. And it may be unusual, but the OP would not be the first person to do such a thing. Probably not even the first person in his own neighborhood. The best way to get the answer to this question, btw, would be to just talk to your mailman… although I suppose if you’re wracked by anti-government paranoia, the mere thought of such interaction probably freaks you out. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/32 "2010-04-04T00:18:48Z")
My Census form appeared one day hanging from my doorknob, so not having a mailbox at my house didn’t stop them. Where I live, there’s no mail delivery. I have a PO box. I _hate_ it, mostly because the concept of paying for a service I’ve had for free my entire life (mail delivery) just grates on me. And when getting packages it’s sometimes a crapshoot as to which address to use…fortunately the post office people know me and hold packages that were mailed to my house address instead of my box. One of the advantages of living just outside a town of about 3500 people – at the height of the tourist seasons, anyway. At least FedEx and UPS know where my house is. I much prefer getting stuff delivered that way because that way I don’t have to get to the post office when it’s open to get my package. Finding a yellow card (it means “you have a package in the back we can’t stuff in here”) in my box on a Saturday is frustrating as hell because I’m usually really looking forward to that package and now I can’t get it until Monday on my lunch break. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/33 "2010-04-04T00:40:40Z")
I don’t have a mailbox at my home. I have a PO box. Census form was hung on my doorknob. When I first removed my mailbox (which I never used) the mailman put mail between the doors. I complained, but it continued. Since I know talking to the local postmaster may or may not get favorable results, I called the 800 number to complain. Calling the 800 number gives you people who actually check up on this type of thing, because that is their job. Postmasters generally don’t give a damn as long as mail is getting delivered and the carriers aren’t out getting in accidents. Anyway, one way around this if you don’t want to have a PO Box is to forward your mail to a friend or relative. That way, if you do get any first class mail, it will go to someone. Pre-sort standard (junk) mail will not be forwarded, so it gets tossed or recycled. You just have to remember to forward your mail to another friend or relative just before your forward expires, or your first class mail will get returned to the sender. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/34 "2010-04-06T03:23:31Z")
> [@Obeseus](#): > > Anyway, one way around this if you don’t want to have a PO Box is to forward your mail to a friend or relative. That way, if you do get any first class mail, it will go to someone. Pre-sort standard (junk) mail will not be forwarded, so it gets tossed or recycled. You just have to remember to forward your mail to another friend or relative just before your forward expires, or your first class mail will get returned to the sender. Of course, this is sticking the rest of us with the bill for your whim. The cost of separating your mail by class, and forwarding your first class mail is built into the price we all pay for postage. Including that paid by all of us who don’t play games like this, and just get our mail at our address, and are non-lazy enough to throw away the junk mail on our own. A small example of the “Tragedy of the Commons”, where a shared, community resource is eventually depleted or destroyed by some people using it excessively. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/35 "2010-04-07T01:16:42Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > And the answer is no. > > If you get rid of your mailbox one day, the USPS carrier may leave your mail in front of your door or ring your bell, and tell you need a box. If you tell him you want him to stop delivering and that you refuse all delivery, he’ll stop. Despite what we saw on that episode of Seinfeld, you can stop the mail. It’s not that complicated. And it may be unusual, but the OP would not be the first person to do such a thing. Probably not even the first person in his own neighborhood. > > The best way to get the answer to this question, btw, would be to just talk to your mailman… although I suppose if you’re wracked by anti-government paranoia, the mere thought of such interaction probably freaks you out. So what happens when the county sends you a jury summons and you don’t respond because you don’t receive mail? ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/36 "2010-04-07T03:08:27Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Of course, this is sticking the rest of us with the bill for your whim. > > The cost of separating your mail by class, and forwarding your first class mail is built into the price we all pay for postage. Including that paid by all of us who don’t play games like this, and just get our mail at our address, and are non-lazy enough to throw away the junk mail on our own. > > A small example of the “Tragedy of the Commons”, where a shared, community resource is eventually depleted or destroyed by some people using it excessively. Well, it isn’t anything I do. I get mail at my post office. I don’t get mail at my house. I get hardly any mail due to doing things online. The only thing a mailbox at my house gave me was giving me the same junk mail I get at the PO. Since 10913 gets what appears to be nearly 100% junk mail, there would be hardly any cost if he were to forward his mail. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/37 "2010-04-07T15:15:03Z")
I once met a guy who gave his address as “General Delivery, Las Cruces, NM 88001”. As I understand it, he actually lives in Juarez, Mexico. He is a tinfoil-hat conspiracy-nut, but apparently, he is a functional nutcase. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/38 "2010-04-07T19:28:16Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Of course, this is sticking the rest of us with the bill for your whim. > > The cost of separating your mail by class, and forwarding your first class mail is built into the price we all pay for postage. Including that paid by all of us who don’t play games like this, and just get our mail at our address, and are non-lazy enough to throw away the junk mail on our own. > > A small example of the “Tragedy of the Commons”, where a shared, community resource is eventually depleted or destroyed by some people using it excessively. The real Tragedy of the Commons issue is junk mail, in the first place. If people only received mail that was actually relevant to them, then no one would feel compelled to do tricks like this to get around it. I’d gladly be willing to pay more for postage (or postal service) if I didn’t have to deal with junk mail, so if this were a real problem, the Post Office could just charge a small fee for forwarding mail that would cover their costs. Then we could each have the postal service that we want, without resorting to moralizing a simple preference. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/39 "2010-04-08T13:42:24Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I’d gladly be willing to pay more for postage (or postal service) if I didn’t have to deal with junk mail, so if this were a real problem, the Post Office could just charge a small fee for forwarding mail that would cover their costs. Then we could each have the postal service that we want, without resorting to moralizing a simple preference. I agree. Years ago, I had a female mail person with whom I became very friendly. When I mentioned my dislike for junk mail, she offered to make it go away. For the next year or so I received zero junk mail. She eventually moved away, and I was talking to the new mailman. I mentioned that I wouldn’t mind it if he did not deliver my junk mail. He was aghast.:eek: He explained that it would be a felony to not deliver it! ---
**Author:** ![badlyburnttoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@badlyburnttoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badlyburnttoast)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627/40 "2010-04-08T17:01:42Z")
eerily similiar to this post I made almost a year ago: [Do I have to get my mail? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=530012) In short, according to **dragonlady** , you can contact the post office and have them close your box and they will return all your first class mail as unclaimed. Junk mail will be tossed, and that’s that - you should probably have a PO box or something but they don’t care if you do or not. I haven’t canceled mine but I still get more junk mail then anything else and I admit that from time to time when I see the box stuffed to the brim with advertisements I don’t need or want I think back to that thread and consider how nice a junk mail free life would be… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-required-to-have-a-physical-mailbox/534627.md?page=3)