# Delivering a letter to a house, not a mailbox **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785 "2009-09-03T19:40:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/1 "2009-09-03T19:40:09Z")
I’m trying to send a letter to the residents of a house that is adjacent to some land I own. Unfortunately, the home doesn’t have a mail receptacle (that’s what the mail carrier scrawled on the letter I tried to send to the address). I can get an owner’s name from online property records, but I’m fairly certain that the home sold recently, and the info. online is no longer accurate. How can I send a letter to the home’s current resident? I’m not serving a subpoena or anything, so I’m not looking to hire a process server. I have a friend who could go by there and drop something off (I live across the country), but she’s pretty busy and it’s out of her way. Plus, I’d like to be sure that the current resident actually received it (I sent it registered mail last time). Is there some signature-required shipping service (Fedex, UPS, etc.) that could work in this situation? Or do they require a mailbox? ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/2 "2009-09-03T20:01:45Z")
You are correct that UPS and Fed-Ex will deliver things. But if they won’t sign for it, you’ll have to try again without the signature and then use their driver’s statement of delivery as “close enough” evidence. If you sue, for example, this is accepted by the judge if he is convinced the person was home and simply refused to acknowledge it. More formally, process servers are listed in the phone book. You can send eviction papers in person that way, even if squatters have no post office box any more. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/3 "2009-09-03T20:05:30Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > Is there some signature-required shipping service (Fedex, UPS, etc.) that could work in this situation? Yes. Both do. > [@](#): > > Or do they require a mailbox? Not in my experience. If no one is there to accept the letter they leave a note. Nothing requires the person to come get the letter, however. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/4 "2009-09-03T20:07:22Z")
Use UPS or Fed Ex. If you go to a physical UPS or Fed Ex store, they will have special “express” envelopes that you can put your letter in to ship it. If there isn’t a mail box at the residence, the carrier should just leave it by the front door. If they don’t feel comfortable leaving it, or if a signature is required, the’ll leave a note on the door. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/5 "2009-09-03T20:13:30Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Use UPS or Fed Ex. If you go to a physical UPS or Fed Ex store, they will have special “express” envelopes that you can put your letter in to ship it. If there isn’t a mail box at the residence, the carrier should just leave it by the front door. If they don’t feel comfortable leaving it, or if a signature is required, the’ll leave a note on the door. Keep in mind, of course, that sending a letter via FedEx or UPS is illegal if the letter is not deemed “Urgent” in the eyes of the USPIS. You’re not going to get caught, but it’s still a crime. If this is building a legal case against the person, it’s something to be aware of. Equifax got nailed on this a number of years ago, and others have as well. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/6 "2009-09-03T20:14:29Z")
Thanks, all. Good options. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/7 "2009-09-03T20:35:40Z")
> [@Flymaster](#): > > Keep in mind, of course, that sending a letter via FedEx or UPS is illegal if the letter is not deemed “Urgent” in the eyes of the USPIS. You’re not going to get caught, but it’s still a crime. If this is building a legal case against the person, it’s something to be aware of. Equifax got nailed on this a number of years ago, and others have as well. Really?? What statute? (I’m not saying you’re wrong; I’m just surprised) ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/8 "2009-09-03T21:09:10Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Really?? What statute? (I’m not saying you’re wrong; I’m just surprised) Yep. > [@](#): > > The monopoly is well enforced. The USPS can conduct searches and seizures if it suspects citizens of contravening its monopoly. For example, in 1993, armed postal inspectors entered the headquarters of Equifax Inc. in Atlanta. The postal inspectors demanded to know if all the mail sent by Equifax through Federal Express was indeed “extremely urgent,” as mandated by the Postal Service’s criteria for suspension of the Private Express Statutes. Equifax paid the Postal Service a fine of $30,000. The Postal Service reportedly collected $521,000 for similar fines from twenty-one mailers between 1991 and 1994. [http://www.aei.org/paper/17488](http://www.aei.org/paper/17488) > [@](#): > > The PES consists of 18 U.S.C. § 1693–1696 and 39 U.S.C. § 601–606, implemented under 39 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 310 and 320. These forbid all carriage and delivery of letter mail by private organizations, except as described in the next section. The PES only cover “letters” and not other mailable items such as parcels or periodicals. > **[Private Express Statutes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Express_Statutes)** > > The Private Express Statutes (PES) are a group of United States federal civil and criminal laws placing various restrictions on the carriage and delivery of letters by all organizations other than the United States Postal Service. > The United States Congress originally passed the PES in 1792, under powers granted it in the United States Constitution to "establish Post Offices and Post Roads." The PES granted the government the power for the carriage and delivery of letter mail. Today the USPS... ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/9 "2009-09-03T21:37:56Z")
Interesting. I guess you learn something new every day. But, seeing as the USPS already refused to deliver the letter, I’d think the OP is safe using a different service. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/10 "2009-09-03T23:08:05Z")
But doesn’t [this](http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=39:1.0.1.5.41&idno=39#39:1.0.1.5.41.0.1.6) make it OK? > [@](#): > > It will be conclusively presumed that a letter is extremely urgent and is covered by the suspension if the amount paid for private carriage of the letter is at least three dollars or twice the applicable U.S. postage for First-Class Mail (including priority mail) whichever is the greater. That sounds far better than relying on some postal employee’s opinion of whether or not the letter is “extremely urgent” or not - it seems that paying sufficiently high postage is adequate. The way I quoted above is not the _only_ way a letter can be considered “extremely urgent”, but as I read the legalese it is sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/11 "2009-09-03T23:12:15Z")
Hmm. I had never read it that way before, but your argument certainly seems solid. I’m not sure how Equifax got busted, then, though, because FedEx simply won’t let you send a letter via FedEx Ground, as that is not necessarily sufficiently expensive. Interesting. I’ll have to read more about that case. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/12 "2009-09-04T00:13:43Z")
If you put a letter in a box with sand (just for weight) FedEx ground will take that won’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/13 "2009-09-04T00:21:31Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If you put a letter in a box with sand (just for weight) FedEx ground will take that won’t they? Sure, but then you’re legitimately shipping sand as well. Regardless, I didn’t mean to fully derail this thread with my little nugget of trivia. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/14 "2009-09-04T01:58:31Z")
I’d call the Postmaster at the delivering post office and find out why the carrier didn’t go up to the house and get it signed for. If you sent it registered mail, it doesn’t matter if they have a mailbox or not. The carrier is supposed to deliver it to the door. They might have a PO box, in which case you could send a letter with an “address correction requested.” It used to cost a dollar for that, not sure what it costs now. But then you could send a registered to their PO box. (Still no guarantee that they’ll pick it up, though.) And, as an FYI, FedEx doesn’t have to get a signature for residential deliveries. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delivering-a-letter-to-a-house-not-a-mailbox/508785/15 "2009-09-04T12:54:07Z")
Are you sure the new owners live there? It could be a vacation home. In that case you really do need their mailing address. You could call the County assessor and ask about how long it will take to get the data updated.