# Does the U.S. government own my mailbox? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 6, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042 "2007-04-06T22:32:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Queuing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/1 "2007-04-06T22:32:21Z")
Hello, In the answer to this question you say this: > [@](#): > > Another example of the federal interest in your mailbox is the limitation placed on its use. DMM 508 section 3.1.3 says a mailbox “may be used only for matter bearing postage.” It’s a federal crime to deposit mailable matter without postage into a letterbox, and many items are officially nonmailable. So, Stan, the answer to your question is yes – you can’t put anything in a mailbox that doesn’t have postage on it. For better or worse, neither can all those guys coming around with advertising flyers, which is why you get stuff rubber-banded to your doorknob or scattered on the lawn. Do you know, or does anybody know, if this is true in Canada as well? I hate getting all that crap in my mailbox, and would love to get it to stop. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/2 "2007-04-06T22:38:44Z")
This is the staff report in question: [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmailbox.htm](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmailbox.htm) I don’t know the answer to your question. Let me see what I can find out. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/3 "2007-04-06T23:45:41Z")
According to [this](http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GGD-97-85) USPS report (PDF!): > [@US Postal Service](#): > > We testified in January 1996 on eight foreign countries that operate > without laws comparable to the mailbox restriction. These countries > were Australia, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, > Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Private delivery companies in these > countries can deliver advertising and other items not covered by their > letter mail monopolies by depositing material into mailboxes without > locks, into locked mailboxes with slots for receiving mail, or into mail > slots in doors or walls. So, no. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/4 "2007-04-06T23:57:42Z")
[QUOTE=Nametag] According to [this](http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GGD-97-85) USPS report (PDF!): So, no. [/QUOTE] Good find. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/5 "2007-04-07T00:05:43Z")
[del]Yes, good find, Nametag, but where in your link does it say that these are the _only_ eight countries that allow private entities to use the mailbox that the post office puts letters in?[/del] never mind ---
**Author:** ![Queuing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/6 "2007-04-07T00:18:22Z")
Thanks, and dammit! Sorry about leaving out the link, I had it ready and everything to do so! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/7 "2007-04-10T13:45:47Z")
Having conducted mass mailings for an election campaign, I discovered that Canada Post maintains a list of addressees who do not wish to receive admail. Their [page on admail](http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/doc/about-e.asp) says: > [@](#): > > Canada Post allows you to target your customers more effectively by respecting the wishes of consumers who indicate, through a self-produced note on their mailbox or mail receptacle, that they do not wish to receive unaddressed materials. The only exemptions are materials from Elections Canada and provincial Chief Electoral Officers, House of Commons mailings, municipal electoral mailings and community newspapers. Contact them for more information. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/8 "2007-04-10T13:52:04Z")
In Australia, it is very common for letterboxes to have signs on them saying something like, “No junk mail”, “No advertising material” or “Australia Post mail only”. ---
**Author:** ![bluezooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bluezooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluezooky)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-u-s-government-own-my-mailbox/399042/9 "2007-04-10T15:38:46Z")
I certainly have a sign saying “no junk mail” unfortunately as far as I can tell it hasn’t stopped a single flyer reaching my mailbox, you can even pay the post office to deliver junk mail directly to each of their PO boxes.