Renting a USPS PO Box

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve read info on USPS.com about renting a PO box, but I’m confused about something.

If the PO requires ID that shows your current address, what do you do if you just moved to a city and are staying with friends while looking for a house/apt?

I have photo ID–driver’s license–and car registration, car insurance, etc, which I understand they accept as proof you are who you are, but they show my previous address.

Can I still rent a PO box?

I went to the local PO to ask, but the line was a half-mile long…so I thought I’d try here–anyone dealt with this?

Thx

2

I don’t think it matters. I had to show mine but they just wrote it down in whatever record book they use. It’s never really come up again and I’ve had the PO Box for two years now and moved a couple times.

3

I don’t think the PO cares about where you are/were living. All they care about is reducing fraud by some evidence that you are really you. Show up with normal documentation and I don’t think you will have any problems. All they want to know is that you are who you say you are.

4

Just bring in your two forms of ID and don’t say ‘but this isn’t my current address’. No one is going to challenge you.

As rbroome said, it’s more to make sure people aren’t renting them anonymously, with a fake ID or under someone elses name.

I suppose you might run into trouble if one of your non-photo ID’s (ie car insurance paperwork) is several years old, but if everything is current or from within the last few months I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Now, if you’ve been squatting at friends houses for the last few years, that might make things tougher. The only thing I can suggest is get something official mailed to that house (like a vehicle insurance policy), use that to get the DL changed to that address and then use those two things to get the PO Box.
But you could probably ask someone at a desk, I’m sure it’s not the first time someone has been in that situation.

5

Granted I live in a small town (no half-mile lines here!), but this wasn’t a problem for me either. I hesitated a little since I wasn’t sure I had everything, and the postmistress just took the form and made whatever note she needed to.

6

I’ve got a USPOB since we don’t get mail delivery. Also, FedX and UPS is problematic for where I live. And I can’t figure out the rules about what the USPOB will and will not accept from FedX and UPS. And any way, I’m often not told how something is going to be shipped.

I used to have packages sent to work, but that also turned into a problem. Sometimes they would automatically take it to my works POB instead of the physical address. Pissed me off (and the person that collects our mail).

All in all, a pain in the ass.

So… I got a UPS box. They accept everything no questions asked.

Just a thought…

7

Yes. The development I live in has no USPS delivery but do have other carriers, so we have to have a PO Box. On-line shopping:

“We cannot ship to a PO Box”

  • give street address under assumption this means it will be delivered by non-USPS

  • non-USPS drops at USPS

  • get yelled at by USPS for not having PO Box on package; “I tried, believe me I tried”

8

Does your post office offer street addressing for your box? Mine does. Instead of P.O. Box 123, it’s

Address of post office
#123

And they will accept UPS, FedEx, etc. We got one after we had some packages stolen off our porch. We’ve had no trouble getting things since.

9

An alternative is a private mailbox at a place like UPS store:

10

Thanks for the tip; I will check into this.