Whether you’re traveling for pleasure or business, or you will be living at another address temporarily the Post Office can hold or forward your mail during that time.

Identity theft is at an all-time high and mail theft is one of the ways criminals can gain access to your personal and financial information. Anything you send or receive in the mail is potentially at risk for mail theft. And you don’t want to allow mail to accumulate in your mailbox while you are away, this is a red flag to thieves that lets them know no one is home leading to a potential break-in or mail theft.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) offers several options for managing your mail while you are away.

Put It on Hold

If you are going to be away from home for 3 to 30 days, put your mail on hold. You cannot put your mail on hold for less than 3 days and the mail hold request must be submitted at least one business day in advance before it will take effect. If you are at the end of a 30-day USPS Hold Mail period, you can ask for another hold on the 31st day, but it won’t go into effect for three days.

When you use the USPS Hold Mail Service all mail that is delivered to your address will be put on hold. This includes all letters and packages, and it applies to every individual living at that address. There is no charge for the service. A USPS Hold Mail request is not necessary for a PO Box, as mail delivered to a PO Box will be allowed to accumulate for up to 30 days.

When you return home, you can pick up your mail at the Post Office or have it delivered to your mailbox. If you pick up your accumulated mail in person, regular mail delivery will resume the next postal business day.

If you choose to have your accumulated mail delivered to your home the letter carrier will only deliver what fits into your mailbox, if they are unable to deliver all of your mail, they will leave a PS Form 3849 – form in your mailbox and return the overflow mail to your local Post Office for pickup.

You must pick up or have your accumulated mail delivered within 10 days of the hold request ending. If you do not collect you mail during that time it will be returned to the sender.

There are three ways to enroll:

Sign up online. Sign Up Online

Call 1-800-275-8777

Complete an “Authorization to Hold Mail” form in person at the post office. Form PS Form 8076, Authorization to USPS Hold Mail.

Premium Forwarding Service

When you sign up for the Premium Forwarding Service all of your mail will be forwarded from your permanent address to a temporary one, your mail will be delivered weekly for a minimum of two weeks and up to one year. This service would be ideal for people who have more than one home and spend time between the two, for college students, and for people who will be away from home for extended periods of time for business or personal reasons.

Cost: One flat fee for each weekly Priority Mail shipment, plus an application fee.

To enroll:

Sign Up Online  

Or visit your local Post Office.

Temporary Change of Address

USPS offers two change-of-address options—temporary and permanent. Both services work by forwarding your mail from your current address to a new address. While the permanent change of address forwards mail permanently, the temporary option forwards your mail for up to one year. After the specified time period, your mail will resume being delivered to the original address. A temporary change can be used by college students, people who travel for work, or spend part of the year at a vacation home.

A Temporary Change of Address Request can be filed online.

Or in person at your local Post Office.

If you have questions about the process, visit your local Post Office where they can assist you with the entire process.

All first-class mail will be forwarded at no charge, but you will pay a fee to have packages and other types of mail forwarded to the temporary address.

Informed Delivery

USPS also offers a free service called Informed Delivery which allows you to digitally view your mail and manage and track packages. You can log in on any computer, tablet or smartphone and view grayscale images of the address-side exterior of letter-sized mail scheduled for delivery.

Notifications arrive via email, on the Informed Delivery dashboard and through the USPS Mobile application.

USPS Informed Delivery