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US Postal Service Mail Box – Regulation Mailboxes

A regulation US Postal Service mail box is specified in the Domestic Mail Manual created by the US Postal Service.  Regulation US Postal Service mailboxes can be purchased online from many different retailers.

Before purchasing your mailbox online, make sure it is US postal approved.  Curbside mailboxes are available in three sizes: –

  • Small T1 (C1) size is approximately 5 inches wide by 6 inches tall and 18 ½ inches long.
  • Medium T2 (C2) size is approximately 6 inches wide by 7 inches tall by 19 inches long.
  • Large T3 (C3) size is approximately 8 inches wide by 11 ½ inches tall by 22 ½ inches long.

The “T” stands for Traditional and the “C” stands for Contemporary. The dimensions reflect the minimum interior size.

Post mount boxes should be positioned 6-8 inches from the curb and approximately 42-46 inches high measured from the lawn to the top of the installed mailbox, not the top of the post. If the post has a vertical arm, the arm should not extend any closer than 6 inches from the curb.

When installing your new set, make sure your set complies with these regulations.  Be cautious when building your own mail box and post. Approximately 100 motorists are killed yearly in collisions with mailboxes. Some posts are mounted in concrete or constructed of indestructible materials.  In a collision, a motor vehicle can be severely damaged and its occupants injured or killed.

The U.S. Postal Service does not govern wall mount boxes, however, you should notify your local mail carrier before installation to ensure proper placement of the mailbox and check for any local codes or regulations governing placement of the box.  The product should operate easily and nothing should obstruct the opening and closing of the lid. Also check with your home owners association to see if they have any association by-laws which you need to comply with.

Related posts:

  1. Mailbox Regulations
  2. Big Mail Boxes

Comments

  1. is there any law on parking in front or blocking the crub side mail box. our neighbor parks there car next to our box. making our mail carrier have to get out of her truck to deliver our mail.

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    • tom mcqueary kon-tiki ter. portorange fl. 32129 is a car or truck allowed to park curbside and block delivery of mail where the mail person cannot deliver mail with out gitting out of his mobil- thank you

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        • Not sure if it’s a law, but if you want your mail I wouldn’t block the box. I’m a rural carrier and I do have some in town deliveries but as a rural carrier I’m not obligated to leave my vehicle. So if a box is blocked I don’t stop. Sorry

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          • Can I move my mailbox off Highway to my driveway so I don/t have to cross highway/ I am 88 years old and there is getting to be more traffic on the highway.

          • If you seriously don’t get out of your vehicle you are lazy, plain and simple. There is no reason you can get out. Especially when there are mail carrier that is all they do.

          • And that is one of the many reasons your loosing business and will continue to do so. What a weird little power trip!

          • ACCORDING TO NALC. A CARRIER MUST DISMOUNT FOR ANY TEMPORARY BLOBAKE OUT OF THE RESIDENTS CONTROL SUCH AS ANOTHERS TRASH CAN, VEHICLE OR SNOW AND ICE FROM ROAD CREW CLEARING ROADWAY. POSTAL OPERATION MANUAL 632.14. NOR RAIN NOR HAIL NOR SLEET OR SNOW.

          • Donna – If you were my employee I would give you a direct order and fire you if you failed to comply. You are required, whenever possible to dismount to make the delivery…the ONLY exception is safety. And for the rest of y’all that think mail “delivery” is all they do, the post office is always hiring and most people couldn’t cut the mustard. Its a tough job, mentally and physically, under heavy time constraints. Some come on and try it, and best of luck.

          • Postal regulations require that carriers dismount to deliver to a box that is temporarily blocked. Postal Operations Manual 632.14 states: The customer is responsible for keeping the approach to his or her mailbox clear to facilitate delivery. Where the approach to the mail receptacle located at the curb is temporarily blocked by a parked vehicle during normal delivery hours for the area, or snow or ice hampers the approach to the mailbox, the carrier normally dismounts to make delivery. If the carrier continually experiences a problem in serving curbline boxes and where the customer is able to control onstreet parking in front of his or her mailbox but does not take prompt corrective action after being properly notified, the postmaster may, with the approval of the district manager, withdraw delivery service. (Emphasis supplied.)

          • Our mail carrier won’t deliver to our box if the garbage can is in the way and won’t deliver packages because they have a no backup policy and they can’t go more than 50ft from their truck and if they are”uncomfortable”they can choose to not deliver

        • No, carrier do not dismount to deliver blocked mail boxes. Carriers are to deliver mail in a timely manner, time was not factored into route evaluation for dismount of said boxes.

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        • Absolutely not. They are not allowed out of their vehicle to deliver to a box. If it’s blocked, it’s a blocked box. If they get out, it’s a courtesy they have given you.

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        • You are dead wrong. It’s a safety issue, and is addressed and dressed work weekly. Carriers andddressedtre supposed to be andddressedtreble to access the box w/o getting out of their vehicle or NO DELIVERY. That’s why it’s not a good idea to pile up garbage cans, yard waste, recyclables, etc by your box. The ONLY thing USPS authorizes carriers to exit their vehicle for is pkg delivery to the front door, or any other kind of letter envelope or document requiring a signature. That’s the only reasons accepted for leaving the postal vehicle, other than businesses with in store hand delivery of their mail. (a walking segment of that rt.) NO EXCEPTIONS.
          (Speaking from experience here, retired city carrier)

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        • Nope, if it’s regulary blocked, the mail will be held for 10 days. If it’s still blocked, all mail goes back to sender. Now if it’s blocked once you n a great while, then they have to dismount and deliver.

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        • Wrong, rural mail carriers have set regulations which prohibit them from exiting their vehicle just because a mailbox is blocked. Your mail will be reattempted the following day and if it is still blocked your mail will be held at the post office until the carrier sees it is no longer blocked.

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      • I think the big thing people that expect rural carriers to get out for continually blocked mailboxes don’t get is how we are paid. We aren’t paid hourly. We are paid on an evaluated system in which the USPS determines yearly how long our route is “supposed” to take. Mine is 8.8 hrs. I get paid 8.8 hours whether it takes 6.5 hours or 12 hours. It’s “supposed” to all even out in the end, which with the package increase we have carriers that can’t meet those guidelines. So in effect, that carrier is not compensated nor credited for having to get out at those problem boxes. We also MUST be back and done by a certain time to meet the the truck that takes all the outgoing mail to a processing plant in another city. Also, getting out at blocked boxes puts us at risk for a slip and fall or dog bites, at which point they want to know why we are out of the vehicle. We had a carrier servicing a blocked box, stray dog but him, and he got reprimanded for being out of the vehicle for what they considered not a legitimate reason, thus it was essentially his fault he got bit. SMH.

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    • If your mailbox is close to the driveway check the state vehicle code AND police… it is usually illegal to park too close to a driveway. If blockers are illegally parking you may be able to get them ticketed, if you are willing to risk the ire of neighbors.

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      • No, close only counts in horseshoes. It is not illegal to park close to a driveway. However, the vehicle can not park blocking the driveway or parked into the driveway, forward or backed in, and as a result, would be blocking the sidewalk forcing persons walking on the sidewalk, to have to walk into a street to avoid the vehicle.

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    • Mail carriers do not have to exit the postal vehicle to deliver mail to a blocked mailbox. Especially if the carrier and the supervisor agree it is an unsafe practice. So ‘Me’ is wrong, mail carriers are not required to exit the vehicle to deliver mail to a blocked mail box.

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      • Ok I have had my mailbox in the location my dilivery person for over a year now. She retired and now my new mail person wants me to move it to a major Hiway location, can the make me move it?

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        • No, if the mail has been delivered there once while you lived there they have to continue service

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          • Mine has been delivered where it stands for 6 years noe
            W. They now say i need to move it to a side street so mail carrier does not have to turn around in my drive. Can’t do this myself and no money to hire some one. Says they will stop service

      • What if you have apartments mailboxes… and live on the ground floor. Are they supposed to attempt package delivery?

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        • Most Apts. or gated places ask that packages be left with security or the leasing office for obvious reasons.

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    • Ok the reason the boxes are on the street curb is so the carrier can drive up to it. If you block and expect them to exit the vehicle they have to park the vehicle in the middle of the street. This is not safe. If the USPS wanted their carriers to exit the vehicle regardless of parked cars blocking them or your smelly trash cans they wouldn’t have come up with the wonderful idea of boxes at the street curb. They would be on your house by the door. Since that is not the case don’t block the box.

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  2. Please, Lets Get Some kind Of Law Passed In California, I’v Had It With These People Who Do Not Respect The Mail Box Of Another..Parking Right In Front Of The Mailbox. Now I Understand The Mail Carrier Doing a Good Job. For Some Disrespectful Person To Block On Purpose On The Street And Could Care Less If You Get Your Mail Or Not…Lets Help Our Mail Carriers At Least During The Delivery Hours…..

    Reply

    • Residential delivery is a privilege that can be taken away. If a box is constantly being blocked, local management needs to contact the individual responsible and notify them to stop. If they don’t stop, their delivery can be taken away and after that, they will have be forced to pick up their mail at the post office permanently.

      Reply

  3. Our mail box is across the road from our house. Can we move our mail box on our side of the road. There is a lot of traffic on the road. some time I need to waite long time to cross. The cars are going about 50 miles an hr. It’s getting to dangerous.

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    • You will need to contact your local post office. Some carriers will change this for you, especially if they are already delivering mail on both sides of the street, but if they do not deliver to both sides, it may not be possible to change your box. I am a mail carrier and I have done this for several customers because my route direction (line of travel) allowed it, but I have also had to deny the request for the same reason. Mail routes are determined by a direct line of travel keeping the safety of the carrier in mind and remember, mail carriers deliver using right hand drive vehicles, so mail box must be on the right,

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      • Christine, you seem to know what you’re talking about, so I’d like some advice. Public works in my village has the entire road on my street prepared for blacktopping in the spring, so it’s all gravel through the winter. My problem is they have moved our cluster mailboxes, including mine, several blocks away to a street they aren’t working on. It was OK through the fall, but with winter coming here in the Northwest, it’s a long walk in the cold and may not reachable by car. They placed another cluster of boxes much closer and I’ve requested mine be moved to that cluster. There is plenty of room to add it there, but both street dept. and post office are stalling me with an answer. Do I have any rights regarding this? Thanks.

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      • Is there a certain amount of feet your mailbox has to be away from your home,? If yes where can I find it in the USPS manual. My mailbox is across the street, two houses over. My box sometimes gets vamdalize, can’t hardly see it, & deliveries always goes to the home my box is in front of

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    • Yea, good luck with that. it requires a doctor’s note…which I have, and now the post office is being real A$%%^ holes about it. get a doctor’s note to move your box to the other side and wait for the shi6tstorm from the post office! And I have that same situation, PLUS I’ve had a leg injury and constant pain, and am unable to RUN when cars/trucks barrel down over the hill towards me. I love how everyone’s advise is to contact the post office, who do you think your mail carrier works for?????

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      • It just amaze me on how the postal service risk the lives of us all. My box and home gets shot at every hunting season. What do they care. Rumors have it, that the contracts get paid wether they diliver your mail or not. They do get 18 million dollars yearly from the taxes we pay.

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        • Post office does not get any tax dollars from any tax. When u buy stamps u pay no tax. We don’t get any tax payer dollar. And postal workers risk their lives every day delivering your mail. They have to run across highways & streets just as you might have to to get your mail from your mailbox. If hunters are shooting guns and your afraid to collect your mail cuz a stray shot might hit you, imagine how you’re mail carrier feels

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        • Wrong Karen, Your tax dollars do not go to the postal service. The Postal Service gets its money from stamps, sending packages and anything else they sell. Quit telling lies and learn about the Postal Service.

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    • My elderly father walking with a cane was struck by a speeding/reckless driver as he was walking across the rural country road to his mailbox. He died later that night. He had asked previously about the box being moved to the over side but was told it was not possible. They did mention about handicapped and elderly being able to have mail delivered to the door but he declined the service! Too bad, he might still be alive today otherwise.

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      • I am so very sorry for the tragic loss you have suffered! I just read that about 100 people are killed each year while checking mail. Personally, it’s one of the things I dislike the most. Maybe it is because spiders and roaches live in mail. I pay for a post office box. But while boxes cannot be moved to the other side of the road, I want you to try to find peace. Your Father was a proud man. That is obvious because he didn’t stop trying and he didn’t give up! I am so sorry he declined the door service delivery. Lots of people like walking to their boxes. They enjoy checking the mail. My Step-Dad does daily with a big walking stick… too proud to use a cane! I am going to share your story. No one should go through such pain. in fact, I will let a few elderly people know about that option. Because I see them crossing a busy highway, near a curve! I know nothing could ease your pain. Please know that I feel you are very courageous for sharing the tragic death of your beloved Father. I hope that it’s okay if I say a prayer? Amidst the arguing in this thread, let us all pause. The people we are responding to are people like us. Be kind. Please?

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  4. USPS mailbox, wall mounted for triplex. Lock not fuctioning on individual unit. To whom is this reported as the mail deliverer apparently is not aware or ignores malfunction.

    Would appreciate reply ASAP as mail door flopping in the wind.

    JBC

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    • The post office does not purchase or maintain mailboxes or collection boxes that are common for apartments. That is the responsibility of the home owner or property owner.

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    • ACTUALLY, Your carrier is required to hold mail, for an UNSECURED mailbox; for 10 days… And not deliver to that box til it’s fixed.. The apartment owner is responsible for fixing the cluster boxes, not the carrier or post office… YOU can put a hold on your mail for up to 2 years, til the problem is fixed.. But you’ll have to go to the post office to get it…

      Reply

      • hold mail for 2 years, where did you get that info? mail holds are for a minimum of 3 business days and a maximum of 30 days, if there is a long term issue, consider renting a p.o. box

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        • I don’t know about p.o. boxes that are on hold but all mail in my post office can be put on a 2wk hold. Regardless of if you are business or residential. We have ppl who are on hold for months. But we are a small city, larger cities might be different. In or city all you have to do is call post office and extend the time your mail is on hold

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          • The hold mail form states that mail can be held 3-30 days. That is the timeline for mail of any form of delivery to be held at the post office.

  6. Our nieghbor cluster mail box site was broken into and vadalized. It may be weeks until it is repaired. We currently have to go to the Post Office to get our mail. Can we install our own curbside mail box in front of our home to have the USPS deliver our mail there in the mean time. Is it a law?

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    • You will need to contact your local post office and speak with the postmaster. Some offices will allow for this and some do not. It will depend upon the route, the carrier and other factors.

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    • If your mail is delivered to a cluster RACK of mailboxes, then that’s the required delivery mode for that street / subdivision… If you in a subdivision that is under construction, it’s for the safety of the carrier and the vehicle to NOT be in a construction zone… Once more than 50% of the construction has been done, the builder or association can request of the postmaster that regular deliver be implemented… Only then can individual residents start setting up their boxes at their houses..
      IF THIS IS NOT A CONSTRUCTION ZONE and your street only has delivery on a cluster box RACK,, then the only other thing you can do is to get a P O BOX at the post office for your delivery to safe guard your mail…

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      • 2.1.2 Accommodating Customer Hardship

        Changes in the type of delivery authorized for a delivery point may be considered if service by existing methods imposes an extreme physical hardship on the customer.

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  7. Just moved in to a townehome in Naperville, IL. What rights do I have with regards to collecting my own mail?

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      • No one else can collect your mail but you. Mail is protected by the law and you are the only person who can collect your personal mail. I would contact the postmaster at the local post office.

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      • No one is supposed to collect our personal mail but you. Anyone caught tampering with or stealing mail faces federal PROSECUTION. Period.

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        • Does that include the carrier who has been the same person for the past 10 years? Mine has sent my mail (bank credit cards) back stating “no such address” . The same thing happened with a church notice just 2 miles from the house I have lived in since 1983. If the carrier has spoken to me before the drama, I would have been glad to be accommodating. As this behaior has continued AFTER the Postmaster visited my house and mailbox and said that he saw no problem. Does anybody have suggestions? I’m 75 yrs old and sorely disappointed.

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  8. I don’t get what the big deal is?!? Can’t the mail man simply stop being lazy and get off there ass and walk the 2feet around the vehicle to the mailbox? I mean seriously!! Isn’t the postal service moto something like through rain,sleet,and snow or heat or something like that right?! I don’t remember hearing a OH!! Unless there’s a car in the way!!! Maybe california needs to take a time warp back to when they used to have to walk around from block to block house to house!! That would really help the situation wouldn’t it!!? Don’t get me wrong Ive got nothing against the postal service but c’mon!! It’s there job! I could only imagine if my job was to let’s say make copy’s of something and when people came to me with( Hey!! Where’s my copy of today’s stuff and I said oh!! I’m sorry there was a stack of chairs in the way of me safely printing them up today!) I don’t think I’d have that job for much longer wouldn’t you agree? And another thing they chose this job as we all chose ours so just like we deal with all of our day to day mishaps and still manage to work around them and get through the day should’nt they?!?

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    • Very judgemental for someone who does not work for the post office. It is a safety issue to jump in and out of the vehicle. Most routes deliver to 1000 or so family’s in a day. Your mail carrier should not have to risk an accident because you can’t move your car!

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      • Is it truly that much of a risk though. People get in an out of vehicles everyday, I would like to think that putting it in park and exiting the vehicle is part of the driving test required to get a license to operate one. So for them to use that as an excuse is just lazy.

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        • Its not just putting the vehicle in park. Anytime a carrier has to exit their vehicle they have a safety check list. Place vehicle in park, curb the wheels, set parking brake and remove key then unlatch seatbelt. All this just to place mail in a box that is designed for delivery from a vehicle. Try doing that 800 times a day in top of getting out 200 + times to deliver packages other items to other customers. Yes it is a big deal if your carrier wants to be off work sometime that week.

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        • YOU are the LAZY one complaining about a service provided to you for FREE Get your butt out there and deliver then see how you feel after jumping in and out of car 500-600 times a day and it is NOT in their job description besides do you pay even ONE freaking penny for them to come deliver your mail everyday

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          • It is not FREE. I pay lots of money to the USPS to deliver mail I ship, and the postal carrier gets PAID to deliver mail. What is FREE about that ???

    • Yep! And don’t forget… they should also be riding horses, and carrying guns. That would show them! And- they should not go home for days while braving the elements. Family? Who needs them. I know I would make sure to get you your mail to you on time – and on a silver platter (even if I lost a leg, was hit by a passing truck, got snake bit, soaking wet, slipped and fell into the briar patch around your unkempt 1700’s fallen over yellow jacket infested tin can you call a mail box. Yeah, the good old days! You ever think about giving up that disability check you collect for the hang nail you have? We sure could use some help. Post office runs help wanted ad’s daily, and we could sure use more professionals like you!

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    • Ummm excuse me!! I am a mail carrier and I happen to love my Job. Let me just tell you something.. Just because one part of the route might be driving and delivering to these curb side mailboxes, I will guarantee you that they have already walked a good at least 7 miles of the route or are yet to get to the part of their route where they walk from house to house. Where I live there is not one route that has all driving. They are all set up that way. So no we aren’t lazy. It’s called, every single time our butts are out of that seat, the wheels need to be curbed the vehicle needs to be turned off and the vehicle needs to be locked, if a postal inspector were to just show up, and they do that, and these rules aren’t followed its termination. This gets to be a big hassel, waist of time, and money everytime someone blocks a mailbox, all because they are ignorant. So tell my again why I should do this for every box that is blocked. It is a federal offense to block a mail receptacle stopping delivery!! That’s the big deal!!

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      • Would you call it lazy when the mail carrier buys every house a curbside box because he is to LAZY to walk. Oh and he continually skips a box because of a temporary blockage which by the way is against the postal code to him to do.

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    • IT’S CALLED A ‘ MOUNTED” DELIVERY ROUTE ‘ FOR A REASON DIPST,,, IT’S NOT A ” WALKING ” ROUTE…. LAZINESS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT…. THE CARRIER HAS RULES THEY HAVE TO GO BY TOO… WHY ARE PEOPLE SO , INCONSIDERATE, THAT THEY DON’T THINK THEY HAVE TO ADHERE TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES TO GET DELIVERY…. JUST STOP BEING A JERK AND BLOCKING THE MAILBOX… SIMPLE…

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      • Funny you, (the mail man/women) are saying this, I get my mail delivered across the street, 95% of the time they drive up and place mail inside mailbox without getting out of vehicle, but I have seen them (because of a vehicle parked too close, not in front but close enough) were the carrier would have to pull forward then reverse to have this “amazing convenience” of not getting out of the little shoebox truck, but they deliver the mail every time, (here’s a hint, it takes like 2 steps, and a reach to shove the mail into the box).

        Now to the best part.

        You are lazy, your so called curb side delivery were you aren’t required to get out and deliver the mail? That’s bull, cause you STILL have to get out and deliver the Packages!!!! (and I agree and understand the reason for “foot” vs “sitting” deliveries, cause by the time the mail person finishes the 7-8 property’s were I live, I’m sure they’d have done over 20 houses. (See the use of words there? Property’s vs Houses?)

        Now the really Lazy part, or just Stupidity, if you are a carrier… at least if I was (I’m a truck diver btw, so this is a normal thing anyone working deliveries does/should be doing anyways) (except the “great usps carrier’s ** I Understand How Hard it must be To Have some Common Sense) if You know you are about to do a few curbside boxes on your route… and all the boxes are on the east side of the street…. but to do them you drive south past the Property’s, then do a U turn so that you can deliver the mail… (this is every time btw, shows just how smart the people at usps routes the deliveries) Well before even leaving from your last delivery area, shouldn’t You Check and see if there’s Packages for these addresses??? then if you do have some for an address on the west side of the street, then wouldnt you plan to Make A stop in front of the Address To deliver the Package???? (Iv seen mailtruck drive in to my neighbors property, or in my case just throw it over locked “half solid”gate, were it’ll be out of sight) then continue down the street and do your “very safe btw” (sarcasm) U turn to get to the mail boxes?

        RIGHT!!!!

        No instead I ALWAYS GET “NO SECURE PLACE” come to the post office tomorrow so you can pick it up, oh and after 1 hour of us looking for it cause we “the great USPS” don’t give a dam about our customers, so after sitting on our asshole all day that package is just too cumbersome to carry, so we here after working so hard just toss it to the side.

        All mail personnel iv had to deal with, (since the last 8-10 years, once all the REAL HARD WORKING personnel retired) no there’s, No common sense, No regard for property (packages literally Shoved Into box) the Laziest people iv ever seen, also the Stupidest since they don’t check to see if the mail IS addressed to that Mail box, no they just shove it in there and let the people sort out their own mail from their nieghboors mail.

        Just shit.

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        • Sorry Lee, the USPS came short in meeting your expectations. We’ll try harder, just move to Sugar Land, Texas and I’ll be at your service.

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        • Hey!? At least you got invite (major sarcasm) to come down to the post office

          My mailbox fell down so I propped it on the fence which is about 5 inches past requirement. But he would have to get off his truck. The height should be ok since my fence is only 24inches high and requirement is 44-45inches
          IT IS NOT BLOCKED.
          WE LIVE IN A CUL DE SAC
          SO THERE IS NO TRAFFIC
          Which means there is no danger.

          *I got a note from my new postman that I would not receive any mail until it’s fixed. No invite
          Psssh! I saw him speeding past my mailbox.. yes he was fat

          Just saying

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        • Wow. Addressing the not willing to pull forward and back up for a blocked mailbox. Just to let you know we mail carriers are monitored all day via our scanners. The Post Master gets a report every day showing any time we take a left turn and every time we back up. They then have to come and have us explain each incident. Backing up is a big no no. So not being willing to pull forward and back up is because we get in trouble for this. We even have to answer for houses half a mile off the road that we had to take a left hand turn to go deliver a package, then can’t get turned around without going in the grass, which can infuriate people, and end up backing all the way out.

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    • Except we deliver to hundreds of homes. My route has 600 plus boxes. If that were the case I would never finish my route.

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    • Our cluster box is blocked by one neighbor who waits for her son to get off the school bus, she told our mail carrier she doesn’t have to move. The cluster box happens to be on my property. our mail carrier isn’t lazy and shouldn’t have to get out of her vehicle for one obstinate and rude neighbor.

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      • I watched the mail carrier hit and knock four mailboxes down twice in two days.. I called the Sheriff’s office and made a complaint . This was done on purpose. He actually took the side of the car and drove it close enough to knock the mailboxes from the post. First with his rear bumper and the next day with the side of his car.

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  10. the u s postal service is a federal reg. unit… I was told a man steal a 5 dollars from a store but the post office was in the store he got over 25 years but died in the big rock….. I feel when people park in front or to close to street mail boxes they are causeing a fed payed worker from doing his or her job…

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  11. I would like to know why my mailbox has to be placed at the corner instead of in front of my house. There will be three of us on the road now and the mailman tells us he can not go down there because he can not change his route because he can’t get any more mileage to go 600 yards down the road. The road is plowed all winter. I would like to know who to talk to to get the driver more mileage. He already drives down part of the other end new person.Please let me know what can be done.

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    • Jeffery: I share your dillemna. I have five mailboxes in my front yard on my private property(not on the road right-of-way). I asked the carrier if we could move them and her excuse was that she is paid mileage and wouldn’t get paid to drive 1000 feet extra. I applied to the regional postmaster to authorize the movement of the five boxes but all he does is ignore the request. My request has been documented along with copies of the survey showing the location but to no avail. Still no cooperation. I do not know where to turn next. I,m thinking about talking to the highway department or maybe just tear the posts out of the ground as theyare illegally placed and unauthorized. The USPS has been a tremendous let down for me.

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      • 2.2.2 Accommodating Customer Hardship

        On the customer’s written request, the postmaster may approve an exception to the currently authorized method of delivery, if the type of rural delivery authorized imposes an extreme physical hardship.
        There are usually good reason’s for delivery setups, especially for rural delivery.. And it’s not dependent upon what the carrier gets PAID PER MILEAGE.. That was a dumb thing for her to say..

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        • I got the same answer when I asked to move my mailbox due to Me having to walk about 20feet with my back to traffic going 55 or faster miles per hour. My husband is handy capped and I was told I was responsible to get his mail. I’m still .
          waiting for an answer from the post master since June 2017 in Greenville NC We have had or mail box hit and cars run into the ditch and tires rolling in front of the mailbox after the wrecks I feel my life is in danger and the post master is at fault when he hasn’t even looked into this matter . I have 5 mailboxes in front of my house and 2 are being used everyone on this road has a mailbox near their driveway except for me.

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    • According to the postmaster general, the local postmaster has the authority to say where your mailbox has to be, whether it is on your street, or on another road.

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  13. I just install a new mailbox in my house because i’m tired of being vandalized i put it close to my gate inside my property is about no more than 18 inches from the sidewalk easily reach by the mailman. Is this mailbox acomplished with the USPS regulations?

    Reply

    • Well,,, you don’t just get to decide WHERE you want to put your mailbox.. That’s up to the delivery requirements of that post office and the postmaster…
      If you have a driving / MOUNTED route where your mailman drives his route; and your box is supposed to be out at the curb where he can DRIVE up to it…. Then it has to be on the street for you to get delivery …

      Reply

    • Wow. Addressing the not willing to pull forward and back up for a blocked mailbox. Just to let you know we mail carriers are monitored all day via our scanners. The Post Master gets a report every day showing any time we take a left turn and every time we back up. They then have to come and have us explain each incident. Backing up is a big no no. So not being willing to pull forward and back up is because we get in trouble for this. We even have to answer for houses half a mile off the road that we had to take a left hand turn to go deliver a package, then can’t get turned around without going in the grass, which can infuriate people, and end up backing all the way out.

      Reply

  14. i am in the country and farmers keep hitting my mail box . and i cant keep buying a new one, know they are withholding my mail until i get a new one up, so my doctor gave me a letter because i am handicap, so i could have the mail box put right by my front door, the head mail guy said he would talk it over with someone but he said it will not be able to be at front door, he is not a doctor my doctor knows best he does not. then he told me even if it gets moved on my property i will still have to put one up on the road because if i ever move it needs one. i do not think so if i move i am taking my mail box with me the new residents can buy there own, and i am not giving the farmers another target to hit. i have a friend who has hers put up by her front door, in the town next to me , i do not know what else to do i am very stressed, over this,

    Reply

    • I am in the same boat as you are. Only I live where there are hunters shooting it. So far 3 boxes and one bedroom window. I refuse to put the box up at that lication. I put on up in my frount yard. Painted UPS. Open an acount with them. I get items shipped that way. They don’t mind doing their job.

      Reply

  15. What, if anything, can happen to me if I build my own Fort Knox (not a brand but rather the toughness understanding) type of mailbox, made from concrete and brick, about 2,000 pounds then place it one inch and a half behind the raised curb in my home owner association addition(speed limit 25 mph)? My mailbox is on a curve and a slight hill, it snows here and gets icy…I’m sick of my mailbox getting plowed over when the vehicles don’t make the curve because of weather related road conditions. Maybe putting this Fort Knox type mailbox that will definitely damage their car severely will make them stop and report they knocked my mailbox down and then they can pay to put a new one up. After all it is their responsibility to control their vehicle at all times and conditions. I mean your standards for constructing mailboxes are only guidelines, right? Also, I highly doubt anyone would be injured or killed when the speed limit is only 25 mph.

    Reply

    • The mailbox and post must be “breakaway” type to prevent serious injury if someone crashes into it. If someone gets injured hitting your “over-engineered Fort Knox” mailbox, you, the mailbox owner, are liable for creating a public hazard.

      Reply

  16. Can anyone actually cite a lawfully binding regulation that defines the mandatory (note: I did not say “requested” or “wished for” or “courteous”) distance a vehicle must be from a mailbox when parked in the public street?

    Streets are public rights-of-way. Unless parking is prohibited by ordinance, there isn’t anything that can be done about vehicles lawfully parked. My postal delivery person has been leaving notes in my mailbox (when she bothers to deliver the mail at all). Although I sympathize that it would be great to prohibit all other vehicles on the road, it IS a public right-of-way, and there is no ability to compel anyone in the neighborhood to move their lawfully-parked vehicle. If it means they have to exit the delivery vehicle, then that’s the job. Every other delivery service seems to manage it, and do so without complaining to their customers.

    Reply

    • Everyone saying it is our job to deliver to your rude ass who can’t seem to park anywhere other than in front of the mailbox…. IT IS NOT!! We are not paid per hour, so if I started doing this the majority of my house would then have the boxes blocked. I service over 900 homes, you know how many free hours I would be putting in, if I were to start dismounting at every blocked box? Get real! You know the carrier pulls up to your box…. If you want your mail don’t block the box. Not to mention if we were to endure an injury while out of the vehicle at an unapproved dismount..

      Have a little courtesy, don’t block the box.

      Reply

  17. I need to buy a mailbox but I dont know how big has to be deposit drop
    Mail ; I can find the answer and I receive allot of small boxes that a want to be deliver to my mail box.

    Reply

  18. My home has all the neighbors mailboxes places in front of it. This was not the original location of the mailboxes I’m told. Originally it was at the end of the street but mail was being stolen so the people who lived in the home before me moved the boxes here since they were home all day and could make sure nobody stole the mail. I would like to move these now to locate them away from my property (not right of way literally on my front yard) can I just have each neighbor move their box? I am getting no response from the post office postmaster about moving these.

    Reply

  19. I have went to my local Post office because I want a mailbox at my house. I don’t want to go to the post office for mail every day. The local post office said I can not have a mailbox at my home … but the reason I’m confused is because we are on the mail route. Yes most of the people where I live have a p.o.box bUT my neighbors have a mailbox why can’t I put one up as well?

    Reply

    • They don’t want you to stop giving them money for rent, even though the postal service gets $18 million dollars yearly from the taxes we all pay.

      Reply

      • Taxes do not support the post office. They are subject to congressional oversight but they are funded entirely through their own fees for services. In other words, the post office pays for itself.

        Reply

        • The post office runs a deficit of around 4.2 billion dollars per year and has to be subsidized yearly for about that amount. The 4.2 billion dollars DOES come out of tax dollars.

          Reply

      • Hi Donna, since you are a rural carrier, could you help me understand how to go about getting numerous people on the route? After being told what we need to do by the postmaster, we’ve already submitted at least one letter from 3 residents on my block. There are others talking about doing it also on the same street, but maybe four or five blocks down. How do we do this? Do a combination of three people per letter per block or quarter mile do this? Do we add someone later by just letting the postmaster know that we need to add another person to the list?
        Also, if there is any information online and you know about it could you please direct me? I haven’t been successful finding it yet. The reason so many people in our town wants to be on the route is because there was a recent fire and our post office is out of commission. We have to go 6 miles away to another post office to get our mail during specific hours during the day.

        There are numerous people already on the rural route. And my question is even for those not directly on my street but all the other streets that are affected and would like a box. At first we heard you have to live out three miles in order to receive rural delivery but noticed mailboxes within a half a mile even. I understand that could be for other deliveries as well. Thank you!

        Reply

        • I live across the street from our post office I put up a mail box on the post office side of the road, they didn’t like it so I get my mail last but they couldn’t stop me from puttyit up.

          Reply

      • What are the rules and regulations regarding having to combine mailboxes to have a multiple stop combination rather than a single mailbox?

        Reply

  20. I live in a rule area. The site that the postal service chosen is 150 feet from my house. I had to replace box 3 times due to the box getting shot. My house and a 500 gal propain tank sits in line of fire. One window had to be replaced to.Request had been deined to move it closer. Without a reason why. What can be done about it? I use my box infrount for ups or fedex. Postal service is refusing to deleiver until I but the target back up. PS a lot of hunters use the land by that site. I can only guess they a getting paid still, for my deleivery without doing the job.

    Reply

  21. For over 50 years, the mailbox on the family home was affixed to the house. In the last 18 months, a tenant moved it to a fence next to the street. The tenant is gone & the mailbox was put back. Now, we get a letter stating we can’t get service because the established delivery can’t be moved. There was no such letter when it was moved from its original location. This screams lazy carrier. Is there an actual rule that fits this? It appears they are trying to bully a new resident who doesn’t know the history.

    Reply

    • I just went through this with a substitute carrier who really gave me grief today. We had moved our box from the front of the house (there for 53 years!!!) to a post about 6 feet away, while my husband constructed a deck. Not one carrier ever said anything about it. They do deliver on foot in my neighborhood, probably because of snow plows. Now , I put it back on the house, after having a couple of conversations with our new over-55 year old carrier. He assured me going up one step would not be a problem at all, as long as the snow was cleared, ice melt put down, etc during winter. Which we have always done. The substitute states “there are rules about steps” etc. Oh really? Very few rules about mailboxes are posted on the official post office site, and NOWHERE is there anything posted that would lead one to believe anything else would be needed! BTW, I moved the mailbox back on the house for security reasons. ALL the houses in this neighborhood have them on their houses. Ours was a temporary move, but I guess since this was a substitute, she didn’t know any better, and was visibly annoyed. I’m glad she’s not the regular one.

      Reply

  23. Why is it the the mail man or post office it’s not required to let us know when for some reason they are holding up our mail? Our dog got out of our yard and past by where the mail man was, he didn’t attack him or anything just the fact that our dog was outside our fence was the reason our mail was put on hold. A week later I saw him and asked him if he had anything for us, he replied that because our dog was outside he couldn’t deliver our mail, when I asked him why we weren’t told about this? He just said “we are not required to do it” a note with our neighbors maybe if he felt threatened stopping at our house

    Reply

  24. when moving into a new home can you put a new mail box out front of it meets regulation and the carrier supposed to deliver?

    Reply

  25. I live in a rural house addition, there were group mail boxes installed before I moved in. That was fine for years . I now have had a stroks,and no longer can work. The mail boxes are about 1/4 mile away ,too far to try to walk. I am on disablly. Can I have a mail box at the end of my driveway,like the newer homes in the addition?

    Reply

  26. I recently bought a home the mailbox was located in the door next to the street sidewalk. I removed the mailbox and bought a new one and put it next to my home door and today the mailman was knocking on my door telling me i had to remove my mailbox and have it were it was because they are trying to reduce the steps they take… should i ignore what he said or are there consequences for not having it were they said. Can they stop my mail or just trow it in my front yard.

    Reply

  27. If a bricked in mailbox is placed to close to the street and is accidentally hit by a car doing severe damage to the car can the homeowner be responsible for the damage to the car since the mailbox was too close to the street?

    Reply

  28. I work as a cca for the post office. i work in a city that has every type of mailbox you can think of. I don’t think there is any regulations on these in our city. It has gotten worse. lots of people are using the old mailboxes my great granpa used to have that only houses postcards. We have some gang boxes for apartments that is made of pewter and probably used for only post cards as well. What is worse is we now have these new mailboxes that can hold mail, and packages… But now that everyone is paranoid about being robbed they now have these security lids on them that only allow you to put one mail in at a time,AND GOOD LUCK IN GETTING YOUR RED PLUM(advos), because they wont fit in there. Our bosses expect us to back at acertain times, and we are monitored throughout out route. We either need to make pamphlets to let everyone know to keep these lids open during the time we deliver the advertisements(good luck in getting all these people to to do that). now my route takes extra longer and i’m tired of having to explain myself.

    Reply

  29. I had my house torn down and rebuilt as a result of a storm. Now the carrier states it is now a new house and I must put it curb side to get mail, He is doing this to any new house built in neighbor hood. The majority of the hood is door service. Does he have the authority to change my hood to a mounted route.

    Reply

  30. Does anyone know the distance on either side of my mailbox my neighbor is allowed to park? I’m having issues with them thinking they are far enough away from the mailbox, when they clearly are not. My mailman will not deliver my mail if they are parked too close to my mailbox. By the way, my neighbor has a post office box, so he doesn’t get mail delivered to his mailbox.

    Reply

  31. Hello, we moved into our new house last October. Since then we have not stopped fixing our curb appeal and other things in our new home. Our prior mailbox was right next to a drain and attached of course to our neighbors. We decided to create a modern style stand for a new mailbox (mailbox compliance by USPS ✔️) but this stand was a little too wide to be next to my neighbors so we moved it to the left side of my house but still on the right side of the curb, FOLLOWING all measurements (height, distance from the curb etc)required by USPS . Today, was our first time having the sir/mail carrier delivering and he left a note saying, the mailbox should have been moved from original place?! Any suggestions? We obviously didn’t want to break any rules or create any more work load for this Sir. We invested time and money making a beautiful design and it’s now going to be impossible to move back. Please any ideas, suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

    Reply

  32. We moved to our place in 1982. Only box on the road and told to put it on our side in front of our house. Since then other houses have cropped up and they put their boxes in front of their house opposite ours. No one had problem with our box . But now 35 years later we have gotten nasty letters from the PO saying our box is not compliant with the route and we now have to move our box. Shouldn’t the new boxes have been placed on our side of the road? This is really crappy! After 35 years!

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  33. what can be done to get a mailbox moved because of disability. mailbox now is about 150-2oo feet downhill yard from house.

    Reply

  34. So, my grandma has lived in her house for over 60 years has been the end of the route. always gets mail delivered. There was a person that moved down the road this year, on the opposite side and now they made her move her box. She is 76 years old.. and put up a fight. She was goingvto fight it, but the post master said no way, they would listen to him. Poor customer service. And lack of respect!! I read, if mail has been delivered to that had before they dont have to move it??

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  35. If someone knocked our mail box down and the box itself is on the the curb is the mail man required to deliver, or is withholding the mail from us actually allowed given the circumstance?

    Reply

  36. I own six acres and neighbor is landlocked with prescriptive easement only.
    They put a mailbox on my property without my permission…I am planning on putting my own mailbox on my property this week. I was told only one mailbox per parcel but local postmaster won’t interfere. What is the USPS rule..?

    Reply

  38. If I have packages that are too large for the mailbox and I have left a note by our garage, which does not have a protected area for the mail or delivery person to leave packages on our front porch, which IS protected, why isn’t that request being honored? Am I missing something?

    Reply

  39. I respect our mail carriers. Recently, three households, of which I am one, bought and put up 3 new mailboxes, all meeting USPS requirements, and before anything was bought, I talked to the postmaster general and asked all the necessary questions. She came out and looked at the proposed site and was very happy with it because it was actually much safer for the mail carrier. We love our regular mail carrier. Now that the boxes have been put up and look very nice, the fill in carrier has complaints and requests. There is a fourth box belonging to a rental across the highway, which has three digits, because it is within the city limits, opposed to ours that have five digits. We moved the rental box over to our site as requested by the post office. Now the irregular carrier wants us to move this small box belonging to the rental across the street in a spot between our three much larger, USPS approved mailboxes, which would require taking apart the welding and rewelding the box. There is no one occupying the rental at this point in time, and we had to contact the landlord with much effort. He told us just to move the box that would belong to the renter onto the end of our metal platform, which also conforms to USPS standards, so we did. Now this part time mail carrier, who evidently is going to become the regular carrier because our regular carrier is retiring, is making a big deal about the thought that we should move this smaller box. It is ridiculous, since we have put in quite a bit of money and labor into installing these mailboxes according to the USPS requirements. I do not understand why a mail carrier, whose job in delivering our mail we have made much easier than it has in the past and much safer, should have any say about where this tiny box goes, which he rarely inserts anything into. Why does the postmaster general allow this kind of attitude against citizens who want a peaceful neighborhood where everyone respects each other and we want to enjoy our mail carrier? This makes no sense to me.

    Reply

  40. I have lived in my home for 12 years and my mailbox and my neighbors has been in the same spot all this time. We received a nasty letter from out=r local postmaster saying we have to move our mailboxes by a specific date or they will not delivery our mail anymore. They told us to move the mailboxes down the street to a side street that is a ways down from our driveway, this is down a busy rural street with no sidewalks or shoulder to this side street. So it would be unsafe for us or our neighbors to retreive our mail if moved. I do not understand how they can make us move them when this has been an established location all this time. They are saying its unsafe for the carrier and so it would be better for the carrier but, unsafe for us and our neighbors.
    What is the legal and proper way for the Post Master ask us to move our mailboxes.

    Reply

  41. Can I use a vintage British mailbox that will be mounted in a brick surround? It has the correct letter opening and will be the correct height and distance from the curb per USPS Regs. It will be lockable.

    Reply

  42. I bet you live in Greenville , NC or the same all over. Postal employees with big egos and think they came from Heaven.

    Reply

  43. I live in a residential area in a privately owned home on a corner lot in Columbus Georgia. All and I mean all my neighbors on my side of the street and across the street all have their mailboxes attached to their house as I do. I have received notice from he USPS that I must place a standing mailbox curbside or my mail will not be delivered. My mail has always been placed in the house attached mailbox. Why this request of me but none of my neighbors? Is this legal? I have video of the entire block. No one has a curbside mailbox. Who can I show the video to in my defense?

    Reply

  44. LAZY and unionized government employees trying to justify their jobs in an outdated technology.

    UPS, FedEx, and others can do it better, quicker and cheaper for the taxpayers.

    Reply

  45. How can I get mail delivered at my home? I just moved a couple of blocks in the same town and now I’m told that the mail carrier will not drive down my street to deliver my mail…but she drives down both streets that run parallel to my street. This doesn’t seem fair to me and I can’t understand how you can pick and choose what streets you deliver to when our town is only one square mile as it is.

    Reply

  46. I purchased a house and my HOA requested that I replace/fix mailbox that is below 41-45 inch high standard. All mailboxes in the community vary in clearance. Should I comply? Does post Office install it?

    Reply

  47. We live on a rural road. Mail boxes are on each side of the road in front of owners house. The mail lady deliver’s one side and later on her route comes back on the other side. So anyway a new house is being built across the road. The owner of that new house dug a hole in our yard & put a mailbox on it . When I walked over and questioned her she said there is an 18′ easement for utlities & mailboxes. Her reason for wanting it on our side of road is because the direction she comes home from work she can swerve over going wrong way on the road and get her mail from driver’s side of her car so she doesn’t have to get out, then she’ll have to back up a bit to turn into her driveway. Easement laws here, she or p.o would have to have easement deed. Most of all, her house # is for opposite side of road which mail would be sorted in a way to be delivered later in the route. The house is not close to being built, so I assume she isn’t getting mail yet. My hubby is not happy at all. Hopefully post master won’t allow this.

    Reply

  48. Is it a requirement that my mailbox door has to close??? Some workers backed their truck into my mailbox and dented it a little, so now the door won’t close. Now when I have out-going mail, the mailman leaves it in there almost every time. I have to tape notes on there saying “please take my out-going mail”, or else they won’t take it (and yes I have the flag up). They have no issue delivering my mail, so I feel like if it was a requirement to have door/lid on your mailbox, then they wouldn’t be doing that either. I can’t find anything on the USPS website, or anywhere else, saying that you must have a door/lid. If it is a requirement, it seems like he is just picking and choosing when he wants to go by the rules….like he’ll deliver my mail cuz he doesn’t wanna bring it back with him, but he won’t take my out-going mail. In other words, he’s just doing whatever is the least amount of work for him, not actually abiding by mailbox guidelines. Is my mailman stupid/unobservant or a dick?

    Reply

  49. I live in city limits in a small town. The Post Master won’t let me have a mailbox in front of my house. Only wants to deliver down the main 2 busy streets and not the cross streets. They want all the mail boxes lined down these 2 streets which isn’t being fair to the people who have all these boxes in front of their house and people getting their mail at all times in front of their house. Not to mention our town is starting to grow and it’s not that safe to have to go out to these busy streets to get your mail when it seems perfectly legitimate to put a mailbox in front of your house within town. I’m not sure if this is just our Postmaster not wanting extra routes or if this is something we have a chance at getting taken care of I have several neighbors that are upset with not having a mailbox in front of their house. Any thoughts?

    Reply

  50. I had my NY PO box subscription expire and I want to put a mailbox outside next to all the other boxes, can I just put it out there and start recieving mail without going to an office to register it? I cant find any clear information about the procedure.

    Reply

  51. My mother in-law in Round Rock 78664 is very old and has problems getting around. She would like to know how she can get her mail delivered to her house instead of the group mailbox at the end of her street?

    Reply

  52. I received a notice from the postal service stating I had an obstruction in front of my mail box. The only thing that is remotely near it is a basketball goal that has been in the exact same spot for 6 yrs now. I measured the distance between the mailbox and basketball goal and it is over 25 ft. Needless to say the basketball goal doesn’t even belong to me. What should I do about the notice?

    Reply

  53. 18 U.S. Code § 1701 – Obstruction of mails generally. Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail, or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 778; Pub.

    Reply

  54. Does a local Postmistress have the authority WITHOUT WRITTEN NOTICE to the addressee to hold an addressee’s mail because the mailbox is lower than the 41″ from the floor of the porch? It has been lower than 41″ for 25 years!!

    Reply

  55. You are passing out erroneous information about mailbox height. The correct requirment is 41-45″ from the ground to the bottom lip of the box. NOT 42-46″ to the top.

    Reply

  57. If I have outgoing mail, (at my house), but I do not have incoming mail, does the carrier have to pick up my outgoing mail? I have lived here 30 years and have never had such disappointing service.

    Reply

  58. Do you have to put a number on your mailbox if it is in front of your house? I see some people just have their name and not a number. Is that ok?

    Reply

  59. I’m in Columbus Ohio and I will like to mail money to my sister who lives in Massillon Ohio from my resident mailbox to her mailbox how do I go about it and is it secured I mail it that way or is there a high risk of me losing my money ?

    Reply

  60. I have a circle driveway and want to move my mailbox from the street, to the end of my sidewalk. I talked to my carrier about it and she said as kingbird as she had access to it from her vehicle, that would be fine. I got everything to put up my new mailbox and one day the carrier stopped and had her Postmaster riding along… I guess evaluating the carrier. The postmaster said I could not move it up on to my property….it had to remain on the street. My problem is two-fold: 1) I’m disabled and walking is difficult for me and the mailbox would be closer to the house…and 2) if I relocate it to the street in front of my house, the section the mailbox would go is in a curve…which could potentially put the carrier in an unsafe place to stop.

    Should I go and talk to the same Postmaster and plead my case again? Or go ahead and move it to where I want and the carrier said it was okay and take my chances?

    Reply

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