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.
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.
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
Mail Carriers are not required to deliver mail to block mail boxes
Wrong! Mail carriers are required to exit the mail vehicle and deliver the mail
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
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.
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.
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?
No, if the mail has been delivered there once while you lived there they have to continue service
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.
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…..
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.
Check with your local Post Office.
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,
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.
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
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?????
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.
I don’t know where you get your information, but it is UNTRUE. The USPS does not get any taxpayer dollars but runs on the revenue that it generates , plus occasionally loans from the Federal Government…which it is required to repay.
READ #1.
https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-facts/top-10-things-to-know.htm
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
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
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.
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…
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
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
It’s awesome to pay a quick visit this site and reading the views of all mates about this post, while I am also eager of getting know-how.
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?
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.
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…
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.
Just moved in to a townehome in Naperville, IL. What rights do I have with regards to collecting my own mail?
By the way, my landlord is the only one with the key to the mailbox..
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.
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?!?
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!
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.
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!
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!!
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.
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…
Can a mail main deny mail because the mailbox is beat up a little?
IF THE BOX IS NOT ” SECURE ” FOR YOUR MAIL…. YES THEY CAN….
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…
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.
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.
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..
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.
What is the distance to park a car from a mail box un texas
30 feet
Around 15 feet,, on each side of the box… about a cars length.
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?
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 …
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
If your already on a route there’s no reason you can’t have a box.
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.
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.
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.
What can you do when an unauthorized person goes into your mail box on a rural route
and puts mail in your box?
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
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?
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?
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.
What did u end up down I just purchased a home and now have the same issue mailman knocked on my door twice ;(
What end up happening?? I have the same situation
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?
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.
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.