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Request USPS Hold Mail Service Online
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Did you know that you can request to have your mail held through a form online? I had no idea! This saved me a trip to the post office (and a 15 minute wait in the line that is always there regardless of what time I go).
You can get same day service if you submit it by 2:00 AM CST! The service is limited to certain zip codes but fortunately mine was included. Scratch that one off my list of errands today.
Online services FTW!
Going away for a while? Request Hold Mail for the time you’re gone, and we’ll keep your mail safely at the local Post Office™ until you return. Schedule the service up to 30 days in advance, or by 2AM CST (Mon-Sat) on the start date. Each address can have one Hold Mail scheduled at a time. All mail will be held, rather than an individual’s mail.
One word of warning, you may not be able to use this at some ZIP Codes so check availability first (unfortunately, that means filling out every field in the first box).
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USPS, generally speaking, is pretty good about this stuff. I remain bitter, however, over their change of address system. It is free to fill out the form in person at the post office, but they charge you $1 to do it online, so that they can “confirm your identity”.
Agreed Richard, the $1 fee is a bit much considering it’s free in person… it’s not like they do anything special for identification but what can you do, you get to save a lot of time… oh well.
this is nice to know, I always get excited when I see Government organizations taking small steps towards the 21st century
Great tip, Jim. I knew about the address change thing but not about the hold mail. Now, as long as USPS actually holds the mail and then starts to re-deliver on the appropriate date, I’ll be good to go.
I know that many times they keep delivering mail to the old address months after an address change request has been made. I’ve had to re-request an address change a couple of times when I last moved. Who knows? Maybe they’ve gotten better!
This is good to know since I am going to be out of town for a couple weeks on business.Thanks!
Next time you’re in the Post Office, grab a stack of the yellow vacation hold cards. Whenever you travel, you can just fill one out, address it to the Postmaster in your ZIP code, and then drop it in the mail before you leave.
My issue with the $1 fee for the change of address is they screwed it up, which resulted in me having to go to the post office both where I moved from and where I moved to on multiple locations. So I paid for what could have been free — and it saved no time.
This doesn’t always work!…I got confirmation email that my mail will be HELD however, when I got back from the trip my mailbox was overflowing…
That just happened to me recently. Not only did they not hold my mail when I requested. (8/3 -8/10) They placed a hold on my mail for the time period I did not request it. (8/15 – 8/22)I am still trying to find out WHY!!!
Agreed. Wont use again and expect to complain at the post office. Spotty mail was in the mail box. Weekly paper not there. What was delivered what wasn’t? bummed.
Praveen: Same thing happened to us one time when we tried to hold mail online. Turns out that there was a computer glitch, and our local Post Office somehow lost the request (or so they say).
I tried the online one and it didn’t work for me. Something about my address not being recognized or something – quite odd.
TRYING TO PUT MY MAIL ON HOLD. WILL FAX OVER TO THE LOCAL POST OFFICE
Don’t rely on the online USPS hold mail. I submitted mine, got a confirmation # and when I returned to my home after 8 days out of town my mail was piled up in my mailbox and had been delivered every day while I was gone. My postal carrier just kept putting it into the box! I had requested the mail to be redelivered the day after I returned. On that day I did receive some mail, a package that I know had been delivered the day after I left so something was definitely not right. Just don’t count on it, have a neighbor check for you while you are gone.
The online mail hold doesn’t work. Like Cheryl, I submitted a request 7 days before I left, got a confirmation number, and returned to find my mailbox overflowing. So if you’re going away, don’t rely on the USPS online form. Fill one out by hand and turn it in (that’s worked for me in the past) and get somebody to check, as well.
I had that problem only one time. I spoke to the postmaster,and they Gaurenteed me that it will not happen again.I have been satisfied every since.Thank You USPS.
WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? I’AM TRULY SATISFIED KNOWING THAT MY MAIL IS SAFE WHILE I’M AWAY FROM HOME. GOOD JOB USPS !
Please hold mail starting on Thursday June 2, 2011 thru Monday June 6, 2011
This hardly ever works with Lewisville PO. I have been trying to get my mail resumed, but the page I printed is so small I can’t read the confirmation number. I have to leave work to get home and try to catch the mailman. Ifoolishly keep trying. They’ve done it right maybe 2 our of 10 times
I used this sevice online when we took a trip last July. But am leaving town again and have tried for two days. It lets me put the info. in but when you push submit, it just does nothing. Hope it works soon, cuz that junk mail will fill that box right up AND I won’t even care!
I have had the same problem. WTH i thought this was suppose to be easy. If the postal service wants us to use them more they better get there crap together.
Ditto. The “submit” button just doesn’t work for me. There’s been a change, and they screwed it up, I guess.
10/07/2011.
I think that all about money: if we are paying -we can use this service…shame.
Still doesn’t work. Push Submit – nothing happens.
MAYBE IF YOU GUYS COULD FIX YOUR SYSTEM TO STOP THE MAIL WHEN WE REQUEST . I WOULD STOP USING FEDEX AND UPS TRY GETTING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER.TRIED FOR 5 DAYS TO PUT HOLD ON MAIL YOUR SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK AND YOU DON’T ANSWER YOUR PHONES. SHOWS POOR MANAGEMENT MAYBE THATS WHY YOUR IN TROUBLE $$$$$$
I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I just used the hold mail service and it works perfectly. I think they did a good job there, it looks like a new page.
I hav been trying to use the USPS “Hold Mail Service” website for about a week now and I keep getting a message saying it is not available. 10/13/11.
In adddition to the above comment – when I called the local post office number listed the the phone book under “US Government”, I got a recording that told me no one was available and to dial 1 for more options. When I dialed 1 I was returned to the same message again — it was a viscious circle.
No wonder the Post Office is ready for bankruptcy.
What web browser and version are you using in that it doesn’t work? I’m using Firefox 7.0.1 just fine.