Most of the time, you can have issues with your mail delivery. Whether it is a letter or package, it could be going to the wrong address. In the course of this article, we would be looking at a practical US Postal Service Address change guide.
How to update your Mailing address
If you want to update your mailing address, the best place to start is with the United States Postal service. The USPS keeps records of your old residential address and on an automated basis, forwards your mail to your new address for six months. To update your mailing address with the USPS, take the following steps:
- Fill the USPS address change form on the official USPS change of address page. It is important to note that they charge a flat fee of $1 to verify your identity when they are changing your mailing address online. This is why you would need a debit or credit card in this step.
- Put a call to 1-800-ASK-USPS, to change your mailing address with the USPS. They would also charge you a flat $1 fee to verify your address change over the phone.
- The next step would be to go to your nearest post office and ask for Form 3575. If you take a trip to the post office in person, they would waive the verification fee.
USPS Address Change Cost
It only costs $1.10 to change your mailing address with the postal service. Be wary of other sites that charge extra. If you’re asked to pay any additional fees, check to make sure that you’re using the MYMOVE USPS address change form.
What if you want to temporarily change your Mailing address?
A USPS customer can go to a local post office and request a temporary change of mailing address. It is important to note that there are rules stipulated by the USPS about the temporary change of mailing address. You can have this temporary change for when you are on vacation. Also worth noting, is that this kind of service is not available at all post offices in the USA.
If You Change my USPS mailing address, how long does it take for Mail to be Forwarded to your new address?
After submitting your request to change your mailing address, mail forwarding starts within 3 business days. The best thing to do is to allow the change to take effect for up to 2 weeks. Here are the types of mail that are forwarded;
- If a USPS customer uses premium shipping services like Priority Mail, First Class Package, or Priority Mail Express, they would get free mail forwarding.
- Another type of mail that is forwarded for free is First Class mail and Periodicals.
- Media Mail and USPS Retail Ground are forwarded but at a shipping cost.
- One kind of mail that is not forwarded is the USPS marketing mail.
Mail forwarding is a simple scenario where the USPS ships your mail from your old residence to your new one for 15 days to one year.
What about Holding your Mail?
If you are not going to be around in your residence for 3 to 30 days, the USPS can hold your mail at the local post office. The mail would be held until you return. It is important to note that you can request this USPS service as early as 30 days in advance.
To be able to do this, start off by creating or signing into your USPS account. In your account, you would see if your hold mail service is available for your address, and then choose the dates you want to mail to be held.
It is important to note that the USPS uses a onetime security measure for online hold mail requests. The USPS user would need to verify their identity with a mobile phone passcode. If you don’t succeed in completing your identity verification online, you can still place a mail hold by taking a trip to a nearby post office.