Can I change up my USPS mail receptacle?
September 23, 2021 4:21 PM Subscribe
I currently have a mail slot that goes into my garage. I'd rather have some kind of wall-mounted box (perhaps like this?) by my front door. Can I just buy and install the new box, board up my old slot, and move on with my life? Do I need permission from USPS and if so, how do I get that? This is a single-family detached home in San Diego, California. (Bonus question: if you'd like to recommend a good outdoor wall-mounted mailbox, please do!)
My mother-in-law has a mail slot in her front door but, for reasons too boring to go into here, decided she'd rather use a 100 year old zinc dairy delivery box that she found in the attic for her mail. She put a sticky note on it that said, "PLEASE PUT MAIL IN HERE", put in on her porch, and the carrier started doing that.
That was about ten years ago, and it's still happening. I'm pretty sure you can do anything you want here.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:09 PM on September 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
That was about ten years ago, and it's still happening. I'm pretty sure you can do anything you want here.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:09 PM on September 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
yea, just move the mailbox & leave a note on the old one of the change. So long as you follow common-sense guidelines like in the link Jack Karaoke included, the mailperson won't care. especially if it makes it easier/faster to deliver. You may need to leave the note on for a while to cover USPS staff changes...
...I moved my mailbox opposite from your intention- from a drop box on the wall to a mailbox on a post that could be delivered straight from the truck. no problems!
posted by TDIpod at 5:34 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
...I moved my mailbox opposite from your intention- from a drop box on the wall to a mailbox on a post that could be delivered straight from the truck. no problems!
posted by TDIpod at 5:34 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure you can do anything you want here.
It varies! I live in a small town where there is a walking-around mailman and people have whatever the heck they want outside their doors, various baskets, you name it. However once you get to the places where they deliver mail by truck, it's a lot more complicated. And if you have real winter there are rules where your box needs to be w/r/t snow or other weather. Around here (Vermont) there is a limit to how many steps a mail delivery person might need to climb (important if you're relocating to something up more steps) and you have to clear snow away for them.
Here's the USPSs guidelines for residential mailboxes. Obviously it's more important that this work for your local delivery person than strictly fit these guidelines.
posted by jessamyn at 5:45 PM on September 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
It varies! I live in a small town where there is a walking-around mailman and people have whatever the heck they want outside their doors, various baskets, you name it. However once you get to the places where they deliver mail by truck, it's a lot more complicated. And if you have real winter there are rules where your box needs to be w/r/t snow or other weather. Around here (Vermont) there is a limit to how many steps a mail delivery person might need to climb (important if you're relocating to something up more steps) and you have to clear snow away for them.
Here's the USPSs guidelines for residential mailboxes. Obviously it's more important that this work for your local delivery person than strictly fit these guidelines.
posted by jessamyn at 5:45 PM on September 23, 2021 [5 favorites]
We replaced our front door and went from opening to the right to opening to the left...so we also moved the mailbox from one railing to the other so that we can reach it from the door on cold days. I didn't tell the letter carrier that I was moving it, but it seemed like it would be pretty obvious where the mail was to go. I had no trouble with the switch.
posted by Gray Duck at 6:09 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Gray Duck at 6:09 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hi, I'm a mailperson on the east coast, so not your mailperson or any sort of official spokesperson on this or any other USPS matters. My thoughts should be viewed as neighborly advice.
I recommend asking your primary mailperson. At the very least, you need to communicate what's going on, so they don't get confused and just don't leave mail. You may think it's obvious what's going on, but clear communication is always best.
Depending on your personal needs, like whether you need room for magazines or large envelopes, consider a larger mailbox or even a second box for packages.
I personally hate the mailboxes similar to what you you linked to, as they often have a narrow slot, which you sometimes have to fight with to get larger or thicker stuff into, but obviously it's your call.
posted by clocksock at 6:19 PM on September 23, 2021 [10 favorites]
I recommend asking your primary mailperson. At the very least, you need to communicate what's going on, so they don't get confused and just don't leave mail. You may think it's obvious what's going on, but clear communication is always best.
Depending on your personal needs, like whether you need room for magazines or large envelopes, consider a larger mailbox or even a second box for packages.
I personally hate the mailboxes similar to what you you linked to, as they often have a narrow slot, which you sometimes have to fight with to get larger or thicker stuff into, but obviously it's your call.
posted by clocksock at 6:19 PM on September 23, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yeah, ask. And be prepared for the possibility of a rude surprise. Maybe 15 years ago I wanted to move my mailbox from a very unsecure location near the base of my front entry stairs to a wall-mounted box next to the door. My mail carrier went absolutely ballistic and threatened to stop delivering my mail entirely. The postmaster at the PO was unsympathetic to me, citing delivery-time metrics that the carrier needed to adhere to, which were based on the box at my home at its original location.
posted by Sublimity at 6:42 PM on September 23, 2021
posted by Sublimity at 6:42 PM on September 23, 2021
At an old apartment when I moved in, the mailbox was outside my door, which was at the top of maybe 12 steps. It was like that for...3 or 4 years, when the mailman noticed there wasn't an elderly lady living there anymore, and had the Postmaster post a notice that it needed to be moved to the bottom of the steps or else I'd no longer get mail.
So yeah they're serious about that.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:00 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
So yeah they're serious about that.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:00 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! My neighborhood has mail carriers that deliver the mail on foot. However, they are very stealthy and I've not ever actually run into mine. I think it's a 6-of-one/half-dozen-of-the-other situation as far as convenience to the carrier on this one - to get to the garage slot, he or she has to navigate a kind of tight driveway situation, or if the person comes up to the door, they have to walk up a couple of steps. Usually if there is a package that won't fit in the slot, the carrier leaves that at the door for me. So I'm thinking it won't be too difficult a transition.
What is the best way of contacting the postmaster for permission? Or would it be better to leave a note for my mail carrier explaining what I want to do as a first step?
posted by hansbrough at 9:10 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
What is the best way of contacting the postmaster for permission? Or would it be better to leave a note for my mail carrier explaining what I want to do as a first step?
posted by hansbrough at 9:10 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
You can probably find the direct number to your local post office by googling, just call there and ask. I've had to do this a couple of times in the last few years and sometimes they don't answer the phone. Or you could just go in person and ask.
posted by mareli at 5:17 AM on September 24, 2021
posted by mareli at 5:17 AM on September 24, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
Or you could leave a note for your mailperson and ask? Every mailperson I've had has been super super nice and helpful.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 4:58 PM on September 23, 2021 [1 favorite]