Mail Hold

[terryg]

I understand the US Postal Service will hold residential mail for 2 weeks. What do you do if you need it held longer? TIH

 

[lhoffm4]

PO Box?

 

[Viking1204]

Or a friend or relative you can forward your mail to until you can pick it up.

 

[Ubiety]

Or a friend or relative you can forward your mail to until you can pick it up.

Mail forwarding can be problematic but that may vary from locale to locale... For my folks sometimes their mail is forwarded sometimes it is not. Sometimes it starts/stops on schedule sometimes it does not.

 

[terryg]

I went to the post office for clarification. When you hold mail online, you can only hold for 2 weeks. If you go to the post office and fill out a hold mail form, you can hold it for 30 days or longer with the post master's approval.

 

[ZombieCat]

I’ve done this several times. If you create a USPS account (also useful for paying your PO Box fees), you can set up the residential mail hold online. The maximum is 30 days.
My tactic is to do a 30 day hold and then have the mail delivered. A week or so before that hold expires, I set up a new one that begins the day after the prior hold expires. I have very little that arrives via snail mail and have a locking mailbox, so the delivered mail can either remain in the box until I return or I have a friend stop by with the key and put it in my house.
You can also sign up for informed delivery. The USPS will send you an image of the exterior of any arriving mail (minus most junk mail). This allows you to identify any important items that may need immediate attention.

 

[TOMICON]

I’ve done this several times. If you create a USPS account (also useful for paying your PO Box fees), you can set up the residential mail hold online. The maximum is 30 days.
My tactic is to do a 30 day hold and then have the mail delivered. A week or so before that hold expires, I set up a new one that begins the day after the prior hold expires. I have very little that arrives via snail mail and have a locking mailbox, so the delivered mail can either remain in the box until I return or I have a friend stop by with the key and put it in my house.
You can also sign up for informed delivery. The USPS will send you an image of the exterior of any arriving mail (minus most junk mail). This allows you to identify any important items that may need immediate attention.

Definitely the best system right here I use this system online, everything goes to my email I can tell what’s important before I receive it and I can sign for packages ahead of time! It’s great...

 

[TOMICON]

I’ve done this several times. If you create a USPS account (also useful for paying your PO Box fees), you can set up the residential mail hold online. The maximum is 30 days.
My tactic is to do a 30 day hold and then have the mail delivered. A week or so before that hold expires, I set up a new one that begins the day after the prior hold expires. I have very little that arrives via snail mail and have a locking mailbox, so the delivered mail can either remain in the box until I return or I have a friend stop by with the key and put it in my house.
You can also sign up for informed delivery. The USPS will send you an image of the exterior of any arriving mail (minus most junk mail). This allows you to identify any important items that may need immediate attention.

Definitely the best system right here I use this system online, everything goes to my email I can tell what’s important before I receive it and I can sign for packages ahead of time! It’s great...

Ubiety absolutely has a great point here, this will depend on your local area usps department, it works best if you have had a regular mail person for several years because the new ones have plenty going on already. It also never hurts to just leave the mail carrier a note in the box letting them know the dates too.

 

[Luinil Explorations]

We use the mail hold system a lot. Works great.