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How to Put a Hold on Your Mail

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If you're going out of town for a while and don't have a neighbor or nearby friend or family member who can collect your mail, you might be worried about it filling up in your mailbox. Not only that, but if you're expecting something important, like a check or a product you ordered, you probably don't want to let it sit unattended for a long time, as it could end up stolen. Thankfully, the United States Postal Service (USPS) allows you to put your mail on hold for up to 30 days. Here's how to do it:

Visit the USPS Website

The fastest and easiest way to put your mail on hold is to do it online. Start by visiting Holdmail.usps.com and reading the details about putting your mail on hold. You'll see that you can do it up to 30 days in advance or the day before you want the hold to start.

Check Your Address

While the Hold Mail service is available for most ZIP codes, it's not available for all. So, the first thing you'll need to do is check your address. On the USPS website, you'll enter your name, addresses, email address and phone number, and then you can check the availability of the service.

Verify Your Hold Dates

If the service is available in your area, you can move on to the next step. This is where you'll tell the USPS when to hold your mail. You'll need to choose a start date and end date from the dropdown menus, and then you can provide information on how you'd like to receive your mail after you return home. You can also provide any additional special instructions.

Check the FAQs

If you have more questions about the Hold Mail service and aren't quite ready to submit your form, you can visit the service's frequently asked questions page. There, you'll find information about changing or canceling a hold, troubleshooting if your hold didn't take effect and what to do once the hold is over.

Placing a Hold in Person

If you aren't comfortable placing the hold online, you can do it in person at your local post office. To do so, you'll need to request Form 8076 (Authorization to Hold Mail) from the clerk and fill it out, providing the same information you would if you were doing it online. You will also need to present a photo ID, especially if you are there to make changes to a current hold.