Do You Have to Have a Mailbox? (What Happens if You Don’t?)

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It’s important to be able to receive mail. You might get an important letter in the mail or you could have a package delivered by the postal service.

Typically, the mail that you receive will go into your mailbox. If your mailbox is destroyed for some reason, what’s going to happen in terms of mail delivery?

Do you have to have a mailbox? Or is it acceptable to not have a mailbox?

Keep reading to learn more about mailboxes and whether they’re required. This should allow you to understand what you need to do to receive your mail properly.

You Aren’t Legally Required to Have a Mailbox

There isn’t a legal requirement that says you have to have a mailbox on your property. This means that you won’t get in trouble for not having a mailbox.

Where Does Mail Go if I Don’t Have a Mailbox?

If there isn’t a mailbox there, the mail will simply be returned to the post office. You’ll need to travel to your local post office to get your letters or packages.

You might receive a notification on your door letting you know that you have mail to be picked up. First-class mail can be picked up at the post office for a certain period of time.

If you don’t go pick it up in time, the mail will be returned to the sender. Post office workers won’t simply leave the mail at your doorstep nor will they typically knock on your door to hand you the mail personally in most situations.

It’s truly best to have a mailbox or some type of mail slot on your door. Otherwise, you might have a hard time receiving your mail.

You might get important things in the mail such as bills or jury duty notices. Do your best to get a mailbox since it’s best to have one even if you aren’t legally required to get one.

Have Mail Delivered to Your Place of Work

You want to be able to get your mail. What if you can’t afford to replace your mailbox right now?

One idea is to have your mail delivered to your place of work. If your employer is okay with this arrangement, you can have your mail delivered to your place of work for a certain period of time.

This allows you to receive packages and mail each day. You’ll simply grab your mail when you go to work each day.

Of course, not all employers are going to allow their employees to receive packages like this. You’ll need to ask permission to do something like this.

Have Mail Delivered to a Post Office Box

If you don’t have a mailbox at your house, you can have things delivered to a post office box. Many people pay for post office boxes so they can receive packages there.

You can receive packages and all of your mail at the post office box. Of course, it’ll be important to use the post office box address when ordering things.

When you rent a post office box at a local post office, you’ll be given a key to the box. You can travel to the location and check your box as regularly as you want to.

Overall, using post office boxes is a fairly convenient option. Many people utilize these post office boxes so they can receive packages without revealing their home addresses.

It’s Best to Buy a Regulation Mailbox

The best thing that you can do is buy a regulation mailbox for your home. You can’t use just any box as a mailbox.

There are rules that must be followed and your local postal worker won’t deliver mail to a non-regulation mailbox. Thus, it’s best to buy a regulation mailbox from a reliable source.

This will make getting mail as convenient as possible. You can also receive mail through a mail slot on your door if you’d like to go that route.

If you need any advice, you can always contact your local post office. They can explain the rules and help you to understand what you need to purchase so mail can be delivered to your home properly.

Can You Build Your Own Mailbox?

Yes, it is technically legal to build your own mailbox. However, you can’t just build a box to whatever specifications you desire.

To ensure that the post office will deliver to your mailbox, it’s imperative to build it properly. All mailboxes must meet the standards of the postal service.

You can check with the local post office to get the information that you need. They can provide you with drawings and measurements that will help you to build the mailbox to the exact specifications that you need.

After you’ve built the mailbox, you’ll need to show it to the local postmaster to ensure that it meets the standards. So long as you did everything properly, it’ll be fine.

You can now start receiving mail using your new custom-built mailbox. This is a good option if you have the necessary skills to build a mailbox.

For many, this will be an option that will allow them to save money. If you want to avoid paying high prices for retail mailboxes, this is good to look into.

Final Thoughts

Now you know that you technically don’t have to have a mailbox on your property. It’s just not a good idea to not have a mailbox since you won’t be able to receive your mail.

You want to ensure that you have a mailbox or some type of mail slot in your door. This will allow you to receive mail and packages safely.

There are some other options you can look into. Some people have their mail delivered to their places of work for a period of time until they are able to get a new mailbox.

Others will simply have their mail delivered to a post office box. You can pick mail up by checking your post office box as regularly as you’d like.

You could also just get a new mailbox. Ensure that you buy a mailbox that adheres to the rules so the post office will use it to deliver your mail.

Building your own mailbox is a good idea if you want to save some cash. It’s just important to do so the right way, and that means you should get the plans from the post office so you can build the mailbox up to the proper standards.

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