# 🦮 How to Secure Your Mail Even if we're home most of the time, even if we're the one who checks the mailbox, we need our own mailbox. - Ask a trusted friend. It is possible to "re-route" mail with a [USPS Change of Address Form](https://www.usps.com/realmove/). It can be done online if we have a valid credit / debit card in our name. If we don't have one, we can print it (at the library if we have to) and take it to a post office. Or we can go to a post office and ask for a "Mover's Guide" change of address form. It should come in a pamphlet. We will need a valid photo ID for this. - General Delivery - The next easiest method of avoiding having mail sent to your home is to insist that it be delivered in your name to "General Delivery". What this means is that mail is sent to your name, under a "General Delivery" address, which leads to a post office somewhere in your city or county. [There is a specific Post Office law that provides for mail to be sent to your name as General Delivery](http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2010/pb22280/html/updt_002.htm). This mail is held for 30 days, or until you pick it up, but we can tell the post office to hold it for less time. Only certain post offices can be used for a "General Delivery" address. We can ask any post office which ones do so. [There is a specific address format you must follow](http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/28c2_033.htm). Anyone who sends you mail must conform to this method, but lots of companies will refuse to send mail to a General Delivery address, or will do so only for a given amount of time. Utility services, some banks, and others may refuse. Employers may not hire you if you only have a General Delivery address. - Rent a Post Office Box (PO Box) - There are several ways to rent a post office box. But according to Federal Law, to rent any mailbox, from anyone, you must present two forms of "acceptable identification". At least one ID must be a photo ID: - Valid Driver's License or state non-driver's ID card - Armed forces, government, university, or recognized corporate ID card - Passport, passport card, alien registration card, or certificate of naturalization - Acceptable Non-Photo ID - Current lease, mortgage, or deed of trust - Voter or vehicle registration card - Home or vehicle insurance policy - UN-Acceptable ID - Social Security Card - Birth Certificate - High School ID - Tax returns - Utility bill - Credit card - Types of post office box - Virtual post office box - or remailer service. This sort of post office box will accept incoming mail in your name, and will either remail it to a new address, or will scan it and allow you to read the mail online from a high quality scan. It also allows you to mix these up - you can have mail scanned and uploaded and then forwarded, or you can have it held until you stop by and pick it up. These services tend to be pricy, but if you can afford them, and if they are conveniently located, then they are pretty good. I don't need to remind you that they are actually opening your mail, so be careful about what you are receiving since there is some loss of privacy. You can find these sorts of services by doing an Internet search on the keywords, "Virtual Mail Box". - USPS - Of course the United States Postal Service will be happy to rent you a mailbox. And a small mailbox is inexpensive too. Be aware of their limitations - UPS and FedEx will usually not deliver to a PO box, and lots of companies don't like to deal with PO Boxes either. A PO box may limit your employment options since it doesn't look like you have a "real" address. Having said this, [some USPS locations offer a "Street Addressing" service](https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=mtcsa), where the post office gives your PO Box a real street address. You will have to check with your post office to see if this is offered, and you will also want to ask what restrictions are still valid with a street address. - Private mailbox rental, or [Commercial mail receiving agency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_mail_receiving_agency) - These are those places you see in strip malls. They might sell small gifts and services. They go by names like, "Pack and ship" or "Mail Boxes Etc". The quality of these businesses varies. Some are very good and reliable, and others tend to disappear quickly. That is because they may be privately owned, instead of owned by a chain, and can go out of business due to poor business practices. These are definitely "buyer beware", and the services they offer may vary widely. - [UPS store](http://www.theupsstore.com/Pages/index.aspx) - this is my favorite. [I've written about this already](https://www.reddit.com/r/RBNLifeSkills/comments/2kzyfj/want_to_give_your_narcissistic_family_members_a/), so I'll do a little copy and paste from that. When you rent with the UPS store they give you a "PMB" number (private mail box) at the UPS store address. But you are not required to use "PMB" as part of your address. You can just use "#" instead. - Let's see how this looks. With a P.O. Box you would write: John Doe 123 Maple Ave P.O. Box 11235 Beverly Hills, 90210 - But with a USPS mailbox, you can instead write something that looks kinda like an apartment address: H. Munster 1313 Mockingbird Ln. # 2718 Universal City, 91608 - Also, the UPS store doesn't have the same hangup that USPS has - they are quite willing to accept packages from FedEx, DHL, USPS, and of course, UPS. They will even sign for these packages for you, and send you an email or text message when a package arrives. Or, if you make arrangements, they will actually forward packages to a different address.