Did you know that customers are required to contact the local Post Office before installing a new mailbox?
Cottage and Cabana (CottageAndCabana.com) uses Solar Group mailboxes, and on the box of Solar Group mailboxes, I read that customers are required to contact the local Post Office before installing a new mailbox. Are you asking yourself why you would need to contact the Post Office in order to install your mailbox? The reason is to merely ensure the mailbox’s correct placement and height at the street.
Wanting to know more about these USPS Mailbox Location requirements, I researched and found the USPS requirements.
2.7 Location:
Subject to state laws and regulations, a curbside mailbox must be placed to allow safe and convenient delivery by carriers without leaving their vehicles. The box must be on the right-hand side of the road in the direction of travel of the carriers on any new rural route or highway contract route, in all cases where traffic conditions are dangerous for the carriers to drive to the left to reach the box, or where their doing so would violate traffic laws and regulations. “D041 Customer Mail Receptacles.” N.p., 9 Dec. 2004. Web.
Additionally, in regard to customization and personalization of your new hand painted mailbox, you might want to keep in mind the USPS Address Identification requirements, which reads:
2.3 Address Identification:
Every curbside mailbox must bear the following address information:
a. A box number, if used, inscribed in contrasting color in neat letters and numerals at least 1 inch high on the side of the box visible to the carrier’s regular approach, or on the door if boxes are grouped.
b. A house number if street names and house numbers have been assigned by local authorities, and the postmaster authorizes their use as a postal address. If the box is on a different street from the customer’s residence, the street name and house number must be inscribed on the box. “D041 Customer Mail Receptacles.” N.p., 9 Dec. 2004. Web.
Solar Group tells us that generally, mailboxes are installed at a height of 41-45 inches from the road surface to inside floor of the mailbox or point of mail entry and are set back 6-8 inches from front of face of curb or road edge to the mailbox door.
Do these requirements seem tedious or regulatory to you? Initially, they might. However, can you imagine being the postal carrier trying to deliver mail to a mailbox which is too far from the roadside for arm’s reach? Or perhaps the mailbox’s height is problematic for opening or closing the mailbox door for mail delivery?
Following these simple requirements is a fair practice for us all and is curtious to postal carriers as well. Besides that, it can help insure a happy postal carrier, which in turn can help to insure easy and prompt delivery of your mail.
“D041 Customer Mail Receptacles.” N.p., 9 Dec. 2004. Web.
