How to put po box in billing address?

Carefully look through everything you’ve written on the envelope. Once you check the delivery and return addresses, you can take the mail to the post office and send it to one of the box locations.

Note. If you deal with large volumes of direct mail, consider partially or fully automating it. You will no longer have to write mailing addresses manually, bring mail to the United States Postal Service, and take care of delivery. Inkit’s mail automation services can render, print, deliver, and track tailored mailpieces for you.

Whether you are mailing to a PO box or want to arrange one for yourself, you need to know how PO boxes work. Even though there is nothing complicated in managing a PO box, some rules and limitations still apply. So let’s discuss the basics.

A PO box is a storage place in the post office’s lobby area where the specific recipient’s incoming mail is stored. The owner can lock the box with a key or a combination lock and access the deliveries 24/7. Even though one can rent a PO box in any post office, in most cases, mail recipients opt for the closest locations.

Pay attention that post office boxes aren’t suitable for high volumes of mail and don’t support private shipping carriers, including UPS, FedEx, and Amazon.

Besides, when deciding whether to use a PO box, you should keep in mind the sizing of packages. If the mailpiece doesn’t fit into your box, you will need to collect it from a window clerk. Below are the main 5 PO box sizes to pick from:

For more information on mailing size, read our complete guide on postcard dimensions to help you understand what mail sizes can satisfy your personal or business needs.

If you are a startup and don’t want to share your home address, mailing to a PO box can help you look more professional. We’ve all heard about Apple, Amazon, Google, and other world-renowned companies that started in a garage. So in case you are a beginner without a business address, use box rental for official messages. You will be able to communicate with partners and potential customers through direct mail while maintaining your business reputation.

When banks, insurers, debt collectors, and other institutions need to send critical communications, they often opt for mailing to a PO box over regular street addresses. Since PO boxes are located in post offices, they are more secure than street mailboxes. Therefore, if you need to mail a confidential document or notice, always prefer mailing to a PO box.

Similarly to startups, e-commerce, and other digital enterprises don’t always have business addresses. Nevertheless, they still regularly receive print communications and need to share trustworthy contact details. That’s when mailing to a PO box can help. Apply for your personal box in the nearest post office to get well-protected storage for your business communications.

A PO (post office) box works great for basic mailbox service requirements. Even people who have physical addresses may opt for a PO box if they’d like to keep their real address confidential. But can your PO box address be your physical address?

You cannot use your PO box as your physical address because the former doesn’t fulfill the requirements of a “physical address.” In other words, a PO box address has no apartment or suite number in it. Also, a physical address denotes the place where you live – a PO box address doesn’t state that.

If you’re contemplating using a PO box as your billing address or an address to receive mail or ship in goods, continue reading.

Most likely, yes, but there could be exceptions. Banks usually do not accept a PO box as a billing address. Banks can certainly send mail to a PO box, but they must first validate the physical address to do so. There could be multiple reasons why that might be the case:

If you cannot provide a bank with your physical address or cannot authenticate your place of residence, you’d most likely not be able to open a bank account.

As far as how other businesses address this situation, most e-commerce companies in the U.S. usually will not mind a PO box address being used as a billing address. But some non-U.S. e-commerce firms that ship physical goods such as smartphones may not accept a PO box as a valid billing address. You need to confirm the same with your merchant or vendor before considering shopping.

Related Is It Safe to Give Someone Your Bank Account Number?

If a PO box cannot be your physical address, then why does it even exist? Apparently, there are quite a few benefits to renting a PO box – even in this day and age of the Internet, emails, and various other forms of digital communication. A PO box:

Also, the locked PO box can be accessed only using a lock combination or key. If your parcel cannot fit inside your PO box, it will be placed at your postal office’s lockers.

A PO box doesn’t get automatically assigned to citizens, and the general public cannot choose one randomly. They’ll have to apply for one with the USPS. When applying for a PO box, you must enter your physical address in the application form. The post office needs your physical address for identification purposes.

To receive your PO box number and keys, you must fill out USPS Form 1583 and have two valid IDs to show – one with a photo and another without a picture. The following are IDs you may use:

The USPS does not accept birth certificates, credit cards, or social security cards as valid identity proofs.

If you’d like to know how to reserve a PO box online, watch the video below:

If you are homeless or do not have a real address, you can’t get a PO box. But you can still receive mail or shipments, thanks to USPS’ General Delivery service. General Delivery is USPS’s proprietary mail service for people without a physical or permanent address.

To address a mail intended for General Delivery, just mention your name, write down the words “General Delivery,” and mention your local post office’s street address, city, state, and zip code. Once the mail or package has arrived, you could collect it from the assigned post office upon showing your ID. Mail received via General Delivery would remain in the post office for up to 30 days from the date of receipt.

Before using a local post office’s street address, make sure the particular branch office offers General Delivery service. If your city or town has more than one USPS office, only one of them could be accepting General Delivery. Therefore, it’s worth your while to confirm the same.

Kindly note your local post office isn’t your substitute for a physical address. You cannot be using your name and mentioning the post office’s address as your own. If you do not mention General Delivery in your address column, the mail or package will be returned.

Related Can You Legally Change Your Age? | What You Need To Know.

Popular delivery service companies such as UPS (United Parcel Service) and FedEx usually do not ship to PO boxes since a PO box is primarily a USPS service. However, if you opt for FedEx, UPS, or other mail carriers’ special delivery services and/or are okay with some of their delivery conditions, you could use their services to deliver mail or parcels to your PO box address.

FedEx lets you ship packages to a domestic PO box if the shipment goes through FedEx SmartPost.

SmartPost is basically FedEx’s quick delivery service that ships lightweight packages across the U.S. and America’s various territories. It works in conjunction with USPS to deliver parcels to your PO box. FedEx SmartPost takes care of the first phase of the shipping process before handing over your parcel to USPS for delivery to your PO box.

You may use FedEx SmartPost if you’re shipping to PO boxes in certain international destinations as well, such as Puerto Rico. In such cases, you must provide a legitimate telephone, telex, or fax number.

If you want UPS to deliver a shipment to your PO box address, you must provide your telephone number. In addition, there are certain stipulations you need to be okay with, which include:

Kindly note, UPS doesn’t accept FPO (fleet post office) and APO (army post office) addresses.

A PO box address also cannot be used for business purposes or to serve as a registered office address. Companies must have a real official address, which could be easily found by anyone. If you were considering using a PO box address for your firm, you could always use registered address services.

Even if you can use a PO box address for your virtual business, it would not look professional and may hurt your venture’s growth. Not to mention, customers and vendors alike will not be inclined to engage with a business that uses a PO box address as its primary legal address.

There are different ways to cut costs when starting a business on a shoestring budget. Its physical address is an area you certainly shouldn’t be compromising on.

For more, check out Can I Use My Parents’ Address for College?

All you really have to do is pop down to your local post office, let them know that you’re interested in getting a PO Box, and then they will walk you through the process from start to finish.

Sending mail to a PO Box is also pretty easy, as long as you know what you’re doing.

There’s not all that much of a deviation from sending mail to any other address – though you’ll (obviously) need to know the PO Box number before you can address whatever it is you want sent to a PO Box.

Below we break both of these things down a little more in depth, helping you to knock out the process without any headache and without any hassle.

By the time you’re done with the inside information below you’ll know exactly how to get a PO Box for yourself and how to address mail sent to PO boxes. We even share a PO Box alternative that you’ll want to consider for sure.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

If you are interested in signing up for a PO Box you’re in luck – the process is easier today than ever before (and also a whole lot more affordable).

Some people like the privacy and security benefits that a PO Box brings to the table. Others are choosing a PO Box simply because they live in a more rural community and physical mail to their address isn’t available (even through the USPS).

Regardless of the why behind your decision to go with a PO Box, we walk you through the step-by-step process you want to consider before you sign up for this service from the post office.

Choosing the Right PO Box Location

Straight out of the gate, you need to think about where you want your new PO Box to be located.

A lot of people are under the impression that they have to get a PO Box from a post office in their town or local area, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Some people choose to have a PO Box in a city that they work in, even if it isn’t anywhere near where they live, and others choose to have a PO Box established in completely different states – usually for business purposes.

At the end of the day, though, you need to think about where you want your PO Box to be located for your specific needs.

If you’re going to be having residential mail sent to that address it’s probably a good idea to get a PO Box at a post office as close to your home or office as possible.

You don’t want to have to drive clear across town just a pickup your mail every day!

Below we highlight a PO Box alternative that totally eliminates this issue completely, but that’s something we will get into a little more in depth in just a moment.

Choosing the Right PO Box Size

The second thing you’ll need to do is decide what size PO Box you want to go with – a decision that’s going to be heavily influenced by price and the kind of mail flow that you anticipate running through your box from here on out.

The USPS offers five different sizes to pick and choose from at almost all of their locations, broke down like this:

It’s not a bad idea popping down to your local post office just to get your eyes on different sized PO boxes to figure out which one makes the most sense in your situation.

You might think that you need a Large sized PO Box only to discover that a Small makes a lot more sense. But the reverse may be true – you might think that a Medium-sized PO Box is perfect for your business, when really you need something on the Extra Large-size spectrum.

The USPS has a couple of “usage guidelines” that they share with their customers to help them make this decision a little easier.

They recommend smaller size post office boxes for personal or business mail that will be picked up on a daily basis. Medium-size post office boxes are best for those that expect magazines and newspapers to be delivered as well, or those that want to pick up their mail every week.

Larger sized PO boxes are recommended for small to midsized businesses that have a lot of mail flow and expect packages regularly.

Quick Breakdown of PO Box Pricing

There are pricing guidelines for PO boxes that you can use to inform your decision, but it’s important to understand the USPS is able to set specific prices for their PO boxes on a location-by-location basis.

As of January 2021, the average cost of a small sized PO Box ran about $30.

Medium-sized PO boxes or $37 (on average), and large or extra-large sized PO boxes or a little bit more expensive than that.

Most PO Box agreements are going to require you to sign a six month or 12 month “lease” on the PO Box that you have chosen, too.

It’s not a bad idea to sign up for the longest term “lease” you can from the USPS right from day one, either. Not only to lock-in that PO Box address but also to take advantage of the most significant discounts available as well.

PO Box prices drop the longer that you agree to lease your box, too.

You should also expect there to be a couple of other fees when you sign up for your PO Box from the USPS, including a three-dollar deposit for the first pair of PO Box keys you receive.

Extra keys cost six dollars for each duplicate key, and if you have to have the PO Box locks replaced and rekeyed you should expect to pay at least $20 (and sometimes even more than that).

As a general rule, the process for signing up for a PO Box is pretty simple and straightforward regardless of whether or not you do it online or pop down to your local post office and knock it out in person.

To get a PO Box online you only have to jump on the USPS website, navigate to the PO BOX section of the site, and then go through the application process.

You’ll have a chance to search for available PO boxes by entering in a specific post office address or a ZIP Code. After that, you’ll be presented with a list of boxes – and box sizes – that you can pick and choose from.

After selecting the box you’d like you’ll be encouraged to “Reserve a New PO Box”. At that point you’ll be asked to choose duration of your PO Box rental – three month, six month, or twelve month leases are generally available – and then you are off to the races.

You’ll be asked to fill out the Post Office Form 1093 (the general PO Box application). After that form has been filled out you’ll be presented with a payment form (all major credit and debit cards are accepted), at which point you’ll pay for your entire lease duration.

After that, you’ll be emailed a receipt of your purchase, a copy of your PO Box agreements, and information pertaining to how you activate your new PO Box address.

You’ll need to visit your PO Box post office location within 30 days of payment online to actually activate your address, bringing with you the Post Office Form 1093 (fully filled out) as well as two forms of identification.

At that point you’ll be given the keys to your new PO Box and you’ll be good to go!

The process for applying to get a new PO Box in person is even simpler and more straightforward than it is online.

Visit the post office that you’d like to rent a PO Box from and tell them which sized box you’re interested in.

The postal employees will let you know which addresses are available, and after you pick one you’ll have Postal Service Form 1093 provided to you to fill out right there on the premises.

Complete the form, show your identification, and pay for the duration of the lease that you are interested in and you’ll be given keys to your new PO Box.

From start to finish, the whole process should take about 20 minutes (or even less).

Now that you have your new PO Box it’s time to focus on the PO Box address format you’ll want to share with anyone and everyone you expect to receive mail from.

Managing your PO Box address format is really simple and straightforward, especially since you are basically only replacing your physical address or street address with your new PO Box number.

Let’s say that prior to getting your PO Box your address looked something like this:

John Smith

123 Main Street

Anytown, USA 01011

Well, now your new PO Box address format is going to look like this:

John Smith

PO Box 1776

Anytown, USA 01011

Just swap out your previous street address (or physical mailing address) for the PO Box number that you have been provided.

After that you are good to go!

Though there are a lot of benefits to moving forward with a traditional PO Box address, there are a couple of shortcomings as well.

For starters, if you move changing your address is notoriously difficult – and if you move on a regular basis having to update your mailing address all the time is a real pain in the neck.

Secondly, a traditional PO Box address at a post office in your local town or community isn’t quite as private or as secure as you might have been led to believe it to be. A little bit of digging can connect the dots to find your physical address from a PO Box address, compromising your privacy and security along the way.

Lastly, with a traditional PO Box from the USPS you actually have to go down and pickup your mail on a routine basis.

The whole point of the PO Box is NOT to have regular daily delivery at your home, but instead to collect your mail a central location that you have to visit to get your mail yourself.

No. In order to get a PO Box, you need to have a physical address as well as a couple forms of ID.

You will need to request the physical address from the PO Box owner, by using the appropriate USPS form. Or, look up online where the PO Box is located.

No. PO Boxes will only come with a Box number. You can however use a mailbox from the UPS Store, and use that street address as your legal address.

You can’t. A PO Box is not a physical address, and therefore cannot be used as one.

The USPS does not offer physical addresses. They do offer however a street addressing service, that can be used instead of a PO Boxuse the address of the Post Office and add unit instead of Box number.

When addressing a letter or package to a PO Box, first you add the box number of the recipient and then the physical address. For example:

PO Box 24 Houston, TX 70003

Well, if you have become dissatisfied with traditional PO Box services and wish there was a more modern solution you are in luck.

That’s exactly what US Global Mail delivers!

Providing you with almost all of the same benefits of a PO Box (but even more privacy, even more security, and even more convenience), US Global Mail eliminates a lot of the headache and hassle associated with USPS PO boxes through their virtual mailbox service.

You can use a PO mailbox as your mailing address, but it cannot be legally used as your physical address. You cannot use a PO Box as your driver's license address, credit card billing address, or any other personal identification information. Use a PO Box only if you want to use it as a mailing address.