How Long Does Mail Forwarding Last?

According to USPS, 41.2 million Change of Address requests were submitted to the organization. If you are one of them, then we recommend notifying USPS immediately to update your address, right before you move or immediately after. This ensures that your mail follows you wherever you go without any interruption. But how long does mail forwarding last, and how can you set it up correctly to ensure you don’t miss any critical correspondence?

In this blog, we will explore every intricacy involving the USPS mail forwarding service, including how it works and why it’s essential. We will also dive into the most common questions with detailed answers so that you can get the most out of the service.

Key Takeaways

• USPS mail forwarding redirects your mail after you submit an address change request. It ensures continuity in receiving essential correspondence.
• Mail forwarding can last from 15 days to 12 months, depending on the service you have selected. First Class Mail is forwarded up to 12 months, while Periodicals are forwarded for 60 days.
  
• You can initiate the mail forwarding service either online or by visiting the local post office. Make sure you submit the request at least 7-10 days before moving to a new residence.
  
• USPS offers an extension on the mail forwarding service, especially for temporary mail forwarding. You can extend it up to 18 months in six-month increments to decide how long does USPS forward mail.

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Maintain Continuity in Business and Personal Communication

Mail forwarding ensures cards, postcards, invitations, personal gifts, and packages from friends and family members always reach you at the right time. Similarly, mail forwarding helps business owners eliminate any possibility of missed communication that could affect client retention, billing, or operations. Understanding how long does mail forwarding lasts gives you clarity about till what date USPS will continue redirecting your important mail. It helps you plan updates with clients, vendors, and personal contacts without interruptions. 

Prevent Identity Theft

If you forget to forward your mail before or after moving, your important and sensitive documents or packages might end up in the wrong hands. Miscreants can use your credit card statement and government-issued ID to perform fraud. Knowing how long does mail forwarding lasts gives you enough time to ensure all important documents are safely redirected to your new address, preventing identity theft. 

Ensure You Receive Important Documents

To prevent late payments, you need to ensure that you receive documents like credit card bills and utility bills on time. Similarly, to avoid a fine, you must ensure that important documents like notices, legal correspondence, or government-related paperwork reach you on time. When you know how long does mail forwarding lasts, it ensures you receive crucial documents without any interruptions. It gives you enough time to update your new address with service providers and avoid any delays.

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With USPS, you have multiple options to decide how long does the mail forwarding lasts. You could be moving temporarily, or permanently, or you just need to hold the mail service for a short time.  

Temporary Forwarding of Mail

You can opt for this when you are going on an extended vacation or relocating temporarily for studying or working. With this service, you can redirect your mail to a new temporary address for a short time. The minimum number of days is 15. If you are wondering how long does mail forwarding lasts, a temporary change of address allows extension in two phases. You can stretch mail forwarding initially to 185 days, followed by an extension of 179 days. It is important to remember that this service is only suitable for seasonal moves.

Permanent Change of Address

If you are moving for a long period or relocating to a different city or state for a fresh start, this is the right option for you. This service remains active for 12 months for First-Class Mail and 60 days for Priority Mail.

Premium Forwarding Service

If you are looking for a customized mail forwarding service, you can opt for this service. You can schedule when you want to receive the mail, which can be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Instead of receiving mail every day, you can get it consolidated and sent to your new address at your convenience. How long does mail forwarding last? It depends on your needs. You can sign up for this service for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of one year. There are two types of services under this method:

1. Commercial: It is suitable for businesses that don’t want to miss important business documents or notifications.
   
2. Residential: It is suitable for people who want to receive important mail promptly.
   

Hold Mail Service

If you do not want to receive your mail for a few days, you can opt for this service. USPS will hold the mail for a limited time while you are away from your home.  When you are back, you can either pick up the mail in person or have it delivered to your address, whichever is convenient to you. It is available for a minimum of three days and a maximum of 30 days. 

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It is a straightforward process that you can complete either online or by visiting the local post office.

Online Mail Forwarding Process

1. Visit the Change of Address page on the USPS website. Provide your full name and the names of the people who are moving with you, choose the type of move, and the date of moving.
   
2. Provide your detailed old and new addresses.
   
3. To ensure the postal service can communicate with you in case they need to, provide a valid email address and phone number.
   
4. You have to pay the identity verification fee, which is $1.25, either by debit card or credit card. This process involves sending a one-time passcode to the email. The billing address associated with the card should match either your old or new address.
   
5. Confirm the change of address request and keep a printout copy of the same for your records. 

In-Person Mail Forwarding Process

1. Request a PS 3575 form and fill it out with all the details that you would provide when visiting the local post office.
2. Submit the form and wait for USPS to send you a confirmation letter at your new address.

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1. Individual Mail Forwarding Form: This is ideal for a situation where you’re the only person moving or if multiple members of a household are relocating to different places. Each individual should fill out a separate USPS form to ensure all mail is forwarded correctly.
   
2. Family Mail Forwarding Form: This is a consolidated form For families where all members share the same last name and are moving to the same location. It ensures all mail is forwarded to the new address without any mix-ups.
3. Business Mail Forwarding Form: If you’re authorized to forward mail for a business entity, this form allows you to change the company’s address. It ensures all business-related mail, including priority mail services and business mail, is forwarded correctly.

If you are moving to and from a military address, you can complete a Mail Forwarding request in the same way as normal mail forwarding request. 

1. If you file your change of address online and are moving from a military address, your email address must end in .gov, .mil or .edu.
   
2. If you do not have an email address ending .gov, .mil or .edu, you must complete a hard-copy Change of Address PS Form 3575.

When mail is sent in bulk to a central military location, the military will be responsible for forwarding mail in accordance with postal regulations.

When the USPS  provides service to individual military recipients, the Postal Service is responsible for forwarding mail.

All Priority Mail Express Service, First-Class Mail, USPS Ground Advantage -Retail, USPS Ground Advantage, Periodicals, and Package Services mailpieces addressed to persons in the U.S. Armed Forces, serving where U.S. Mail service operates, is forwarded at no added charge when official orders cause the mail forwarding.

The free forwarding is also applicable to mail for household members whose mail forwarding is caused by official orders to persons serving in or who are civilian employees of the U.S. Armed Forces

If the official permanent change of station order is to an overseas APO/FPO/DPO address, military authorities forward mail between the United States and those addresses. Forwarding is limited to 60 days.

You must ensure all the necessary authorities know about the change of address. It ensures you continue receiving documents, letters, packages, and other correspondence without any interruption.

Financial Institutions

Make sure to inform the credit union, banks, and credit card companies of your new address. It ensures you receive documents and other financial statements. Many institutions allow updating the address through the online portals; others might require a phone call or an in-person visit. 

Employers

Your employers need your updated address to send payroll, benefits, and tax purposes. Make sure you update them about your new address.

Government Agencies

To maintain accurate records and avoid missing any documents, you must notify government agencies of the address change. You must inform the IRS to inform you to receive tax-related documents, DMV to update your license and vehicle registration and the Social Security Administration for benefits.

There might come a time when you no longer want to forward the service, or the period has ended. You might want to cancel the service. You can do this in two ways: online or by visiting the local post office.

1. Online: Visit the USPS website, log in to your account, access mail forwarding settings, and choose the option to cancel the service.
   
2. Local Post Office: You can ask the postal service professional to cancel the service. When you do so, make sure to update the relevant authorities, such as banks, employers, and subscriptions. It prevents missed deliveries or delays.

You can leverage several complementary services to help manage your mail during and after the move. You can sign up for digital notification using Informed Delivery. It provides digital daily previews of the incoming mail. When you combine this with mail forwarding, you can monitor the mail when USPS sends it to the new address. The visibility is helpful during a move when tracking important documents becomes critical.

If you are looking for additional security, you can leverage Signature Confirmation and Registered Mail service. They provide additional protection for valuable or sensitive information at a new address. It provides peace of mind during the transition period.

USPS offers solutions to people who do not have an immediate permanent address. It allows you to receive mail at the local post office until you have an address. It is a free service that you can avail yourself of for 30 days. It is called General Delivery Service, and you need to address the letter to ensure successful delivery. You must follow the following format. 

YOUR NAME

GENERAL DELIVERY

CITY, STATE, ZIP+4 

You Are Not Receiving the Forwarded Mail

Make sure you have received the confirmation mail or letter that validates your new address. It is best to double-check the address you provide when submitting the request. If the problem persists, we recommend reaching out to USPS for further assistance. 

Mail Forwarding Is Getting Delayed

The additional processes involved in checking the forwarding label on the mail and redirecting it to the new address might cause this. If the delay is significant, we advise contacting the USPS team.

Failure of Identity Verification

It can happen when the card used for verification does not match the name provided on the request form. There is also a possibility that the billing or ZIP information is incorrect. Cross-check all the details when submitting the form online. In case it is still failing, we recommend visiting the local post office and submitting the form. 

Missing or Lost Confirmation Code

If you lose your confirmation code, you cannot modify or check the status of your forwarded mail.  We recommend visiting the local post office with a valid ID so that they can look up your forwarding order. You can also call USPS customer service or submit a new forwarding request if needed.

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The tracking number of a package does not change even if it is written forwarded on the package. You can visit the USPS tracking portal and enter the tracking number to check the status, which will be one of the following:

• In-Transit
  
• Out for Delivery
  
• Delivered
  
• Available for Pickup
  

You can also avail the option for getting notification about the delivery status change, including out for delivery alerts and any delays.

How to Make Changes to a Mail Forwarding Request? 

1. Visit managemymove.usps.com
   
2. You need a confirmation code to proceed with the changes. Check your email for the same from USPS. In case you filed for a forwarding request by physical mail, you will receive a printed letter with the confirmation code.
   
3. After entering the ZIP code and confirmation code, you will be redirected to a page where you can specify the changes that you want to make.
   
4. This page will allow you to make any edits to the original mail forwarding request. You can change how long does mail forwarding lasts. Additionally, you can also request to cancel your change of address if you’re back to your residential address so that USPS stops mail forwarding to you. You can also extend your change of address order for up to a year.

How to Dispute a Mail Forwarding Request?

If you haven’t applied for a mail forwarding service, but you have received a notification via email, you can file a dispute with the USPS. 

1. Check for the key and ZIP code. You will find it on the Change of Address Validation letter.
   
2. Go to the file a dispute page, enter your ZIP code, and the process will start from there.

 If you are looking for a way to make sure your mail reaches the right recipient, you can trust PostGrid. We offer a Print & Mail solution as a part of our technology stack. One of its features is real-time address verification. Through this PostGrid, the neterprsie technology company cross-references addresses with the national change of address database in real time. To redefine offline communication by powering it with technology, we aim to make sure your mail reaches the right person. To see it in action, request a demo now.