OAKLAND, CA — Each year, the Postal Service designates a week for Mailbox Improvement to encourage customers to examine and spruce up the appearance of their mailboxes. Neat, attractive mailboxes make a significant contribution to the appearance of the countryside and suburban streets.

While the Postal Service has requirements on the height, convenient access, neatness and safety for postal carriers to deposit mail, individual creativity need not be lost. Many rural customers personally design their mailboxes to fit their occupations, professions, hobbies and interest. Some mailbox design ideas can be found on Pinterest.com. Dentists have crafted their mailbox in the shape of dentures; Farmers, ranchers, bakers, fishermen and photographers have all shaped their mailboxes that fit their personalities and occupations. Everything from Abstract Art to Art Deco, movie and literary icons and antique and historical artifacts has been used to raise mailboxes to an art form. Art and functionality can go hand-in-hand.

Mailboxes must be approved by the local postmaster, be safe to use, conveniently located, and neat in appearance. Mailboxes that meet these 4 important requirements help delivery and collection operations and improve service to the entire route. Neat and attractive mailboxes also enhance the appearance of the countryside and suburban streets. Some of the typical repairs that are often needed include:

1. Replacing loose hinges on a mailbox door.
2. Repainting a mailbox that may have rusted or started to peel.
3. Remounting a mailbox post that may have become loose.
4. Replacing or adding house numbers.

A Flower Planter, A Red Caboose and a Mail Truck give mailboxes character.

Shape of things to come:  Next generation mailbox approved by the Postmaster General.

As the mail mix continues to change — with fewer letters and a growing volume of packages — customers often find their mailbox is stuffed to overflowing. Larger mailbox designs can handle more than 70 percent of the packages sent through the mail.  This provides for even more creative opportunities for personalized mailbox design.

• Approved traditional or contemporary curbside mailboxes are required whenever a mailbox is newly installed or replaced. However, a custom-built curbside mailbox may be used if the postmaster gives prior approval and if the mailbox conforms generally to the same requirements as approved manufactured curbside mailboxes. A mailbox should display the street name and house number or, if house numbers are not authorized the assigned box number on the side of a single mailbox or on the doors of grouped mailboxes visible to the approaching carrier. The street number, box number, and/or any other address information must be inscribed in contrasting color in neat letters and numerals not less than 1 inch in height.

• It is generally in the customers’ best interest to display their address on both sides of the box. Police, fire, and rescue personnel often depend on mailbox information to locate people, and they may approach from a different direction than the carrier. In all instances, placing the owner’s name on the box is optional. Generally, customers should install mailboxes with the bottom of the mailbox at a vertical height of between 3 1/2 to 4 feet from the road surface. However, because of varying road and curb conditions and other factors, the Postal Service recommends that customers contact the postmaster or carrier before erecting or replacing mailboxes and supports.

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