Are you going on vacation and need to put your mail on “hold?” The Postal Service has made it a simple task by following one of these two procedures:

• By filing online at https://www.usps.com/holdmail
• Contacting 1-800-ASK-USPS where a representative can assist you.

A Hold Mail request is not necessary for a PO Box, as mail will be allowed to accumulate for up to 30 days.

An alternative to having your mail held is to use the Postal Service’s Premium Forwarding Service. For a set fee of $13.95 per week all mail is shipped via Priority Mail to your temporary address. A one time enrollment fee of $15 is charged for this service.

When completing an online Hold Mail request, a confirmation page will be displayed with a confirmation number to verify your request has been accepted. Make sure you print out this page or copy down your confirmation number for future reference.

Online Hold Mail requests submitted before 2:00 a.m. Central Time can begin on the same Postal business day (Monday through Saturday). Requests made in person or by calling the 1-800 number must be submitted one business day in advance. You may submit a Hold Mail request up to 14 days in advance. Only one hold is permitted at a time.

Hold Mail requests must be made for a minimum duration of 3 days. The maximum duration is 30 days. All mail regardless of name will be held for the address entered. Submitting a Hold Mail request once is all that is required to hold mail delivery for everyone at the address. When our mail is placed on hold, your Post Office will hold all packages as well.

The “End Date” of your Hold Mail request is the date mail will be delivered. Your letter carrier will deliver your mail on this date. If you want to resume delivery of your held mail earlier than the requested “End Date,” you will need your confirmation number.

For more information about purchasing stamps, stamps by mail, postal regulations, a free subscription to USA Philatelic magazine, Post Office events, the location of the nearest postal store or contract unit, or for answers to your specific Postal Service questions, contact USPS at 1-800-275-8777, or visit www.usps.com. For detailed information on selection criteria for stamps visit http://www.stamps.com/communications/organization/csac.htm. To schedule a presentation for your community, club or group on how the Postal Service brings the Post Office to your home or office computer, call 239-573-9638

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.