Are you a “snowbird” or “seasonal resident?”  If so, have you changed your address with the Post Office so that you receive your mail properly?  There are right ways and wrong ways to accomplish your change of address.  And it can all be done on your computer through usps.com or by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS.

Did you cancel your northern address before heading to Florida?  You should have completed a forwarding change from there so they know to forward your mail.  And, you should notify mail carriers at both your northern and Florida address.

Forwarding of mail is a significant expense for the Postal Service, we encourage you to update your address with all correspondents to have the mail addressed correctly when it enters the mailstream.

Snowbirds need to choose which address will be their permanent residence—north or south—and when they leave the permanent address, they have to file a “temporary” change of address for their temporary residence.  Temporary changes are for six months only; however a second temporary change can extend it beyond the six month period.  After two temporary changes, a waiting period of 45 days is required before another address change may be requested.

It should be noted that only First-Class Mail is forwarded for the six-month period; magazines are only forwarded for 60 days, so publishers should be notified of your relocation.

Premium Forwarding Service is available for $13.95 per week; this forwards all mail, including magazines and advertising, once a week with Priority Mail.

A Mover’s Guide is available at post offices if you are unable to use the computer or telephone for facilitating your address change.  The Postal Service wants to advise you that filing your change of address online or by phone is more efficient and results in less chance of error than using the hard copy Mover’s guide.

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.  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. 

Mr. Zip’s Tip: The first Internet Change of Address order on usps.com was submitted in September 2001.  More than 47.6 million orders have been successfully submitted since then.

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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.