The Postal Service™ Hold Mail program allows customers to place their mail on hold for a period of 3 to 30 days. To place mail on hold, customers can:
n Submit their request online at usps.com;
n Visit a Post Office™ location and submit PS Form 8076, Authorization to Hold Mail; or
n Call the Customer Care Center at 1-800-ASK-USPS.
To provide customers with greater security, the Postal Service is making changes to the online USPS® Hold Mail process. Customers who submit their Hold Mail request online will be required to prove their identity through an online verification process. To place their mail on hold, customers will need to sign in to their USPS.com® account or create an account. To complete the process, they must verify their identity using a mobile phone and a passcode that will be sent to their phone.
Customers who attempt to place a Hold Mail request online and do not successfully complete the identity verification process will have the option to request that the Postal Service send a “code by mail” letter to their address of record. The letter will contain a unique code as well as a URL for customers to enter the code to verify their identity.
Hold Mail requests submitted before the changes are implemented will not be affected. In addition, customers will still be able to initiate a Hold Mail request through the other channels — in person at a Post Office location or by contacting the Customer Care Center at 1-800-ASK-USPS.
The Postal Service issued an email notification about these upcoming changes to existing users of the online Hold Mail application in mid-September. The email also notified customers about the option to sign up for Informed Delivery® to complete account creation and satisfy the identity verification requirement ahead of the changes to the online Hold Mail application. Once their identity is verified, customers will not have to complete this step again for their current address and will be able to place their Hold Mail request online any time.
For more information about the Hold Mail application, visit faq.usps.com/s/article/Hold-Mail-The-Basics.
— Product Integration,
New Products and Innovation, 10-10-19
