Effective March 16, 1998, the United States Postal Service imposed a moratorium on management initiated post office closings and consolidations. Under this moratorium, post offices will not be closed unless no reasonable alternative is available. Some closings (and suspensions) may be necessary or appropriate if postmasters retire suddenly or catastrophic events such as flood, fire, or earthquake occur.

The Postal Service along with representatives of the National Association of Postmasters of the United States and the National League of Postmasters, continues to review all recent and proposed post office closings and emergency suspensions to help determine appropriate courses of action. During 2001, the Postal Service closed or consolidated two post offices, seven community post offices, and one classified station. These post offices were in the process of being closed before issuance of the moratorium and thus were allowed to continue through the closing process.