USPS Vacation Hold

Planning a vacation is not as great as going on a vacation. You need to make reservations, books tickets, plan to visit all the great tourist spots and of course try all the famous local cuisines. But if you forgot to hold all your incoming mails, then you are probably missing out. With the usps vacation hold mail service, you can have all your incoming mails held safely at the USPS facilities and fetch them later when you are back from a great vacation. Don’t know how to do that? Well, there are many ways to hold your mail and we are here to help you do just that…

USPS Vacation Hold

Going out for a vacation without holding your mail will have your PO Box overflowing with unattended mails. Sometimes the mail carriers drop the mails off at your doorstep and leave. Well technically, the job of a letter carrier is to just deliver the mail to the right destination and yeah, they do not check who picks up the mail and who takes it. In simpler words, you are responsible for your mail. If your PO Box is overflowing with everyday business/marketing mails, magazines, advertisements, or any other official documents, then there is a great possibility that someone might steal it considering no one’s home.

Learn everything you need to know about the USPS distribution center from here.

To save you from any possible thefts or missing/lost or damaged packages when you come back home, usps implemented the hold mail service which safeguards your mails while you are away. Now, thinking of having your mails held is the least of your worries as you are planning a short escape from the troubles of the world. But having everything sorted before you take off is a lot better than having to encounter damaged or stolen mails when you’re back.

If you have never used the usps vacation hold mail service, then refer to the guides below:

So, What Is USPS Vacation Hold Mail and Who Can Request for It?

USPS vacation hold mail is a service that saves your mails for a certain period at a safe eligible address. This service is available to every individual without any extra charges. Each address can have only one hold mail request at a single time. 

The USPS hold mail service can be requested by any individual at a valid address(a valid address refer to an address that is registered by the usps and is valid for mail delivery). The USPS vacation hold mail request can also be requested by an authorized agent of an address. This authorized agent is a third party who takes responsibility on behalf of a specific customer.

How to Make a USPS Hold Mail Request

 Before we jump towards creating a usps vacation hold mail request, you need to know a few pointers. First, you can book a hold mail service 30 days in advance which is quite early or you have it scheduled from the next day onwards. Secondly, this service works for about 30 days, i.e., the usps will hold your mails with them for only 30 days. And finally, you need to create an account with usps to have your identity verified. Through identity verification, usps will verify if you are an authentic person and not an imposter who is committing fraud by holding someone else’s mail and stealing their identity.  

Now, there are three ways to hold your mail:

• Through the phone
• Filing an application online and
• Making a hold request in person at the post office

Although these three ways work best in holding your mail, in our opinion, making a hold mail request online is a lot easier as it saves you enough time from having to travel to the post office. Anyway, if it is not possible to create a request online(which is quite rare), then you can try any other method.

Usps Vacation Hold Mail Through the Phone

As usps has over 800 different customer service numbers, you can easily have your If you are a busy person who barely has any time then you can call USPS on their customer service number which is 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777), and request a hold mail service. When your usps vacation hold mail request is approved, you will receive a confirmation number that will help you cancel or modify your usps hold mail request. Remember that you need to place a hold mail request at least a day before you want the mail to be held.

What should you do if your USPS tracking not updating? Check it out here.

Modify or Cancel Hold Mail Through the Phone

You can modify or cancel your hold mail request through the phone using the confirmation number that is given to you. Although it is good to have the confirmation number by your side when modifying or canceling hold mail, you don’t necessarily it for making modifications. 

Modify or Cancel Hold Mail With a Confirmation Number

Call on the same usps customer service phone number during the working hours and place your request to modify or cancel hold mail. USPS customer service working hours are:

• Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
• Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET

The customer service is closed during weekends and on federal holidays. They may not be able to register your requests if you call them outside the working hours, but you can find automated information anytime during the day. If you have just created a hold mail request, and you want to modify it, then you may need to wait for at least 20 minutes before calling again to make any further modifications. 

Modify or Cancel Hold Mail Without a Confirmation Number

You can modify or cancel your hold mail request even if you do not have a confirmation number. You can visit the local post office and have your request modified or canceled by showing them the valid identity proof that you did during the registration. If you are still out of town and cannot visit the post office yet, then you can call on the customer service phone number during working hours and make the necessary modifications. 

In-person US Postal Service Hold Mail

To hold your mail in-person, you need to visit the nearest post office along with your identity proofs to create a hold mail request. You can find the nearest post office through the post office locator tool on the usps official website. Simply enter the zip code and the distance and then locate the nearest post office. 

Let the usps officials know about your request. Then you will be asked to fill out a form for hold mail service, i.e., Form 8076 Authorization to USPS Hold Mail. You can take a look at the sample form through the given link. Fill out the form and keep the confirmation number safe with you. USPS will also verify your identity and then your request will be approved.

Modify or Cancel Your Hold Mail Request in Person at the Post Office

You don’t necessarily have to cancel or modify your hold mail request by visiting the post office as you can also do it through the phone or online. To do it in person, visit the local post office and let the officials know what kind of changes you wish to make while modifying your hold request. You can also cancel your hold request in this way even if you do not have a track of the confirmation number. Make sure to carry the identity cards and other forms of valid ID along with you as they help you make changes or cancel the hold mail if you have lost the confirmation number.

USPS Vacation Hold Mail Online

One of the easiest ways to hold your incoming mails is to create a hold mail request online. Creating a request online will save much of your time and energy. All you need is a free USPS.com account, to begin with.

Create an Account

Go to usps.com and create a free account if you don’t have one already. With a free usps account, you can do a lot more than just request a hold mail. 

Check Hold Mail Availability 

Although usps vacation hold mail is available to every individual in the USA, there are a few locations where the hold mail service does not work. This means that making a hold mail request online is not available for certain locations. Therefore, you need to first check if the online service is available at your location. To do this, you need to log in to your account and then navigate to Quick Tools and then scroll to Hold Mail. Enter the basic details such as name, address, zip code, etc., and then review the details.

Once done, click on the Check Availability button. If usps online hold mail service is available in your location, you will move to the next step. If not, then a notice is displayed on the screen stating that you cannot request this service online. You need to visit the local post office or place a call to the customer service to request this service.

Identity Verification

If your address is valid for online hold mail service, then the portal verifies your identity either through the phone number or through the email address. 

Verify your identity and proceed to the next step, i.e., setting up your hold mail service request

Setting Up Hold Mail

In this step, you need to select the dates to your hold mail at the post office. You can set up usps vacation hold mail anytime from the next 3 to 30 days.  You also need to select the start and end dates to hold your mails. All the collected mail will remain at the post office during the specified time mentioned on the request. At the end of your vacation, you can pick up the mail packages from the post office yourself or have the mail carrier deliver them to you. 

Modify or Cancel Your Hold Mail Request Online

Change Hold Mail Request With a Confirmation Number

If you want to make any changes to your USPS vacation hold mail request, you can do it online in the following way:

• Visit the hold mail section by logging in to your usps free account
• On the right side of the page, you can see an option as Edit/Cancel Your Hold Mail Request
• A pop-up appears on the page and you are asked to enter your Email Address, Phone Number and Confirmation Number
• Click on Search and you can edit your hold mail request by changing the dates and the duration of the hold mail request
• After making the changes, you can press Continue to save the changes
• Finally, click on Yes to verify and save the changes made

You can cancel your hold mail request in the following way:

• Log in to your account and navigate to hold mail page
• Click on the Edit/Cancel Your Hold Mail Request button
• Enter the email, phone number, and the confirmation number
• Click on Cancel followed by Continue
• On the next page, you need to Verify Your Cancellation
• Click on Yes and you can see the Confirm Cancellation Page on your screen 

Modify or Cancel Your Hold Mail Request Without Confirmation Number

If you do not have a confirmation number with you, then you can visit the post office with your IDs and have your request canceled. If still out of town, then call usps and let them know about your request.

What to Do if Your Vacation Takes More Than 30 Days? 

If your vacation takes more than 30 days or if, due to any other reason, you decided to overstay, then holding your mail will not be a suitable option to consider. In such cases, you need to forward your mail to a different address so that you can receive your mail.

How to Set Up Mail Forwarding

Mail forward refers to having your mails forwarded to a new location or a new address. If you are temporarily moving away to a new location, then with mail forwarding you can have your mails forwarded to a new location for a certain time. You can change the address for an individual, for a family, or for a business. Simply navigate to the Mail Forwarding Page and fill up your details. Finally, pay an amount of $1.10 through the debit/credit as this is used as an identity verification fee. 

After entering the date, you will start receiving mails on the new address after 7 to 10 days to ending a mail forwarding request. You can set up mail forwarding for 15 days which can extend up to 6 months or even a year. 

What is Stop Mail?

If a member of the family has passed away, then you can have their mails permanently suspended by visiting the post office and asking them to stop mail for them. You need to file a request to stop mail and also carry the necessary documents claiming that you are the executor of the deceased estate along with the death certificates. If the person isn’t deceased, then there is no way to have the mails suspended permanently. You can only forward mails or hold mails. 

How to return a package to sender? Check it out here.

Conclusion

Before you take off on your most awaited journey, make sure to request a usps vacation hold that saves your mails at the post office if your trip lasts for a month. If you are gone for more than a month, then having your mails forwarded will be a better option. If you want more information on forwarding mails, then you can check one of our previous articles on “USPS Mail Forwarding”. 

Hope this information helps…!!

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ’s)