The standards for door slot hoods are:. Newspapers may not be placed in the mailbox. Mailboxes take a beating from the weather, so we recommend an annual mailbox checkup to avoid damage to your mail or difficulty identifying your address. Skip to Main Content. English Use arrow key to access related widget.
Go to USPS. Skip all category navigation links. Sign In. Search USPS. If you do not have a raised curb, contact your local postmaster for guidance. Put your house or apartment number on the mailbox. If your mailbox is on a different street from your house or apartment, put your full street address on the box. Apply Locally. Around the House.
What is Plywood. Handyman Tool Videos. Previous Post Next Post. If you are only replacing a mailbox post, make sure that whatever post you purchase works with your current box. Most basic mailboxes are available in standard size T1 , large T2 and extra large T3. Novelty mailboxes may vary in size. Select whichever mailbox size and style best suits you and your home.
According to USPS requirements , the bottom of a mailbox must be 41 to 45 inches above the road. Mailbox posts should be 6 to 8 inches from the curb. If your home does not have a raised curb, contact your local postmaster for instructions. Remove the old mailbox, and recycle it: Dig around the mailbox post with a shovel. If your shovel blade hits concrete, dig a wider hole around the base of the post. Hi Holli, thanks for your inquiry. First off, check with your local post office to determine the proper physical location of your curbside mailbox.
Then, the standard regulations apply. Make sure the incoming mail slot of the box is inches away from the edge of the road surface, and inches above the level of the road surface.
If you are using our mounting post and curbside box, then that would place the top of the installed post at roughly inches.
Good luck, and feel free to call or email us with any technical questions. If mailboxes are considered private property and someone who is not authorized to be on my property hits my mailbox why would I be liable for physical damages? Basically they are considered trespassing on my property and then ran into my mailbox.
So you are saying then if someone breaks into my house to rob me and I shoot them in self-defense I am liable for bodily harm? So does the above mean that I can sue the City or State for having a gutter if I accidentally run into it? Of you meet all the other requirements can you move your mailbox from one side of your driveway to the other?
My mailbox and several others are located on a different road than the one we live on. Can we move the boxes to our road? Hi Carl, thanks for reaching out. That will depend on your mail carriers route. Regards, and good luck! If previous tenant refuses to file a change of address, and continues to come on to my property 4months now to pick up his mail, how do I handle this?
If I moved to a different house that had a mailbox that has been there for 20 years inside the driveway off of the yard, and the post office asks me to move it to the road, do I have to move it?
If you end up needing to move your box closer to the roadside, consider our Street Safe or Street Safe — Latitude boxes, as they have rear keyed access to help you safely retrieve your mail away from traffic. Fire Hydrants, and highway road signs are also designed to sheer off, without injuring the occupants of a vehicle. Safety and human life are worth far more than low-cost infrastructure. What if your wife, son, daughter, partner hit my I-BEAM mounted mailbox, and their vehicle was cut in half, killing them all in a fiery accident?
Quite a few of my neighbors have a similar setup. The maximum speed in my development is 20 mph and there is a concrete curb, this is FAR safer than passing oncoming traffic at 55 mph. People have to calm down and be realistic. We want to upgrade to a locked box. Does everyone attached to that post also have to do this? Hi Dottie, not everyone will have to switch to a locked mailbox, but it will be easier and more streamlined if everyone installs in the same fashion.
Let us know if we can help, our spreader bar might be able to be simply attached to your existing post. I have court order vacating an easement for my neighbor to stop using my driveway.
I want to have home move his mailbox located at the entrance to my property. How do I get this done? Maybe your wife, son, daughter, or partner should have been driving at a safe speed, watching where they were going, not texting, or they should have been un-inebriated. I have read all the comments about hitting mail boxes.
However no one has address the snowplow smashing mail boxes. So that means the plow driver can smash down my box as frequently as he wants and I must replace it out of my pocket. Record this Idiot mail person walking across your lawn and flowers and bring that to your lawyer or send it to the post office.
Uhhh, Maybe they should hv stayed on the roadway. Using your logic if they run off the road and hit my house and are killed, Im at fault for hvg a house put there??? You run off the road…. Where does accountabilty begin???! The tree must be able to break in the even of an accident.
Otherwise, you may be liable, you arborist monster! Agree with you, I am tired of mine getting hit. I am moving mine back but putting a super heavy duty post. I would suggest reaching out to your local post office or even post master if you are concerned about the placement of a mailbox. How fast does a vehicle have to be going to destroy a really big brick mailbox placed very close on a curved road?
The post office poured a cement slab at the entrance of my driveway. They have since relocated the slab and cluster box, but left the cement. We were not informed of the pouring and fastening bolts protrude from the cement. We are concerned not only about leaving a mess at our entrance but as a safety issue. They say they will clean it up but it has been since last May. How can we get this taken care of quickly?
Yes, if they are injured hitting a tree on your property, they can sue you for damages. If they break into your home to rob you and cut themselves on the window glass they can sue you for damages including pain and suffering providing they are willing to fess up to the crime.
Not really. They can sue you for putting in a shotgun to automatically shoot you when the open a bedroom door. They cannot sue you for foreseeable and natural consequences of the illegal act. They are a trespasser not an invited guest. Also, I had a case where the owner of a rural mailbox had it damaged multiple times. He did as the gentleman wanted to do. The kids, after graduation from high school, went down the road knocking down mailboxes. His was anchored by cement and a steel post welded and screwed to the top.
Also, for assault with bodily injury in criminal court. Then he was sued by the parents of the kid because guess what…he had a baseball scholarship, full ride, and he broke his arm and shoulder and lost the scholarship. Plus, you have knowledge already, making your act willful and bringing any harm to a higher level of culpability. Not worth it. Put in some cameras instead and catch the idiots. And no, you cannot be generally sue for someone hitting a tree on your property unless you planted it in the right of way easement owned by the city, county, or town.
That would mean YOU are the trespasser, and but for your illegal tree the person would not have been injured. Check the ordinances in your area.. If they break into my house and cut themselves on the glass they just broke, that would be the very least of their problems, LOL.
What Robbery are you refering to officer? No burglar here. Im just out here enjoying my new in-ground pool. Investigation closed…. Hi Joan, thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear about the parked cars in front of your mailbox. That seems to be quite a common issue, especially in cities and suburbs.
Good luck! Hi Frances, thanks for the great question! Since fire codes vary by city, county and state, this would be a question best asked to your local post office or fire station.
Good luck, let us know the answer for your locality if you get the chance, and stay safe! Be ready for this my brother, If even driving drunk they go off the road and hit your tree the property owner can be sued for failing to prevent a vehicle from hitting the flipping tree. Now I think the mailbox issue is a laugh. Have a cold one and ponder that,. I agree. A bunch of BS. If you hit my mailbox drunk and get hurt. You can sue ME. Ive been in my house for 5 yrs.
Im about ready to replace my mailbox for the 3rd time. Because of tracks from my yard to the next. Now,the mailman keeps pushing over and over.
Know way he doesnt know. Ive taken pics. So,i was going to build a mailbox to stop you in your tracks. Then i was told about being sued. So,you run on my property,destroy my property.
But,i can be sued. I own a piece of property that has an older house on it. Is it required to have a mailbox at that location since nobody will be living there? The tree is in your yard and no one has any given right to drive into your yard and hit your tree. If someone builds his mailbox out of unforgiving materials, then he has failed to adhere to the standards and could well be sued for establishing a deadly fixed object DFO in the highway right-of-way.
Likewise, the municipality in charge of the highway along which the mailbox was placed could be sued as well for allowing it to be there! What is allowed to be placed in the highway right-of-way is subject to the rules of the municipalities involved, as well as the USPS!
Building mailboxes out of ANY materials which if struck by an errant vehicle might cause injury to anyone involved is absolutely forbidden for the very reasons that the commenter stated.
I know this to be fact because I worked 35 years in the NYSDOT and ran across similar occurrences many times during my career which I had to have rectified by either the property owners or state forces. Objects which either are not condoned like ornamental masonry or solid wooden driveway guide rails or are allowed with restrictions like mailboxes must limit the possibilities of injury to the traveling public.
You, as an adjacent property owner, who is suffering monetary loss because your mailbox is being struck, again and again, should review the location of your post as perhaps it could, and should, be relocated to a safer place?
You have every right to establish a mailbox along a rural thoroughfare, just as long as you adhere to standards of state law and USPS regulations! So recently my mailbox broke bc the wood froze from bad weather. Any tips??? The mailman left a note asking for it to be fixed but offered no solutions.
Hi CSS, thanks for your comment. Then, when spring comes and it thaws, you can remove the bolts and sink our post into the ground, pour some fast-setting concrete and voila! Just make sure your post is at the right height, or at least close. Cheers and good luck!
Last week a young lady fell asleep and ran through our mailbox. She was drowsy and fell asleep. The mailbox perfectly split in two, and she is okay. Or filled with something as pipes are. There is pretty much nothing you are going to build that wont give way to a vehicle. Physics will win here. If you are able to build something as strong as a large rooted tree — you are simply awesome.
What a stupid response. You are perfect within your right to protect your property from damage. What are bollards? But they can. Call your local government to have them confirm. If I were to build a wall on the easement, I would be liable for any injury that involved that wall. The difference is that mailboxes are installed on a public easement rather than private property in most situations. It is because of this that you will be held liable, the same goes for trees that you plant on a public easement.
Mailboxes used to be on my side of the street but neighbor across the street moved directly across the street in the exact middle of my driveway. Every who backs out hits it as it is in the blind spot of your side mirrors until too late. Hinted that it needed to be moved but to no avial.. What can be done? Hi Terry, thanks for your inquiry. If there is a real safety concern, they are obviously more likely to take your request more seriously than if is just an aesthetic request.
Am I allowed to move my mail box to the other side of my driveway? Instead of on the right going out, move it to the left side. Something like this should usually be no problem, as long as the mailbox stays on the same side of the road.
However, just to be sure you should double check with your carrier or local post office. I have lived at the same residence for 18 years, which is several blocks from the post office. I have always had to pay for a mailbox at the post office, because they said they could not deliver to my street address; not on their route.
I did some research and found that if they did not deliver, they could not charge me a fee for the PO Box. Two years ago, the then Post Master stopped charging me for the box, wrote a letter stating why. Now, the new PM told me that I can install a box 2 blocks from my house. Is this legal?? He tore it down and said if we put it back up he will take it down again. The mailbox has been in the same place since the beginning, 70 years.
What recourse do we have? Hi Edith, thanks for reaching out to us. Tampering with a USPS approved mailbox is a federal crime. This is a law passed to protect the USPS delivery system, as well as citizens from mail theft, etc. However… realistically, it is likely not worth your time pursuing any legal action. In the instance a drunk drive runs is to a mailbox and is injured a home owner was not legally authorized to make any decisions concerning the installation of a mailbox, The federal government assumed exclusive jurisdiction over the mail box installation and therefore should be held liable for any injury suffered by a reckless driver bicyclist, and delinquent teenager.
Hi Brad. Apparently in america the general populous will acquiesce to just about anything. Systems which restrict a god given right are sold back to us as a license. Citizens not only abide by nonsensical rules and laws, but they emanate them. During an auto accident: the legal theory of negligence. Under this theory, a driver must operate his or her vehicle with reasonable care given the circumstances. A driver who fails to drive with due care is negligent and can be held liable for any injuries that result.
However: Mailboxes are considered federal property, and federal law Title 18, United States Code, Section , makes it a crime to vandalize them or to injure, deface or destroy any mail deposited in them. Government agencies enjoy certain protections not available to private citizens. So in essence: every one else is responsible except the government who mandated that you place the mailbox in the high risk zone near the road.
I live on a busy hwy. I have a autistic 5 yo that enjoys checking the mail, a love he gained when we lived on a less busy road, but its not safe for him to do so now. We asked post master to move it closer to the drive. He replied with no and said I could call with questions but never answers the phone number provided. It is a straight away. The closest hill, drop down is actually closer to where boxes currently are. Are their any other options? Box on the house? Anything would help.
Thank you. But would a small bridge over the ditch help to access the mailbox? We are selling our hoe and have been asked by our carrier to remove our mailbox when we leave. The new buyer will then get their mail at a cluster box several blocks away.
However it is my understanding mailboxes in residential neighborhoods are grandfathered in. Should we just leave the mail box for the new buyers? That would be interesting to see cause most people that hit mailboxes are intoxicated. Hi Connie, thank you for your comment. Can you use big spring to hold up the mailbox? That way it could flex if someone ran into it then pop back up when they do the run part of hit and run: Also, I saw a 20 pound mailbox at Home Depot that shows a baseball bat shattering, I would think that was dangerous to an errant driver?
Hi Ben, thanks for your comment. Yes, they have breakaway posts and also even rotating posts available for mounting mailboxes on. These are common in areas where the roads need to be plowed in the winter because the plows so frequently damage the mailboxes without the breakaway feature. Your local or state jurisdiction may require breakaway style posts, or even have certain limitations on the depth of installation to prevent major accidents, however this is less of a concern if you live on rural streets with lower speed limits.
My current mail box is around the corner on a mail road. I want to move it to I front of my home. My street is a gravel road which is state maintained. Does the USPS have the right to deny me? Decades ago our mailbox was 3 streets away from us. Eventually we got it moved up a street closer, then moved it two other times.
Our mailbox has to be hung on a tree over a ditch. We live in the country and have had our mailbox hit many times from plows.
Buy New York state law are we allowed to suspend our mailbox by a chain to reduce the chance of having our mailbox hit? Is it illegal for a person to leave something in your rural mail box that is not post marked by the. I learned this from being a travel agent and needing to have airline tickets delivered to various clients. Call your local Postmaster and ask. That way there is no doubt. Hope this helps! Steel or aluminum pipes with a 2-inch diameter are also acceptable. If a member of my immediate family gets mad at me and tries to punish me by putting a padlock on the mailbox, in an attempt to prevent me from accessing my mail, could this be illegal?
I have a mailbox up on my house porch. I want to move it away from my house. What are the perimeters and is there a different rules in the neighborhood you live in? If so where can I find the correct information before I move my mailbox?
Hi Angie, thanks for your inquiry. Local City or county laws can be different but if your box or post cause injury to a person that hits it, you may be liable. A friend recently had a car in a little dead end curved street hit their brick Housed mail box that was not allowed in there area it flipped and they ended up with a helicopter in their front yard. Just worried about driver. They did not replace with brick. Can a rural customer have a lock on their mailbox?
If it meets all codes and the slot is sufficient to hold the customers daily mail? I have been seeing a lot of pictures on social media of mailboxes being locked with a red metal device and a padlock. I am wondering what the reason for this is and if possible a source of information regarding this issue. Thank you very much and have a nice day. The last time was too close for comfort. My sons and I had just taken a break from shoveling the driveway and upon returning to finish up noticed that the apron was covered with snow, tire tracks and pieces of a vehicle and the mailbox assembly.
The box itself was feet away in a tree. There have been a few tragedies in this town involving people going to the road to get their mail, the latest being a young boy. These, along with our close call was enough. I moved my mailbox up the driveway and put it in a location where it allows the carrier to deliver without having to exit the vehicle.
The driveway is plenty wide enough for the mail truck to turn around and continue on their route. The local USPS will not deliver to it. Now their telling me that I must put the box on the street. In our conversation I also mentioned to him that this location is safer for both customer and carrier. Hi Steven, thanks for your comment. They allow the user to retrieve their mail via a locked, rear access door.
The Latitude version of the street safe features both front, and rear locked access doors. That way, you can mount your mailbox at the USPS approved location, while still feeling comfortable about retrieving your mail. They are both full service locking mailboxes, and are approved by the Postmaster General.
On busy highways, rural roads, and even in neighborhoods, I would sure feel a lot more comfortable not having to risk my life and step out into the road to retrieve my mail! Hopefully this works out to be a good option for you.
Hi Steven, As a rural letter carrier I can assure you that our union does not make the rules on how to deliver the mail. The rules are the purview of the USPS. As Gabriel said, talk with the Postmaster as to where to install the mailbox so that the carrier can deliver your mail.
My neighbor across the street has placed his mailbox directly across from my driveway. Is this ok? I have an issue with a neighbor parking in front of but not totally in front of my mailbox.
I have asked him several times to leave enough room for the mail to be delivered. But he continues to do it. Are there any actions I can take to remedy this? Contact a local building contractor or landscaper. They dig up huge rocks all the time. Place a few on either side of your mailbox about three feet away from the post. As long as it is the correct height and is sturdy, go for it. I read USPS regulations that stated a rural mailbox post cannot be made of concrete or steel, but aluminum is an accepted metal for posts as well as wood.
Hope this helps. We continue to receive post it notes in our mail stating that the mailbox was blocked by a car. Not so. My question is, what are the rules regarding the clearance distance allotment, between the box and possible blockages? What side of the road do I need to put my Mail box on the right or left can you please tell me more on this. Hi Jerry, thanks for your comment. They are the ultimate authority when it comes to mail routes in your area. Cheers, and good luck!
I to am getting constant notes of not leaving enough room between cars that have no place to park but on the road is there a legal distance? I live in a duplex an the courier has to get out for the house right next to us for there box is on there house can we not have boxes put at our units? Postal regulations require that carriers dismount to deliver to a box that is temporarily blocked. Postal Operations Manual Our mailboxes were knocked over and are currently laying on the ground therefore no mail is being delivered.
Is it our responsibility me an my 4 neighbors to fix this? BTW we do not own this home we are renting. The post office said they are returning all my mail because a year ago there was snow blocking the mailbox. I have not received regular mail since then. Hi Mona, thanks for your inquiry.
Sometimes when new houses are built, homeowners are told to add their units onto the ends of existing gangplanks or stands. I would double check with your local post office to be certain about the location of your curbside mailbox.
Good news about our post and spreader bar options — is that they can easily be unmounted and remounted in the correct order. Just four bolts on the inside of each box, and voila! Have a good day, and let us know if you have any other questions. The fact of the matter is that your carrier is a federal employee and therefore is almost impossible to fire….
Hi Jim… often the locking cluster-boxes that I see will have a dedicated package area. Thanks for your interest! I was told I could not put up a wall mount mailbox where the postman had to go up one step. My other post mailbox got bad and I had to take it out. My mailbox is on the road and centered to my house. From the mailbox to my drive way it is approximately 20 ft. The box has been there at least 15 years. By what regulation is this required? Why now? I spoke to the Postmaster.
He says he has approached his union about it and they back him. As long as there is nothing obstructing the mail delivery point like cars,snow etc…the carrier should have a clear path to and from without having to back up. Did you follow through on this and if so what happened?
We are having the same issue? Thank you! My mailbox is in my driveway approximately 20 feet from the dirt road which runs by my house. The mailbox has been there for 50 years and is the last stop on the route heading North. The carrier turns around in my driveway and heads south to complete his route. The postmaster new in the last months has sent a letter requiring me to move it to the right side of the road either north or south of my driveway.
The ditches are deep and water can overflow those ditches after heavy rains. The PM says there is a regulation prohibiting a carrier from driving into a private driveway to deliver mail. He will however continue to turn around in my driveway because it is the easiest and safest thing for him to do. Which regulation should I be looking at, and who would I write to to confirm that I am not being lied to? Hi Len, sorry to hear about your predicament.
Carriers can refuse to deliver to curbside or residential mailboxes for more than one reason. Did they tell you why? They should have left you an official note on your box to describe what needs to be changed.
Sometimes it can be the height of the box, other times if the door or any operations of the box are not working correctly, then there is good reason to not deliver. Is the box impossible to drive up to? Mailman actually delivered there. If safety is the reason then you need to move it even if it is established delivery.
It is ultimately the carriers call. My neighbor who shares my driveway and runs an equine vet business from her home has affixed a laboratory testing box for blood samples etc to the lower part of her mailbox on the pole and resting on the ground. This is on a county road and next to my driveway.
How safe is this and is it allowed? Seems it could be hazardous if someone hits the mailbox. They lie constantly to me telling me I MUST put a box at the curb, when I know damn good and well that the box on my porch meets postal requirements because I have the same fight every three or four months because my carrier is a lazy ass.
I have had the same Issue but there are steps you can take. If the walkway has a crack in it or the steps are crumbling away then yes it is a hazard as they can stub there little delicate toe and trip , simply because the carriers do not look where they are stepping. I recently moved into a new luxury apartment community. I noticed that my neighbor and I Each have a key that opens both of our mailboxes.
Is this against the law that the complex has allowed this to happen? Please advise. They made only 10 internal key-lock combinations. Think about this.. This was 8 years ago and many manufacturers have remedied this with modern changes.
However, I can imagine millions of homes and apartments are easily entered just by walking around your apartment building or neighborhood.
If it is one of our boxes please contact us at: Info mailboss. If using a rural shared drive, where should the mailbox be located? Can a mailbox be installed on our side of the drive? The boxes on Rural Routes are placed according to the Line Of Travel that the carrier is required to travel.
Rural Carriers do not work by the hour. Their pay is based on their routes evaluation. It can also mean the difference between a carrier having to work 5 days a week, or 6 days a week! So the Post Office takes very seriously the number of miles on every Rural Route. This is why rural patrons are sometimes required to plant their mailbox on the other side of the road.
The answer is probably because when your house was first built, it was one of the only ones in what now be a larger community. I delivered to an area that was one square mile and had only 5 houses.
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