Buzz
The US Postal Service (USPS) offers two distinct services for temporarily redirecting your mail from your old address to a new one: standard mail forwarding and premium forwarding service. With standard mail forwarding, USPS forwards your mail individually to the new address. Meanwhile, with premium forwarding, USPS consolidates your mail weekly and sends it using Priority Mail. Typically, your mail forwarding will cease on the specified date you provided when initiating the service. However, you have the option to cancel it prior to that date if necessary, either online or in person.
Procedures
Terminating Standard Mail Forwarding
Retrieve your confirmation number for online cancellation. When you originally requested standard mail forwarding, whether online or in person, you would have received a confirmation number. Without this number, you cannot cancel online.
- If you applied online, you should find your confirmation number in an email from USPS. Check for an email sent on the day you submitted your request.
- If you visited a post office to apply in person, the postal clerk would have issued you a printed confirmation number.
Pro Tip: Even if you originally applied in person, you still have the option to cancel or modify your request online.
- Enter your confirmation number and ZIP code, then hit 'Submit.' The website will display your change of address request. If you wish to amend the dates, you can do so. To cancel the request entirely, click on the cancellation link.
- You're allowed to modify up to 2 fields per day. Attempting more changes will result in an error message. Nevertheless, you can still cancel your request even if you've already made 2 alterations.
Visit a post office if you can't find your confirmation number. In case your confirmation number eludes you, fret not. You can still cancel or revise your standard mail forwarding or change of address at any post office. Simply bring along a valid government-issued photo ID.
- It's not mandatory to visit the specific post office responsible for mail delivery to your old or new address. Any US post office can handle the cancellation or modification of your request.
Modifying Premium Forwarding Service
Select the new start or end date for your service. Premium forwarding service must endure for a minimum of 2 weeks. Should you wish to adjust the start date, ensure you submit your request by midnight CST the day before. To alter the end date and cancel ahead of time, do so before 11:59 p.m. CST on the Monday preceding the Wednesday shipping date of the week you intend to terminate your service.
- Failing to meet these deadlines will result in your mail forwarding being adjusted the following week. Consequently, you'll need to arrange for a mail package to be sent back to your old address.
Reach out to the local post office where you submitted your request. If you initiated your request in person, the local post office responsible for delivering your mail will manage any adjustments or cancellations. Typically, you would have initiated your request at the post office handling mail delivery to your original address.
- Bring along a valid, government-issued photo ID when you visit to cancel the service.
Inquire about a reimbursement if you terminated your service prematurely. If you submitted your request in person, you would have paid for the entire forwarding service upfront. However, should you cancel your request, you may be eligible for a refund for the weeks during which you did not receive the service.
- Your enrollment fee is non-refundable, even if you cancel the service before its commencement. Refunds are only applicable to prepaid weekly fees at the post office that were left unused.
- You must request a refund in person. The postal worker will furnish you with a form to complete. You'll promptly receive a fee-free money order for the unused weeks.
Revise or cancel your online-initiated request. To modify or cancel your request online, log in to your usps.com account and access your profile. Navigate to 'Activity History' from the menu and locate the entry for the 'PFS Residential' order. Click on 'Cancel Order.'
- A confirmation pop-up will prompt you to confirm your decision to cancel the order. Once you confirm, USPS will send a confirmation email. Provided you cancel before the deadline, your credit card will not incur charges for future weeks.
- If you wish to adjust the dates of your request, click 'View Details' on the 'PFS Residential' order line. Select 'Edit This Order' and proceed to make the necessary modifications.
Helpful Tips
Important Warnings
- This guide explains the process of terminating mail forwarding through the US Postal Service. Procedures may vary if you reside in a different country.
