The United States Postal Service has a long tradition of going through blizzards, monsoons, and heat waves to deliver our mail.
Despite budget restructurings and leadership changes, the USPS reliably receives our letters, packages, and bills in our mailboxes.
But you may be wondering if USPS delivers to your door. this is what i found out!
Does USPS deliver to homes in 2022?
Unfortunately, USPS does not deliver to your door, as carriers will deposit your mail and any packages that fit in your mailbox. however, if items do not fit, they can be brought to or near the front door. In addition, USPS offers a “Physical Hardship Request Exception to Current/Proposed Mode of Delivery” for applicable citizens.
We’ll break down how you can get USPS to deliver to your door, whether or not they’ll deliver mail to your apartment door, and the requirements for delivery in tough situations. keep reading for the details!
how do you get usps to deliver to your door?
For some Americans, living with mobility issues means even getting the mail can be impossible.
For USPS to deliver mail and packages to your door on a regular basis, you’ll have to jump through a few hoops.
First, you must receive approval for a request for an exception to the current/proposed mode of delivery due to physical hardship. (you can find the form here).
The USPS defines “physical hardship” as “an illness or disability that would present a physical challenge for a person to retrieve mail.”
examples might include a mailbox that is on the opposite side of the street from the house, across a busy street, for someone in a wheelchair.
Could also include someone with debilitating chronic pain, who lives in an apartment with a centralized mail center on the ground floor.
In order for your application to be approved, you will not only need to complete and return the form, but you will also need to have a note from your doctor.
the usps website also states “…you must write a letter requesting this change”. so you must also include a personal statement that proves the need for home delivery.
Once these documents are together, you send them to the post office that delivers your mail.
If you need help figuring out which post office delivers your mail (in any city, there are probably numerous post offices), you can call and ask.
You can also try sending an email, but it will take longer to get a response.
once the documents have been sent, you will only wait for a response. each individual post office makes the decision for the households on its route.
Unfortunately, it is possible that even if you are sick or disabled, if you live with someone else, the USPS may deny your application.
This would be on the basis that you have a non-disabled household member who would be able to retrieve the mail without difficulty.
However, if you think the USPS should make an exception in your case and you can show them why, you have the right to contact them and make your case.
what are the requirements for a usps hardship delivery?
To apply for USPS Hardship Delivery, according to their website, you must have a proven illness or disability.
USPS does not provide much concrete definition when it comes to the phrases “illness” or “disability”.
that vagueness on your part can work to your advantage, which means that a whole panoply of conditions must be covered, as long as they are legitimate.
and you prove its legitimacy with a note from your treating doctor, certifying your immobility problems.
The USPS website also stipulates that you must include a letter yourself that describes your illness or disability and explains the difficulties it creates for the recovery of the mail.
will usps deliver to your apartment door?
USPS does not, as a general rule, deliver mail to individual apartment doors every day.
However, living in an apartment can certainly cause recovery problems for someone with an illness or disability.
This is an excellent basis for someone to apply for USPS Hardship Delivery.
I should add, though, that in my experiences with apartment living, sometimes the mailman would bring packages to my door.
but just as often, packages were left on top of or under the building’s set of mailboxes on the ground floor.
it appears to be left to the discretion of the postman, and they are under no obligation to deliver it to your door.
It just makes you feel more grateful if they do!
does usps leave packages at the door?
If there is room for your package in your mailbox, the carrier will leave it inside with your other mail.
However, if there’s no room and your mailbox is close to the street or across the street, there’s a good chance the mail carrier will deliver it to your front door (or porch, porch, etc.).
This is not only a comfort for you, but also a preventative measure.
The more likely you are to get your package back, the fewer hassles you’ll have to deal with at the post office later.
In apartment buildings or neighborhoods with centralized mailboxes, carriers will determine the safest place to drop it off.
Also, if the mailboxes are inside, in a hallway, they’ll likely consider it secure enough for a passerby to leave it there.
If it’s a group of mailboxes outside near a road, like in a trailer park, the mail carrier can use their best judgment. that could mean delivering packages to individual doors.
However, a caveat to leaving the package at your doorstep is if the delivery requires a signature.
Items that require a signature cannot be left in a mailbox, let alone at the door.
the carrier will take those items to the post office; instead, they will leave you a notice that they tried to collect a signature but no one was home.
will usps do home deliveries for seniors?
USPS makes home deliveries for seniors only if those residents have applied and been approved for hardship delivery.
There are many older residents who are perfectly capable of retrieving their mail every day.
For this reason, USPS does not automatically return to home delivery at a certain age.
can you tell us where to leave a package?
usps now offers a delivery instructions service, where the recipient can go online and arrange where and how qualifying mailpieces are delivered.
If your item is eligible, you may include instructions requesting that mail be left in a certain location on your property, for example, behind a bush near the porch.
or you can ask the post office to hold it, so you can come get it.
Alternatively, you can even redirect the item to a different address, such as a neighbor or friend.
According to the USPS Delivery Instructions FAQ page, you can also upgrade your mail class or request additional services.
some instructions are free and others must be paid for; but the most basic requests are conveniently free!
does usps first class deliver to your door?
First-class mail is actually what we think of as “regular” mail: items that arrive in our mailboxes that have stamps, like most bills and letters.
so that USPS does not deliver first class mail to your door by default.
The default “setting” is to receive it in your mailbox.
Unfortunately, able-bodied citizens cannot opt to have their first-class mail delivered to their doorstep.
To get that mail delivered to the door and bypass the mailbox, you would have to have an existing illness or disability.
then you have to go through the process of applying for a hardship waiver.
is usps priority mail delivered to your door?
Priority mail can be delivered to your door, if you (as the recipient) see the mail tracking information and see that the delivery instruction option is available.
then you can request that the carrier drop it off at the door (or wherever you want on the property).
however, the default option for mail carriers, even for priority mail, is to leave it in the mailbox, if it will fit, or in a safe place near the mailbox (if it won’t fit inside).
To learn more about USPS, you can also view our related posts on whether or not USPS ships text messages, whether USPS updates tracking, and whether USPS ships to Canada.
conclusion
As a rule, the USPS does not deliver mail to doorsteps. its default will always be to leave it in the designated mailboxes.
however, exceptions can be made for people who can prove illness or disability, as well as for items that offer delivery instruction service.