Does USPS deliver to your door? (how to, leave packages, apartment doors, priorities + more)
The U.S. Postal Service has a long tradition of delivering mail through snowstorms, monsoons and heat waves.
Despite budget adjustments and leadership changes, USPS continues to reliably deliver our letters, packages, and bills to our mailboxes.
But you might be wondering if USPS does home delivery. Here’s what I found!
Does USPS deliver to your door?
Unfortunately, USPS will not deliver to your door, as the carrier will deposit your mail and any packages that fit in your mailbox. However, if items are not suitable, they may be brought to or near your front door. In addition, USPS provides applicable citizens with “Requesting Exceptions to Current/Proposed Mode of Delivery Due to Physical Hardship.”
Let’s break down how to get USPS home delivery, whether or not they’ll deliver the mail to your apartment door, and the requirements for difficult delivery. Read on to learn more!
How do you get USPS to deliver to your door?
For some Americans, limited mobility means even getting the mail is impossible.
Getting USPS to deliver mail and packages to your door on a regular basis requires some hurdles.
First, you must obtain approval for an exception request for the current/proposed mode of delivery due to physical hardship. (You can find the form here.)
The USPS defines “physical difficulty” as “an illness or disorder that presents a physical challenge to an individual in retrieving mail.”
Examples might include a mailbox that is located across the road from the house across a busy street for people in wheelchairs.
It could also include people with debilitating, chronic pain living in apartments with a central mail center on the ground floor.
For your request to be approved, not only do you need to complete and submit the form, but you must also have a doctor’s note.
The USPS website also states, “…you will need to write a letter requesting this change.” Therefore, you should also include a personal statement proving the need for home delivery.
Once the documents are together, you can send them to the post office where the mail is delivered.
If you need help figuring out which post office will deliver your mail (in any city, there may be many) you can call and ask.
You can also try sending an email, but it will take longer to get a response.
After the file is sent, all you have to do is wait to hear back. Each individual post office makes decisions for the families on its route.
Unfortunately, even if you are sick or disabled, USPS may deny your request if you live with other people.
This will be based on the fact that you have an able-bodied family member who can retrieve the mail with no trouble.
However, if you believe that USPS should make an exception in your case, and you can provide them with proof of why, you have the right to contact them and present your case.
What are the requirements for USPS Hardship Delivery?
According to their website, to request Hardship Delivery from USPS, you must demonstrate an illness or disability.
The USPS does not provide many specific definitions when it comes to the term “illness” or “disability.”
Their ambiguity works in your favor – meaning that all conditions should be covered, as long as they are legal.
You certify their legitimacy with a note from your attending physician certifying your mobility issues.
The USPS website also states that you must attach a letter yourself describing your illness or disability and explaining the difficulty it presents for mail retrieval.
Will USPS deliver to my door?
Typically, USPS does not deliver daily mail to individual apartment doors.
However, apartment living can certainly present retrieval problems for those with illnesses or disabilities.
This is an excellent basis for someone to apply for USPS Hardship Delivery.
I should add, though, that from my experience living in an apartment, sometimes the postman does deliver packages to my door.
But just as often, they leave packages on or under clusters of mailboxes on the ground floor of the building.
This seems to be at the discretion of the postman, they are under no obligation to deliver it to your door.
If they do, it only makes you more grateful!
Will USPS leave packages at the door?
If there is room in your mailbox for your package, the postman will put it with the rest of your mail.
However, if there is no room, and your mailbox is near or across the street, the mailman will most likely bring it to your front door (or porch or porch, etc.).
Not only is this a convenience for you, but it is also a preventive measure.
The more likely you are to get your package back, the fewer incidents the Post Office will have to deal with later.
In apartment buildings or neighborhoods with centralized mailbox spaces, operators will discern the safest places.
Also, if the mailbox is inside, in the foyer, they might think it’s safe enough for passers-by to leave it there.
Let’s say it’s a group of mailboxes near the road near a trailer park; the postman can use their best judgment. This could mean taking packages to various doors.
However, if the delivery requires a signature, be careful to leave the package at your door.
Items requiring a signature cannot be left in the mailbox or at the door.
The items will be brought back to the post office by the carrier; instead, they will leave you with a notice saying they tried to collect signatures, but no one was home.
Will USPS make home deliveries for seniors?
USPS will only make home deliveries for seniors if they request and are approved for Hardship Delivery.
Many senior residents are perfectly capable of picking up their mail on a daily basis.
For this reason, USPS does not automatically revert to home delivery at certain ages.
Can you tell USPS where to put the package?
USPS now offers a delivery instructions service, where recipients can go online and arrange where and how eligible mail should be delivered.
If your item qualifies, you can include instructions requesting that the mail be left at a specific location on your property—for example, behind a bush near your porch.
Or you can ask the post office to hold it so you can come and pick it up.
Or, you can even reroute items to a different home address, such as that of a neighbor or friend.
You can also upgrade your mailing class or request additional service, according to the USPS Shipping Instructions FAQ page.
Some instructions are free, others have to be paid for, but the most basic ones are free!
Does USPS First Class deliver to your door?
First class mail is actually what we think of as “regular” mail – mail that arrives in our mailboxes is stamped, like most bills and letters.
Therefore, by default, USPS will not deliver first class mail to your door.
The default “set” is to receive it in your mailbox.
Unfortunately, able-bodied citizens do not have the option of receiving first class mail at their doorstep.
In order to receive mail at the door and bypass the mailbox, you must have an illness or disability.
You must then complete the process of applying for a hardship delivery waiver.
Does USPS Priority Mail deliver to my door?
Priority Mail can be delivered to your door if you (as the recipient) check the tracking information for the mail piece and see the “Delivery Instructions” option available.
You can then ask the carrier to leave it at the door (or wherever you want).
However, the postman’s default (even with Priority Mail) is to leave it in the mailbox (if it fits), or in a safe place near the mailbox (if it doesn’t).
To learn more about USPS, you can also check out our related posts on Does USPS Send Text Messages, Does USPS Update Tracking, and Does USPS Ship To Canada.
in conclusion
Typically, USPS does not deliver mail to your door. Their default is always to leave it in the designated mailbox.
However, exceptions are made for individuals with a certifiable illness or disability and for items with delivery instructions serviced.
