Establish Business Mailing Address
The second thing you need to do when establishing a new business after deciding the actual Business Name is to decide what the Mailing Address will be for your new business. The physical location where you receive your business mail could be a factor based on distance and convenience.
You choose your new business mailing address from these choices:
Your current mailing address:
This is the simplest address to use but mail will be traceable and in fact delivered to your living address. NOT recommended if you wish to disappear or protect your privacy.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
A friends or relative’s mailing address:
This address choice might be inconvenient or impractical. It may NOT be safe if you must protect your location from being discovered by anyone or someone in particular.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
P O Box at a United States Postal Service (USPS) office:
This can be an excellent choice for privacy and safety purposes if you do it right.
When you go to the Post Office to open a P O Box, two current forms of ID are required. One form of identification must be photo ID. The other must include your physical address. Acceptable forms of ID are listed further on.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
· You must travel to a USPS location to pick-up your business mail.
When you go to the Post Office to open a P O Box, You will have to fill out and sign USPS Form 1583A and present two current forms of ID. One must be some form of photo identification. The other must include your physical address. Acceptable forms of ID are listed below. Click below to access the form:
Acceptable Photo ID:
Acceptable Non-Photo IDs:
NOTE: If you need to keep your future location private, use ID from your previous address or don’t change your address on one form of ID. This way, you can continue to use your previous address for future privacy purposes. This way your P O Box can be registered to your previous address (an address you no longer live at). Your old neighbors DO NOT know where you moved to because you did not tell them or misdirected them. Neither can they contact you because you did not give them contact information. If you need to stay in touch with someone, I will give you a safe manner that will be shown further on. You can continue to renew your P O Box without proof of your living address and so keep your living address private or move to a new hidden address at will.
Street Addressing for P O Box
Beginning in April 2012, a P O Box mailing address may now be the street address of the Post Office, followed by # and box number, or P O Box followed by box number. You must submit a Customer Agreement form to request the Street Addressing alternative. You can get the proper form from your local USPS location or online here:
Street Addressing Service for Your P.O. Box
Here’s how Street Addressing with USPS P O Boxes works. Instead of putting “P O Box 123″ as the street address, box holders can now use the street address of the post office followed by the box number. For example, “2468 Main St #123 or Unit 123″, 2468 Main St being the street address of the post office where P O Box 100 is located. The USPS will deliver mail addressed in this manner to the P O Box.
NOTE: You must follow the USPS guidelines for “street addressing” or the item will be returned to the sender. For example, you cannot use “suite”, “apt”, or “room” before the box number in the street address.
NOTE: The USPS forbids the use of the P O Box street address as a physical address for either yourself or your business in legal documents. However, you may be able to use a P O Box Street Address and leave off your box number (this is not in accordance with the rules but I know it can work).
NOTE: Some merchants or private carriers such as UPS and FedEx do not allow shipping to a P O Box address. The P O Box Street Addressing alternative enables you to receive packages and mail from private carriers or merchants who want a street address for delivery of your parcels.
Now businesses managed out of the home can have a street address for the business without having to list their home address, by renting a P O Box and using Street Addressing.
Packages delivered by private carriers accepted with “street addressing”
The USPS will not only receive letters Street Addressed to a P O Box, it will also receive packages delivered by private carriers such as UPS and FedEx that are Street Addressed. Now you don’t have to plan your workday around package deliveries. The post office will receive them for you and put them in your P O Box or a secure lockbox for bigger packages if one is available. The key for the lockbox is placed in your P O Box, so you can pick up the package any time. For larger packages, you pick it up at the service counter during business hours.
NOTE: Customers who sign and present the Customer Agreement for Street Addressing should NOT present a Change of Address (COA) from their P O Box to the associated street-style address.
Email or Text Messages Notice for a P O Box: Many but not all USPS locations now provide email or text message notice (one or the other but NOT both). Contact the USPS location you use or wish to use to find out if this choice is available at that particular location.
I currently have two P O Boxes in different locations … One allows email or Text Message Notice and the other does not.
Private Mail Service:
Many Private Mail providers will rent you a locked box in a wall much like a P O Box at a USPS location. There are also online providers that give you the convenience of a street address in another state. The services provided vary with the individual Private Mail Service provider.
This is a good alternative to a P O Box and can provide advantages NOT available with a P O Box. A Private Mail Service can also be an excellent choice for privacy and safety purposes if you do it right and pick the right provider.
Advantages:
NOTE: If you need to escape from a horrific person, you could use an online service located in a part of the country (even a different state) far from where you live. This is a form of misdirection to anyone trying to track you by your mailing address. The online service can forward mail to you at a protected mailing address in another state or country!
Disadvantages:
I had the unfortunate experience of having a private mail service close on me and my mail was not allowed to be forwarded. Some important mail never delivered to me. This was a major inconvenience and there were unexpected serious consequences. I chose to move my mailing address to a P O Box. In the future, with USPS downsizing, you still might not avoid this potential pitfall even with a P O Box.
I’ve never had a problem with Amazon, eBay, or for any other online purchase but I suppose it is possible given the data sharing that is possible these days.
RECOMMENDATION: Contact Private Mail Service providers in the area you want to receive mail or online and get answers to your questions about services provided so you can find one to meet your specific needs.
You can check out some mail forwarding services online by clicking on this link:
Private Mail Forwarding Services