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If you’re wondering if UPS will deliver to your PO Box, we’ll sum it up for you in one word: no. USPS is the only shipping carrier authorized to touch every residential address in the country, including PO Boxes located within Post Offices. As a result, UPS has a clear policy that they don’t deliver packages of any kind addressed to PO Boxes.
Table of Contents
- UPS Will Not Accept Packages Addressed to PO Boxes
- What About Other Carriers Like FedEx?
- What if USPS Only Delivers to My PO Box?
UPS Will Not Accept Packages Addressed to PO Boxes
Since this is the case, there are a couple of things to be aware of. First, you shouldn’t attempt to use UPS to send a package to a PO Box.
Secondly, you should also not include your PO Box as your Return Address if you’re buying UPS labels. You may be able to get away with buying UPS labels when you use shipping software to buy postage online…but if UPS needs to return a package back to you for whatever reason, you’re going to run into some headaches. In the best-case scenario, UPS will attempt to contact you at the phone number you provided, and they’ll ask you for an alternative address where they can deliver the package. Assuming you provide one, UPS will also likely hit you with a package rerouting surcharge…so you’ll be out more money than the cost of your original postage.
What About Other Carriers Like FedEx?
Looking for a loophole outside of using UPS? Unfortunately, the answer is still no! USPS is the only carrier that can deliver packages and mail to PO Boxes. FedEx and other private carriers won’t deliver to these destination points, and this includes regional carriers, too!
What if USPS Only Delivers to My PO Box?
Even if USPS doesn’t service your physical address and only delivers mail and packages to your PO Box, UPS still won’t deliver to your PO Box. The Postal Service’s delivery policies for handling these scenarios do not apply to other carriers. If you live in a semi-remote area or a remote area where USPS doesn’t deliver to your home, UPS and FedEx will always leave packages at your doorstep.
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Dogman
I get UPS and FedEx deliveries all the time to my PO Box, at no additional charge.
You must have have a PO Box at a post office that accepts Street Level addressing (not all post offices do), and the shipper must use the correct addressing format.
oldbat
my po accepts street level. i get some pks fedex and some i dont.
format is
name
street address unit number
city, state zip
Jojo
You are wrong! I have received many UPS packages at my post office box. You just have to use street addressing Here is the relevant statement from USPS itself.
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Can you use street address and a PO Box’?
“With Street Addressing (if available), you have the option of using the street address of your Post Office location, combined with your PO Box number, as your mailing address. This lets you receive packages from private carriers (such as UPS, FedEx, DHL and Amazon), as long as they comply with USPS mailing standards.”
https://www.usps.com/manage/po-boxes.htm#streetaddress
oldbat
they will use ups surepost which costs more and ups ground. so yes, it will be delivered, but not at ups ground rates.
oldbat
*mor than ups ground rates.
Jojo
I do not believe that to be correct.
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What Is UPS SurePost?
UPS SurePost is a shipping service that delivers packages to customers via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). SurePost is available for select areas in the United States, and offers delivery within 2-8 days. UPS SurePost is typically cheaper than UPS Ground shipping, and is ideal for items that do not need to be delivered quickly.
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The shipper would have to know that it was shipping to a POB and would have to select the Surepost service in order to realize the possible shipping cost savings. I get UPS packages at my POB most of the time w/o undue delay and they are AFAIR, labeled UPS Ground.
The problem here is that the prohibition of non-USPS services from delivering to the USPS is very old policy, which has been superseded by the Street Addressing service. As can be seen in the comments here, even professional shippers are mixed up as to what is allowed. Further UPS itself does nothing to clarify the issue within its company resulting in SOME small time UPS delivery management people choosing to invoke the old non-delivery protocol and refusing to complete delivery to a POB..
I had this problem just a few days ago. I had to go through 3 conversations with supervisors at UPS customer service and getting told that they could not force delivery to do anything but were escalating my formal complaint to their upper management. I had to threaten to file a formal complaint with Amazon and that I would personally call UPS HQ if necessary in order for me to finally get my package delivered to my POB, which all together created a one week delivery delay.
oldbat
i have a screenshot showing 20.30 for ups ground and 55.55 for ups surepost. how do i post it here or get it to you?
oldbat
this is for a non po box address. if i use a po box, it defaults to surepost with no other selection.
Jean
I live in a home owner’s association. We don’t get mail to our homes, and UPS sometimes sells its contract to the USPS, and the sub station postal package-window hours are from 1130 – 130 each day – while everyone is at work. It’s a nightmare of a mess. As a result, I can’t get packages no matter what I do. I’m asking for permission to get packages at work, but they can get stolen – – – –
oldbat
is there a mailboxes, etc or something around? private mailbox. ups will deliver there but check the times they are open
Marc
I was able to send mail to a PO box using the “UPS Surepost” service. It costs about the same as UPS Ground but the USPS handles the last leg of the delivery. Hence the PO box is not a problem.
oldbat
not for the books i want to get. double cost.
Katherine Van Niman
UPS is supposed to deliver to a physical address. The PO has a physical address. What goes on inside the building isn’t their business. It depends on the driver which is why I can’t get my packages at home but at the Post Office.
Jeffrey Nelson
We should just put ups out of the shipping business. If they don’t want to send a package to a po box, that you have to show your lease to them and 2 forms of ID to get the po box. They should go out of business and let fedex completely take over.
oldbat
you can get a private mailbox like at mail boxes,etc or something. they will deliver there.
Ben
There is an easy way to circumvent this problem. You must format your address differently so it looks like your PO box is an apartment and use the post offices street address. For example, if you have pox box 23 and your post office is located at 123 Main St. you would enter you address in as 123 Main St. #23 and the carrier will deliver it to the post office and they will put it in your box. The post office calls it ‘street addressing’ and its a perfectly acceptable way to bypass this problem.
Donna
That apparently isn’t working. I have all my packages sent to the physical address of my post office and ups has sent me a message that there’s a problem with delivery.
oldbat
that’s because they charge you more for surepost where they hand it off to the post office for the last leg. for books, it costs more than physical address and they most likely just hand it over at the po and charge you for that. fedex will deliver to the po physical address, no handoffs.