To cancel mail delivery, you choose from a few free USPS services based on how long you need the stop and why: Hold Mail pauses delivery for 3 to 30 days, a change of address redirects mail to a new location for 12 months, and separate opt-out tools and a Prohibitory Order handle unwanted senders. Picking the wrong one can leave important mail sitting in a closed mailbox or bouncing back to the sender, so match the service to the situation.
Pausing Delivery for a Vacation or Short Absence
USPS Hold Mail is the free service for a temporary stop. Your carrier holds everything at the local post office instead of delivering it, and the hold covers all mail and packages for every person at the address, so you don’t have to notify individual senders.1USPS. USPS Hold Mail – The Basics The service runs for a minimum of three days and a maximum of 30 days.2USPS. Travel Planning
You can submit a request online up to 30 days ahead, or as soon as the next delivery day. Requests placed before 2:00 AM Central Time can start the same business day; later requests start the next business day.1USPS. USPS Hold Mail – The Basics You can also set the hold up in person at the post office. When it ends, your carrier delivers everything at once, or you can pick it up with a photo ID.
Thirty days is a hard ceiling. If you’ll be away longer, Hold Mail isn’t the right tool.
Premium Forwarding Service for Longer Absences
Premium Forwarding Service Residential is a paid option that physically ships your mail to a temporary address once a week, and it works for absences well beyond 30 days. For 2026, the enrollment fee is $26.40 online or $28.70 at a post office, plus $29.70 per weekly shipment.3USPS. 2026 Postage Price Change Costs add up quickly, but it’s the only USPS option that sends mail to a temporary address without triggering a formal change of address.
Redirecting Mail Because You’re Moving
A change of address stops delivery to your old home and forwards mail to your new one for 12 months. You can submit the request online or at any post office. Online, you’ll pay a $1.25 identity verification fee with a credit card whose billing address matches either the old or new address.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address If you can’t verify online, you’ll need to go to a post office in person with an acceptable photo ID.
After you submit the online form, USPS emails a confirmation code, sends a Move Validation letter to the old address, and mails a Customer Notification Letter with your confirmation code to the new address about five business days before the start date.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Keep the confirmation code. You’ll need it to modify or cancel the order later.
Forwarding can begin within three business days, but allow up to two weeks for delivery to fully catch up.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address
Temporary Versus Permanent
USPS offers both a temporary and a permanent change of address, and both forward mail for up to 12 months. A temporary request has a defined end date, after which mail automatically resumes at the original address. A permanent request doesn’t revert: senders are eventually notified of your new address, and once 12 months pass, any mail still going to the old address is returned to the sender or discarded.5USPS. DMM Revision: Extended Mail Forwarding Service
What Actually Forwards
Not everything gets forwarded equally. First-class letters, Priority Mail, and packages forward for the full 12 months. Periodicals like magazines and newspapers forward for about 60 days, and then the publisher is notified of your new address. USPS Marketing Mail, the bulk advertising, isn’t forwarded at all.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Update your address directly with any sender whose mail matters, especially subscription services and any account tied to periodicals.
Extending Forwarding Past 12 Months
If mail is still trickling to your old address as the year winds down, you can buy an extension for 6, 12, or 18 additional months, with 18 months being the maximum.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Once forwarding expires, first-class mail is returned to the sender and everything else is thrown away.5USPS. DMM Revision: Extended Mail Forwarding Service
Canceling a Forwarding Order
To cancel a change of address that’s already active, you’ll need the confirmation code USPS sent you when you set it up. It’s in the email confirmation and in the Customer Notification Letter mailed to the new address. Go to the Change of Address section on the USPS website, enter the confirmation code with the new ZIP code, and you can modify or cancel from there.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address
Lost the code? Go to your local post office in person with a photo ID. Once the cancellation processes, mail resumes at the original address, though it can take a few business days to propagate.
Stopping Junk Mail Permanently
No single opt-out reaches every advertiser, so cutting junk mail means hitting several sources. Expect at least 90 days before the volume drops noticeably.
General Marketing Mail
DMAchoice, run by the Association of National Advertisers, removes your name from mailing lists used by major direct mailers. Registration costs $8 online or $9 by mail and lasts 10 years. It reduces bulk marketing mail by roughly 80%, but it won’t stop mail from companies you’ve done business with in the past two years.6ANA. Consumer Choice Tools Allow up to 90 days for the reduction to take effect.7ANA. Consumer Choices FAQs
Prescreened Credit and Insurance Offers
Preapproved credit card and insurance offers come from credit bureaus sharing your information with lenders. Opt out at OptOutPrescreen.com or by calling 1-888-567-8688. A five-year opt-out is completed entirely online or by phone. A permanent opt-out starts the same way, but you have to sign and return a Permanent Opt-Out Election form to finalize it. You can opt back in anytime through the same website or number.8Federal Trade Commission. What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance Opting out doesn’t affect your credit score.
Sexually Oriented Advertisements
USPS handles offensive advertising through PS Form 1500. Bring the opened, offending mailpiece and the completed form to any post office to file a Prohibitory Order against a specific mailer. The mailer is then legally barred from sending you anything, effective 30 days after they receive the order. The same form can add your name to a general list preventing this category of material from being sent to your address.9USPS. PS Form 1500 Application for Listing and/or Prohibitory Order
Individual Senders
For persistent mail from charities, alumni groups, or catalog companies, contact the sender directly. Look for an unsubscribe option on the mailpiece, call customer service, or send a written removal request. It’s tedious, and it’s the only way to stop mail from senders the broader registries don’t reach.
Stopping Mail for a Deceased Person
USPS requires documented proof that you’re the appointed executor or administrator before it will act on a deceased person’s mail. A death certificate alone isn’t enough.10USPS. How to Stop or Forward Mail for the Deceased Go to a post office in person with the death certificate and proof of your legal authority, such as letters testamentary or a court appointment, and complete a change of address form to redirect the deceased’s mail to your own address.
Standard forwarding rules apply: 12 months, with extensions available up to 18 additional months.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address That gives you time to identify active accounts and notify senders individually. For anything that slips through to the old address, write “Deceased — Return to Sender” on the envelope and put it back in the mailbox.
To cut down on marketing mail in the deceased’s name, register them with the Deceased Do Not Contact List through DMAchoice.org. Advertising mail should decrease within about three months.10USPS. How to Stop or Forward Mail for the Deceased Then contact banks, subscription services, insurance companies, and charities directly to close accounts and remove the deceased from their lists. That step matters for reducing clutter and for protecting against identity theft targeting the deceased.
Canceling Delivery to a Business Address
Business mail follows the same process as personal forwarding, but with stricter authorization. The person submitting the change of address has to prove authority to act for the business. USPS accepts a notarized letter, a power of attorney, or a letter on company letterhead signed by someone in a leadership role.4USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Business requests must be submitted in person; you can’t do this online without the documentation.
For a business that needs mail physically shipped to a temporary location, USPS offers Premium Forwarding Service Commercial, with a $26.40 enrollment fee plus per-shipment charges based on volume and postage class.11USPS. Premium Forwarding Services Standard free forwarding is also available for a permanent new address.