To forward someone else’s mail, you need legal authority to act on that person’s behalf, documentary proof of it, and a completed PS Form 3575 submitted in person at a Post Office. USPS will not let you redirect another adult’s mail on your own say-so, and filing a change of address in someone else’s name without authorization is a federal crime.
Who Is Allowed to File on Someone Else’s Behalf
USPS processes a change of address filed by a third party only when that person can prove legal authority over the addressee’s affairs. Four situations fit cleanly:
- A parent or legal guardian filing for a child under 18, using the child’s birth certificate.
- An agent under power of attorney filing for an adult who cannot act for themselves.
- An executor or administrator filing for a deceased person, using court appointment documents.
- A spouse whose name differs from the addressee’s, using a marriage certificate to link the two names.
If your situation doesn’t match one of these, a notarized letter from the addressee authorizing you to act for them can work. In every case, you also need your own current, unexpired photo ID.
How to File the Change of Address
The form is PS Form 3575. It asks for the addressee’s full name, the old address, the new forwarding address, and the start date, and it lets you choose between a permanent and a temporary move.
When you’re filing for someone else, USPS generally requires the in-person process. Go to any Post Office, ask the retail clerk for a change-of-address packet, and fill out the PS Form 3575 inside it. Hand the clerk your photo ID along with the documents proving your authority. There is no fee for filing in person.
The online option at the USPS Change of Address site charges a $1.25 identity verification fee and requires a mobile phone number for a one-time passcode. It works best when the addressee can complete the request themselves. For third-party filings, plan on the counter visit.
What Actually Gets Forwarded
Not all mail follows a forwarding order, and the differences catch people off guard.
For a permanent change of address, First-Class Mail forwards for 12 months. Periodicals such as magazines and newspapers forward for 60 days. Marketing mail is not forwarded at all; it stops arriving. After the forwarding windows close, undeliverable mail is returned to the sender with the new address attached, which prompts most senders to update their records.
If you need forwarding past the first year, USPS offers Extended Mail Forwarding in 6-, 12-, or 18-month blocks, up to 18 additional months. That caps total forwarding at 30 months, and you have to sign up before the original period expires. Once it lapses, the extension is gone.
Temporary forwarding runs up to six months and can be extended once for up to another six, for a maximum of 12 months.
Forwarding Mail for a Deceased Person
Redirecting a deceased person’s mail requires an in-person visit. You cannot do it online. A death certificate alone is not enough; you need documented proof that you are the appointed executor or administrator, which typically comes from probate court. Bring those documents and your photo ID, and the clerk can process the change so that bills, financial statements, tax documents, and other important mail reach whoever is managing the estate.
If you shared an address with the deceased but are not the executor, you can still redirect individual pieces without going to the Post Office. Cross out your address on the envelope, write “Forward to” and the new address on the front, and leave it for carrier pickup or drop it in a blue collection box.
Marketing mail addressed to the deceased will keep arriving because that class isn’t forwarded. To stop it, register the person’s name on the Deceased Do Not Contact List through DMAchoice.org, a service run by the Association of National Advertisers. Registration permanently removes the name and address from marketing mailing lists.
When the Mail Is for a Previous Resident
If mail arrives for someone who used to live at your address, don’t open it and don’t file a change of address in their name. Write “Not at this address” or “Return to Sender” on the envelope and put it back in your mailbox for carrier pickup or drop it in a collection box. If the envelope has a barcode, cross it out, or automated sorting may route the letter right back to you.
When the same person’s mail keeps coming after several returns, leave a note in your mailbox listing names that no longer live there, or speak with your local Post Office. Carriers can flag an address so that mail for specific names stops being delivered.
The one thing to avoid is filing a forwarding order for the previous resident yourself. Without legal authorization to manage their mail, submitting a change of address in their name is a federal crime. Either the person who moved files their own request, or you keep returning the mail until senders update their records.
The Federal Penalties Behind These Rules
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1702, taking someone’s mail from a mailbox or carrier and opening, hiding, or destroying it carries up to five years in prison, a fine, or both. The statute reaches anyone who takes mail before it reaches the intended recipient with the purpose of obstructing delivery or prying into another person’s affairs. Filing a fraudulent change of address to divert someone’s mail sits squarely inside that conduct.
Federal prosecutors rarely pursue a single misdelivered letter that someone opened by accident. The statute targets intentional interception, whether it’s a neighbor, a previous tenant, or a family member. The penalty range is steep enough that returning mail that isn’t yours is always safer than deciding what to do with it.