Whether exploring the great outdoors or taking a road trip across the country, traveling can be an exhilarating experience. However, one challenge many travelers face is managing mail while on the go. The United States Postal Service’s General Delivery—offers a convenient option for nomadic adventurers without a permanent address. If you’ve been reading trail guides or hiker forums, you’ve likely seen the term “General Delivery” and wondered how this mail service worked. An equivalent service outside the USA is known as Poste restante. Here’s a detailed look at how USPS General Delivery Post Office mail works and how you can make the most of it during your travels.
General Delivery is a unique service offered by the United States Postal Service, enabling individuals to receive their mail at a participating post office, even if they don’t have a address in the USA. This service is a convenient solution for travelers who want to receive mail when away from home. Essentially, it allows you to have packages and letters sent to a temporary address while visiting a particular location.
Using General Delivery is straightforward, but it requires a bit of planning. You’ll need to know your schedule and the nearest post office that accepts General Delivery. Thru-hikers must estimate their hiking pace and know what post office locations are accessible by foot from the trail. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process effectively:
1. Choose Your Post Office: Before sending your mail, find the nearest post office to where you are by searching for locations on the USPS website and clicking on the location link to check that General Delivery is listed under Mailing Services at that location. Some smaller post offices may have limitations, so verifying their capability to accept General Delivery is essential.
2. Addressing Your Mail: When shipping a ‘General Delivery’ package or mailpiece, ensure your name matches your identification card. You will need to show an acceptable photo identification card at the post office to pick up your mail. Acceptable forms of identification can be a U.S. or foreign passport, U.S. driver’s license, military ID, and state/federal-issued identification card. See 10.3 Acceptable Primary Forms of Photo Identification.
Once you’ve selected a post office, address your mail in the General Address format as follows:
3. Wait for Delivery: Allow 3-5 business days for your mail to arrive. Check the tracking number to confirm if your mail is ready to be picked up. If there is no tracking information, you can call the local post office to ask if your mail has arrived.
4. Pick Up Your Mail: Give yourself adequate time to retrieve your mail from the post office. Getting there can involve extra hiking miles, especially in larger cities where mail is routed to a central location. When you arrive at the post office, be prepared to stand in line. At the counter, let the postal clerk know that you are there to “Collect mail sent General Delivery,” and have your photo ID ready. You can help speed up the retrieval process by describing if the mail is a box or envelope.
While the process is generally straightforward, hikers and other travelers should be aware of a few nuances that can make or break your experience using General Delivery:
Remember that UPS, FedEx, and DHL are major competitors to USPS and often will NOT accept packages delivered by these companies, including General Delivery and PO Box mail. Also, competing carriers won’t recognize General Delivery or a PO Box as a valid street address. We recommend contacting the local post office to confirm whether they will receive packages from other carriers and, if so, how to address them. For instance, they may instruct you to use the actual street address of the post office and put “Post Office” as the company or business name. You can find the post office street address using the location finder on the USPS website. The post office may charge you a handling/holding fee for receiving non-postal mail.
For instance, if you needed to mail a FedEx parcel to the post office, you’d address it as:
If the post office won’t accept your package, or you need to receive something oversized or express, we recommend having your order mailed to a local FedEx or UPS mail center instead. You’ll need to find a participating business that will hold your shipments. Be aware that holds are much shorter than the post office, often only 7 days. Also, some locations will charge you a fee to hold the mail.
When mailing a FedEx/UPS parcel to be held for pickup, you’d address it as:
By understanding how USPS General Delivery works, you can ensure a hassle-free way to manage your mail while on the go. This service allows for greater flexibility and peace of mind, letting you focus on enjoying your travels without worrying about where your mail will end up. Whether you’re exploring trails, national parks, or simply on a road trip across the states, USPS General Delivery can be an invaluable resource for any hiker or general traveler. If you are traveling outside the United States, many countries have an equivalent service to General Delivery mail called Poste restante.
Are you planning to hike a long-distance U.S. hiking trail and need to have backpacking food mailed to you on your hike? Outdoor Herbivore can mail you backpacking food to participating post offices and businesses near the trail. We have extensive experience working with thru-hikers worldwide as a trusted partner in getting resupply packages shipped on the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), Continental Divide (CDT), Colorado Trail (CT), John Muir Trail (JMT), and Arizona Trail (AZT). See Outdoor Herbivore’s hiker mail delivery services page for information. If you are planning a hiking trip to the United States, also see our guide for international hikers.
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