A mailbox address is a commercial street address with a unique mailbox number attached to it. It is normally run by a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA), also commonly known as a mailbox store/center.

A typical mailbox address may look like the following:

1234 John Wayne Blvd # 9771
Startup City, NV 10001

A mailbox address is really a commercial street address, but with two distinct differences:

1. It comes with a mailbox number attached to the end of the street address to uniquely identify mail for a particular mailbox.
2. It is flagged as a CMRA address in the USPS address database. USPS has a special designation for a commercial street address that provides mailboxes to customers.

This particular designation in the USPS address database is what differentiates the address itself from a normal commercial street address.

USPS has an address lookup tool that you can use to check if an address is a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) address. You can learn more about how to check an address in this support article.

No, they are different. A Post Office Box (P.O. Box) is a special box you get at the post office. The box itself is located inside of the post office, and the address is similar to the following:

PO BOX 1234
Johnson, NV 10001

Notice that it’s not attached to a street address like a mailbox address is.

No. All mailbox addresses are owned and operated by VPM. This means that all mail received is sorted, processed, and stored on-site, eliminating the need for it to be forwarded to a central processing center.

This enhances mail security and ensures that your mail is typically available to you within one business day of delivery.

If you are renewing or updating an existing driver license, you can use your mailbox address as your designated mailing address. Your new driver license will be mailed to this address. However, you cannot use your mailbox address to obtain a new driver license when moving to a new state. The process requires that you submit proof of residence in the state, which a mailbox address will not satisfy.

No, you cannot use a mailbox address to open a business checking account. Federal KYC regulations require a business or individual to provide proof of a physical address in the U.S. when opening any financial accounts that involve the flow of cash (i.e. bank, merchant account, investment accounts, etc.).

For KYC compliance purposes, the following types of addresses are not considered a physical address:

• A P.O. Box
• Mailbox address
• Address tied to a registered agent
• Address tied to a virtual office
• Address tied to a coworking center

Unfortunately, no. Merchant accounts involve the flow of cash and therefore are subject to KYC regulations. You would need a true physical address like the one you can obtain through our TruLease service.

In most cases, yes, you can use your mailbox address to form an LLC or corporation as these are not subject to KYC regulations.

Yes, although you may encounter some obstacles from certain credit/charge card companies (i.e. AMEX). When applying for new credit cards, card issuers will check the address against your credit report to determine whether that address matches. If it doesn't, then they may require additional proof. We provide some recommendations on how you can go about using a mailbox address for your credit card.

You cannot use a mailbox address to establish new permanent residency in a state. However, you can use it to maintain your existing residency.

The reason you cannot use a mailbox address as your physical address is because you may be required to show proof of address for various legal and government requirements when applying for new IDs.

You can, however, use your mailbox address for filing taxes with the IRS or state authorities.

TruLease is a true physical address that you obtain through the TruLease service. It can be used to satisfy KYC compliance and proof of physical address requirements.

VPM does this by partnering with building owners who have office space available to rent. This helps customers who need office space and eases the process of leasing an office by removing some traditional leasing requirements such as personal guarantees.

By renting a real office, you get a physical address that satisfies federal regulations. You also get a lease agreement and optional utility bill as proof of address.

Yes, the address that is tied to the office you lease is a true physical address. This office address is not linked to a mailbox address, a virtual office, a coworking center, or a registered agent office.

Yes, you can receive mail at the physical address. However, because it is a partner address, your mail cannot be processed and scanned on site. Instead, mail received at the TruLease address is periodically forwarded to one of our processing centers first. This can delay the availability of your mail by about 1 week after mail is received.

There are quite a few specific differences between the two types of addresses:

• TruLease address is a real physical address and not flagged as a CMRA address like a mailbox address.
• There may be a delay in receiving mail at the TruLease address while a mailbox address usually makes mail available for you to view online within 1 business day.
• TruLease address is primarily for proof of address purposes and comes with a lease agreement and optional utility bill. A mailbox address does not provide such documents.
• A TruLease address can be used to open financial accounts or any service that touches on the flow of cash. This includes bank accounts, merchant accounts (i.e. Stripe or Shopify Payments), Amazon Stores, and CAGE/SAM/DUNS applications.

Yes, you can use TruLease to open any business financial accounts such as a bank account or merchant account. You will have a legal lease agreement to show that you leased a physical office.

Unfortunately, you cannot use a TruLease address to open a personal bank account. This is because banks require personal bank accounts to be opened with a residential address. The address you obtain through TruLease is a commercial office address.

The answer to this is no. While TruLease does provide you a physical office address, you cannot use it for Google My Business without violating their Terms of Service. In order to be listed on Google My Business, you must be able to receive walk-in traffic. In general, you likely won’t have anyone at the office to do so. Therefore, you cannot and should not be listed on Google My Business. We highly discourage you from doing this as there is certainly a high chance you’ll get reported.

TruResidence is an address service that provides you with a prestigious U.S. residential address for use with personal accounts and to receive personal mail. It also comes with an add-on option to get a lease agreement for proof of address purposes.

No, you do not get your own unique number since it’s not a mailbox service or mailbox address. Rather, TruResidence addresses is a shared address used by other customers.

Yes, you can receive mail at the residential address. Your mail will be picked up on a weekly basis and delivered to a VPM processing center to be scanned and stored so you can read your mail online.

Yes, you can receive packages, but it may incur additional transportation fees. If you plan to receive packages on a frequent or consistent basis we recommend that you get a separate virtual mailbox because you’ll end up paying more shipping fees.

You can use your residential address for all of your personal needs, including taxes, bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, driver license, and receiving personal mail.

Yes! When you opt-in to the lease agreement add-on, you will be able to use it in places where proof of address is required. You'll need to pay the first month’s rent plus a minimum one month’s deposit. The deposit is fully refundable after the lease terminates. The amount of deposit required typically depends on the home and your credit score. Additionally, you will also pay a one-time processing fee and setup. Please see the pricing page for details.