Anyone who wants to rent a PO box, postal mailbox, or virtual mailbox in the United States must fill out the USPS Form 1583. The form often looks confusing the first time you see it, that’s why we’ll walk you through it piece by piece. Promise, it won’t be so confusing.
Wait! Before we go on... this article is for customers that have a VirtualPostMail mailbox account. You should contact your mailbox provider to find out how to complete the USPS Form 1583 and where to send it. In case your mailbox provider did not give you proper instructions, you may want to think twice about having them handle your mail.
Now that we got that awkwardness out of the way let’s walk through how to fill out the USPS Form 1583.
In general, the USPS Form 1583 is broken down into three sections: the CMRA information, the mailbox and owner information, and optionally the business information. See below to walk through what is important to each section.
- Box 4: This information is generally filled out by the CMRA, so you do not need to concern yourself with most of this. It simply shows to whom you are authorizing mail delivery.
- Box 2: Write the full name that this mailbox will be receiving for.
- Box 3: Write your mailbox address, including the mailbox number that you chose when you signed up.
- Box 5 (Optional): Sign here to authorize us to receive restricted-delivery mail on your behalf.
- Boxes 6 & 7: Indicate the person who is applying for this mailbox. Normally, this is the same as the person who is receiving mail for this mailbox (see Box 2). Be sure to include a phone number where you can be reached as well as your current mailing address (before signing up for VPM).
- Box 8: Write down the two IDs that you will use to proof your identity and the ID numbers. One must be a photo ID. You can find a list of acceptable IDs at the end of this article.
- Box 16: Sign the form in the presence of a notary. Optional business information if you are linking a business to your mailbox, fill out boxes 9–14. Most boxes are self-explanatory except for a few that are clarified below:
- Boxes 10a - 10e: Add your business contact information. You may use your business mailing address or registered agent address as well. Use your home address if it is a home-based business. This information is only for VPM and USPS and is not available to others.
- Box 11: Indicate what product(s) or service(s) your business provides, such as “market research,” “consumer products,” “clothing,” etc.
- Box 12: Enter each member or employee who will receive mail here. Although names must have verifiable identification, we do not require you to provide a separate Form 1583 for each employee unless requested by us.