Mail Forwarding Service: How It Works and What It Costs

A mail forwarding service makes your mail follow you when you are not at the address on the envelope. There are two kinds. The first is the postal service’s own redirection, which sends mail from your old address to a new one for a set period. The second is a private service that gives you its own address, receives your mail there, and forwards it only when you tell it to. The first suits a simple move. The second suits living abroad, long trips, or any time you want to see mail before it travels.

The Quick Answer

If you are moving house inside one country and will have a normal address at the other end, use the post office redirection. It costs little and needs no third party. If you will be away for months, are moving abroad, or want to choose what happens to each item, use a private service with a fixed address. You keep one address no matter how often you move.

In Out Parcel is a private service of this second kind: 2,000+ automated lockers in Point Roberts, WA, serving the border since 2014, with 4.9★ from 700+ reviews. What follows covers both options, including when you do not need us.

The Two Kinds of Mail Forwarding

Post office redirection. You tell the postal service your old and new address. Mail addressed to the old one is rerouted. In the US, USPS says standard forwarding lasts 12 months, with paid extensions of 6, 12 or 18 months, and a temporary request runs from 15 days up to 1 year. First-Class Mail is forwarded free, while USPS Marketing Mail is not forwarded unless the sender paid for it. Online requests carry a $1.25 identity verification fee. For a move outside the US, USPS says you must file the request in person at a Post Office and verify your identity before you leave (usps.com, checked November 2026). Other countries run their own schemes, such as Royal Mail Redirection in the UK, Canada Post Mail Forwarding and Australia Post Mail Redirection; check yours for terms and fees.

Private mail forwarding service. A business gives you a street address. Mail and parcels from any sender arrive there, you are told what came, and you decide: scan a letter, hold it, forward it, or have it discarded. The address does not change when you do.

The Quick Comparison

For USPS’s paid weekly option, see USPS Premium Forwarding: How It Works and Where It Stops.

What “Forwarding Address” Means

A forwarding address is the address your mail is being sent on to. With a post office redirection, it is the new home you gave when you filed the request. With a private service, it works the other way round: the service’s address is the one you give to banks and shops, and your forwarding address is wherever you ask each shipment to go. You can change that destination as often as you like.

How a Private Service Works, Step by Step

1. Register and get an address. At In Out Parcel it is 145 Tyee Dr, PMB (your Customer ID), Point Roberts, WA 98281. Use it with banks, shops and senders.
2. Verify your identity. For a US address, USPS requires Form 1583, which authorizes a private mail centre licensed by USPS to receive mail on your behalf (the official term is a CMRA, a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency). You can complete it without living in the US. Letter mail requires a verified account, so do this first.
3. Mail arrives. Parcels are received automatically. At In Out Parcel, letter mail is opt-in: you turn it on in your account and choose Hold or Auto-Scan. Each item then shows in your account with an email notification.
4. Decide. Letters can be scanned to PDF so you read them anywhere. Parcels can wait.
5. Forward. Open a shipping request and you get a quote before anything ships. Letters are requested one at a time, and we quote sending them anywhere in the world. For parcels, see forwarding US packages to Canada and worldwide.

What It Really Costs

Pricing comes in two models.

• Subscription. Most providers charge a monthly fee. It varies by location, often ~$10–30/mo, and you pay it in months when nothing arrives.
• Pay per use. You pay when something arrives. At In Out Parcel there is no monthly fee: from $4.25 per package or letter received, $0 in the months nothing arrives, and credit never expires.

On top of either, forwarding is priced per shipment for your destination. At In Out Parcel you see the quote before you approve it, and a PDF scan of a letter is $2.50 for up to 10 pages. Details are on the shipping and forwarding rates page.

Storage is the cost people miss, so ask every provider about it. At In Out Parcel, a package’s receiving fee covers its first 14 days. From day 15, storage renews every 7 days at the same amount as the receiving fee, with a weekly reminder email.

A worked example. You spend six months abroad and 10 items arrive in that time. At the $10–30/mo range, six months of subscription is $60–180, regardless of mail. At $4.25 an item, 10 items is $42.50 in receiving fees (parcels of 20 lb or more cost more, per the rates page), plus whatever forwarding you choose, as long as each parcel moves on within its first 14 days. Two quiet months cost nothing extra. The comparison flips if you receive mail every week all year: a flat subscription can then cost less per item, so count your own volume before choosing.

Temporary or Permanent: What You Actually Need

• Moving house, same country. Post office redirection is built for this. A private service is only worth adding if you want to see mail before it reaches you.
• Away for months (a posting, a long trip, a winter elsewhere). A redirection to a hotel or rental is awkward. A fixed private address is easier: you see what arrived and forward it when it suits you. Waiting can carry storage fees, so check the terms against how long you will be away.
• Living abroad. USPS says a move outside the US is filed in person at a Post Office before you leave, and its Premium Forwarding Service is domestic only. A private US address that forwards worldwide is the usual answer.
• Only need somewhere private for letters. A PO Box may be enough: USPS fees run from ~$60/yr (smallest box, cheapest office) to ~$1,350/yr (largest box, urban office). Addressed as a PO Box, it takes USPS deliveries only. See how to rent a PO box.

What to Check Before Choosing

• Which carriers it accepts. Postal mail only, or UPS, FedEx, DHL and Amazon too.
• What you can do per item. Scan, hold, forward, discard; and what each costs.
• Pricing. Monthly fee, per-item fee, forwarding postage, scan fees. Ask for the whole list.
• Verification. A legitimate US provider will require Form 1583 and ID.
• Mail types it takes. At In Out Parcel, magazines, catalogs and flyers are discarded free; bank statements, government mail, cheques and gift cards are accepted.
• Location. Large networks offer many cities; some providers have one.
• Reviews. Look at reviews for the actual location you will use.

For a named side-by-side of providers, see the best virtual mailbox services.

Where In Out Parcel Fits

In Out Parcel runs one facility in Point Roberts, WA: 2,000+ automated lockers, 24/7 self-serve with a 6-digit PIN, serving the border since 2014, and 4.9★ from 700+ reviews. Receiving is from $4.25 per package or letter received, with no monthly fee.

The trade-off is plain: you get that address and no other. If you need a mailing address in a particular city, a larger network with many locations is the better fit. If one US address is enough and your mail comes in bursts, paying only when something arrives is hard to beat, and people near the BC border can also pick up in person. Letters are scanned or forwarded on request. See the virtual mailbox page for the full feature list.

If that sounds right, you can create a free account and pay only when something arrives.