SMKlog
The PO Box workaround

Street Addressing, the PO Box that takes a UPS parcel

Street Addressing lets a box holder use the Post Office's own street address with their box number attached, and that is the mechanism that makes a UPS or FedEx parcel deliverable to a PO Box at all. It is opt-in, it is not offered at every location, and only the box holder can switch it on.

DMM 508 quotedFormat shownChecked 2026-07-28
Price a parcel to a box holder
Post Office box wall behind a counter
A street address on paper

To a private carrier the destination reads as an ordinary building, which is exactly why the arrangement works.

A 5 lb box on the Newark to Dallas lane, quoted 2026-07-28

Street Addressing changes who can deliver, not what the trip costs, so this board is simply what the lane runs. It is a 12 x 10 x 6 in box at 5 lb quoted on one day, and the point of showing every row is that a box holder with Street Addressing can use any of them.

Newark, NJ 07102 to Dallas, TX 75201, captured 2026-07-28. Prices are the whole amount charged at checkout for each service.
CarrierServicePriceQuoted transit
UPSGround Saver$15.49window not quoted
UPSGround$15.675-6 business days
USPSGround Advantage$16.006-7 business days
FedExGround Economy$16.226-7 business days
UPS2nd Day Air$23.992-3 business days

Seventy-three cents covered the four ground rows on quote day. Without Street Addressing a plain box number leaves only the postal line usable, so the arrangement is less about saving money than about not having the choice taken away.

Quote this lane with your own box

What the rule actually grants

The Postal Service describes Street Addressing as an election customers in competitive locations may make: the option to use the Post Office street address for their mailing address along with the customer's box number preceded by a hash mark. The consequence for parcels is stated directly, that customers choosing the designation "also have the option of receiving packages from private carriers at the customer's Post Office Box address, if the packages comply with applicable Postal Service standards governing mailability", per DMM 508.4.5.4 at pe.usps.com, checked 2026-07-28. The Postal Service's own PO Box page names UPS, FedEx, DHL and Amazon as examples.

How the address is written

Publication 28 section 284 describes the shape: the Post Office street address for the mailing address, along with the PO Box number preceded by a hash mark or a UNIT designation. The example carried in the recipient services rules looks like a normal street line, reading John Smith, then 123 Main Street # 4567, then the town, state and ZIP. Remember the spacing rule that applies to any secondary number written with that symbol, and prefer UNIT where the holder tells you their office uses it.

The limits a sender cannot check

Availability is not universal. The Postal Service states the service is not available at all Post Office locations, ties it to competitive PO Box service rather than every box, and requires a customer agreement, per usps.com and DMM 508, both checked 2026-07-28. There is no public lookup that tells a sender whether a given box is enrolled, so the answer has to come from the recipient. Once it is enrolled, our checkout treats the destination as the ordinary street address it now is, and screens it against carrier records like any other.

Street Addressing questions

Can UPS deliver to a PO Box with Street Addressing?

That is the point of the arrangement. The Postal Service states that customers who choose the street addressing designation also have the option of receiving packages from private carriers at their Post Office Box address, provided the packages comply with the applicable mailability standards, per DMM 508 at pe.usps.com, checked 2026-07-28.

How do I write a PO Box street address?

Use the Post Office street address as the delivery line and attach the box number after it, preceded by a hash mark or a UNIT designation, as Publication 28 section 284 describes. The recipient should give you the exact form their office uses rather than you assembling it yourself.

Is Street Addressing available at every Post Office?

No. The Postal Service says the service is not available at all Post Office locations, offers it through competitive PO Box service rather than every box, and requires a customer agreement to set it up.

How do I know whether a recipient has Street Addressing?

Ask them. There is no public lookup that reports which boxes are enrolled, so a sender guessing at it will simply produce a failed delivery. If they do not have it, plan on the USPS row for that shipment.

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