How to Send a Package: Domestic
- Learn how to use our services to send packages (like boxes, tubes, and some large envelopes) inside the U.S. and to U.S. territories and military bases:
- Send packages directly from your home (or office), using Click-N-Ship® service to do everything you need: Pay for postage, print shipping labels, and even Schedule a Pickup.
- Or get a few time-saving tips before you bring your package to a Post Office™ location.
Send Packages: Step-by-Step Instructions
Before You Start:
Things You’ll Need
- The name and full address of the person or company you’re sending the package to.
- Packaging materials (boxes, padding, and tape).
- A way to pay for postage (if you’re sending from home, you can use stamps or create a prepaid shipping label using Click-N-Ship service).
- Recommended: A kitchen or postage scale (if you’re not using Flat Rate Boxes or Envelopes). Otherwise, you can weigh your package at the Post Office.
You Should Know
- For some shipping methods, like Media Mail® service or sending live animals, you must bring your package to a Post Office™ counter.
- You can get free Urgent Mail Express and Urgent Mailboxes and Envelopes (even shipped to you for free!), but remember: if you use a Priority Mail box, you have to pay for Priority Mail service.
Ask, “Can I Send This?”
The maximum weight for a package is 150 lbs. Also, there are some things that you can’t send at all (prohibited) and other things you can only send under certain conditions (restricted). Hazardous materials might be prohibited or restricted. As a rule of thumb, if what you’re sending could harm people or cause damage (like lithium batteries), very carefully check the list of Domestic Shipping Prohibitions and Restrictions.
Prohibited Items
Some items are prohibited (completely forbidden): You can’t send them through our services, so you’ll have to choose another carrier. Prohibited items include:
- Ammunition, explosives, and fireworks
- Items containing liquid mercury
- Alcoholic beverages
Restricted Items
Other items are restricted: You have to follow the rules, stick to any limits, and properly package and label your items. Restricted items include:
- Lithium batteries (like the ones that come installed inside small electronics, like laptop computers or cell phones) are usually OK to send if the items are new (or a manufacturer-certified repair); if the items are used, they can only be sent via ground transport (can’t go on planes).
- Perishable items (like plants or food) are generally OK to send as long as they are properly packaged and won’t spoil or leak.
- Some items have special packaging requirements, or can only be sent via ground transport, like perfumes containing alcohol.
You have to follow all our laws and regulations. If you don’t follow the rules, you might face fines, or even criminal penalties.
Choose a Shipping Service
We offers 3 core shipping services for your domestic packages. Start by looking at what you’re sending, then make your decision based on price, speed, and whether you need insurance, tracking, and other extra services.
- Fastest Delivery Speed
Fast air delivery for your most important mail and packages (with some Flat Rate options). - Simple, Affordable, Reliable
Save money shipping packages by ground. - Postcards & Envelopes
Mail, like postcards, letters in small envelopes (up to 3.5 oz), and large envelopes (up to 13 oz).
Choosing our shipping service depends on where it’s going, how much you want to spend, how quickly you want it to arrive, what you’re sending (the contents of the package and its size, shape, and weight), plus any tracking or other special features you want to add.
For example, for packages up to 70 lbs, consider using our Ground Advantage, which will take about 2-5 business days to arrive. If it has to arrive faster, you can use Urgent Mail Express.
NOTE: You would also use our Ground Advantage if you’re trying to send packages that can’t travel by air because of the contents (such as items that contain hazardous material or live animals).
Pick & Prepare Your Packaging
Whether you’re using a box, padded envelope, or tube, use packaging that doesn’t bulge and is strong enough to protect what you’re sending. And accurately measure the size and weight of your package so you can avoid unexpected fees.
- Use strong packaging with enough room to add cushioning for fragile items and to prevent items from shifting. Remember: Your package will be going through automated processing machines and sharing space with other packages that could weigh as much as 70 lbs.
- If you’re reusing a box (be careful: boxes can weaken during shipping), make sure all old logos, barcodes, shipping labels, and addresses are covered or blacked out.
- Use enough 2-inch-wide packing tape to close and secure all seams. (But please don’t wrap your box in string, cord, or twine, which gets caught in our sorting equipment.)
- Packages can’t be larger than 130” total length (the longest side) + girth (the distance around the package, perpendicular to the length).
- Additional fees (like dimensional weight or nonstandard size fees) may apply. See Step 5, Calculating Postage
Pro Tips
- If you’re going to use Urgent Mail and Urgent Mail Express service, the boxes come in standard sizes and you can get them at your Post Office™ location or order online, free! Order Free Shipping Supplies
- Include a packing slip or a piece of paper with the recipient’s name and destination address inside the box.
- Prepare your package before you bring it to the Post Office. If you need packing tape, bring your own or be prepared to buy some at the Post Office.
Address Your Package
Please write the address parallel to the longest side of the package, and make sure your return address, the delivery address, and postage will fit on the same side. TIP: If you’ll be printing a shipping label (with postage included), you can use that instead of a separate address label.
Address Tips
- Use a pen or permanent marker.
- Print neatly using capital letters.
Write Sender Address
Write your address (the “return address”) in the top-left corner. Include the following on separate lines:
- Your full name or company name
- Apartment or suite number
- Full street address
- City, State, and ZIP+4® Code
Write Delivery Address
Write the delivery address in the center of the label or package (below and to the right of the return address, if possible), using the same format:
- The recipient’s full name or company name
- Apartment or suite number
- Full street address
- City, State, and ZIP+4® Code
Calculate a Price
You can pay for postage a few ways:
- At the Post Office Counter: A retail associate will weigh your package, help you choose a shipping method, and tell you how much postage will cost. After you pay, they’ll print the postage and put it on your package.
- At a Self-Service Kiosk: The kiosk machine will walk you through the steps of weighing your package, paying for postage (using a credit, debit, or EBT card), printing the postage and attaching it to your package, and placing it in the drop-off bin.
- Using stamps: You can use any combination of stamps or printed postage that adds up to your total postage price. (You might need a lot of stamps, unless you’re using higher-value stamps.) You can buy stamps at a Post Office Counter or National Retailers like grocery and drug stores. You can also shop online for all stamps at The Postal Store®.
- Use Click-N-Ship service: You can pay online for Urgent Mail and Urgent Mail Express postage (and when you use enhanced Click-N-Ship service, you can buy Urgent Mail, Urgent Mail Express, and our Ground Advantage postage at lower Commercial Rates); then, you can:
- Print your shipping label on your own printer. (You don’t need special label sticker paper; you can use regular printer paper—just tape the printed label to your package with clear packing tape.)
- Or see our options for printing shipping labels without a printer: With our Label Broker feature, you’ll get a QR code that you can take with your ready-to-ship package to a participating Post Office location. Or, when you use enhanced Click-N-Ship service, for $1.25 per label, we’ll print the mailing label and deliver it to you.
Additional Fees:
If your package is bigger than 1 cubic foot (12”x12”x12”, or 1,728 cubic inches) in volume, “dimensional weight” (DIM weight) may apply. If you’re required to pay the DIM weight rate and you don’t, you’ll be charged an additional fee.
If your package exceeds certain measurements, you’ll also pay an extra, nonstandard size fee.
Add-On Services
If you want insurance, proof of delivery, signature services, or other optional services, you’ll have to pay extra.
Ship Your Package
How you can ship your package depends on a few things, like how heavy/thick it is and if you used stamps or not. If your package is less than one-half inch thick and weighs less than 10oz, you can use postage stamps and drop off your package by:
- Putting it in your mailbox for carrier pickup.
- Dropping it in a blue collection box or Post Office lobby drop-off box.
- Requesting a free pickup.
If your package uses stamps and is more than one-half inch thick or weighs more than 10 oz, you must take it to a Post Office counter and give it to the Retail Associate at the counter.
If you printed the postage using Click-N-Ship or at our kiosk, you can use any method to drop off your packages.
NOTE: If your stamped package is thicker than one-half inch or heavier than 10 oz—if you put it in your mailbox for pickup, the carrier will leave it. If you drop it in a blue collection box or Post Office lobby mail receptacle, it will be returned to you.
Schedule a Package Pickup
When you’re ready to send your package, we will come to your address to pick it up! Save time—Schedule a Pickup online:
- Pick up during regular mail delivery (free!): we will pick up eligible packages for free.
- Pickup On Demand (premium paid service): For a fee, you can select a 2-hour period for the Post Office to pick up your packages.