A: You should check to see if there is a private mailbox service operating in
your area. There are a number of franchise chains--the largest is MailBoxes
Etc.--providing this service, as well as many mom and pop stores. For about
$20 to $30 a month, you can rent a box that will give you an actual street
address. Instead of "Box 123," you would be "123 Main Street, #456." You will,
of course, have to budget time to pick up your mail at least once a day.
Private mailbox services can be extremely convenient. Most provide copier, fax
and other office machines for your use and sell basic office supplies. Their
employees will also sign for registered and certified mail and overnight
deliveries that are addressed to your mailbox, so you don't have to sit around
the house all day for fear of missing an important UPS delivery.
Unfortunately, private mailbox services are sometimes abused by people who
want to hide their identities in order to commit crimes, and the U.S. Postal
Service has recently adopted strict regulations regarding their use. If you
use a private mailbox service, you must designate your box number either with
the number sign (#) (for example, "123 Main Street, #456") or the letters
"PMB" for "Private Mail Box" ("123 Main Street, PMB 456"). You no longer can
use "Suite," "Apt." "Unit" or other words that may mislead people into
thinking you have a real office location.
Many people do not like to use PMB, because they are afraid (I think, rightly)
that postal clerks and others will mistake "PMB" for "POB" when addressing or
delivering your mail. Also, you will have to field a lot of questions from
customers, suppliers and others as to just what PMB stands for. So if you use
a private mailbox service, make sure your box number is designated with the
number sign (#) when you have your stationery, return address labels and
business cards printed.
One exception: if you use a private mailbox service and are applying to the
IRS for a tax ID number, you must use "PMB" to designate your mailbox, as the
IRS computers are not currently set up to use the number sign (#). If you use
the number sign on an IRS form, the IRS will disregard your box number
entirely and record only your street address.
Private Mailboxes
Briefing Paper No. 48 July 30, 1999 The U.S. Postal Service War on Private Mailboxes and Privacy Rights by Rick Merritt Rick Merritt is executive director of PostalWatch Incorporated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Summary On March 25, 1999, neatly concealed in an obscure and seemingly minor "Procedure Revision," the U.S. Postal Service announced its intent to execute Postal Bulletin 21994. In an alleged attempt to combat mail fraud, the Postal Service required that by June 24, 1999, all commercial mail-receiving agencies (CMRAs) that offer rental of private mailboxes should have collected from their customers confidential information that the Postal Service itself is not allowed to collect. Furthermore, starting as early as October 24, 1999, the USPS will deliver mail only to the private boxes addressed in a particular format that will be unfamiliar to many senders. Those new requirements violate the privacy regulations that cover the Postal Service. The USPS plans to make available to the public confidential information about any private box holder who uses the box for business with the public. However, access to such information could actually facilitate criminal activity. Moreover, the Postal Service also plans to apply these new regulations to executive suites. In addition, because it is impossible for box holders to know everyone who might have their private box address on file, many otherwise deliverable pieces of mail will be returned to the sender, marked "address unknown." Finally, the new regulations will foist enormous costs on some 1.5 million to 2.5 million private mailbox holders, which include many of the country's smallest businesses. CMRAs will also incur expenses, not only of compliance with and notification to box holders of the new regulations but also of lost business. A conservative estimate of the direct costs alone of the new regulations could approach $1 billion. Full Text of Briefing Paper No. 48 (PDF, 13 pgs, 83 Kb)Self employed
Keeping the "Private Mailbox" Option for America's Entrepreneurs If you've ever handed out your business cards at a chamber of commerce luncheon or given a new client a business proposal, you know how much first impressions matter. Business colleagues, customers and suppliers quickly try to size up your business. That can be a problem if you operate a home-based business. However stable and serious your business may be, you still have to contend with outdated negative stereotypes about home-based businesses. Many self-employed people surmount this first impression hurdle by renting a commercial mailbox, like those offered by Mailboxes Etc., Parcel Plus, Mail Room, Mail Annex and others. This provides the business with a commercial street address. It also helps protect the security and privacy of the entrepreneur's home. Private mailbox shops offer other convenient services, too, like receiving and signing for parcel deliveries. But, lately, private mailbox shops, and many self-employed people who use them, have been worried about new restrictions that the U.S. Postal Service has proposed. Those restrictions were intended to fight postal fraud, but they would have hampered the vast majority of law-abiding businesses that use the private mailboxes. After several months of conversations between the Postal Service, private mailbox shops and representatives of small business, including the NASE, the fight against fraud has been strengthened-even as some of the most onerous restrictions on the private mailboxes have been lifted. The "PMB" Stigma Originally, the Postal Service wanted to require that everyone who rented a private mailbox (PMB) include the abbreviation "PMB" in the mailing address. In addition, the Postal Service wanted to mount a national education campaign about private mailbox fraud. Imagine handing out your business card with PMB on it after that. Message: Somebody's doing business out of a mailbox and may be committing fraud! Millions of entrepreneurs operating home-based businesses would have been stuck with a terrible choice: Risk the privacy and security of your home by revealing your home address, or communicate negative first impressions to potential customers and suppliers by using the PMB designation. Address Policy The Postal Service also wanted to collect home address information from anyone renting a private mailbox. Many people expressed concerns about who would have access to this information. Crime victims, battered spouses, celebrities and many others use private mailboxes to guard their personal safety. They would be in danger if their home addresses were easily accessible. The PMB proposal caused an outcry among private mailbox users, including many NASE Members. The NASE spent several months working on this problem, both in Congress and at Postal Service headquarters. We are relieved to report that the Postal Service has now substantially changed its approach. Thanks to the excellent proposals by the private mailbox industry, as well as the openness shown by postal officials, a far more positive program is in the works. Some Restrictions Rescinded First and foremost, it now appears that the PMB designation might be dropped. The Postal Service and a task force from the private mailbox companies will work together to combat fraud. Training of private mailbox shop employees will be improved. Lists of the addresses of private mailbox shops will be developed and made public, so anyone can check to see whether a particular address is actually such a shop. Credit card companies, which had complained about unscrupulous private mailbox users running up huge bills, will now be able to tell in advance whether an address is a private mailbox. And the Postal Service's anti-fraud campaign will educate the public on all types of mail fraud, not just private mailbox fraud. Also, information about the home addresses of private mailbox holders will be released only to law enforcement officials in the legitimate discharge of their duties. A number of other private mailbox issues are still under discussion with the Postal Service. The NASE will provide updates on its Web site and in Self-Employed America as these issues are resolved. A pat on the back is due to the many NASE Members who called or wrote their members of Congress and the Postal Service regarding private mailboxes. It would have been far more difficult-perhaps impossible-to get this changed without you.
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March 25, 2004