The US Postal Service announced this week that its Premium Forwarding Service will now be available to domestic residents on a permanent basis.
The service enables US residents who temporarily relocate to another address within the country, such as a summer home, to have all their mail — including magazines and catalogs — forwarded to them. Mail must be forwarded for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of one year. The service is not available internationally.
The service was first rolled out as an experimental product in August 2005. Due to its popularity with customers and the overall success of the service, the USPS said it has decided to make it permanent. According to the USPS, about 300,000 people have signed up for the service, which has generated $25.7 million in revenue so far.
When people sign up for the service, mail is reshipped once a week to the temporary location. There is a one-time enrollment fee of $10 and a weekly forwarding fee of $11.95. Express Mail and Priority Mail, as well as Registered Mail, are forwarded separately for no additional fee. Customers can sign up for the service at the post offices that services their permanent address.
Change of Address orders and Hold Mail services are provided free of charge by the USPS.
