Our view - Return to sender

Many businesses in local communities have been forced to shut down abruptly without having time to think about their mail delivery. Typically, a local post office will hold mail for 10 days before beginning to return it to the senders.

On March 28, USPS issued a new emergency policy. The delivery office will now hold mail for 30 days, giving local business owners an opportunity to contact postmasters and make arrangements for the delivery of their mail.

Once the business reopens, delivery should immediately resume unless other arrangements have been made. If the business fails to make alternative delivery arrangements or does not submit a request to hold or forward its mail after 30 days, the process of returning mail to the sender will resume.

Management may make efforts to contact business owners for whom they are holding mail to discuss the alternative options.

If businesses make contact after the 30-day hold period and Moved, Left No Address (MLNA) orders have been processed, the USPS will extend assistance as necessary to cancel and immediately resume delivery.

The full USPS directive can be found here https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/pdf/business-closed-hold-mail-03282020.pdf.