How To Get Mail That Was Sent To An Old Address?

When you move, there are many details to take care of. You need to pack, call the movers, switch your utilities and phone services, and you need to change the address for your mail.

Talk to the new owners of the place you used to live in or the current tenants. Chances are they either kept your mail or return it to the post office. Don’t forget to take your ID if you have never met the people. Talk to your assigned post office and see if they can retrieve your mail. Notify them about your problem and make sure your change of address form is filled out properly. Fill out this form at least 2 weeks prior to moving to avoid any issues.

If you don’t change your address, any mail that gets delivered will go to the new people living at your old address. Sometimes people forget, and mail is sent to their old address. They want to know how to get it.

Will Mail Sent to My Old Address Be Forwarded?

If you fill out a change of address form with the US Post Office, you will have any mail sent to your old address forwarded to your new address.

You need to fill this form out two weeks before you move, as it can take ten or twelve days for the post office to process your request.

If you need to fill it out, you can do it in person, online, or over the phone. The post office says that it is most efficient to do it online, but they do charge a small fee of a dollar. Make sure that you keep your confirmation number so that you can check up on the request if your mail isn’t forwarded.

If you haven’t turned in a change of address, you may have mail delivered to your old address. This will continue to happen unless the people living there send you the mail back marked “Return to Sender: Addressee Unknown.” Then the person sending you mail may not send it any longer.

How Do I Get Mail That Was Sent to an Old Address?

If you have mail that was sent to an old address, you need to fill out a Missing Mail application.

You can go to the US Post Office website or call their 800 number. You can also visit your post office to fill this form out.

While the post office will try to recover any mail that was delivered to your old address, they may not be able to. If the people who received the mail have already returned it to the sender or have thrown it away, you may not be able to get it.

You should make sure that you fill out a change of address form and let anyone who sends you mail regularly know that you have a new address.

How Long Does It Take to Get Mail Sent to the Old Address?

If you plan ahead and fill out your change of address form two weeks before you move, it can take ten to twelve days before your mail is sent to the new address.

Once you file this request, the post office will forward most of your mail for 12 months. They will only forward magazines and other periodicals for 60 days, though.

It is important to change your address with your credit card companies, banks, and anyone else you receive mail from regularly. Although the post office will continue to forward this mail for twelve months, a piece or two could accidentally be sent to your old address.

If you have mail delivered to your old address, it might take some time to receive it. Several things could happen. The people living at your old address might return it to the post office.

They could also mark it return to sender, or they could throw it out. If you don’t receive the mail you expect and you think that it may have been delivered to your old address, you can fill out a missing mail application.

Related Post: Why Is Mail Still Going To My Old Address?(Fix It Today)

Final Words

If you need to get mail that was sent to your old address, you should make sure that you have filled out a change of address form. If you have, then your mail will be forwarded to your new address as the post office receives it.

If your mail ends up at your old address anyway, you need to fill out a missing mail application so that the post office can try to locate it.