USPS Form 1583, Explained: What It Is and How to Fill It Out

If you've started looking into renting a private mailbox — the kind with a real street address instead of a PO Box — you've probably run into the name "PS Form 1583" and wondered what it actually is. It's not optional paperwork a particular store invented; it's a U.S. Postal Service requirement that applies to every business authorized to receive mail on someone else's behalf, known as a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA).

Postal Hub's physical mailbox rentals work this way, and so does mail delivered through most virtual mailbox services, since those are built on a CMRA relationship too. Here's what the form is for and what to expect when you fill one out.

What Form 1583 actually is

PS Form 1583, "Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent," is the USPS's way of confirming who is actually receiving mail at a private mailbox address before any mail gets delivered there. Because a CMRA mailbox looks like a real street address rather than an obvious PO Box, the Postal Service requires this extra identity verification step to prevent the address from being used to receive mail under a false identity.

Every CMRA is required to have a completed, verified Form 1583 on file for each customer before accepting mail for them — this is spelled out in the USPS Domestic Mail Manual, not something individual mailbox providers can skip or simplify.

What you'll need to bring

The form itself asks for your name, the address you want mail delivered to, and who's authorized to receive mail there if it's for a business. The part people aren't always ready for is the identification requirement:

• Two forms of current, valid identification
• One must be a government-issued photo ID (driver's license, state ID, passport, military ID)
• The second must confirm the address you're listing on the form (a lease, utility bill, or similar)
• A driver's license can only count toward one of the two — not both

The CMRA keeps a copy of both forms of ID on file, since that's part of what makes the verification real.

Why you can't just sign it and mail it in

This is the part that catches people off guard: you can't fill out Form 1583 at home, sign it, and drop it in the mail. Your signature has to be witnessed — either by the CMRA's own authorized staff in person, or by a notary public (in person or, where state law allows, through remote online notarization) if you're not able to show up at the mailbox location yourself.

1. Download the form and fill in your information, but don't sign it yet.
2. Bring your two forms of ID with you.
3. Sign the form in front of either the CMRA's authorized staff or a notary public — not beforehand.
4. Leave the verified form and your ID copies with the CMRA before mail delivery starts.

In practice, if you're renting a mailbox in person at a walk-in location, this is usually quick — most CMRAs, including walk-in counters like ours, can witness the signature directly on the spot, so there's no separate trip to a notary required. A notary becomes necessary mainly when you're setting up a mailbox remotely, such as through a virtual mailbox provider, and can't appear in person.

Where to get the official form

Always get the form directly from USPS rather than a random search result — the link above goes straight to the official version hosted on usps.com.

If you're renting a physical mailbox with us, bring your two forms of ID and we'll walk you through Form 1583 at the counter — no separate notary appointment needed. And if you need a 1583 notarized for a mailbox somewhere else, or for a virtual mailbox provider that requires it, that's covered by our notary service too.