How to Cancel Mail Forwarding
Mail forwarding is a very useful service offered by the United States Postal Service. By forwarding your mail to a new address, it ensures that you don't miss important letters and parcels when moving or spending time away from home. Depending on your needs, you can have all mail forwarded as it comes, or you can receive weekly packages with all of your mail as part of a premium residential forwarding service.
Though mail forwarding through the U.S. Postal Service can last for up to a year, you can schedule forwarding for shorter periods as well. However, it's possible that your plans might change, and you have to cancel mail forwarding early. If this is the case, you should be able to cancel your mail forwarding service in just a few minutes online.
Before you can cancel mail forwarding, you need to have your credentials on hand. When you first set up mail forwarding, you were issued a confirmation code that was generated by the postal service.
If you set up mail forwarding online, this code should be included in the confirmation email you received at the email address you used when setting up forwarding. If you set up mail forwarding in person at the post office or via a mail-in form, the confirmation code is included in the confirmation letter that was sent to the address to which you were forwarding mail.
You can cancel mail forwarding by visiting managemymove.usps.com or by selecting "Change of Address" from the Track & Manage menu on the main usps.com website. If you do choose to cancel by visiting the main website, scroll down on the change of address page and click the "View or Edit" link near the bottom to access the managemymove.usps.com log in screen.
Once on the log in screen, you can access your existing mail forwarding service by entering your confirmation code and zip code where prompted. Be sure to use the zip code to which your mail is being forwarded instead of your home zip code if they are not the same. Once logged in, select the option to cancel the change of address order to cancel the forwarding of mail to the new address.
If you no longer have the confirmation code for your mail forwarding service, you will be unable to cancel the service using the usps.com website. This does not mean that you can't cancel the forwarding, though it may take longer without the confirmation code. Instead, you will have to request the cancellation in person at your local post office.
To cancel mail forwarding without the confirmation code, visit your local post office and inform the clerk that you wish to cancel mail forwarding but no longer have the confirmation code for the order. Supply as much information as you can about the mail forwarding order, and you may have to show a photo ID or other identification as well.
The clerk will fill out PS Form 3546, the Official Change/Correction to Mail Forwarding Change of Address Order form, which is an internal form used by the postal service to modify mail forwarding and change of address orders that are either faulty, fraudulent or unable to be edited through normal means. The form must be filled out on-site by the clerk or other USPS employee, as it is not intended for customer use.
Once Form 3546 is filled out, the post office will submit an exception to the Change of Address Reporting System to stop the collection and forwarding of mail from your old address. When the exception is in the system, and the order is cancelled, your mail will no longer be intercepted by the system and should resume its original delivery.
If normal mail delivery does not resume within one to two weeks, visit the post office or contact the postal service at 1-800-ASK-USPS (800- 275-8777) to inquire about the cancellation and see if the exception was properly entered. The postal service may require additional information or have other instructions for you to follow before cancellation occurs.