General Delivery
What is USPS General Delivery, and how do I find a post office that offers it?
Updated September 2026
Quick facts
- Cost: free (just normal postage)
- Availability: varies by office — call to confirm
- Hold length: about 10–30 days, set locally
- ID required: yes, government-issued photo ID
- Best for: short-term mail without a fixed address
What General Delivery is
General Delivery is a way to receive mail at a specific post office instead of a home or business address — USPS holds it at the counter until you come in and claim it with ID. It's built for people who don't have a fixed address to give a sender yet: people between permanent addresses during a move, travelers and RVers on a long trip, seasonal workers, and anyone who needs a reliable place to receive something without waiting for delivery to catch up to wherever they are.
Finding a post office that offers it
Not every post office offers General Delivery, and there's no single published nationwide list of which ones do — availability is set office by office, and USPS's own online tools don't reliably show it for every location. The only sure way to confirm is to call or visit the specific post office directly and ask whether it accepts General Delivery mail before you have anything sent there. Use the location listings on this site to find the post office nearest to where you'll be, then call the number listed to confirm before relying on it.
Before you have anything sent, confirm with that post office:
- ✓ They accept General Delivery mail
- ✓ The exact ZIP code to use for it
- ✓ How long they'll hold it before returning it
- ✓ What ID to bring when you pick it up
How to address it
Address General Delivery mail with the recipient's full name, then "General Delivery," then the city, state, and the ZIP code of the specific post office holding it — for example, "Jane Smith, General Delivery, Springfield, IL 62701." The ZIP code has to match the office that's actually holding the mail, not just any ZIP in that city, so confirm the exact ZIP with that post office when you call ahead rather than assuming it matches the office's street address.
How long mail is held, and what you need to pick it up
USPS generally holds General Delivery mail for about 10 to 30 days before returning it to the sender, though the exact window is set at the local postmaster's discretion and can be shorter if the sender specified a hold period on the item itself — ask the post office holding your mail how long they'll keep it so you don't miss the window. To pick it up, bring a government-issued photo ID that matches the name on the mail; General Delivery itself doesn't cost anything beyond the sender's normal postage.
Who it's for, and its limits
General Delivery works for most standard mail and packages sent through USPS, but it isn't meant as a long-term mailing address — if you'll be receiving mail regularly at one place for months, a PO Box is usually a better fit, since it doesn't rely on a hold policy that varies office to office. Treat General Delivery as a short-term bridge: confirm the receiving office accepts it, get the exact address format right, and pick it up within the hold window.