You can close a USPS PO Box two ways: online through your USPS.com account, or in person at the post office where the box is held. Either route takes only a few minutes. The work worth doing carefully sits on either side of that step, because how you handle your mail, your keys, and your timing decides whether you get money back and whether important letters still reach you.
Do These Things Before You Close
The worst outcome of closing a PO Box isn’t losing the box; it’s losing mail you didn’t know was still coming there. Contact every bank, subscription service, insurance company, and government agency that sends you mail at the box and give them your new address directly. Forwarding is a safety net, not a substitute, because not every mail class gets redirected.
Then file a Change of Address using PS Form 3575. You can pick it up at any post office or submit it online at USPS.com for a $1.25 identity verification fee.1USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address The form asks for your old PO Box address, your new forwarding address, and the date forwarding should start. You can file up to 90 days in advance, and USPS recommends submitting at least two weeks before you need it active.2USPS. Change of Address – The Basics
Empty the box completely and gather every key. You’ll need to hand them back to get your $5.50-per-key deposit returned.3USPS. USPS January 2026 Prices – Notice 123 Bring two forms of valid ID: one photo ID like a driver’s license, passport, or military ID, plus a second non-photo form such as a voter registration card, vehicle registration, current lease, or home insurance policy.4USPS. PO Boxes Online Frequently Asked Questions If you’ve lost a key, you can still close the box, but that key’s deposit is forfeited.
Closing Online Through USPS.com
Sign in at USPS.com and open the Manage PO Box page. If your box is eligible for closure, a “Close/Request Refund” link appears next to the box details.5USPS. PO Boxes Pick a reason from the dropdown, agree to the disclaimer, and submit. USPS confirms the closure and tells you whether a refund is due.6USPS. PO Boxes Online Key Steps Guide
One catch: you still have to bring your keys to the local post office to get the deposit back. Skip that step and the deposit is gone.6USPS. PO Boxes Online Key Steps Guide Any Informed Delivery access tied to the box ends when the box closes. Online refunds arrive by check in the mail.
Closing in Person at the Post Office
Go to the post office where the box is located and tell the retail associate you want to close it. Hand over the keys and show your two forms of ID. There’s no separate closure form to complete. The associate processes the closure at the counter and can tell you whether a prorated refund applies. This is the only route where you can return the keys and collect a cash, check, or money order refund in a single trip.7USPS. Request a USPS Refund – Domestic
How Much of Your Rental Fee You Get Back
USPS charges nothing to close a PO Box. Whether you get money back depends on your rental length and how far into it you are:
- 3-month rental: no refund once the rental period begins.
- 6-month rental: 50% refund if you close within the first three months, nothing after that.
- 12-month rental: 75% refund in the first three months, 50% in months four through six, 25% in months seven through nine, nothing after the ninth month.
These percentages apply to the box rental fee only.8United States Postal Service. Terms and Conditions of Use for the USPS Post Office Box Online Interface – Section: Refund Policies The $5.50 key deposit is refunded separately once every key is returned.3USPS. USPS January 2026 Prices – Notice 123 Because the refund shrinks in tiers, closing early in the rental period is worth real money.
Business Boxes, Deceased Holders, and Other Special Situations
If the box is registered to a business, only the customer named on the original PS Form 1093 application, or an authorized representative listed on that form, can close it or file a change-of-address order.9Postal Explorer. 508 Recipient Services A random employee cannot walk in and shut it down. If you need to send someone else, they have to be on the authorization already, or you’ll need to update the account first.
A PO Box does not automatically close when the box holder dies. It stays open through the paid rental period.10Postal Explorer. DMM 508 Recipient Services To close it or redirect the mail, you have to be the court-appointed executor or administrator of the estate. A death certificate alone isn’t enough; USPS wants documented proof of your authority, which in practice means letters testamentary or letters of administration from the probate court.11USPS. How to Stop or Forward Mail for the Deceased If nobody closes the box, USPS closes it for non-payment when the rental period ends.
What Happens to Mail After the Box Closes
Once the box is closed, incoming mail is handled according to whether you filed a Change of Address and what class of mail arrives. First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, and USPS Ground Advantage packages forward for free for up to 12 months.1USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Periodicals like magazines forward for 60 days.12USPS. Mail Forwarding Options USPS Marketing Mail is not forwarded at all.
After the 12-month forwarding period ends, USPS returns your mail to the sender for six months with a label showing your new address. After that, undeliverable mail goes back to the sender with no address update attached.1USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address If you filed no Change of Address, mail arriving at the closed box is simply returned to the sender.
If You Just Let the Rental Lapse
Walking away isn’t a substitute for closing. Once your rental period ends, you have a 10-day grace period to pay the renewal fee.13United States Postal Service. DMM Revision – Grace-Period Extension to Pay PO Box Renewal Fees Rescinded If no payment arrives, USPS closes the box automatically. Any mail that shows up after that goes back to the sender, and no forwarding is set up unless you filed a Change of Address on your own.14United States Postal Service. Terms and Conditions of Use for the USPS Post Office Box Online Interface Closing the box properly and filing your address change protects your mail and preserves any prorated refund you’re still owed.