Since non-lawyers shouldn't dispense legal advice, here's how we can answer the question of legality. Even an internet search didn't reveal a clear answer. Some lawyers must be experts on post offices and mailbox locks, but they haven't published much case law on the subject. Check out our tips, warnings, and how-to guide below before you panic. Here's a list of items you need and mailbox features to consider.
#Usps mailbox master key full#
You're also not the first person to search through a junk drawer full of keys for a copy of the key with no luck. You're not the first person to have to deal with a broken lock or missing mailbox key.
If you don't have any other key options, brute force is still not the solution. What should you do? Pick the lock? Grab your cordless drill?įirst, does someone have a copy of your key? Landlords have all kinds of keys. However, if your mailbox lock breaks or if you lose your key, you're unable to access your mail, that can cause a considerable amount of stress. Whether you're a tenant in an apartment complex with a shared bank of cluster mailboxes for one address or a homeowner with a street box, you're no stranger to unlocking your box to pick up your mail.Ī locked mailbox offers an extra layer of privacy and security protection for personal information. Since the USPS services USPS Cluster Mailboxes, you will need your local postmaster or postal carrier to open the master door before you can replace an individual tenant lock by following these instructions. But we don't have centralized delivery here, and if the carrier is willing to carry a copy of our building key.IMPORTANT - Regarding USPS Cluster Mailboxes: NEVER attempt to Drill Out a Mailbox Lock And perhaps part of that shift is phasing out installs of Arrow locks on individual building entries and mailboxes. I know that USPS policy has been shifting towards centralized delivery in recent years, so that they no longer have to visit individual addresses in order to deliver mail. I'd have thought there would be a form and/or documentation somewhere on the USPS site, but all I've come up with is an almost-suspicious lack of any information whatsoever. While it's easy to find the hardware for sale (sans lock), my not-inconsiderable web skills have failed to find any information whatsoever about the process of getting the box outfitted with a lock.
#Usps mailbox master key install#
So my question becomes, before I consider ordering one of these: How do you go about getting the actual lock installed? Is it a service provided by the USPS directly? How does one even go about making an install request? Are there fees involved? You can buy the actual boxes from many sources (here's one version from ), but as one might expect they come without the lock installed. When fitted with a standard USPS "Arrow lock", any postal carrier can open the box, then use the key stored inside to unlock the door and enter the building. Fortunately, there's already an existing (and much better) solution, which I've seen employed at other residential locations: An exterior box, sometimes called a "key keeper", mounted outside the front door and containing the door key on a chain. I've already ruled out "more keys for the USPS!" as an option for solving this - that way lies madness. (Say, dropping off a Priority or Express package, or even just someone else covering our regular guy's route when he's out sick or on vacation.) Without that One Key we've provided to the USPS (really, one specific individual employee), the mail can't get in.
Problem is, that doesn't help at all if a different USPS employee needs to deliver mail. To deliver mail, a copy of the building front door key has been provided to our regular mail carrier. We have a 9-unit apartment building with USPS-approved mailboxes mounted in the secured entry lobby.
Perhaps this is a question I should just ask the USPS directly, but I wanted to first try to collect some third-party experience with the process. I'm not sure this question is at all appropriate for DIY.stackexchange, but it seemed the best fit so if it's not appropriate here it's probably not appropriate anywhere.
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