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Form 1583: the documents USPS actually wants

PS Form 1583, Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent, is how the Postal Service lets a CMRA receive mail in your name. It is identity paperwork. It is not optional, and this page will not help you fake a home address, skip a photo ID, or use a utility bill USPS already took off the list.

Required documents only. If your ID does not match the form, the CMRA is supposed to deny the application. Furnishing false information is grounds for withholding mail. We will not suggest substitutes that are not on the form or in DMM 608.10.

What the form is

Each addressee of a private mailbox needs a 1583. Spouses each complete a separate form to receive mail at the same PMB. A parent or guardian may list minors in the designated block. Businesses: the person who can authorize mail for the entity signs; have formation documents ready if the provider asks. The CMRA uploads the form and clear ID images to the USPS CMRA Customer Registration Database.

You must sign, or acknowledge your signature, in the physical or real-time audio-and-video presence of the CMRA owner/manager/authorized employee, or of a notary public commissioned in a US state, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia. Source: DMM 508.1.8.3.

Download the current form from USPS when you file. Providers pre-fill box 1–3. Do not use a blog’s PDF from 2019. Search “PS Form 1583” on usps.com.

Two current IDs

IDs must be current (not expired), identify you, and be traceable to the bearer. One is a primary photo ID. One is a secondary address ID that supports the home address on the form. CMRA applications require both (DMM 608 Exhibit 10.2). Digital-only IDs are not accepted for USPS identification purposes (USPS identification FAQ).

Primary photo ID (DMM 608.10.3, as accepted for CMRA)

U.S. university ID is listed for some USPS products; the CMRA column in Exhibit 10.3 includes it. Corporate ID is listed for some products but not for CMRA in that exhibit. If the printed 1583 checkboxes differ from the DMM, follow the form in your hand and the CMRA’s reviewer — USPS has revised both.

Address / secondary ID (DMM 608.10.4)

You may use a second acceptable primary ID, or a current non-photo ID such as:

The current 1583 typically asks the address document to contain the home address entered on the form. A driver’s license can serve as photo or as the address document if it shows that home address — not both slots with one card. A passport does not prove a street address.

Not accepted (DMM 608.10.5 and the 2023 CMRA ID update)

Home address on the form

Box 4 is your actual home (or the business’s physical location if that is what the form is collecting). It must match the address ID. It is not the PMB. The CMRA is required to look for a discrepancy and deny if the story does not match. Protected individuals with a court order use the designated checkbox and attach the order — that is the lawful privacy path, not a fake ZIP Code.

Notary vs “the manager witnessed it”

If you never visit the store, you will use online notarization or a live video session the CMRA supports. Pay their notary vendor if that is the flow. In-person at a UPS Store, the manager may witness under CMRA rules. Either way, you still present two IDs. Remote notarization does not relax the ID list.

After you are accepted

Related: expats · LLC names on the form.

Reviewed 2026-08-29. Always prefer the current PS Form 1583 and DMM 608.10 over this summary if they disagree.