How to Cancel Mail Forwarding

Last Updated: August 31, 2021 References

The US Postal Service (USPS) has 2 different services that allow you to have your mail forwarded from your previous address to a different address temporarily: regular forward mail and premium forwarding service. With regular forward mail, USPS forwards your mail to the other address piece by piece. With premium forwarding, USPS packages your mail each Wednesday and sends it to you using Priority Mail. Generally, your mail forwarding will stop on the date you listed when you started the service. However, you can also cancel it before that date if necessary, either online or in-person.^{[1]
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Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Stopping Regular Forward Mail

1
Locate your confirmation number to cancel online. When you submitted your original regular forward mail request, whether online or in person, you would have received a confirmation number. You cannot cancel online without this number.^{[2]
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- If you submitted your request online, your confirmation number will be in an email from USPS. Look for an email that was sent the day you submitted your request.
- If you went to a post office to submit your request in person, the postal worker who assisted you would've given you a printed confirmation number.
Tip: Even if you submitted your request in person, you can still cancel or modify your request online.
2
Cancel or modify your request online. Visit https://managemymove.usps.com/ to make changes to your regular forward mail. You will need your confirmation number and the "new" ZIP code you listed for the address you wanted your mail forwarded to.^{[3]
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- Enter your confirmation number and ZIP code and click "Submit." The website will bring up your change of address order. If you simply want to change the dates of your order, you can make those changes. If you want to cancel it entirely, click the cancel link.
- You can only change up to 2 fields a day. If you try to change more than that, you'll get an error message. However, you can still cancel your order even if you've already made the 2 allowed changes.
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3
Visit a post office if you've lost your confirmation number. If you can't find your confirmation number, you can still cancel your regular forward mail or change of address order. However, you'll have to go to a post office in person with valid, government-issued photo ID.^{[4]
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- You don't necessarily have to go to the specific post office that delivers your mail, either to the original address or the new address. Any US post office can cancel or adjust your order.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Changing Premium Forwarding Service

1
Determine the new date you want your service to start or end. Premium forwarding service must last at least 2 weeks. If you want to change the start date, submit your request no later than midnight CST before the start date. If you want to change the end date and cancel early, do it before 11:59 p.m. CST the Monday before the Wednesday ship date for the week you want your service to end.^{[5]
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- If you don't meet these deadlines, your mail forwarding would change the following week. This would mean that you would have to make arrangements for a package of mail to be sent back to you at your old address.
2
Contact the local post office where you filed your request. If you filed your request in person, the local post office that's normally in charge of delivering your mail will handle any modification or cancellation. Typically, you would have filed your request at the post office that handles mail delivery to your original address.^{[6]
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- Bring a valid, government-issued photo ID with you when you go to cancel the service.
3
Ask for a refund if you terminated your service early. When you filed your request in person, you would've paid for the entire forwarding service upfront. However, if you canceled your request, you might be entitled to a refund for the weeks you didn't actually get the service.^{[7]
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- Your enrollment fee is never refundable, even if you cancel the service before it starts. The only fees that are refundable are weekly fees that you prepaid at the post office and didn't use.
- You must request a refund in person. The postal worker will give you a form to fill out. You'll receive a no-fee money order for your unused weeks immediately. ^{[8]
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4
Modify or cancel your request online if you initially created it online. To change or cancel your request online, enter your login credentials for your usps.com account and click on your profile. From the navigation menu, click "Activity History" and find the line for "PFS Residential" order. Click "Cancel Order."^{[9]
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- You'll get a pop-up asking you to verify that you want to cancel the order. After you click "Yes," USPS will send you a confirmation email. Your credit card will not be charged for any future weeks, provided you canceled before the deadline.
- If you merely want to change the dates of your request, click "View Details" on the line for the "PFS Residential" order. Click "Edit This Order," then make the changes you need to make.

Warnings

This article covers how to cancel mail forwarding with the US Postal Service. If you live in another country, the process may be different.

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