Resource How to set up a Post Office box (P.O. Box)

[Betelgeuse8000]

There are countless ways people have caught the bus on here in the past, and more than a handful of them require some shopping be done beforehand. In many of these cases it would require ordering something online and receiving it at your front door. But, if you live with family or roommates, you might be concerned that someone might see what your up to from the suspect packages you've been ordering. So I'll be showing how you can avoid any of that by getting a PO Box.

What is a P.O. Box?
A Post Office box (or P.O. Box for short) is a mailbox you can rent from certain post offices that allows you to receive packages from somewhere other than your front door. People who watch a lot of YouTube may be familiar with them, as many Youtubers use them to receive packages and letters from fans without having to dox themselves.

How to rent a P.O. Box
Assuming you're doing all of this at the Post Office, the process is relatively straightforward. You ask the person at the front desk about renting a P.O. Box and they give you some paperwork. Said paperwork can look daunting at the start, though, so I'll try and break it down for your ease.

1. This is whether you're setting up the P.O. Box for yourself or for a company. I think this goes without saying but you should tick "Personal"
2. Not applicable
3. Your name. Family name, then given name, and then your middle initial. Basic stuff.
4. Your address. One thing to note is that where it says "ZIP+4" it's just your zip code. Not sure what's so important about that +4, but it sure confused me at the post office.
5. Phone number. All 10 digits of it.
   
6. Email address. While you could try putting [email protected] on there, I don't know if the people at the post office would buy it.
7. Box size. 1 is the smallest at 3"x5", and 5 is the largest at 22.5"x12". In addition to being more expensive (I'll get into more detail later), the larger ones also are likely to be on a waiting list to get, so you might be better off getting a 3 or 2 for ctb materials. On the off chance one of your packages is too large for your box, the post office will likely hold onto it for you, so unless you're planning on ordering a hot tub on ebay you should be good.
8. Identification. Here's where the headache may set in, and it also serves as a convenient filter to weed out all the minors. You'll need a form of photo identification and a form of nonphoto identification. Generally the forms of photo identification that nearly everyone has is a driver's license/learner's permit (or the nondriver's ID too, I guess). As for nonphoto identification, the easiest one to get (aka the one that doesn't involve owning something) is voter registration. If you already registered to vote and don't remember your number, you might be able to check online (it likely depends on what state your in). If you haven't registered to vote, that would necessitate a trip to the DMV, so have fun waiting.
9. On the back of the paper it'll show a blank table, write your full name (middle name optional) in the top left box.
10. Once again inapplicable. This is a very unprofessional operation.

After that, just sign at the bottom. That large box between 10 and the signature is about automatically renewing your rent of the box, which I doubt you'd need.

Paying for the box
After dealing with the formidable bit of paperwork I just dismembered, you have to pay. How much you pay depends on what size box you get and the length of your rental. You can chose to rent your P.O. Box for 3 months, 6 months, or a year at a time. I went with 6 months because you can't get 3 months without filling out the automatic renewal.

Once all that's settled, you should have your very own P.O. Box! Make sure to double check the keys they gave you actually work on your designated box before you strut out of the post office. If you wanna look at the application form yourself, it's at https://about.usps.com/forms/ps1093.pdf. Hopefully my guide isn't hard to follow. I probably definitely put needless fluff into this.

 

[_Alfarooq_]

There are countless ways people have caught the bus on here in the past, and more than a handful of them require some shopping be done beforehand. In many of these cases it would require ordering something online and receiving it at your front door. But, if you live with family or roommates, you might be concerned that someone might see what your up to from the suspect packages you've been ordering. So I'll be showing how you can avoid any of that by getting a PO Box.

What is a P.O. Box?
A Post Office box (or P.O. Box for short) is a mailbox you can rent from certain post offices that allows you to receive packages from somewhere other than your front door. People who watch a lot of YouTube may be familiar with them, as many Youtubers use them to receive packages and letters from fans without having to dox themselves.

How to rent a P.O. Box
Assuming you're doing all of this at the Post Office, the process is relatively straightforward. You ask the person at the front desk about renting a P.O. Box and they give you some paperwork. Said paperwork can look daunting at the start, though, so I'll try and break it down for your ease.

1. This is whether you're setting up the P.O. Box for yourself or for a company. I think this goes without saying but you should tick "Personal"
2. Not applicable
3. Your name. Family name, then given name, and then your middle initial. Basic stuff.
4. Your address. One thing to note is that where it says "ZIP+4" it's just your zip code. Not sure what's so important about that +4, but it sure confused me at the post office.
5. Phone number. All 10 digits of it.
   
6. Email address. While you could try putting [email protected] on there, I don't know if the people at the post office would buy it.
7. Box size. 1 is the smallest at 3"x5", and 5 is the largest at 22.5"x12". In addition to being more expensive (I'll get into more detail later), the larger ones also are likely to be on a waiting list to get, so you might be better off getting a 3 or 2 for ctb materials. On the off chance one of your packages is too large for your box, the post office will likely hold onto it for you, so unless you're planning on ordering a hot tub on ebay you should be good.
8. Identification. Here's where the headache may set in, and it also serves as a convenient filter to weed out all the minors. You'll need a form of photo identification and a form of nonphoto identification. Generally the forms of photo identification that nearly everyone has is a driver's license/learner's permit (or the nondriver's ID too, I guess). As for nonphoto identification, the easiest one to get (aka the one that doesn't involve owning something) is voter registration. If you already registered to vote and don't remember your number, you might be able to check online (it likely depends on what state your in). If you haven't registered to vote, that would necessitate a trip to the DMV, so have fun waiting.
9. On the back of the paper it'll show a blank table, write your full name (middle name optional) in the top left box.
10. Once again inapplicable. This is a very unprofessional operation.

After that, just sign at the bottom. That large box between 10 and the signature is about automatically renewing your rent of the box, which I doubt you'd need.

Paying for the box
After dealing with the formidable bit of paperwork I just dismembered, you have to pay. How much you pay depends on what size box you get and the length of your rental. You can chose to rent your P.O. Box for 3 months, 6 months, or a year at a time. I went with 6 months because you can't get 3 months without filling out the automatic renewal.

Once all that's settled, you should have your very own P.O. Box! Make sure to double check the keys they gave you actually work on your designated box before you strut out of the post office. If you wanna look at the application form yourself, it's at https://about.usps.com/forms/ps1093.pdf. Hopefully my guide isn't hard to follow. I probably definitely put needless fluff into this.

Is this for all countries? I am in the UK