Junk Mail Magic

Verify a forwarding notice you did not request

Keep the notice and contact USPS promptly. Reach USPS through its website by typing the address yourself, and do not use a phone number or link printed on the notice. If nobody at your address asked for forwarding, it may be a mail-related identity theft issue. USPIS accepts reports of those.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

Confirm through a route you trust

  1. Keep the notice. Write down the date it arrived and the new address and dates it shows.
  2. Ask the other adults at your address whether any of them requested forwarding.
  3. Go to usps.com yourself and use the official process for change-of-address and forwarding questions.
  4. If nobody at the address requested the change, report suspected mail-related identity theft through the USPIS report page.
  5. Watch for mail you expect from important senders. If something stops arriving, contact that sender using details you already trust.

Why an opt-out will not fix it

Forwarding controls where mail is delivered. It is separate from advertiser preferences, so a marketing opt-out cannot reverse a change of address. Keep the notice and any identity documents away from advertising-removal services.

Private forwarding-notice sheet

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Date notice received: [date] What the notice shows: [new address], [start and end dates] Others here asked: [name], answer: [answer] USPS contacted through usps.com: [date], outcome: [outcome] USPIS report: [date], reference: [reference number] Senders to watch for missing mail: [sender names]

Keep one record for every contact

Fill in the sheet below before you contact USPS. Then give the same dates and facts to USPS and in any USPIS report. Add each reference number you receive to the sheet.

Official sources

Treat missing or stolen mail as a separate problemPrepare a clear USPS service inquiryCheck an Informed Delivery welcome letter you did not expectChoose between mail-fraud and delivery support routesDelivery and advertisingAll practical mail guides

Choose the route that matches the mailing

Use the official route described in this guide for this kind of mail. For a separate ordinary advertisement, Junk Mail Magic can help prepare a sender-specific removal request.

Compare removal routes