How to Stop Junk Mail for a Previous Resident
Tell each sender that the named person no longer lives at the address, and keep the exact mailing label for the request.
Separate personal mail from advertising first. Do not open mail that is not addressed to you. Bills, government notices, financial documents, and other important mail need different handling from a store catalog or promotional postcard.
For catalogs and promotional mail
- Copy the label exactly. Save the former resident's printed name, your delivery address, and any customer or source number.
- Contact the sender as the current resident. Explain that the named recipient no longer lives there and ask the sender to suppress that name and address from future postal marketing.
- Do not impersonate the former resident. You are reporting an outdated delivery record, not managing someone else's customer account.
- Repeat for each sender. A request to one catalog company does not update every marketer that bought or copied the old address.
Catalog Choice says its service can process catalog opt-outs for a previous resident by entering that person's name in the sender-specific form. Review the service's current instructions before submitting.
Mail marked Current Resident
If the piece says “Current Resident,” “Our Neighbor,” or similar language, it may be targeted to every address in an area. Catalog Choice explains that there may be no individual name record to remove. Look for the advertiser or delivery program printed on the piece and ask about its address-level preference process.
What to photograph
For a sender-removal request, photograph the promotional piece with the company name and the full delivery label visible. One mailer per photo prevents the former resident's label from being matched to the wrong sender. If the sender is blurry, take a closer photo before submitting.
Have the mailer in front of you?
Photograph one piece of unwanted mail. We identify the sender and prepare the removal request. Your first request is free.
Try one request free