USPS - New Change of Address ID Requirements

Posted by OSUBrit@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 8 comments

So the family member we still get the odd bit of mail to is moving, I put in a COA request with USPS as usual and the system rejected it - saying we need to attend a post office in person with ID to process the request... well the nearest US Post Office is 3,500 miles from here so that's going to be tricky. Anyone else come across this situation? I've emailed USPS about it, but I feel like that will end up being like trying to teach karate to a rock.

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8 Comments

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Mightyfree@reddit

Not heard of this. I’ve changed addresses online just a year ago. Have you possibly missed a jury summons or have something outstanding with the DMV?

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OSUBrit@reddit (OP)

They just started doing it earlier in the year - they have a big notification about it on their website.

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Mightyfree@reddit

Gosh! What a pain. Good luck.

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textreference@reddit

This just happened to us! We moved to the UK. We were not notified about the in person requirement before doing the COA, apparently the USPS changed requirements in May 2023. I will say… everyone we spoke to on the phone at USPS said they didn’t even know how to have someone else do the in person verification — not that it wasn’t possible, but that they didn’t know how. So I forwarded the email to my dad (still lives in the US), sent him an email saying something to the effect of “I, (name), authorize (my dad) to verify my COA.” And I signed it and emailed that to my dad along with my passport. It worked. My dad was allowed by his local USPS office to complete both mine and my husband’s COAs. I would try this. YMMV bc it seems it’s up to the individual USPS worker whether the request is legit.

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textreference@reddit

I will say though, I am having another person pick up the last of our mail at a different post office and have authorized him to do so and given him all the same documentation, and the USPS workers have argued with him every time he tries to collect our held mail. So… like I said, YMMV. And like many things in the US, you may be able to make it work if you put up a bit of a fight.

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OSUBrit@reddit (OP)

Thanks for this - and happy cake day!

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Historical-Trainer19@reddit

Can you file on paper?

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OSUBrit@reddit (OP)

I'll have to try that after the online request expires (20 days).