USPS Form 1583 must be filled out by anyone who wants to rent one of our Wake Forest virtual office mailboxes for business use. The virtual office form is often confusing the first time you see it.
USPS Form 1583 and Why It’s Needed
In the United States, the US Postal Service regulates how mail can be received and handled. They also dictate required procedures for Commercial Mail Receiving Agents (CMRA) like us to follow. USPS Form 1583 acts as a written authorization that permits a CMRA to receive mail on the customer’s behalf. This form is required before anyone can give you a mailbox.
Filling Out Form 1583
The first time you look at this form, you may be dazed and dumbfounded by the different terms, what’s required and not required, and how to properly fill out the information.
In general, the form is broken down into three sections – the CMRA information, the mailbox and owner information, and optionally the business information if one exists.
The CMRA Information (Box 4)
This information is mostly filled out by the CMRA, so you won’t need to know most of this. It simply shows who you are authorizing delivery of mail.
Mailbox Owner and Optional Business Information
We list the following information that you need to fill out here. Most are self-explanatory.
- Box 2: Your full name that this mailbox will be receiving for.
- Box 3: Your mailbox address, including the mailbox number that you chose when you signed up with us.
- Box 5: Sign this to authorize us to receive restricted delivery mail on your behalf.
- Boxes 6-7: The person who is applying for this mailbox. Normally, this is the same as the person who is receiving mail for this mailbox. Be sure to include a phone number where you can be reached.
- Box 8: Write down the two IDs that you will use to prove your identity and the ID numbers. One of them must have a photo of you. A list of acceptable IDs is listed at the end of this article.
- Box 16: Sign this form
Optional Business Information
If you are linking your business to your mailbox, fill out Boxes 9-14. Most boxes are self-explanatory except for a few that are clarified below:
- Boxes 10a-10e: Your business contact information. You may use your business mailing address or registered agent address as well. Use your home address if it’s a home business. This information is only for us and USPS and is not available to others.
- Box 11: What services your business provides, such as “Market Research”, “Consumer Products”, “Clothing”, etc.
- Box 12: You can enter each member or employee that will receive mail here. Although names must have verifiable identification, we do not require you to provide separate Form 1583 for each employee unless requested by us.
