Postal Service finalizes new standards for curbside mailboxes

The Postal Service is finalizing new design standards for curbside mailboxes.

Under the new rule, new locking and non-locking curbside mailboxes must be able to accommodate the insertion or removal of a new minimum-sized mail item 7 inches high by 13 inches wide by 16 inches deep.

{mosads}Locked mailboxes will need to pass a three-minute physical security test of the customer access door using commonly available hand and pry tools and a three-minute manual test to ensure that mail can’t be removed through the front carrier door.

The new standard covers all curbside mailboxes that are served by a carrier from a vehicle on any city, rural or highway contract route. The standard does not apply to mailboxes made for door delivery service.

“We believe that instituting these mailbox design options will allow for improvement in the Postal Service’s capacity for this mode of delivery as vendors choose to produce these curbside mailboxes, and the mailboxes come into widespread use,” the Postal Service said in its rule-making.

The new design standards would not impact mailboxes that are already approved for use under the former standards. The public has 60 days to comment.

The rule will take effect in 30 days.