So I'll be building in the next month (currently it's just raw land) and have heard mixed things as far as how to get my mail delivered there. I already sent in the paperwork and got a 911 address for the property. I've heard everything from "I have to have a building permit in hand" to "I have to go through the county" to "if I already have a 911 address, I just need to go to the post office, tell them my address, set up my own mailbox and it'll start being delivered there" (this from my current mail carrier today.

There's no driveway or gate yet where the mailbox needs to go (construction hasn't started), but can I just go set up my own mailbox and go to the post office to notify them then start receiving my mail there? I've heard the post office has to install the mailboxes and you can't set your own up. I need to get this done asap so I can start having all my mail sent there before the sell on my current house is finalized at the beginning or March. Thanks for any help.

As far as I know, the post office has to approve the location and type of mailbox before it is put up.

I live in town but had to install my own mailbox. There's a guide on the USPS website to follow to make sure it meets all their height/location requirements.

Go to the post office and talk to the local postmaster to get your more specific questions answered.

I'd sandwich it between two concrete filled, steel pipes set in the ground at the same height to avoid someone getting it with a baseball bat.

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So I'll be building in the next month (currently it's just raw land) and have heard mixed things as far as how to get my mail delivered there. I already sent in the paperwork and got a 911 address for the property. I've heard everything from "I have to have a building permit in hand" to "I have to go through the county" to "if I already have a 911 address, I just need to go to the post office, tell them my address, set up my own mailbox and it'll start being delivered there" (this from my current mail carrier today.

There's no driveway or gate yet where the mailbox needs to go (construction hasn't started), but can I just go set up my own mailbox and go to the post office to notify them then start receiving my mail there? I've heard the post office has to install the mailboxes and you can't set your own up. I need to get this done asap so I can start having all my mail sent there before the sell on my current house is finalized at the beginning or March. Thanks for any help.

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We went through this when we were building last year. I set up a mailbox and the USPS would not deliver our mail until we lived at the site. This is their general rule to prevent fraud. Each post office is different. More rural may be more lenient.

The USPS dopes not set mail boxes and you must have the house number of the box.

If the mailbox is to go on a state road, TxDOT wants it on a break away post. I think they set the post for you but not sure.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll be looking into it this week more when I'm off. Since it seems to just depend on the area, I think I'm better off just going to the post office and asking them. Apparently we have a more lenient service area from what I can tell.

Yes go to your local post office and they will tell you what you need to know. Every area has different rules.

For my rural county they just wanted the mailbox to be 42" off the ground and on the same side of the road as my neighbor's mailboxes. They gave me a postcard to fill out basic information then put inside the new mailbox and I was done.

get the address setup with the local post office, if they won't deliver until you actually "live" out there, setup a forwarding to one of their PO boxes until they can set the box up

Well I got it done. The post office simply gave me their "recommended set-up guidelines" sheet and said get after it and leave a note in it for the mailman. I set it up where I wanted and left a note in it and he left his own saying "this will work fine".

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Well I got it done. The post office simply gave me their "recommended set-up guidelines" sheet and said get after it and leave a note in it for the mailman. I set it up where I wanted and left a note in it and he left his own saying "this will work fine".

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I love small towns.

Glad to hear it worked out. When I first saw the thread title, my first thought was why wouldn't you put a mailbox on land? What are you going to do, put it on water?