You've picked a US business address and paid for it. Then a message tells you no mail can arrive until you complete USPS Form 1583, a permission form from the US Postal Service. It needs two IDs and a notarized signature, meaning an official witness watches you sign. You live outside the US. If home is Bogotá or Berlin, your first thought is probably the notary down the street. Hold that thought. That notary can't help here.
This guide explains USPS Form 1583 for people outside the US, in plain words, including how to sign it online without getting on a plane. It's general information, not legal advice, and we link to the official rules as we go.
First, the words you'll keep seeing
USPS is the United States Postal Service, the national mail service.
A CMRA, or "commercial mail receiving agency," is a private business that accepts mail for its customers and holds it or sends it on (USPS CMRA FAQ). Virtual offices and virtual mailboxes are both CMRAs in postal terms, whatever their websites call them.
PS Form 1583 is a short USPS form that gives a CMRA your permission to receive mail in your name. Think of it as a permission slip with ID attached.
A notary is a person licensed by a government to confirm that you are who you say you are when you sign. "Notarized" means a notary watched you sign and stamped the form.
Why your mailbox needs the form
No form, no mail. The CMRA keeps copies of your IDs and uploads them to a USPS database of mailbox customers (Postal Bulletin 22624). If a letter arrives for someone who has no form on file, the CMRA must send it back to the Post Office as undeliverable (DMM 508).
So a missing form doesn't just slow things down. Your bank card or tax letter goes back.
Who fills it in
The applicant is always a person, never a company. If mail will also come addressed to your business, you add the business name, its address and where it's registered (for example, "Florida" or "Mexico") on the same form (Postal Bulletin 22624). For a corporation, an officer signs and writes their title, such as "President" (PS Form 1583).
Anyone else who'll get mail at that address goes on the form too, and each may have to show two IDs. If your cofounder in Lima expects letters there, put her on the form now.
The name and address you type must match your documents exactly. If your passport says "María José" and the form says "Maria," the application can be rejected.
The two IDs: what works and what doesn't
USPS wants two IDs, and each one has its own job. The first is a photo ID that proves who you are. The second proves where you physically live (USPS acceptable ID, DMM 608.10).
Photo ID (pick one):
- A US or foreign passport
- A US state, territory or tribal driver's license or ID card
- A Matricula Consular, a NEXUS card, a US uniformed services ID or a US permanent resident card
Proof of where you live (pick one):
- A lease, a mortgage or a deed of trust
- A voter or vehicle registration card
- A home or vehicle insurance policy
- Form I-94, the US arrival and departure record
Good news first. Your foreign passport works.
The second list is the awkward one. Utility bills used to count, but USPS stopped accepting them on January 22, 2023 (Postal Bulletin 22613). Bank statements aren't on the list either. Social Security cards, birth certificates, credit cards and any digital ID on your phone don't count. And a second photo ID can't stand in for the address document. A driver's license can do one job, not both.
What about a lease from your home country? Honestly, the official text doesn't say whether a foreign document can prove a foreign address. If all your address papers are from Mexico, Brazil or Spain, ask your mailbox provider before you upload. We'd rather answer that on WhatsApp than reject your form.
How you can sign since 2024
This part changed recently, so older articles get it wrong.
A USPS rule that took effect May 1, 2024 gives you two ways to sign (Federal Register, May 2, 2024):
- In front of the CMRA's owner, manager or an authorized employee, in person or on a live video call.
- In front of a notary commissioned in a US state, a US territory or possession, or Washington, D.C.
USPS updated its mailing rules to match on July 14, 2024 (Postal Bulletin 22648).
Read option 2 again. A notary in Mexico City, a cartório in São Paulo or a notaire in Lyon isn't commissioned in a US state. So a notary from your country doesn't qualify, however official the stamp looks.
What about notarizing online? The rule doesn't mention it by name. It asks for a notary commissioned in the US, and it doesn't say that notary has to be in the same room as you. So a US-commissioned notary on a live video call fits the wording. That's our reading of the rule, not a USPS statement, and it's how our process works.
Completing USPS Form 1583 from outside the US, step by step
Here's how it works at Prima. It's one example, not a USPS requirement.
- Choose a plan and pay. You get your address right away: 2125 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 300 # and then your mailbox number.
- Fill in Form 1583 in your account. Copy your name exactly as it appears on your passport. Add your company and anyone else who'll receive mail.
- Upload your two IDs: the photo ID and the document that proves your home address.
- Sign with an online notary on a live video call, from your laptop or phone, wherever you are. This is included in every plan.
- Wait for our team to review the form. Once we approve it, you can put the address on your website, invoices and filings.
A practical tip for step 4. Sit somewhere quiet with good light, and keep your passport within reach.
After approval: keep the form current
The form isn't a one-time thing. Every three months, by January 15, April 15, July 15 and October 15, the CMRA has to confirm to USPS that every form it filed is still current and that no ID has expired (Federal Register, May 19, 2023).
So when your passport expires, or your name or home address changes, you sign a new Form 1583. Put your passport's expiry date in your calendar.
If you close the mailbox one day
Under DMM 508, the CMRA keeps sending your mail, with new postage, to the forwarding address on your form for six months after you close, unless you opt out in writing. After those six months, First-Class mail, Priority mail and mail that needs a signature go back to the Post Office. Neither you nor the CMRA files a USPS change of address.
So before you close, give your new address to everyone who writes to you, starting with the IRS, the US tax agency. Our guide on how to receive IRS mail while living abroad explains how.
Where Prima fits
Prima gives you a street address at 2125 Biscayne Blvd in Miami, and our team photographs every envelope for the app. Online notarization of Form 1583 is part of signup in every plan, with no notary fee. Plans start at $39 a month, and you can compare them here.
Still deciding where the address goes on your paperwork? Read whether a virtual office can be your LLC's address. Just formed your company? Our checklist of what to do after forming a Florida LLC puts this form in order.