LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
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USPS General Delivery lets anyone receive mail at a post office without a home address: the office holds letters and some parcels under your name until you pick them up with ID. Canada Post offers a similar service at most post offices. Holds last about 30 days or less, so it works for travelers and people between addresses, not as a permanent substitute.
The sender writes your full name, then "General Delivery," then the city, state, and ZIP of the post office where you will pick it up. One detail people get wrong: use the receiving post office's ZIP code, not your old address. Get that wrong and the letter lands at the wrong counter.
Before anyone mails to you this way, call the post office and confirm it accepts General Delivery. Most do, but not all, and some smaller offices will not hold parcels, only letters. Five minutes on the phone saves a returned letter.
Bring photo ID. Staff look in the General Delivery hold area under your name, you sign for the piece, and you take it. In the US there is no fee for standard letters held this way, and Canada's equivalent service is likewise free for basic pickup. There is no appointment and no account: you just show up during retail hours with ID that matches the name on the mail.
Typically about 30 days in the US, sometimes less during busy periods. In Canada the window is similar. You cannot extend the hold by calling to ask: the clock is fixed, and unclaimed mail is returned to the sender or sent to the dead-letter office. If you are passing through town for a week, this is plenty. If you need months, it is the wrong tool.
No, it is not designed for that. It exists for travelers, RVers, people between leases, and anyone temporarily without a fixed address. For longer-term needs, a PO box or a private mailbox is the right move. A private mailbox has one advantage neither General Delivery nor a PO box offers: it can receive parcels from UPS and FedEx, not just the postal service.
That last point trips people up. General Delivery is a postal counter service. A UPS or FedEx driver cannot hand a parcel to the General Delivery counter, so anything shipped by a private carrier will be refused. If you are expecting packages from online retailers, check which carrier they use before choosing General Delivery.
Canada Post offers the same idea under the same name: General Delivery at most post offices. The sender addresses the item to you at the post office with "General Delivery" in the address lines, and you collect it with ID. The rules around holds and parcels are close to the US version, and the same advice applies: confirm with the specific office first, especially for anything larger than a letter.
LetterAgent prints and mails letters for you, but every letter we send needs a real recipient address: a street address, a PO box, or similar. General Delivery is a counter pickup service with addressing rules that vary by office, and we cannot format or verify those addresses reliably, so we do not support it. For any standard US or Canadian address, though, just describe the letter to your AI assistant and we handle the printing, postage, and mailing.
| Option | Address format | Holds mail | Accepts parcels | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USPS General Delivery | Name, General Delivery, city, state, office ZIP | About 30 days | Letters reliably; parcels vary by office | Travelers and people between addresses |
| Canada Post General Delivery | Name, General Delivery, post office address | Similar window | Letters reliably; confirm for parcels | Same, on the Canadian side |
| PO box | Name, PO Box number, city, state/province, ZIP | Indefinitely while rented | Postal parcels only | Long-term address without a street |
| Private mailbox | Your name plus a street-style address | Indefinitely while rented | Yes, from all carriers | Anyone expecting UPS and FedEx too |
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com