LetterAgent
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Home > Guides > Shipping to APO/FPO addresses
Only USPS delivers to APO, FPO, and DPO addresses: FedEx and UPS cannot reach them, and LetterAgent's labels are Canada-only Xpresspost, so this route is USPS or nothing. Address the package exactly like domestic mail, with the service member's name, unit, APO/FPO and ZIP (never the country name), plus a customs form.
| Line | What goes there | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient | Full name and rank | SGT Jane Rivera |
| Unit | Unit number or PSC box | Unit 1234, Box 567 |
| City/state/ZIP | APO, AE (or AP/AA), and the ZIP | APO AE 09021 |
| Country | United States (never the actual country) | US |
APO (Army/Air Force Post Office), FPO (Fleet Post Office), and DPO (Diplomatic Post Office) addresses are part of the US postal system even though the recipient is stationed abroad. Your package travels through ordinary USPS channels to a military mail gateway in the US, and the military postal system carries it the rest of the way. That is why you never write the actual country on the address: doing so can route the package into the foreign postal system, where it gets delayed or returned. The two-letter codes tell you the region: AE covers Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; AP covers the Pacific; AA covers the Americas.
This also explains the carrier restriction. FedEx and UPS have no access to the military postal system, so they physically cannot complete delivery to an APO address. Some will accept the package and hand it to USPS anyway, but you pay the private-carrier price for what is ultimately a USPS delivery: just start with USPS. And because postage is charged at domestic US rates, shipping a care package to someone stationed in Germany costs the same as shipping it across your own state.
Even though the postage is domestic, APO packages cross borders, so they need a customs declaration. For most packages, that is the short customs form (PS Form 2976-R), which you attach in a clear envelope on the outside of the box. It lists the contents, their value, and whether the items are gifts, merchandise, or documents. Be specific: "chocolate chip cookies, gift" clears faster than "food items," and vague descriptions are one of the most common reasons packages get held.
A few things to know before you pack. First, restrictions vary by destination ZIP, not just by country: each APO ZIP has its own list of prohibited items published by USPS, and it can include things you would not expect, like certain foods, aerosols, or alcohol. Check the list for the exact ZIP before you buy anything. Second, packages must be addressed to an individual service member by name: Department of Defense rules prohibit mail addressed to "any service member" or to a unit generally. Third, seal the box well and pack for a long trip: military mail travels by a mix of air and surface transport and gets handled more than a domestic parcel.
USPS offers Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express to most APO/FPO/DPO ZIPs, and the Express military service reaches many (but not all) of them: some ZIPs, like 093, have no Express option at all, so check availability for the specific address. Insurance and tracking behave differently on military mail than on domestic mail: tracking typically stops showing detailed scans once the package leaves USPS hands and enters the military system, which is normal and not a sign it is lost. If you are shipping for a holiday, send early: USPS publishes recommended military mail-by dates each fall, and the ground-service date lands more than a month before Christmas.
LetterAgent cannot ship this one: our shipping labels are Canada-only Xpresspost. For APO/FPO/DPO packages, take the box to a post office or print the USPS label online with the customs form, and double-check the address format before you seal it. The most common failure in military mail is not the service, it is the address: country name written in, unit number missing, or the wrong two-letter code. Get those four lines right and the system does the rest.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
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.
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