Can You Forward Business Mail to a Residence? What to Know

A professional must separate work from personal life, and an effective way to do this is by having separate mailing addresses. But can you forward business mail to a residence? 

Yes, keep reading to learn how and why your business will want to invest in a business mail forwarding service like Davinci. 

4 Benefits of Owning a Separate Business Mailing Address

Here are four reasons to separate your business mailing address from your personal one.

1. Brand Impression

When other companies want to send you mail, especially if they’re local companies, you’ll need a mailing address that looks professional. Local companies could realize the mail they’re sending is going to a residential address and become hesitant to do business with you.

They could also worry about privacy since suburban mailboxes aren’t monitored as closely as business mailboxes. 

2. Financial Organization

With a separate business mailing address, you’ll be better able to keep business finances separate from personal. It could negatively affect your business if financial dealings are late because you mistook a business bill for one of your personal ones. 

3. Legal Ramifications

Depending on where you live, there could be legal risks to making your home address your business address. For example, despite being an LLC, if your business operates in your home, you can still be held responsible for legal and monetary obligations because your professional and personal life has mixed. 

You can be liable for legal fees, fines/penalties, and business debts, from which you would typically be protected by forming an LLC. 

Other issues like HOA regulations and local ordinances can arise as well. Some HOAs ban using a home address for business intentions.

4. Personal Privacy

If you use your personal mailing address for your business, that makes your home address public. This exposure leads to clients appearing uninvited, getting more cold calls, or having your personal information fall into the wrong hands. 

Can You Forward Business Mail to a Residence?

Yes, you can forward business mail to a residence. The post office can do it, or you can use a business mail forwarding service. 

Using the United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service (USPS) offers a change of address (COA) form for redirecting your mail. You must fill out information like the following:

Contact information

Current address

The new address where they’ll forward the mail

The start date for forwarding

Though the USPS’s mail forwarding service is temporary, it will forward your mail for around six months before the service stops, or you will pay a service fee to continue. 

In addition to the COA form, you must specify what kind of change of address you’re using by filling out one of three forms:

Individual COA: Fill out this form if it’s just your personal mail getting forwarded.

Family COA: This is for when an entire family is moving, and everyone with the same last name and address will get their mail forwarded. 

Business COA: Similar to an individual COA, this form is for forwarding business entity mail. 

For both pickup and delivery of mail, it can take between one to two weeks once all the paperwork is submitted and approved for the new address to start receiving mail. 

What Mail Cannot Be Forwarded by USPS?

Some forms of mail won’t be forwarded unless specifically requested. These include the following:

Ads

Books

Catalogs

Magazines

Mail marked as “do not forward”

Mail with change service requested

Using a Business Mail Forwarding Service

Most mailing forwarding services work similarly to a post office, but instead of waiting for the physical mail to come to you, they’ll scan it and send it to the email of your choice. You still must fill out a USPS COA form, but instead of using your personal address, it will be the address the mailing service assigns you. 

You can then tell the business mailing forwarding service what to send, shred, or toss as junk mail.

4 Reasons Why a Business Should Invest in a Mail Forwarding Service

When running a small business, every cost counts. So why should a company have the extra expense of a business mail forwarding service? Here are four reasons all companies should have a mail forwarding service. 

1. Ensures Privacy

Unattended mail is vulnerable to thieves. If your business deals with private documents, unattended mail can lead to ID theft, proprietary secrets leaking, and other crises. 

Having a professional mail forwarding service ensures someone always grabs your mail as soon as it arrives. 

2. Faster Response Times

By having someone pick up your mail and forward it to you digitally, you’ll respond faster to business partners, investors, and customers. A fast response will reflect positively on your business. 

3. Fewer Expenses 

Using a business mail forwarding service like Davinci can save your business money. You won’t have to pay for the following:

A secure mailbox

A shredder

Gas

Storage space

You can invest the savings right back into your business to make it grow and become more successful. 

4. Opens up Your Schedule

As an entrepreneur, your time is almost as valuable as your profits, so anything freeing up time is a worthwhile investment. 

When you use a mail forwarding service, you’ll free up your schedule. You won’t worry about weekly pickups or being available to sign for a package. You also won’t have to deal with organizing, shredding, or trashing the mail you receive. 

Business mail forwarding can save you hours every week.

Let Davinci Handle All Postal Needs

Now that you understand the importance of having a separate mailing address for your business, it’s time to find a reputable business mail forwarding service. 

Davinci partners with many entrepreneurs to ensure their mail is safe and delivered promptly. The time and money you save with us can be put back into your business. You can trust that we’ll receive, sort, securely store, and forward all your mail. 

Contact us to start getting your business mail professionally forwarded to you today. 

About Coco Quillen

Coco is the Vice President of Operations at Davinci Meeting Rooms. She manages the strategic development and operational implementation of services for Davinci. She works closely with all teams to ensure customers are well taken care of. Google