How to get mail when you don't have a home

Your steps, in order

1. 1

   Pick one address and stick with it

   Choose the option you can check most often. A shelter or day center you visit every week usually works best. A post office works if you can get there before mail is sent back.

   Some day centers and nonprofits offer a mail service. In Salt Lake City, the Weigand Center lists a mailing address service for people who don't have a permanent address; you walk in to ask.12

   A friend or family member's address can work too, if you trust them to hold your mail and tell you right away when something comes.8

   Tip:

   Use the same address everywhere: benefits, ID, job applications and your bank. When it changes, update all of them the same week, so nothing important gets lost.

2. 2

   Use General Delivery at the post office

   General Delivery is a Postal Service option meant mainly for people who aren't permanently located. In a city with many post offices, it's usually offered at only one, and you can use only one location.1

   Call the post office before you give out the address, to ask which location handles General Delivery and its ZIP Code. Then have mail sent to: your full name, the words GENERAL DELIVERY spelled out, then the city, state and that ZIP Code.123

   Each piece is held for no more than 30 days, then returned. The post office can ask for ID before it hands you mail, and a postmaster can refuse or limit the service if you can't show suitable ID.1

   Bring

   • Photo ID, or any ID you have
   • The exact address format the clerk tells you to use
3. 3

   Give your address to benefit offices

   SNAP (food stamps) has no permanent address requirement. Homeless households don't have to prove where they live, and they can get mail at a shelter, through an authorized representative, or at the local SNAP office.5

   Social Security says you have the same rights when you apply as someone who is housed. You can have payments sent by direct deposit, to a Direct Express debit card, or to a third party, so a check isn't sitting in the mail.6

   If you truly have no address, Social Security can use its own field office address for your mail, but only as a last resort with a manager's approval. Its staff are told to look at General Delivery, a PO Box or direct deposit first.7

4. 4

   Use it for your ID, voting and jobs

   For a state ID, ask your shelter or housing program for a residency letter. Texas, for example, accepts a notarized letter from a shelter, transitional program or halfway house saying it receives your mail, in place of the usual two proofs of residency.9

   You can register to vote without a home. You can describe where you sleep, such as a park or a street corner, as your residence. That description can't be your mailing address, though: use a shelter, a religious center, General Delivery, a PO Box or a friend's home.8

   On job applications, use the address you check most. Employers mostly need a way to send you papers, like tax forms, after you're hired.

5. 5

   Protect your identity while your mail is in other hands

   Mail holds your Social Security number, bank cards and benefit notices. Pick up mail often, and never leave it where others can go through it.

   A credit freeze stops new accounts from being opened in your name. It's free to place and lift, and it lasts until you lift it. You have to contact each of the three bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. A one-year fraud alert is also free, and you only have to contact one bureau.15

   If someone has already used your identity, report it at IdentityTheft.gov to get a recovery plan.15

What it costs

State examples

Rules for ID and voting differ by state. These are examples from each state's own pages; check your state before you go.

Questions people ask

Keep going: more first-step guides

Sources

Official pages, read in October 2026. Rules change. If something here looks out of date, please let us know at hello@riseaid.org and we'll fix it.

1. 1.U.S. Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 508: Recipient Services (6.0 General Delivery)
2. 2.U.S. Postal Service. Publication 28, section 261: General Delivery addresses
3. 3.U.S. Postal Service. Publication 28, section 262: General Delivery ZIP Code
4. 4.U.S. Postal Service. Rent a PO Box
5. 5.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (2013). SNAP: clarification of policies on barriers facing homeless youth
6. 6.Social Security Administration. SSI spotlight on homelessness
7. 7.Social Security Administration (POMS GN 02401.050). Use of field office address when a claimant does not have a permanent mailing address
8. 8.Vote.gov (U.S. Election Assistance Commission). Voting while unhoused
9. 9.Texas Department of Public Safety. Form DL-5: Texas Residency Affidavit
10. 10.Utah Driver License Division. Homeless fee waiver
11. 11.Utah Driver License Division. Verification of Homeless Status form
12. 12.Utah 211 (United Ways of Utah). Catholic Community Services of Utah: Weigand Center
13. 13.California Secretary of State. Voters experiencing homelessness fact sheet
14. 14.Washington Secretary of State (2025). Elections Clearinghouse Notice 25-06: Voters without traditional residential addresses
15. 15.Federal Trade Commission. Credit freezes and fraud alerts