PO Box vs Private Mailbox in Freehold, NJ

That address difference is where most of the other differences come from.

A PO box address looks like "PO Box 123, Freehold, NJ 07728." Anyone who sees it knows it's a box at the post office. Plenty of online stores, and every FedEx driver, won't deliver to it.

A private mailbox address looks like "2103 Devon Dr #123, Freehold, NJ 07728." It's a real street address, because it's our building. Mail and packages come to us, we put them in your box, and you pick them up. The post office calls a business like ours a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency, or CMRA. You'll see that term on the form.

People usually come in asking about this for one of these reasons: packages keep getting refused at their PO box, they run a business from home and don't want their home address on everything, or they travel and want someone to hold their mail.

FedEx needs a street address to deliver, and a PO box doesn't have one. Some post offices offer a "street addressing" option for PO boxes that lets other carriers deliver, but only certain locations have it. If you want it, call your post office and ask before you rent.

Our mailboxes accept USPS and FedEx deliveries. When you shop online, you type in our street address with your box number and the order comes to us.

USPS rules say a private mailbox address has to include either "#" or "PMB" (private mailbox) before the box number. We use "#", so it reads like a unit number:

Your Name 2103 Devon Dr #123 Freehold, NJ 07728

Use the "#" and your box number every time. Mail that shows up without the box number takes longer to get to you, because we have to figure out who it's for.

Every private mailbox in the country needs one on file. It asks for your name, your home address, the names of anyone else who'll get mail at the box, and your ID details. If the box is for a business, the business name goes on it too.

You can do it two ways:

At our counter. Bring your two IDs, fill out the form here, and sign it in front of us. We check your IDs and confirm your signature, and you leave with your box.

Online. You fill out the form and verify your signature by live video instead. This is handy if you're setting up the virtual mailbox from out of town.

For the photo ID, any of these works:

• Driver's license or state ID
• US passport or passport card
• Foreign passport
• Matrícula consular
• US university ID

For the second ID, it has to prove where you live now. A lease, a mortgage or deed, a voter registration card, a vehicle registration, or a home or car insurance policy all work. A second photo ID with your current address on it works too.

Here's where people get tripped up. These don't count: Social Security card, birth certificate, credit card, work ID, or a utility bill. The utility bill surprises people the most. Bring the lease or the car registration instead.

If more than one person will get mail at the box, each adult needs their own two IDs.

If you run a business out of your house, your business address ends up everywhere. A private mailbox gives you a professional street address to put on all of it, and FedEx deliveries from suppliers come to us instead of your front porch.

One thing to check first: some legal filings, like a registered agent address for an LLC, need a place where someone can accept legal papers in person. Ask your accountant or attorney before you put a mailbox address on formation paperwork.

You get a text or email alert when something comes in. Open the app, look at the envelope, and pick:

• Scan it. We open it and scan the contents so you can read it as a PDF.
• Forward it. We ship it to wherever you are, anywhere in the world.
• Shred it. Junk mail and anything you don't need gets shredded here.
• Hold it. It stays in your box until you come pick it up.

This is the option for people who travel a lot or split time between two places. Your mail is here in Freehold, and you can see it from anywhere.

Post office boxes come in 3, 6 and 12 month terms. We also do month to month, which helps if you're between homes or just want to try it first.

Stop at the counter and we'll hand you what's come in. With the virtual mailbox you can see what's waiting before you drive over, so you're not making a trip for one flyer.

The packages part is what usually decides it. If you shop online at all, a PO box means some orders will get refused or sent back. A street address fixes that.

If you're not sure, come by with your two IDs. We'll walk you through the options and you can decide at the counter.

Opening your box is also a good time to handle anything else on your list. We're a notary, we ship USPS and FedEx, and we print.