Money and admin
How to keep getting your post while you live somewhere else: redirecting it through the post office, mailbox services that give you a street address and scan your letters, and the rules on what that address can and can't be used for.
A mailbox address isn't a home. Banks, tax offices and licensing offices can often tell a mail-forwarding address from a place you live, and many won't accept one where they ask for your home address. Use it for your post; give your real address where you're asked where you live.
All four will send your post abroad for a while, but none of them scans it, and most run for up to 12 months at a time. It is the simplest way to cover the move itself.
Sources: USPS: forwarding, USPS: extended forwarding, USPS: change of address FAQ
Sources: Royal Mail: redirection, Post Office: redirection prices, Royal Mail: redirection help
Sources: Canada Post: mail forwarding
Sources: Australia Post: redirection
Each gives you a real street address with a suite or box number. Post is logged with a photo of the envelope, and you choose to have it opened and scanned, shredded or sent on. Prices are the cheapest plan on each company's own page.
| Service | From | Sending post abroad | Check deposit | App |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anytime MailboxThe most locations to choose from | From $9.99 a month with scanning | Forwarding is offered; each location sets its fees | At some locations | iPhone and Android |
| iPostal1Cheap, with an app and check deposit | $9.99 a month or $99 a year | Yes, at real-time carrier rates, but not from every location | $4.95 for up to 5 checks (US banks) | iPhone and Android |
| Traveling MailboxSending bundles of post abroad | From $15 a month | Postage plus $2 a shipment, not per item, by USPS, FedEx or UPS | $4.95 a check, plus postage | iPhone and Android |
| PostScan MailA cheap year up front | $10 a month or $100 a year | $2 for the first item and 50c for each one after, plus postage | Not stated | iPhone and Android |
| US Global MailLots of scanning and free check deposit | From $49 a month | To more than 180 countries, with no handling fee on top of postage | Free | Not stated |
| LegalZoom Virtual MailBusinesses (formerly Earth Class Mail) | From $39 a month | $5 a shipment and $1 an item, plus postage | 5 a month included, then $2 each | Not stated |
The most locations to choose from
From $9.99 a month with scanningEach of its 2,500-plus locations sets its own plans. In Fort Walton Beach, Florida: an address only for $5.99 a month, or $9.99 for 50 items and 5 scanned pages a month.
Sources: Anytime Mailbox, Anytime Mailbox: Fort Walton Beach plans
Cheap, with an app and check deposit
$9.99 a month or $99 a year30 items a month and up to 6 names. Opening and scanning, or shredding, costs $2.25 for up to 10 pages. Prices vary with the location.
Sources: iPostal1: plans and pricing, iPostal1: compare plans
Sending bundles of post abroad
From $15 a month40 envelopes and 35 scanned pages a month, for up to 3 names. Shredding is free.
Sources: Traveling Mailbox: pricing
A cheap year up front
$10 a month or $100 a year30 items a month. Opening and scanning costs $2 an envelope for up to 10 pages. Post is kept free for 14 days, or 30 on a yearly plan.
Lots of scanning and free check deposit
From $49 a month360 opened and scanned items a year, 10 names, and free shredding.
Sources: US Global Mail: pricing, US Global Mail: personal mailbox
Businesses (formerly Earth Class Mail)
From $39 a month5 items a month, then $3 each. Junk mail doesn't count. 5 checks deposited a month, then $2 each. Shredding is free.
Sources: LegalZoom Virtual Mail: pricing
Any company that takes in post for you is a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency, and USPS won't let it deliver to you until you have signed Form 1583.
Filing from abroad, and the forms Americans abroad still need, are on our accounting page. US: filing when you live abroad
Sources: USPS: Form 1583, June 2024, Federal Register: CMRA rule, May 2023, Federal Register: signing Form 1583, May 2024, 31 CFR 1020.220: bank ID rules, IRS: Form 8822, IRS: living abroad, Greenback: mail forwarding and domicile, April 2026
Americans with no home in the US still need a state for a driver's licence, car registration and voting. Some mail services in Texas, Florida and South Dakota, three states with no state income tax, are set up to be that address. The address alone isn't enough: the licence, registration and vote are what show the state is your home, and you should cut ties with your old one.
Texas, with Florida and South Dakota addresses too
From $110 to $125 a year (its price page shows both), plus Escapees RV Club membershipBuilt for full-time RVers. New accounts pay a $50 postage deposit, and scanning costs extra. Letters go to most countries, but packages aren't sent abroad: they wait until you're back. You can use the address for post only, without making Texas your home.
Source: Escapees: rates
South Dakota
We couldn't read its own price listA South Dakota mail service that many full-time travellers use for their licence and vehicle registration.
Source: Americas Mailbox
South Dakota
We couldn't read its own price listA Sioux Falls mail service that also offers a registered agent for businesses.
Source: Dakota Post
Florida
We couldn't read its own price listA Green Cove Springs mail service, long used by people living on boats and RVs to make Florida their home.
Source: St. Brendan's Isle
Sources: South Dakota DPS: full-time travelers, South Dakota: residency affidavit, Escapees: South Dakota, Escapees: Texas guide, January 2025, The Boat Galley: Florida residency, May 2026, Kiplinger: states without income tax, January 2026
The UK services split in two: mailboxes that scan your personal post and send it abroad, and virtual offices that give a company a London address. Check which you need before you pay.
| Service | From | Sending post abroad | Company registered office |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK PostboxScanned letters and a street address, from abroad | About £18 a month for a street address and 5 letters | 90p a letter, plus postage | Yes, on its street addresses |
| The Hoxton MixA London address for your company | £24.99 a month or £249.99 a year, plus VAT | No: it forwards within the UK only | Yes |
| Anytime Mailbox (London)The cheapest London street address we found | From £8.99 a month | Forwarding is offered; each location sets its fees | Not stated |
Scanned letters and a street address, from abroad
About £18 a month for a street address and 5 lettersA street address in Poole is £12 a month and the 5-letter plan £6 (both including VAT). Or a free PO Box address and £1.20 a letter. Envelopes are scanned free on every letter plan.
Sources: UK Postbox: pricing, UK Postbox: pricing guide, UK Postbox: Companies House addresses
A London address for your company
£24.99 a month or £249.99 a year, plus VATAn address at 66 Paul Street, London EC2A. Post is scanned the same day, kept 30 days, then shredded.
Sources: The Hoxton Mix: what it costs, March 2026, The Hoxton Mix: forwarding
The cheapest London street address we found
From £8.99 a monthAt 39 Ludgate Hill, EC4M. Each location sets what its plans include.
Sources: Anytime Mailbox: London
Count the days that decide where you pay tax. Tax-day tracker
Sources: Companies House: changes to company law, January 2024, Moneyfacts: no proof of address, July 2026, GOV.UK: tax if you leave the UK, LITRG: telling HMRC you're leaving, April 2026, HMRC: Statutory Residence Test
Fewer choices outside the US and UK. For Canada and Australia, the post office redirects above are the other route.
Germany
€12.99 a month for the first year, then €14.99Up to 10 scans a month. It can give you a Caya address, or collect from your own German address for €39.99 for 12 months. Sending documents abroad starts at €13.99.
Source: Caya: private plans
Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, the UK, Canada and more
From €9.95 a monthThe cheapest plan takes 5 letters a month, with 2 envelope scans and 2 content scans. Forwarding is on request, charged by use.
Source: Clevver: digital postboxes
Canada
From C$7.99 a month in Vancouver; C$9.99 in parts of Ontario60 Canadian locations. Each sets what its plans include.
Source: Anytime Mailbox: Canada
Australia
From A$22.99 a month in New South Wales33 Australian locations, including Mail Boxes Etc. stores. Each sets what its plans include.
Sources: Anytime Mailbox: New South Wales, Anytime Mailbox: Mail Boxes Etc. Australia, 2020