USPS Premium Forwarding Service (PFS) takes the mail arriving at your regular address, packs it into a box, and sends it to a temporary address once a week by Priority Mail. It is useful for a few specific situations, and it has hard edges: it only ships within the United States, it moves everything in a weekly batch, and it ends when you stop paying for it.
This guide covers how PFS works, what USPS charges, how it differs from ordinary Change of Address forwarding, and what to use when you’re moving abroad, travelling for months, or want control over each item. We run a US mail centre, so we’ll say clearly where PFS is the right tool and where it isn’t.
In Out Parcel is a private mail centre in Point Roberts, WA: serving the border since 2014, with 2,000+ automated lockers and 4.9★ from 700+ reviews.
What USPS Premium Forwarding Service Is
PFS comes in two versions, and they are different products:
- PFS Residential is for households. USPS describes it this way: your mail is packed up at your local Post Office facility and forwarded weekly by Priority Mail, to a temporary domestic address.
- PFS Commercial is for businesses with an active PO Box or street address. It forwards all mail to a domestic business address by Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express, and can run daily (Monday to Saturday), weekly, or monthly.
Most people searching for “premium forwarding” mean the Residential version, so that is what the rest of this article covers.
How PFS Residential Works
Here is what USPS lists on usps.com (as of October 2026):
- Enrollment fee: $26.40 if you enroll online, $28.70 if you enroll at the Post Office. The fee is non-refundable.
- Weekly fee: $29.70 for each week of service, whether you enrolled online or in person.
- Delivery: one Priority Mail shipment a week. USPS emails you a tracking number each week, even in a week when no mail arrived.
- Changing the length: you can add or remove weeks online, with changes due by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on the Monday before the last Wednesday.
- Not available for: APO/FPO/DPO or Guam addresses.
How to sign up. Online, cancel any other forwarding or change-of-address request first and allow 7 to 10 days for the first delivery. Then go to pfsr.usps.com, sign in to a free USPS.com account, and complete the form. In person, enroll at the Post Office with a primary photo ID and a second ID proving you live at the forwarding address.
A worked example. Six weeks at a winter address, enrolled online: $26.40 + (6 × $29.70) = $204.60 for six weekly boxes. That is the price of the convenience of not touching a thing. It is also roughly 48 packages or letters at In Out Parcel’s $4.25 receiving fee, before any forwarding postage.
Where PFS Stops
These are the limits that catch people out.
- Domestic addresses only. USPS states the service is available for domestic addresses only. PFS Residential cannot forward to a Canadian, UK, or any other international address.
- A weekly batch, not per item. Everything goes in the week’s box. You don’t choose which pieces to forward, hold back, or throw away.
- No per-piece view. The USPS description covers packing and shipping. It doesn’t mention opening, scanning, or sorting, so don’t plan around reading a letter before the box reaches you.
- A USPS service for USPS mail. It forwards the mail USPS handles at your address. Check with USPS before relying on it for UPS, FedEx, DHL, or Amazon parcels, which those carriers deliver themselves.
- It’s temporary. You pay by the week, and when the weeks run out, the service ends.
None of this makes PFS a bad product. It just means it solves one problem: “I’m living at another US address for a while and want my regular mail to follow me.”
PFS vs Change of Address vs a Virtual Mailbox
| USPS PFS Residential | USPS Change of Address | A virtual mailbox like In Out Parcel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $26.40 online enrollment + $29.70/week (USPS, as of October 2026) | $1.25 online identity verification fee (USPS, as of October 2026); forwarding of First-Class and most package mail is free | No monthly fee; $4.25 per package or letter received; $0 in months nothing arrives |
| How mail arrives | One Priority Mail box a week | Each piece forwarded individually, on its own schedule | Held at the address; you decide what happens to each item |
| Destination | Temporary US address only | A US address; moving abroad is handled in person at a Post Office | Worldwide |
| Choose per item | No | No | Yes: scan, forward, hold, or shred/dispose |
| Carriers | USPS mail | USPS mail | USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon |
| Scanning | Not described by USPS | No | Letters scanned to PDF ($2.50 per scan, up to 10 pages) |
| Length | By the week, temporary | Temporary: 15 days up to 1 year; permanent for a full move | No expiry; credit never expires |
On Change of Address: USPS says standard First-Class Mail forwarding lasts 12 months, extendable to a maximum of 18, and to allow at least 7 to 10 business days for a request to take effect. Some mail types aren’t forwarded at all, such as Media Mail unless you pay for the last leg, and Marketing Mail unless the sender paid for forwarding. That makes ordinary Change of Address the cheaper tool for a straightforward move within the US, and PFS the add-on when you want one weekly box instead of scattered individual pieces.
When PFS Is the Right Choice
A fair view: PFS is the better pick if:
- You’re spending weeks or months at another US address (a winter home, a long work posting) and want your normal mail to arrive in one tidy box.
- Your mail is almost all USPS and you don’t need to see it before it moves.
- You want a USPS-run process with USPS Tracking on every box and nothing to set up with a third party.
- You’ll be back at your regular address and everything is meant to resume afterwards.
If that is you, enroll with USPS and you’re done.
When You Need Something Else
PFS doesn’t help if you’re one of these:
- Moving abroad. USPS states that for moving outside the United States, the Change of Address request must be submitted in person at a Post Office, with identity verification, before you leave. After that, PFS isn’t an option, because it ships to US addresses only. What helps is a US address that stays put while you move.
- Travelling or living on the road full time (RVers, digital nomads). A weekly box to a fixed address doesn’t help when your address changes every few weeks.
- Anyone who wants per-item control. If a letter is a bill you want to read tonight, and the package should wait or be thrown away, a weekly batch is the wrong shape.
- Anyone who also receives UPS, FedEx, DHL, or Amazon parcels and wants one address that takes all of them.
For all of these, a US virtual mailbox is the better fit. With In Out Parcel you get a real street address, 145 Tyee Dr, PMB (your Customer ID), Point Roberts, WA 98281. Every carrier can deliver to it, and letters are scanned to PDF so you can read them from anywhere. Packages are held until you choose: pick up locally in the 24/7 lockers, forward worldwide, or have unwanted mail shredded or disposed of. A US virtual mailbox needs a USPS Form 1583 for verification, and you can complete it without living in the US.
The cost model differs from PFS too. There is no monthly fee, you pay $4.25 per package or letter received, and months where nothing arrives cost $0. Forwarding is charged separately at the carrier rate you choose; see the shipping and forwarding rates. Compare that with the $29.70 USPS lists for every PFS week, whether mail comes or not.
If your reason is “I live in Canada or abroad and want US mail without a US home,” read how package forwarding to Canada and worldwide works. For the mailbox itself, see what a private mailbox (PMB) is, and for the broader choice between a PO Box, a virtual mailbox, and a forwarding service, how to get a US mailing address.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can USPS Premium Forwarding forward mail to Canada or another country?
No. USPS lists PFS Residential as available for domestic addresses only. To send mail abroad you need a different solution, such as a US virtual mailbox that forwards each item internationally.
How much does USPS Premium Forwarding Service cost?
USPS lists a $26.40 enrollment fee online ($28.70 at the Post Office, non-refundable) plus $29.70 for each week of service (as of October 2026). Check usps.com before enrolling, because USPS adjusts its prices.
Is Premium Forwarding better than a regular USPS Change of Address?
It depends on what you want. A Change of Address forwards pieces individually, and USPS describes First-Class forwarding as free; PFS bundles everything into one weekly Priority Mail box for a weekly fee. PFS is for people who want mail consolidated in a box. Change of Address suits a standard move.
What if I want to choose which pieces of mail get forwarded?
PFS doesn’t offer that: it forwards the week’s mail as one batch. A virtual mailbox lets you decide for each item whether to scan it, forward it, hold it, or have it disposed of.
A US address that doesn’t expire when the weeks run out. Letters scanned, packages forwarded worldwide or picked up 24/7, and no monthly fee: pay $4.25 per package or letter received, $0 when nothing arrives. Get your free US address. Want the full feature list first? See our virtual mailbox.