Q: Is it legal to park in front of a mailbox? My neighbor keeps parking in front of mine, and I’m missing mail deliveries. Asking him to park somewhere else hasn’t worked because there is a shortage of parking spaces in the neighborhood, so I’m hoping there is a law that can be enforced.
A: Reading through the traffic section of the Revised Code of Washington will provide you with a lot of places you can’t park. In one section alone it lists about 20 no-parking areas. And that list doesn’t include the limits on disabled parking, recreational areas, college campuses and several other sections on parking. Remarkably, none of the lists include anything about parking in front of mailboxes.
However, depending on which city you live in, a local ordinance may prohibit parking in front of a mailbox. I have a vague recollection from my high school government class that there are some rules about what kinds of local laws a city can pass, and clearly, parking laws are allowed, as many cities in Washington have parking limitations in addition to what you’ll find in the state law. In Whatcom County, both Bellingham and Blaine include sections in their municipal codes that prohibit parking in front of mailboxes.
What about federal rules? It seems like if it’s a federal offense to drop a party invitation in your neighbor’s mailbox without putting a stamp on it, there must be some rules about parking in front of mailboxes. In a sense, there are some rules, but they don’t prohibit parking. Instead, the US Postal Service manual on Recipient Services and the Postal Operations Manual both put the responsibility on the customer. Given that the USPS isn’t in the business of parking enforcement, that makes sense.
According to the USPS, “The customer is responsible for keeping the approach to the mailbox clear to facilitate delivery.” This responsibility includes weather-related issues like snow, as well as parked cars. For curbside mailboxes, the mail carrier should be able to deliver the mail without leaving the vehicle. The operations manual does note that a mail carrier will normally get out of the vehicle to deliver mail for a temporary obstruction, but not for repeated obstructions.
Let’s get back to that quote from the operations manual about customer responsibility. It’s pretty easy to avoid parking your own vehicle in front of your own mailbox. But we don’t have much control over where other people park. There are no federal or state laws prohibiting parking in front of a mailbox, so without a local ordinance the mail customer is caught in a bind; you can’t rely on a law to make your neighbor move the car, and you can’t move it yourself.
It seems like your most reasonable options would be to ask your neighbor to park somewhere else (which you’ve already tried without success) or ask the city to enact an ordinance prohibiting parking in front of mailboxes (which will take some time, during which you will continue to have undelivered mail).
Since I can’t offer you a great solution, would it help to tell you you’re not alone? I have it from a reliable source that the post office in Ferndale (one of the cities without a mailbox parking ordinance) receives 50-60 complaints per month about vehicles parked in front of mailboxes. At least you now have 50 other people with which to share your frustration.
P.S. – After I wrote this article I got an email from the mayor of Ferndale. He let me know that an ordinance preventing parking in front of mailboxes will be on the city council’s agenda at their April 16th meeting. If the council approves the ordinance it will become law shortly thereafter. I think this is a great example of local government taking quick action to solve a problem in the community. Nice work, city of Ferndale.
Important issue! I have a friend in Tampa, Fl, that her parks his car in front of the mailbox, IMG_7317.jpeg she spoke to him many times, but no solution IMG_7317.jpeg
Hi Jose, I’m in Washington State, so I’m not going to be of much help to you. I’d suggest that your friend start by checking to see if there is a local ordinance prohibiting parking in front of mailboxes that could be enforced. Good luck and I hope she can get it worked out.
this is false. according to the usps, it is illegal to block or otherwise prevent delivery of mail. call the police and have them ticket the offender until they move.
Can you provide a link or other documentation from USPS? Based on what I’ve read in the USPS Postal Operations Manual and the Recipient Services Manual, as well as in talking with a local postmaster, USPS is not in the business of parking enforcement. As to having the local police ticket the offender, Washington State doesn’t have a law prohibiting parking in front of a mailbox, and without a law to enforce, police are not going to take action. As noted in the article, some cities have municipal laws that prohibit it, and in those jurisdictions calling the police would be appropriate. If I’m wrong on this and you can provide a statewide or a locally enforceable federal statute showing that it’s illegal I’ll gladly update the article.
It is shocking that all of these fact-checking websites claim there is no law against blocking a mailbox. Not only is it a crime, but it a Felony, punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.
US TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
§ 1701. Obstruction of mails generally
Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail, or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 778; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(B), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2146.)
In order for an officer to use this law, you’d need to demonstrate that the person who parked in front of a mailbox did it to”knowingly and willfully” obstruct the mail. In a neighborhood with limited parking, it’d be hard to argue that the motivation for parking front of a mailbox was to obstruct the mail carrier. Practically speaking, I can’t see this law being used to enforce parking violations, and I don’t think that’s what this law was intended for.
The other question is, who would enforce this law? We’re getting beyond the scope of my knowledge here, but I don’t think local law enforcement is going to be enforcing federal mail laws. If that were the case, there would be no need to create a local parking ordinance. And I don’t know that the postal police are going to take action on it – I think they’re primarily focused on enforcing laws on USPS property.
could you put mailboxes and a parking lot for 4817 S. Mckinley Ave,Sand springs, OK 74063 the shenandoah the glens neighborhood. in the playground section.
Hi Dawn, That’s a question for your local community. I’m up in Washington state. I can’t help you on that.