U.S. Postal Service: Information About Restrictions on Mailbox Access

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information to help Congress assess whether changes are needed to the law that essentially gives the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) exclusive access to mailboxes, focusing on: (1) the purpose and history of the mailbox restriction; (2) current U.S. public attitudes toward the mailbox restriction; (3) views of the U.S. Postal Service, competitors, major mailers, postal labor organizations, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Postal Rate Commission on the mailbox restriction; and (4) the experience of the United States and certain other countries regarding mail theft and the need for a mailbox restriction. GAO did not independently verify this information, evaluate the effectiveness of open access to mailboxes in the 8 foreign countries, or reach an independent judgment on whether theft or mail from mailboxes is a problem in the United States or the 8 foreign countries.