Is it legal for someone to put something in my mailbox that wasn't
mailed?  My whole life, I've heard that this is not legal.  I wonder
how this can be, though.  I understand why it would be illegal for
someone to slide a flyer or something into my Post Office box (I mean,
that's actually owned by the post office) but in the personal mail box
at my home?  I mean, I paid for that myself and installed it myself! 
How can it be illegal for me to allow a friend to leave a birthday
present or newspaper in the mailbox which is my own property?  And if
it is in fact illegal, what's the penalty?  TIA!!

---

Clarification of Question by baerana-ga on 05 Jan 2004 05:25 PST

I forgot to mention, I already checked the USPS website, they say "All
mail matter attached to a mail box flag or post or inserted into a
mail receptacle, must bear proper postage." but they offer no proof,
links to appropriate laws, etc.  I'm interested in more real
information than just what some webmaster posted on the USPS site -
obviously, it's in their interest for people to think this practice is
illegal.

Hello baerana,

I should emphasize the disclaimer at the bottom of this page, which
indicates that answers and comments on Google Answers are general
information, and not intended to substitute for informed professional
legal advice.  If you need a professional legal opinion on this issue,
you should contact a lawyer.

18 U.S.C. 1725 states:

"Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits any mailable matter such as
statements of accounts, circulars, sale bills, or other like matter,
on which no postage has been paid, in any letter box established,
approved, or accepted by the Postal Service for the receipt or
delivery of mail matter on any mail route with intent to avoid payment
of lawful postage thereon, shall for each such offense be fined under
this title"

"TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 83 > Sec. 1725"
Legal Information Institute
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=288629

It appears that violation of this provision is an infraction, carrying
a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual, or not more than
$10,000 for an organization.

"TITLE 18 > PART II > CHAPTER 227 > SUBCHAPTER A > Sec. 3559"
[defining "infraction" in subsection (a)(9)]
Legal Information Institute
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/3559.html

"TITLE 18 > PART II > CHAPTER 227 > SUBCHAPTER C > Sec. 3571"
[establishing fines for an infraction in subsections (b)(7) and (c)(7)]
Legal Information Institute
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/3571.html

See also:

"Domestic Mail Manual - D041 Customer Mail Receptacles" [especially section 1.3]
United States Postal Service
http://pe.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm/D041.pdf

- justaskscott


Search terms used -

On USPS site:

mail boxes

On Google:

"matter bearing postage"
"17 u.s.c." 1725

[In addition to these searches, I also browsed the USPS and Legal
Information Institute sites.]

Hi baerana

Here's a bit more, without the legal jargon.  The link below is rather interesting:

Your Mailbox is Off Limits! 
http://www.lplists.com/mail-off.htm
..."Even though we spend $20 to $30 to buy and install a mailbox in
front of our house, that box is designed -- even mandated by law --
for the exclusive use of the post office......Technically, your
neighbor can't even leave a message for you in your mailbox unless
they, too, pay the postage....
 
~~Cynthia

This prohibition applies even to agencies of the Federal Government.
For instance, an Enumerator for the Census cannot leave a census form
in the mailbox of a residence while attempting a personal interview.
The Census Bureau can and does mail census forms, of course.

hlabadie-ga

The law cited above, however, says: "any mailable matter ... with
intent to avoid payment of lawful postage"

My reading - and I am not a lawyer - is that if the item is not
mailable (eg does not bear a delivery address, or is unsuitable or
illegal to send by post, perhaps a card addressed only by the
recipient's name, or an unwrapped cheesecake) OR postage is not
lawfully due on the item OR there is no intent to avoid payment, then
it is not illegal.

I think the provisions in law refer to situations where outgoing mail
can be left in private mailboxes for the postman to collect, with the
intention of it being carried onwards by the mail, not the delivery of
personal items by friends etc which are left for the mailbox owner.

But then I live in Britain, where the postman has this quaint old
custom of walking up the drive and putting the post right into the
house through a hole in the door made for the purpose :-)

Owain

baerana --

We can all sympathize with cynthia-ga's aversion to "legal jargon."
However, the "statutory interpretation" she quotes that "technically,
your neighbor can't even leave a message for you in your mailbox
unless they, too, pay the postage" appears to be wrong on its face.

18 U.S.C 1725, as correctly quoted by justaskscott-ga, provides that
placing something in a mailbox without postage is an offense only if
there is "intent to avoid paying lawful postage thereon."  If your
neighbor is not in the habit of snail-mailing messages to you from
next door, an offense would be pretty hard to prove.  Advertising
flyers are a different matter, since they are so commonly mailed or
provided with newspapers.

(This comment is not intended as, nor should you consider it to be, legal advice.)

markj-ga

This is why I'm a libertarian - our government will destroy your life
for something petty like a mail violation.  The penalties outlined are
pretty harsh!

I was told by our postman (USA) that the post office has a simple and
elegant solution for things left in the mailbox without postage, or an
address.  The post office simply makes the assumption that the thing
should have been mailed, and charges you postage due. No fines, no
court costs.

They of course determine the postal rate.  I don't know what the going
rate is for cheesecake, especially if unwrapped!