Does the law require that citizens must give their names to the
U.S. Postal Service in order to receive mail?  

To put it another way, does the postman have the right to return a letter
to the sender if the letter has my address but not my correct name?

The reason I ask is this:  I want to discover which businesses sell
my name and address.  When a website asks for my name and address,
I will give my proper address and a fake (but tell-tale) name.
If I subsequently receive junk mail addressed to "R ABC", then I have
proof that the ABC company sold my name and address.

I thought that was a clever strategy until it backfired on me.  I wanted
to complain to a well-known producer of edible nuts that their cashews
looked bad, but their website wouldn't let me enter without giving 
my name and address. So, I gave my correct address but I used the
company's name as my surname. After I sent my e-mail, they replied
with an apology and said that they were sending me a refund.

I didn't have to worry about how I would cash a check made out to someone
other than myself:  the postman refused to deliver the check to me.

I think I'll change my strategy.  In future, I will use my proper surname,
but use the company's name as my FIRST name. (The postman agreed that
that strategy should work.)

In any case, I still want to know if the Post Office has the authority
to refuse to deliver a letter if the name on the letter is not recognized
by the postman.

Hi rambler,

Here are the USPS standards as layed out in their manual.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual
600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/dmm300_landing.htm

602. ADDRESS
1.3 Address Elements
    a. Intended recipient's name or other identification.
1.4.2 Complete Address Elements
    a. Addressee name or other identifier and/or firm name where applicable.
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/602.htm

607. COMPLIANCE
1.0 Mailer Compliance With Mailing Standards
"A mailer must comply with all applicable postal standards. Despite
any statement in this document or by any USPS employee, the burden
rests with the mailer to comply with the laws and standards governing
domestic mail."
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/607.htm

So the answer to your question is "yes", the address must comply with
the standards by including a suitable identifier and "...the Post
Office has the authority to refuse to deliver a letter if the name on
the letter is not recognized by the postman."

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please post a
clarification request *before* closing/rating my answer and I'll be
happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used: USPS manual

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Request for Answer Clarification by rambler-ga on 29 Jun 2005 08:40 PDT

To hummer-ga:

I checked your hyperlinks and found:-
-nothing that specifically states that the addressee name must be accurate,
-nothing that states that mail will be returned if the addressee name is fake.

The section that you identified as "602. ADDRESS", "1.3", "a"
seems to refer to bulk mail from government agencies
(where the addressee name can merely be "occupant" or "business customer", etc)

Can you find a regulation that specifically tells the postman to
verify that the addressee name must be accurate, otherwise return the
letter to sender?

Thank you.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 29 Jun 2005 09:05 PDT

Hi rambler,

I'm not quite sure why you think Section 600 is for "bulk mail from
government agencies". Section 600 states, "Basic Standards for all
Mailing Services". The "Intended recipient's name or other
identification" means that the identifier must identify the addressee.
In other words, the identifier line can't be blank and it can't be
fake. If the identifier isn't clear, the mail would be undeliverable
and returned to the sender.

Regards,
hummer

---

Request for Answer Clarification by rambler-ga on 29 Jun 2005 10:51 PDT

To hummer-ga:

I do appreciate your effort, so please forgive me for being difficult.

If a letter bearing the name "R ABC" were sent to my address, then I
would immediately recognize that name as the "intended recipient's
name". The postman may not recognize the name, but *I* sure would.

You cited the following: 
    "Intended recipient's name or other identification"
and then you interpretted that citation as:
    "means that the identifier must identify the addressee.
     In other words, the identifier line can't be blank
     and it can't be fake."

Is that just YOUR interpretation, or also the Post Office's?

In the movie "Miracle on 34th St", all the letters that were addressed
to Santa Claus were delivered to the man who was on trial.  So, who
says that I can't give my name as Santa Claus so long as I give my
correct address?

Where, in the postal regulations, does it say that the postman must
recognize the addressee's name, or that the postman must verify that
'John Smith' actually lives at this address?

Again, I apologize for being difficult.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 29 Jun 2005 12:27 PDT

Dear rambler,

The clarification option is intended to be used, please don't feel
that you are being difficult. I would much rather make sure your
question is answered to your satisfaction rather than have you go away
unhappy with the service.

I think the following link is quite clear that there must be some form
of indentification on the first line (it can't be blank). Although
I've not been able to find where they spell it out, I would assume
that whatever identification is used, it must somehow relate to the
recipient or else it would be useless as identification. That said,
postal employees do use their own discretion so the best thing to do
would be to ask in advance.

USPS  A000 Basic Addressing
1.2 Address Elements
[5-13-04] All mail not bearing a simplified address under A020 must
bear a delivery address that contains at least the following elements
in this order from the top line:
a. Intended recipient?s name or other identification.
http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm/a010.htm

If a letter does not meet the USPS standards, they do have the right
to return it to the sender.

You could use your name + the code:
Jane Doe, abc
or 
Jane Doe (abc)

Please let me know if you have any other questions.
hummer

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Request for Answer Clarification by rambler-ga on 29 Jun 2005 14:08 PDT

I think the postal regulations need to be clarified (not your answer).

They state that a letter must have a name, but they don't specify
whether the name must be real and verified (a 'security' matter), or
whether the name can be anything that helps the people who live at the
address figure out who the intended recipient is.

I'm sure that, in this day and age of The Patriot Act, many people
will leap to the conclusion that it's a security matter.  I just wish
that the postal regulations were clearer.

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 29 Jun 2005 14:43 PDT

Rambler, thank you for the your nice note, rating, and tip, they are
appreciated. Personally, I think it's to help the mail reach its
recipient in a timely manner rather than for security reasons, but
then I tend to be naive about these things. I don't see why they would
have a problem with you using the optional second line to encode your
info if you use your name on the first line. Take care, hummer

I appreciate the effort (and speed) to give me an answer.

Regarding your question part "In any case, I still want to know if the
Post Office has the authority to refuse to deliver a letter if the
name on the letter is not recognized by the postman."

The answer is yes.  My legal name and my DBA name are different, and
when I moved to my current location, I gave the postman a list of
names to accept (my father also has mail sent here with his name and
my address) - the postman thanked me and has been using my list.  So
far, no delayed or undelivered mail.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

To journalist-ga:

What does "DBA" mean?

Usually, it's the mailman who rejects or allows the mail to go
through, not necessarily the automatic scanning/processing machines. 
So, to fix this, all you have to do is to enter...

Name:       Your Fake Name
Address 1:  c/o Your Real Name
Address 2:  Your Address
City:       etc...

Although, your system with the fake first name and the real surname
will probably work as well.

Read the book "Database Nation".  A court found a man did not own a
spelling variation on his name in relation to tracking origin of junk
mail.   He could have managed with a variation (obviously minor) on
his address.

Rambler-ga: DBA: "Doing Business As"

Hummer's suggestion of using the optional second line is a common
solution that you may try. When businesses advertise across different
media, they often use this method to determine which advertising works
best. You may hear a radio ad instructing you to address
correspondence to "Department A," or you may read a magazine
classified giving the same company's address as "Department B."
Obviously, if the company receives a hundred replies to "Department A"
and none to "Department B," they know which advertising investment
they should renew.

rambler-ga,
first class amil is not rquired to have a from: addrres or zip code
(oddly enough).  The complete address for the to: is required.  the
other person is correct that this cannot be blank.  You legal name
!!!!IS NOT REQUIRED!!! for delivery.  examples are "DBA ...", Postal
customer, Resident, Responsible driver...I'm going to be stupid but my
point will be made.  How does your carrier know if you are a
responsible driver??? (geico commonly addresses their mailings this
way)  So your carrier should from his reasoning return mail addresed
to "current resident", Frequent flier,etc.  Hummer ga gave excellent
answres but looked to deep, or over analyzed.  You can use any name
you wish (gramps, mooma, little fart, chubby i would bet he wouldn't
return thoses mail pieces.  Your carrier DOES NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY
to return that mail and actually is in violation of federal law under
title 18 of the united states code of federal regulations.  Congress
passed a law umpteen years ago diresting the Post Office to deliver
all mail with correct postage and a deliverable address as addressed
to that adress.  Reason behind this, if the mailer has paid correct
postage it is expected to be delivered or attemted to that address, or
the mail is entitled for the services for which it paid.  DO NOT
CONFUSE THIS WITH A FICTITIOUS NAME.  this is illegal and violates the
postal lottery act.  This law protects the seller, for example, from
buyers who request merchandise ander a fictitous name.  Of course the
dont pay the bill because they "dont know who Buck Wheat is and never
saw the merchandise in question" the scam is that you lawfully can't
bill and address or a fictitious person, sneaky little bastards.  You
are not using a secondary name to knowling cause an debteness for
services provided.  Federal law states that mail closed to postal
inspection cannto be knowingly delayed, detained, or withheld from
delivery except for a few reasons (i.e. a federal warrent issued by a
state or higher appointed federal judge, as directed from a postal
inspector during an investigation. etc.)  You can see that it takes a
lot of power from high up to not deliver that first class letter. 
Thats why there so many drugs delivered through the mail.  put first
class postage on it and congress and the us constitution will protect
your rights to privacy, and  noone can open that peice of mail without
a federal warrant and cant unduly delay that mail at the same time. 
From this info, common sense should tell you that the mail man cannot
with hold that 1st class mail from delivey unless the contents were
unmailable but there is know way to legaly and lawfully no whats
inside.  Therefore the carrier would have to make some judgment call
on if who its addressed to actually exist but that would be biased and
congress oversees the post office and mandates that we provide uniform
, fair, and unbiased mail delivery to everyone without exception.  I
think i have said wwwaaaayyyy to much.  Tell your carrier to do their
job and deliver the mail.  if he continues to kill your mail call the
postal inspectores and the OIC.

Hummer-ga   and Journalist-ga,
I don't know if you get automatic notice of comments after posting an answer.
Here is one dd. 8. aug.  that appears to refute your answer and comment, resp.
Myoarin