Forwarding Mail: Redirect Order, PO Box, or a Digital Solution?

To redirect your mail, you have three options: a redirect order with the postal service for a limited period, a PO box as a second address, or a digital mailbox where your letters get scanned and made available online. Which one fits depends on how long, and where, you need the mail.

Anyone traveling, moving, or without a fixed address at all runs into the same question: where should the mail actually go?

The three options compared

| | Redirect order | PO box | Digital mailbox | |---|---|---|---| | Who it's for | Moving, transition period | A second address | Permanently reachable, no fixed location | | Duration | Time-limited | Ongoing | Ongoing | | Destination | New address | Pick up at the box | Digital, via app | | Street address | No | No | Yes | | Scanning | No | No | Yes |

The redirect order

With a mail redirect order, the postal service forwards your letters to a new address for a set period. It's practical for a move and a good bridge, but not a permanent solution: it expires, it costs money, and sooner or later you have to tell senders your new address yourself. Current prices and terms are listed on the postal service's own website.

The PO box

A PO box is a fixed second address that you pick up in person. It fits if you're actually local and just don't want your home address listed everywhere. It has real limits (no street address, no parcels), covered in our guide to renting a PO box.

The digital mailbox

You get a real address that senders write to. Your mail gets accepted, opened on request, scanned, and made available in an app. The original gets archived, forwarded, or destroyed. You don't need to live locally, and you can use the address indefinitely. For exactly how the scanning works, see What is a mail scan?

Which solution fits which situation?

Moving within your country: a redirect order to bridge the gap, plus updating your address with banks, authorities, and senders directly.

A vacation or weeks abroad: an international redirect order or a digital mailbox, so important mail doesn't pile up.

Living abroad long-term, with a bank account and authorities back home: a digital mailbox, covered further in Virtual Mailbox for Expats.

No fixed address at all: a digital mailbox, see also our guide for digital nomads.

Protecting your home address: a PO box or a digital mailbox, depending on whether you need a real street address.

Example: a two-month workation

Picture a project manager working from Portugal for two months. His apartment stays as is, and the mail piles up. An international redirect order would work, but he wouldn't know what's arriving, and official mail takes longer to reach him abroad. Instead he uses a digital mailbox, has invoices and official notices scanned, and reads them in the evening. After he's back, the address stays active just in case. This example is invented.

What to watch out for

• Deadlines. Important mail can't sit unread.
• Notify senders. A redirect order doesn't replace actually updating your address with them.
• Your registered residence. It stays wherever you're officially registered, a mailing address doesn't change that.
• Contract term and cancellation. At Clevver, digital mail is cancellable monthly with 14 days' notice.

FAQ

How long does a redirect order last? It's time-limited. Postal services typically offer it in several duration tiers, check their website for current terms.

Can I redirect mail abroad? Yes, an international redirect order is possible. Delivery time and cost depend on the destination country.

What if I don't have a fixed address? Then you need a mailing address that's permanently reachable, a digital mailbox, for example. Still have questions? → Contact us