When planning for multifamily mailbox solutions, USPS regulations are not the only codes that need to be taken into consideration. It is also important to include the various state and local codes, as well as federal accessibility regulations for mailboxes and the Fair Housing Act.

For property owners, the importance of providing centralized mailboxes installed in a manner that complies with both USPS, accessibility requirements and all the various other regulations cannot be minimized. Ensuring compliance will avoid mail stoppage or occupancy permit denials. Luckily, Florence mailbox product lines provide you with all the USPS approved mailboxes and parcel locker options necessary to ensure you can design a mail center for your project that is compliant with all USPS and accessibility regulations.  

USPS Regulations for Multifamily Mailboxes

Since October 5, 2006, all new construction and renovation designs in buildings require U.S. Postal Service STD-4C compliant mailbox systems. The USPS regulates the types, styles, and locations of centralized mailboxes to provide consistency in form factor. This consistency ensures not only operational efficiency, but safety for postal carriers who deliver millions of packages and mail pieces to the 150+ million delivery points six days a week.

To address the growing package delivery volumes while reducing the number of re-delivery attempts, USPS has specified built-in package lockers for all of their approved centralized mail delivery equipment. These parcel lockers, which can handle 95% of USPS Priority Mail package sizes, were an important regulatory addition as they reduced the number of times residents had to visit their local Post Office to retrieve packages. These built in parcel lockers are also extremely convenient for residents s they can retrieve their USPS delivered mail and packages in one secure location 24/7.

Over the years, the USPS has continued to evaluate their requirements, updating when necessary to keep pace with the continue onslaught of package delivery. Today’s standard now requires a minimum of one 15” package locker for every five individual mailboxes installed (1:5 ratio). This ratio can be easily met by adding parcel locker only modules to any centralized mail delivery installation.

ADA Regulations for Multifamily Mailboxes and Multi Unit Properties

For interior mailrooms, the ADA specifies that at least 5% of the mailboxes must meet accessibility guidelines. However, some local regulations may override this percentage and require 100% compliance, so be sure to check with your local jurisdiction codes office and inspector to confirm requirements in your area.

When lining up mailboxes with your residents, the current practice is to use sequential numbering on the mailboxes rather than matching identification to the apartment numbers. This both improves security and privacy along with allowing for greater flexibility in providing accessible mailbox compartments that meet the 5% specification.

According to Section 309 of the ADA, mailboxes must comply with specs on clear floor space, equipment height, and operation. An accessible mailbox must be no lower than 15” and no higher than 48” from the finished floor as measured from a clearance of 10” from the installation wall whether you are forward or side facing.

Fair Housing Act

Under Requirement 2 of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), your multifamily living unit must have an accessible and usable public and common use area. This includes building-wide fire alarms, parking lots, storage areas, indoor and outdoor recreational areas, lobbies, laundry areas, mailrooms, and mailboxes.

For mailboxes to be FHA compliant, they must be installed no lower than 15” and no higher than 48” from a forward-facing approach. This matches with USPS installation requirements for parcel lockers which can be installed as low as 15” from finished floor as well as with ADA lower reach range regulations.

Additionally, the FHA also disallows any protruding objects, including mailboxes, located along walks, corridors, and other passageways because a cane or wheelchair could bump against it. FHA notes that any wall-hung objects must not protrude more than 4” when located between 27” and 80” from the ground. Objects mounted lower than 27” above the finished floor may protrude any amount as long as the minimum clear width of an accessible route is maintained.

Many STD-4C modules may be USPS approved and yet still not be appropriate for installation in some circumstances to fully comply with ADA and/or FHA requirements. To ensure that the centralized mailbox installation if entirely compliant, be sure to review the type of facility, location and space availability when making your selection of USPS approved 4C mailboxes and parcel lockers.

Common Pitfalls of not Following Regulations

Before your centralized mailbox installation can be put into service, a USPS Delivery Planning Manager will most likely inspect the installation before adding the Postal Lock. And, if your installation is in new construction, the local code inspector my look it over as well. By following the Postal, ADA and FHA regulations you are less likely to be required to modify your installation as replacing non-compliant mailboxes can be a hassle.

Avoid these top three common planning mistakes to reduce headache and hassle later:

• Ensure mailrooms are big enough for mailbox accessibility and turnaround requirements for both wheelchairs and package delivery carts.
• Confirm early in the process whether 5% or 100% of mailboxes must be ADA-compliant based on the type of property involved.
• Avoid assigning resident mailboxes sequentially which can create issues for the USPS in cases where flexibility is needed to allocate more accessible mailboxes.

Get Started with Florence Today

We know that architects and builders have a lot of codes to juggle and perhaps are not as familiar with U.S. Postal Service mailbox requirements and their intersection with ADA regulations and the FHA. At Florence Corporation, our team would be happy to assist with information and local experts starting with your initial planning clear through to your finished project. 

We also offer a robust line of 135 different pre-configured STD-4C mailbox modules that meet or exceed all security requirements of the USPS STD-4C regulation for front-loading wall-mounted mail receptacles. Our durable versatile™ 4C mailbox line was developed with a simple-to-use modular platform and contains a full ADA compliant suite of mailboxes to easily ensure your project remains fully compliant.

Check Florence’s centralized mail equipment product offerings or get in touch with your local Florence dealer to get started today.