Commercial mail receiving agency

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CMRA redirects here. For other uses, please see CMRA (disambiguation).

A commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA), also known as a mail drop, typically operates as a Private Mail Box Operator. The United States Postal Service, purportedly to counter mail fraud,

required that all Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRAs) that offer private mail boxes for rent must collect from their customers and furnish to the USPS confidential information that the Postal Service itself is not allowed to collect. Further, the Postal Service announced its intend to withhold any mail to private box renters that does not contain the letters "PMB" contained in the address.[1]

A customer of a CMRA can receive mail and other deliveries at the street address of the CMRA rather than the customer's own street address. Depending on the agreement between the customer and the CMRA, the CMRA can forward the mail to the customer or hold it for pickup.

A customer may wish to use the services of a CMRA for privacy; for example, a person running a home-based business may not wish to divulge the home address. Alternatively, a customer in one community may contract with a CMRA in another community with a better known or more prestigious address.

A CMRA is able to receive parcels shipped by means other than a postal system; some postal authorities, such as the United States Postal Service, will not. CMRAs also usually provide ancillary services such as copy or courier services. Many CMRAs will discount their other prices for mail box subscribers. The cons of having a box at a CMRA include getting mail at a later time than one could at a Post Office box.