Administrative Mail

Managing Your Administrative and Campus Mail

The Yale Mail Service is updating their records to ensure contact information for active P.O. Box holders is accurate. This will help ensure mail delivery and billing changes, pricing, etc., are communicated to the appropriate individuals please complete this survey before 02/28/22.

Information about addressing your campus or first class mail can be found by clicking on the following links. It is important to properly address your campus mail envelopes and packages. For more information on proper addressing, or how to order inter-departmental envelopes, click on the links below.

If you cannot find what you need, please call Yale Mail Services at 203-436-4592 or email campus.mail@yale.edu.

Managing Your Mail

When staff or faculty leave the University, the department must forward their mail. Many of those departing fill out a Change of Address card with the U. S. Postal Service.  The USPS then sends a postcard to the specific Yale Department stating the department must forward mail.

We recommend the following procedure:

  1. When a person leaves your department, print up a sheet of labels reading “FORWARD TO:”  with the new address. Place a sticker over the old address, leaving only the person’s name showing. Cross off all bar codes and associated numbers, front and back, with a thick black marker. Put this in your outgoing U. S. mail. 
  2. Advise the departing person that mail will be forwarded for only a set amount of time, such as three months. This puts the responsibility on the person to promptly notify correspondents of their new address. 

The Post Office will forward UNOPENED first class mail to anywhere in the world without requiring additional postage. However, if you want to forward magazine subscriptions, they would require regular first-class postage be applied before forwarding. If you have a letter that has first class postage already on it, it will be forwarded without additional postage.

Taking these three steps will reduce the amount of unwanted mail coming to your department.

Carefully review your incoming U. S. mail.  Does it use old box number?  These numbers include P. O. Box 3333, 6666, 4-digit numerical box numbers (such as 1958, 2006, 2964), and numerical-alpha box numbers (like 1-A, 1502-A, 1603-A, 1604-A).

These are discontinued Box numbers in some cases from 20 years ago.

If mail reaches your department with old box numbers or street addresses, please contact the senders and provide them with the correct post office box number (usually 6 digits) and zip code with add-on. 

Because, over the years, the number sequence of these boxes has been assigned to other towns, it is very possible your mail will not even come into Yale University but will be returned to sender as insufficiently addressed. Don’t let this happen to your mail! 

Since the United States Postal Service has heightened security measures, all mail pieces being sent from the University must bear a valid return address for identification purposes. Mail pieces that do not have proper identification could be returned. Personal mail must also contain a valid return address.

Your return address at Yale should be the same as your Yale address: your name, department, box number, city, state and complete zip code.

You can help speed your mail through the Campus Mail system by observing a few easy guidelines:

  • Know your mail pick-up time schedule.
  • Keep US Mail separate from campus mail.
  • Always include the person’s name, department and campus location on all campus envelopes.
  • Don’t wait until late in the day, especially on Fridays, to inquire as to delivery status of an item.
  • All mail sent to post office box numbers must have postage.
  •  Everyone (with only a few exceptions) at Yale, including students, should be receiving all of their mail through their post office box.
  • Advise departing faculty and staff that mail will be forwarded for only a short period of time, say 3 months. 
  • Sort all large campus mailings: Central area is sorted by building, Medical and Science areas by department.
  1. Print up labels with the correct address info on them (run off extra sheets on a copy machine). When mail arrives for that department or individual, just apply a label over the address portion of the original address leaving the department or individual’s name showing, and put it back in campus mail.
      
  2. Advise the departments that you will be unable to continue forwarding mail for them. Tell them either mail will be returned to sender now or at some point in the near future, say 3 months. That way, they will have an opportunity to advise everyone sending them items of their correct post office box number.
      

Following some simple guidelines can speed delivery of U. S. and campus mail to the correct person.

  • Mail is delivered by the USPS and Yale Mail Service to the address printed on the item. It is up to the department indicated by the address to properly accept, return or forward the item if it is not intended for their department. 
  • If mail is to be forwarded, please indicate the reason for forwarding, e. g. moved, retired, deceased, etc. and re-address it using the Yale online directory. Return to Yale Mail Service to be redirected.
  • Campus mail sorted by Mail Code is delivered to the address indicated by the Mail Code. Delivery of any item sorted by a Mail Code defaults to the 3-digit Mail Code. Once a person changes locations, it is up to that individual to assure that his or her mail code properly reflects their new, current address. To get a mail code corrected please notify your Business Office of the error.
  • Unopened First Class mail can be returned through the US Postal Service system without additional postage.
  • Before opening mail, make sure it is for your department.