Mail guides
Find the right way to
stop unwanted mail.
Start with the mailing you received or the change that brought it to your door. Find direct opt-out routes, draft a clear request, and work out which mail needs separate handling.
Looking for a specific sender? Browse the sender directory.Browse all 42 topics
500 practical guides across 42 topics.
Readable photos
Make the sender and mailing label easy to read without sharing the rest of your mail.
- Keep other letters out of a mail photo
- Flatten a curved catalog before photographing it
- Retake a mail photo taken in dim light
Reading the label
Find the details that let a sender match the mail to the right record.
- Tell a catalog customer number from an offer code
- Use an old label covered by a forwarding sticker
- Read a label with both a company and a person's name
Writing the request
Say which paper mail should stop and give the sender enough information to find it.
- Keep account notices while stopping promotions
- Keep email offers while stopping paper mail
- Write a follow-up that includes the earlier request
Keeping a useful record
Keep enough evidence to follow up without creating a second pile of paperwork.
- Decide when to close a mail tracking entry
- Compare mail before and after a request
- Choose a follow-up date when no timeline is given
When mail keeps arriving
Compare the new piece with the original request before deciding what to do next.
- Find out why email stopped but paper continues
- Correct an opt-out confirmation with the wrong address
- Handle an old opt-out after a second move
Catalog choices
Stop the catalogs you do not want while keeping the ones you still use.
- Stop a catalog after buying one gift
- Tell a catalog from a membership magazine
- Handle a catalog from a related brand
Donation mail
Manage fundraising mail without confusing appeals, receipts and donation settings.
- Ask to keep a charity newsletter but stop appeals
- Respond to a charity mailing with address labels
- Separate local and national charity mail
A shared mailbox
Coordinate requests with the people who use the mailbox.
- Keep different postal preferences as a couple
- Agree before photographing a family member's mail
- Make a household list of mail to keep
After a change at home
Update advertising preferences without losing important correspondence.
- Choose which catalogs to stop when downsizing
- Sort recruitment brochures after a school decision
- Stop catalogs for a hobby you no longer follow
Apartment and building mail
Handle building-wide advertising without interfering with residents' personal mail.
- Count unwanted building mail without collecting names
- Decide which catalogs a clubhouse should keep
- Identify a flyer delivered to every apartment
At work
Reduce unnecessary advertising while preserving business records and deliveries.
- Stop advertising to a closed office
- Reduce duplicate catalogs across departments
- Handle advertising for a franchise location
Using sender forms
Choose the right form and check what it actually asks you to submit.
- Shorten a mail-removal request for a small form
- Recognize a form that only unsubscribes email
- Ask for an accessible way to request less mail
Sharing less information
Give a sender what it needs for the request and keep unrelated details private.
- Store opt-out records in a private place
- Share a sender-form screenshot without exposing a label
- Use a shared phone carefully for mail photos
Mail you still need
Keep useful information coming while changing promotional preferences.
- Keep official election mail separate from campaign ads
- Check an insurance envelope before opting out
- Keep a marketing request separate from a billing address change
Offers that need a closer look
Identify what arrived before responding or treating it as ordinary advertising.
- Pause before treating a check-shaped mailer as a coupon
- Check an advertisement marked final notice
- Review a mailed free-gift offer before responding
A manageable routine
Reduce repeat mail one sender at a time and keep the work small.
- Leave a clear handoff for unfinished requests
- Work through advertising after a trip
- Reduce advertising before a trip
Using Junk Mail Magic
Prepare a useful photo and review the request with the mailer beside you.
- Give support enough detail about a mail request
- Catch a blurry photo before submitting
- Choose a mailer for the first free request
Paper and digital preferences
Choose the delivery options you want without losing track of an account.
- Ask about marketing after an account is closed
- Ask about a digital association magazine
- Think before requesting a catalog for someone else
Finding the right sender
Use the organization on the mailer and confirm its contact route before sharing details.
- Match a brand to the legal name on a mailer
- Handle advertising from a renamed brand
- Verify a number printed on unfamiliar mail
Unusual mail formats
Keep the right details when an advertisement does not look like a standard envelope.
- Check an address printed on a reply card
- Keep the label from a catalog's plastic wrapper
- Read the label on a folded self-mailer
Mailing-list programs
Choose the program that matches the mail in your hand.
- Check options for marketing sent to a business address
- Handle customer mail after a DMAchoice registration
- Use DMAchoice for magazine offers you never requested
Credit-offer controls
Separate prescreened offers from customer marketing and fraud concerns.
- Check credit-offer mail controls before deployment
- Compare a credit freeze with a prescreen opt-out
- Treat a credit offer for a child as a verification task
After buying a home
Sort the new-home advertising that arrives around closing.
- Stop contractor mail after an estimate you declined
- Reduce home-equity advertising while keeping statements
- Check a home-warranty expiration letter after closing
Renting and relocation
Change promotional preferences around a move without losing deliveries.
- Reduce marketing mail at your first apartment
- Separate old-address ads from lease correspondence
- Keep advertising changes separate during temporary housing
Helping another adult
Plan mail preferences with the person who receives the mail.
- Review catalogs after a move to assisted living
- Set a caregiver check before recycling unfamiliar mail
- Check the ANA caretaker list for a dependent in your care
After a loss
Reduce painful advertising while preserving estate and household records.
- Ask a charity to stop appeals addressed to someone who died
- Separate forwarding from advertising removal after a death
- Check an active subscription after a subscriber dies
Family milestones
Change advertising after a life event while protecting personal boundaries.
- Plan advertising changes when an adult child moves out
- Check postal choices before creating a baby registry
- Reduce duplicate catalogs in a blended household
Schools and student recruitment
Control educational marketing without interrupting tests or applications.
- Find the current ACT Recruit Me opt-out route
- Opt out of College Board Student Search marketing
- Reduce follow-up after sharing details at a college fair
Business mail
Control vendor advertising while protecting invoices and official records.
- Close sales follow-up for an abandoned business project
- Check an award-plaque offer sent to your business
- Check a mailed directory listing before paying
Clubs and organizations
Manage shared advertising with clear ownership and consent.
- Stop promotional mail to a dissolved club
- Hand off promotional mail when a condo board changes
- Check a fundraiser vendor agreement before stopping mail
After a purchase
Change the paper advertising that follows an order, quote or registration.
- Reduce appliance-store promotions after a purchase
- Reduce mailed beauty offers after a subscription ends
- Reduce postal marketing after entering a contest
Travel marketing
Reduce brochures and sales invitations after a trip or inquiry.
- Separate airline offers from co-branded card mail
- Reduce campground promotional mail after a stay
- Stop cruise sales brochures after requesting a quote
Vehicle marketing
Separate vehicle sales advertising from ownership and safety records.
- Reduce mail after comparing auto insurance
- Stop dealer offers for a vehicle you sold
- Reduce dealer sales mail after buying a car
Household services
Control service-provider promotions without interrupting your account.
- Identify an electricity supplier’s mailed offer
- Change a FirstEnergy Pennsylvania supplier-list preference
- Sort HVAC offers from your maintenance agreement
Neighborhood advertising
Identify who sends local flyers and address-based campaigns.
- Ask about a sponsored calendar mailing
- Reduce an unsolicited neighborhood magazine
- Tell route-wide advertising from a named mailing list
Membership preferences
Keep the benefits you use and change optional paper promotions.
- Separate an alumni magazine from fundraising mail
- Choose paper event mail from a botanical garden
- Stop fitness-club promotional mail without account changes
Privacy and marketing lists
Understand which records a privacy request can change.
- Renew an affiliate marketing opt-out when the notice requires it
- Prepare an authorized-agent privacy request in California
- Prepare a California request to correct an address
Suspicious mail
Verify a troubling letter before treating it as ordinary advertising.
- Check an annual-report filing service offer
- Check a directory form that looks like a free update
- Check a certificate-of-status offer for a business
Keep important mail
Keep important letters out of advertising cleanup.
- Keep benefit renewal letters separate from advertising
- Set aside a court-looking letter for independent verification
- Verify a debt letter before calling it junk mail
Mail routines that fit your needs
Use practical formats and assistance that make preferences easier to manage.
- Request written contact for a postal-mail preference
- Make a large-print sheet for managing unwanted mail
- Make a short mail decision list for a low-energy day
Delivery and advertising
Use postal services for delivery problems and sender requests for advertising.
- Does USPS Hold Mail stop advertising?
- Stop the Informed Delivery daily email
- Can Informed Delivery block junk mail?
Before joining another list
Read the postal choices before a signup, order or event.
- Choose how a charity event records your mailing preference
- Keep a gift recipient out of your mailing preferences
- Review a sample request before giving a mailing address