About

What is Hold Mail service?

Hold Mail is a convenient way to suspend mail delivery while you’re away from your home or business.s

Why hold your mail?

• Secure — Ensure confidential mail is held safely with us.
• Protected — Avoid damage to mail from inclement weather.
• Convenient — Submit a request online anytime or at any Post Office.
• Trustworthy — No need to rely on friends and neighbours to bring in your mail.

Features

• Include up to 4 individuals in one residential request
• Include up to 2 businesses and 2 individuals in one business request.
• Hold your mail for 2 weeks or more.
• We’ll deliver your held mail to you once you return.

Who can apply

Who can submit a Hold Mail request?

• Individuals and families can submit a hold mail request
• Business and combination of business and residential (home based businesses) can submit a request.

Note: If you want to hold combination of business and residential mail than business rate apply (up to 2 business names and 2 individuals on your business Hold Mail request)

Who is not eligible?

You cannot apply online or in person if you receive mail through:

• An institution (e.g. a business, hotel, motel, rooming house, nursing home, hospital, school)
• A shared postal address, such as:
  • When several businesses share an identical address.
  • You receive your mail through a privately administered mailbox such as at a UPS store.
  • When an employee or a division of an organization relocates to a new address.

Hold Mail requests for schools

Public or private schools can submit up to 6 temporary change of address or hold mail requests for a fixed annual fee.

To submit a change of address for a school, apply in person at a Post Office with:

• 2 printed and completed copies of the school service form
• Government-issued identification
• Proof of authority to act on behalf of the school/school board, including supporting documentation containing:
  • Date
  • Name of school
  • Printed name and signature of the grantor of authority
  • Statement advising Canada Post of the name of the employee(s) authorized to act on behalf of the school
  • Printed name and signature(s) of all authorized individuals who can act on behalf of the school

Rates & prices

Rates & prices

Note:

• Weekdays include statutory holidays.
• For combination of business and residential hold business rate apply (up to 2 business names and 2 individuals on your business Hold Mail request)

How to apply

Request Hold Mail online

• For residential Hold Mail requests, fill out our online form at least 3 business days before you want your hold mail request to start. You’ll need a Canadian credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express), a valid email address, and authority to act on behalf of those listed on your request.

  Keep the reference number you receive in your confirmation email and use it to amend, extend or cancel your service online later on. To prevent fraud and ID theft, personal information and credit history might be used for authentication. We value and protect your privacy and security; the information you provide is only used to confirm your identity and is not retained by Canada Post.

• For business residential Hold Mail requests, fill out our online form at least 10 business days before you move. Keep the reference number you receive in your confirmation email and use it to amend, extend or cancel your service online later on. To prevent fraud and identity theft, a letter will be sent to your old address to confirm that you initiated the service.

Change your address at a Post Office

• Residential user of the Hold Mail service can fill out a form at any Post Office at least 3 days before moving. To prevent fraud and ID theft, you will need to bring government-issued photo identification with you when you sign up for this service. Read about identification requirements.
• Business user of the Hold Mail service can fill out a form at any Post Office at least 10 days before moving. To prevent fraud and ID theft, you will need to bring government-issued photo identification and supporting documentation proving that you can act on behalf of the business/institution. Read about requirements for identification and supporting documents.

Extend your service

Extend your Hold Mail service

For residential users of Hold Mail, request an extension at least 3 business days before your service expires and for business users of Hold Mail, request an extension at least 10 business days before your service expires. Pricing is the same as Hold Mail pricing at the time of renewal. If your service has already expired, complete a new request.

Extend online

To extend, amend, or cancel your service, you will need your reference number and password (Your reference number was included in the email confirmation you received when you first purchased the service). Sign in now.

Extend at a Post Office

You must go to the same Post Office where you submitted your original request. Bring government-issued ID and one of the following:

• The Hold Mail form you received when you purchased your service
• Your receipt
• Your notification card

Schools

Hold Mail and Temporary Redirection for schools

Public or private schools can submit up to 6 temporary redirection or Hold Mail requests for a fixed annual fee.

Steps on how to order

To submit a change of address for a school, apply in person at a Post Office with:

• 2 printed and completed copies of the school service form
• Government-issued identification
• Proof of authority to act on behalf of the school/school board, including supporting documentation containing:
  • Date
  • Name of school
  • Printed name and signature of the grantor of authority
  • Statement advising Canada Post of the name of the employee(s) authorized to act on behalf of the school
  • Printed name and signature(s) of all authorized individuals who can act on behalf of the school

Rates

School Hold Mail & Redirection bundle 12 months (best value) $185.00
School Hold Mail – flat rate up to 6 times/year $155.00

School Hold Mail Form

Use this link to download the appropriate school service form.

Privacy

You may be asked to answer some questions based on your credit history to authenticate your identity.

Please note:

To protect your security, Equifax (Canadian credit bureau) will match your responses to your profile using your date of birth, name, address and a government issued ID you have provided.

At no time will Canada Post have access to your credit information or the questions asked.

Once you have passed the online authentication you will receive confirmation of your transaction, allowing you to modify or extend your service.

If you are unable or you do not wish to provide government-issued identification (driver’s licence or SIN) online, please submit a Change of Address in person at your local Post Office using alternative forms of identification.

Our Privacy Commitment

At Canada Post, one of our highest priorities is to respect the privacy and safeguard the personal information of individuals who entrust us with their information. This commitment is fundamental to our business and central to the trust Canadians have in our brand. To obtain information on Canada Post’s privacy policies, please visit the privacy section of our website.