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Steps to take when your mail is stolen
mail-theft

What to Do If Your Mail Is Stolen: How to Report It and Protect Yourself

Home Security · Guide

6 Min Read Updated June 2026 The Adoorn Editorial Team

Mail Theft, What To Do

What to do if your mail is stolen: how to report it and protect yourself.

The Direct Answer

If your mail is stolen, report it in four steps: (1) file a report with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at mailtheft.uspis.gov; (2) notify your local Post Office; (3) file a police report; and (4) if financial mail was taken, alert your bank and the credit bureaus. Mail theft is a federal crime.

If your mail's been taken, you're in the right place. Here's exactly what to do, step by step, and what happens after you report it.

Before You File

Take five minutes to gather what you have.

A report with documentation moves faster than a report without one. Most of this you already have, you just need to pull it together before you start filing.

  • Photograph the damage. If the mailbox itself is pried, dented, or the lid is gone, take a few photos in good light. Photograph any discarded packaging or torn envelopes you find near your property, sometimes the thief drops what they don't want a few yards away.
  • Save any camera footage. A Ring doorbell, a porch camera, or a neighbor's exterior camera can catch the moment mail leaves the box. Export the clip locally before your storage cycle overwrites it. If your camera is on a subscription that purges after 30 or 60 days, saving the file now is the difference between having the evidence and not.
  • Make a list of what's missing. Who sent it, when they sent it, what was in it. Tax forms, replacement cards, statements, checks. Investigators may need to confirm the item was actually mailed, so the sender name and the date sent both matter.
  • Rule out a delivery delay first. If you're not sure whether mail was stolen or just hasn't arrived, USPS has a Missing Mail search at MissingMail.USPS.com. Starting there when it's a delivery issue keeps the USPIS report clean for the cases that really are theft.
01 Report It

How to report stolen mail, step by step.

  1. 1 Report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). The Postal Inspection Service is the federal law-enforcement arm of USPS, and it's where a mail-theft report carries the most weight. File online at mailtheft.uspis.gov (or call 1-877-876-2455). Have the basics ready: your address, the date you noticed the theft, and what was taken. This is the single most important step, do it first.
  2. 2 Notify your local Post Office. Call or visit the Post Office that delivers your mail. They can flag your address, check for any held or misdelivered items, and note the incident on their end. Ask whether anything is being held and whether nearby addresses have reported the same.
  3. 3 File a police report. Contact your local police department's non-emergency line and file a report. A police report creates a local paper trail, which matters if stolen mail leads to fraud or identity theft later. Write down the report number when you get it.
  4. 4 If financial mail or ID was taken, alert your bank and the credit bureaus. If checks, cards, statements, or anything with personal information was in the stolen mail, contact your bank right away and place a fraud alert with the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). Acting quickly here is what limits the damage.

That's the full report. Once it's filed, here's what to expect next.

02 What Happens Next

What happens after you report stolen mail.

After you file with USPIS, your report enters their system and may be grouped with others from your area, mail theft is often a pattern rather than a one-off event, and clusters of reports are what trigger an investigation. You may not hear back on a single report, and that's normal; it doesn't mean nothing is happening. Your local Post Office can keep you updated on anything held or recovered, and your police report stays on file in case it's needed later.

Set expectations: reporting builds the case and protects you on the record. It rarely produces an overnight resolution. The faster everyone in an area reports, the faster a pattern becomes actionable.

Adoorn Locking Post Mount Mailbox, Small, in Forest Green at a real home: the simple, durable swap that takes a household off the easiest-target list.
03 Federal Crime

Is mail theft a federal crime?

Yes. Mail theft is the unauthorized taking of mail from a mailbox or carrier, and it's treated as a federal offense, investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service rather than handled locally. That's why reporting matters: it routes your incident to the federal agency with authority over the mail. For anything about charges or enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the authoritative source to consult.

It's also more common than most people realize. In a federal audit of just five U.S. Postal Inspection Service divisions, the USPS Office of Inspector General counted 165,316 mail-theft complaints across fiscal years 2021-20221, and that's only five metro areas. If your neighborhood is showing a pattern, you're acting practically; that is the right read.

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04 Stop The Next One

How to stop it from happening again.

Once the report's filed and your accounts are protected, there's one thing worth doing so you're not back here next month: make the mailbox itself harder to rob. A locking mailbox is the simplest, most durable fix, your mail drops through a secure slot and stays locked until you retrieve it.

It's also where Adoorn started. Adoorn is the modern mailbox brand named "Best Overall" by Architectural Digest, now on more than 350,000 homes. The Locking Post Mount is built for exactly this: heavy-duty galvanized steel construction, stainless steel hinges, a rust-resistant powder-coat finish, weatherproof and worry-proof.

For the full picture, placement, habits, and the rest of what actually reduces mail theft, read the prevention guide. It's the companion to this page.

Want a simple checklist for locking down your front door and mailbox? Get our Front-Door Security Checklist, one email, no clutter.

05 The Questions

Frequently asked.

How do I report mail theft?

Report it in four steps: file with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at mailtheft.uspis.gov, notify your local Post Office, file a police report on the non-emergency line, and, if financial mail or ID was taken, alert your bank and the three credit bureaus. Start with USPIS; that's the federal report that carries the most weight.

Is mail theft a federal crime?

Yes. Mail theft is a federal offense, investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service rather than handled locally. That's why reporting matters, it routes your incident to the federal agency with authority over the mail. For anything about charges or enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the authoritative source.

Is mail theft a felony?

Mail theft is taken seriously as a federal offense, investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted in federal court, where penalties are decided case by case. We're a mailbox company, so for the legal specifics on charges and consequences, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the right place to check. What's in your control is reducing the risk in the first place.

What happens to someone who steals mail?

Because mail theft is a federal offense, it's investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted in federal court, where penalties are decided case by case. We're a mailbox company; for specifics on charges and consequences, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the right place to check.

Will USPIS investigate stolen mail, and what happens after I report?

Your report enters the USPIS system and is often grouped with others from your area, since mail theft tends to follow a pattern. You may not get an update on a single report, but reporting builds the case and protects you on the record. Your local Post Office can tell you about anything held or recovered.

How do I stop my mail from being stolen again?

The most durable fix is a locking mailbox, so mail stays secured until you retrieve it. For the full prevention picture, placement, habits, and product options, read our mail theft prevention guide, or see locking mailboxes.

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