Traveling Mailbox Review: A Virtual Mailbox for Remote Teams

Why a PO Box Doesn't Cut It for Remote Businesses

If you're running a remote business or going fully distributed, there's a practical problem that sneaks up on you: where does your mail go? Every invoice you send, every email marketing campaign you run — they all legally need a physical address. And putting your home address on marketing emails isn't exactly ideal.

The obvious answer is a PO box, but trust me, that comes with its own headaches. When I started my digital marketing agency, we got a PO box thinking it would be a simple fix. What actually happened was the box filled up with junk mail every few days, and when we didn't empty it fast enough, the post office literally changed the locks on us. We got evicted from a mailbox. The reality is that if you don't receive much physical mail and just need an address, a PO box is an expensive, inconvenient solution to a simple problem.

What Is Traveling Mailbox?

Traveling Mailbox is a virtual mailbox service that gives you a real street address at one of 25+ locations across the United States. Your physical mail goes to that address, and instead of piling up in a tiny box, the team at Traveling Mailbox handles it for you. Junk mail gets automatically shredded, and anything that looks important gets scanned and sent to you digitally.

I first heard about this service years ago reading Tim Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek, where he recommended it as part of building a location-independent business. The core idea was that you could travel the world and still have your mail managed professionally. But even if you're not a digital nomad, the service is genuinely useful for any remote business that needs a legitimate mailing address without the overhead of renting office space.

The Traveling Mailbox Dashboard

When a piece of mail arrives, you get an email notification with a photo of the envelope. From your dashboard, you have several options for how to handle it. You can tell them to shred it if it's junk, have them forward the physical letter to any address in the world, or — and this is the option I use most — have them open it and scan the contents so you can read it right in your browser.

The scanning turnaround is fast. When I received a letter from the IRS (always a fun surprise), I had them open and scan it within hours. Turned out it was just a stimulus payment notification, but the point is I didn't have to wait days for a physical letter to reach me to find that out. Once you're done with a letter, you can request it be shredded and then delete the digital copy to keep your inbox clean.

Forwarding is also straightforward. You set up a forwarding address in the sidebar, and when you request a forward, it typically takes about 12 hours for the letter to get back in the mail. Add a few days for delivery, and you've got your physical letter wherever you need it.

Virtual Office Features: Fax, Letters, and More

Beyond just receiving mail, Traveling Mailbox functions as a full virtual office. There's a dedicated virtual office tab that gives you a fax number for receiving faxes — which sounds antiquated until you realize how many financial institutions still require them.

You can also send outgoing mail and faxes directly through your browser. Need to mail a physical letter? Write it up in Word, upload the document, and Traveling Mailbox will print it, stuff it in an envelope, stamp it, and send it on your behalf. It's the kind of feature that sounds minor until you need it, and then it's incredibly convenient.

Check Deposits Without Leaving Your Desk

One of the standout features is check deposit. If someone sends you a physical check, Traveling Mailbox can deposit it directly into your bank account. You just add your banking information to your account, and when a check arrives, you tell them to deposit it. No need to have the check forwarded, no trips to the bank.

This is a surprisingly practical feature for freelancers and small businesses that still occasionally receive payments by check. It removes one of the last reasons you'd ever need to physically handle your own mail.

Setting Up Your Account

Getting started with Traveling Mailbox is simple, though there's one required step that takes a bit of effort. After signing up, the very first thing you'll see is a prompt to fill out USPS Form 1583. This is a federal requirement — it's the document that gives Traveling Mailbox legal permission to open and handle your mail.

You fill out the PDF, print it, and then take it to a notary (most banks offer notary services). Once that's done and submitted, you're ready to start receiving mail. To redirect your existing mail, head over to the USPS website and fill out a change of address form. You can do this for yourself as an individual, for your whole family, or for your business.

One thing I really appreciate is the multi-user support. Even their smallest plan lets you have around three people on a single address, and their mid-tier plan supports up to five people plus a business address. That's a lot of value without needing separate accounts for everyone in the household or company.

Security and Privacy

Letting a third party open your mail is a big trust decision, and Traveling Mailbox takes that seriously. Their facilities use audio and video surveillance with facial recognition, backup systems, and generators running on natural gas for redundancy. Their servers sit behind their own dedicated IP block.

All employees go through detailed background checks and are trained on HIPAA compliance. If you're on their top-tier plan, you can even get a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is critical if you deal with health-related information that falls under HIPAA regulations. When you request that mail be destroyed, it's securely shredded — not tossed in a bin.

I did my own due diligence before signing up. Their Better Business Bureau profile shows an A+ rating with 175 customer reviews averaging 4.86 out of 5 stars, and they've been accredited since 2012. When I reached out to their support team with questions about security, they didn't just send me a link to a FAQ — they actually walked me through their practices and made sure I was comfortable before moving forward.

Final Verdict: Is Traveling Mailbox Worth It?

I use Traveling Mailbox for both my business and personal mail, and it's been a genuine lifestyle upgrade. The biggest win is zero junk mail — everything gets filtered and shredded before it ever reaches me. For a remote business, the math is simple: why spend $1,000-$3,000 a month on office space nobody uses when $20 a month gets you a real street address with full mail management?

The UI could use a refresh — it looks like it was designed seven or eight years ago — but the service itself has been rock-solid and reliable over several months of daily use. Support is responsive and thorough when you need them.

I'm giving Traveling Mailbox a 9.2 out of 10. If they modernize the interface, it would easily be one of my top recommended tools. For anyone running a remote business, freelancing, or just tired of dealing with physical mail, it's well worth checking out.

Watch the Full Video

Prefer watching to reading? Check out the full video on YouTube for a complete walkthrough with live demos and commentary.