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To obtain an APO Box:
Provide a copy of your orders to your sponsor. A sponsor is authorized to request an APO box for you. An APO box may be activated 60 days prior to your arrival. APO boxes may be issued to individuals who are DoD active duty or DoD civilian authorized by their orders. All authorized members may also have services for their dependents who are listed on their orders.
Restrictions:
1: You cannot ship weapons, alcohol, hazardous materials, and organizational material like brochures.
2: Home business owners, like Pampered Chef, are not authorized to receive any material which is used in selling goods, such as catalogs, free supplies, and individual orders. They must have the order sent to the individual who is purchasing the goods.
3: The PO does not offer express mail at Lajes because of the flight schedule
4: The PO does not provide service for FedEx and UPs
Holiday Mail:
Mail usually takes around 2-4 weeks to arrive at Lajes, depending on the service and origin; however, during the holiday season it may be up to 8-10 weeks so plan accordingly.
Hold Mail:
When going TDY or on leave, please stop by the post office place your mailbox on hold. Packages will be returned after 30 days if a mail hold (DD Form 2258) is not completed.
PCSing:
Before you PCS please stop by the post office with a copy of your PCS ORDERS and provide us your FOWARDING ADDRESS. Once completed, we’ll sign you off on the Virtual Out-processing Checklist (VOP).
Payment is not required for any items being shipped to another MPO/APO. This also applies for personal items during a TDY. The Post Office is supplied with multiple sizes of Priority Mail boxes and labels; no other packaging is available. We also supply money orders and stamps; no other place on base can provide them
Who can use Post Office services?
- Members of the US Armed Forces (on active duty) and their command sponsored family
- US citizen employees of DoD and their family members
- Retired personnel of the US Armed Forces and their family members
- Authorized US citizen contractors and other US Government agencies
Note: Receptacles cannot be used to conduct private business. If discovered it could lead to revoke of mailing privileges.
Tips for filling out Customs Forms (PS Form 2976-R):
Filling out a Customs Form is a requirement when sending out mail from the Post Office. The only exception is first class mail (document only) and some return labels provided by companies such as Amazon (We cannot accept UPS or FedEx return labels and the member will need to fill out a Customs Form and pay for the return). Most of the form is straightforward on what is required but there are a few additional things to consider:
- Ensure you sign and date at the end of the form (box 23)
- Boxes 7-21, 24 & 25 are optional
- Weight can be retrieved via the scale in the post office
- When listing contents, ensure you are specific. For example:
- Incorrect: Clothes, appliances, electronics, gift,
- Correct: Men's denim jacket, microwave oven, wireless headset, scented candle,
Note: The description should be precise enough to allow customs agents to identify the goods listed. Avoid ambiguous or obscure language.
- Use blue or black ink
Mailing Options
- CUSTOMS FORM ONLINE - Allows you to fill out a Customs Form online and print it out to be processed at the post office. This requires that you pay for it at the counter.
- CLICK-N-SHIP - Allows you to prepay for your package online. After you print out the prepaid shipping label you'll be able to bring it to the post office where it is scanned and processed immediately at the counter without the contents having to be input manually.
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Both of these options require a USPS.com account. We have a laptop in the finance lobby that can be used to complete and print out each of these forms. However, it is quicker to accomplish from your office or home. Please be mindful that you will need a scale to input the weight of the package.
What can't I mail?
The general principle of what can and can't be mailed comes down to anything "which may kill or injure another, or injure the mails
or other property..." is non-mailable.
Postal Clerks will determine the mailability of all hazardous materials, perishable matter or otherwise restricted matter. There are also posters in the finance lobby that shows what is able to be shipped.
A common list of non-mailable matter is as follows:
- Aerosols
- Alcoholic beverages
- Ammunition, explosives, replica or inert explosive devices, and military training combat devices
- Controlled substances, drugs, and drug paraphernalia
- Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and related products (i.e. vapes, nicotine liquids, etc. )
- Hand sanitizer
- Lithium Batteries *
- Replica or real weapons
- Tobacco lighters
Additionally, inbound mail to this location follows similar restrictions and can be found by going to USPS Postal Explorer at pe.usps.com, clicking the PE Tools dropdown, navigating to APO/FPO/DPO Restrictions and typing in 09720.
Using this method you can find a list of mailing restrictions for all military bases in the world!
In addition to the list above, other items that cannot mailed to this location are fruits, vegetables, live plants and even live animals (some people mail bees!).
Can I send lithium batteries?*
- Yes and no. Items that contain lithium batteries can be sent but they will be routed through APO chains via our Aerial Port This means the item will take longer to reach its final destination since APO mail is sent out bi-weekly instead of the normal dispatch days.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Packages that exceed 70 pounds or the dimensions listed to the right cannot be processed through the post office
There is a scale located in our finance lobby as well as a myriad of priority boxes you can choose from to suit your needs. Unfortunately, we do not carry brown boxes.
However, the boxes you take here don't have to be paid for until you're ready to send out.
- Until you receive an email from AMPS, your package is not ready for pick up. A common mistake is looking up your tracking status and seeing it as "Arrived at USPS Destination Facility, APO, AE 09720" and thinking it's at the Post Office. This just means your mail is at the terminal ready to be picked up on our next mail retrieval day (Mondays & Wednesdays).
- Using a Flat Rate Mailbox ensures that no matter how much a package weighs, it will only cost the flat rate amount. Remember, the price is determined by the destination and the Heavier objects traveling farther from this location will cost more and vice versa.
- The Post Office has brown packing paper material that you can use to pad your box for the more fragile items that you're trying to ship.
- You can take as many customs forms as you need from the Post Office and fill them out prior to coming back to send your items out!
- If you're ordering items online and there isn't an option for AE (Armed Forces in Europe) for the "state" abbreviation box, you can put New York as a designation and the website will recognize this location. Additional information can be found by copying and pasting the following link into your browser: https://faq.usps.com/s/ article/How-Do-I-Address-Military-Mail.
765 ABS/FSX
Unit 7700
APO AE 09720
Phone: 535-1207/1203
E-mail: 765 ABS/Post Office
References
DoD 4525.6M – Postal Manual
USAFE-AIRPS/PO Postal Guide 12 January 2024
Postal Training Guide 1 - General Postal Knowledge USPS.com
DID YOU KNDID YOU KNO
If you have any questions, please contact the Post Office at 65cs.postoffice@us.af.mil or 535-1203