Can You Change the Shipping Address on a USPS Shipping Label?

Getting the recipient’s address right is the key to having your package delivered to its destination without a hitch. Unfortunately, mistakes sometimes happen even when you’re sure that you’ve double-checked everything. Can you change the shipping address on a USPS shipping label if you messed up?

We’ll start with the one thing you absolutely mustn’t do: cross out the wrong shipping address on your shipping label and writing a new one next to it. When you create a shipping label, all the information you enter is added to the USPS system and encoded in the shipping label barcode. During most of its route, your package will be processed automatically by scanning the barcode, so the address you wrote on the label won’t even matter; the one in the USPS system will. Besides, any packages with a manually-altered shipping label are returned back to senders.

So, basically, you don’t need to change the address ON the label; you need to change the address IN the USPS system. The solution to this problem will depend on whether the package has already been shipped and scanned or not.

You cannot edit the shipping label after you pay the postage, regardless of whether you have printed the label or not. So if you made an error on your shipping label but have not shipped the package yet, your best course of action would be to cancel the erroneous shipping label and purchase a new one, with the right address this time.

If you have a USPS.com account and purchased the label via Click-N-Ship, you can request a refund within 30 days of the label transaction date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to Shipping History, click on the label you want to void, select “Refund label” from the drop-down menu, and confirm your request. The USPS will review your request and refund the label within 14 days if the request is granted.

If you purchased your shipping label via a third-party service such as PostageMaker, you can cancel the label and request a refund using that service. Please note that different services have different refund policies, which can differ from the USPS refund policy. For example, some services allow to request refunds within less than 30 days of the label printing date, some charge a cancellation fee, etc.

But what if you made an error in the shipping label and have already shipped the package? In this case, you can try to reroute the package before it is returned to you. The USPS has a service named Package Intercept that allows to reroute packages or stop the delivery. To use the service, you need to log in to your USPS.com account (if you don’t have one, you’ll have to sign up) and submit an interception request.

There are a few things you should know about USPS Package Intercept before trying to reroute a package with an erroneous address:

• Not all shipments are eligible for Package Intercept. You can only reroute domestic packages that have a tracking barcode.
• You cannot redirect the package to a new home address; intercepted packages are redirected either to the sender or to the delivery Post Office of the destination, where they are held for pickup by the recipient.
• The service is not free; you will be charged an interception fee ($17 as of January 2024) plus any applicable Priority Mail postage.
• Interception is not guaranteed, but you won’t be charged anything if the USPS fails to intercept your package.
• A USPS Package Intercept request cannot be edited or canceled once you submit it.

So, let’s sum everything up. You cannot edit the recipient’s address on a USPS shipping label once you purchase it, so it’s heavily recommended to double- and even triple-check everything before paying the postage and printing your shipping label. However, it is possible to cancel your label, request a refund, and print a new shipping label if the package hasn’t been shipped yet, or try reroute the package to the recipient’s Post Office (for a fee) once you mail the package.