For business owners operating remotely or from home, maintaining a professional presence while protecting personal privacy is a common challenge. Dappr’s Private Mailbox service provides a physical street address in California, Delaware, or Florida that allows you to receive business mail, view scanned contents online, and forward packages to your actual location.
This service integrates directly into the Dappr dashboard, allowing you to manage postal mail alongside your formation, banking, and compliance tasks. While the Private Mailbox effectively separates your business identity from your home life, it functions differently than a leased office or a Registered Agent and has specific limitations regarding banking and physical access.
Service Features and Workflow
When you subscribe to the Private Mailbox service, you are assigned a street address at a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA). A CMRA is a private business authorized by the USPS to receive and handle mail on your behalf. Your address will include a unique Private Mailbox (PMB) number.
Mail Handling and Scanning
Scanning: Incoming envelopes are scanned automatically upon receipt. You can view these images in the Mailbox tab of your Dappr dashboard.
Content Access: If you request a scan of the contents, Dappr opens the mail and scans the documents. The plan includes automatic scanning for standard letters, though Dappr filters out obvious "junk" mail like advertising, newspapers, and catalogs.
Check Deposits: If you receive a check, you can request that Dappr deposit it into your Dappr Financial Account (custodied by Fifth Third Bank) for a fee.
Forwarding: You can request to forward physical items to almost any domestic or international destination.
Permitted Usage
You may use this address on your website, marketing materials, and invoices to present a professional image. It also serves to shield your home address from many public records, though it cannot be used for every government requirement. Your private mailbox cannot be used as a registered agent address. If you need a registered agent, use Dappr's dedicated service.
Pricing and Plan Limits
The Private Mailbox is available as a single subscription plan. You can choose to be billed $20 per month or $199 per year. The table below outlines what is included in your plan and the fees for additional services.
Service / Item | Pricing / Fee | Details & Limits |
Subscription | $20/month or $199/year | Includes valid street address in CA, DE, or FL. |
Letter Scanning | Free | Up to 10 letters per month (max 10 pages per letter). |
Package Receipt | Free | Unlimited reception (must forward or discard by storage deadline). |
Additional Letters | $1.00 per letter | For volume exceeding 10 letters/month. Includes up to 10 pages. |
Additional Pages | $0.25 per page | Applies to pages >10 in any letter, or pages in overage letters. |
Check Deposit | $10.00 per check | Fixed fee per deposit request. |
Forwarding | Varies | Calculated by weight, size, and destination at time of request. |
Storage Policy
Physical mail is stored for 60 days. You must request forwarding or disposal before this period expires. Items left beyond 60 days may be securely shredded and discarded without further notice.
How to Order
During Business Formation
If you are currently forming your company through Dappr, you will be asked to provide a business address during the onboarding workflow. Click the button labeled "I don't have a business address" to add the Private Mailbox service to your formation package.
For Existing Businesses
If you already have a Dappr account:
Log in to your dashboard on a computer or tablet.
Select Mailbox from the left-hand navigation menu.
Click Mailboxes in the top menu.
Click the New mailbox button in the top-right corner.
Complete the payment information to activate the service immediately.
Service Limitations
It is critical to understand what the Private Mailbox service is not. Misusing the address can lead to account termination or rejection by third-party institutions.
No Physical Access or Visitation
The address is a mail processing facility, not an office.
No Entry: Neither you nor your customers can visit the location.
No Reception: There is no receptionist to greet visitors.
No Pickup: You cannot pick up mail in person; it must be viewed online or forwarded.
Addressing Rules
Mail must be addressed to your registered business name. Items addressed to individual names (such as you or your employees) without the business name may be rejected, returned to sender, or discarded as "Unauthorized Mail."
Distinctions from Registered Agent Service
The Private Mailbox is not a Registered Agent service. You cannot use this address to receive Service of Process (legal lawsuits) unless you have specifically upgraded to a plan that includes Registered Agent services, which designates a separate address for that specific legal purpose.
Proof of Occupancy
Unlike Dappr’s Office Address service (which provides a lease and genuine office address), the Private Mailbox does not come with a lease agreement or utility bill. The address is identifiable as a Private Mailbox (PMB) in USPS databases. Consequently, you cannot use this address to prove physical presence in the U.S.
Banking and Financial Constraints
Using a Private Mailbox affects how you interact with banks and fintech platforms, including Dappr’s own financial services.
Banking Compliance
United States "Know Your Customer" (KYC) laws generally require financial institutions to collect a physical residential or business operating address. Because a PMB is not a physical operating location, many banks (including Fifth Third Bank) and payment processors (like Stripe) will reject a Private Mailbox address for the principal business location.
Not sufficient for Dappr financial services
If you open a Dappr Financial Account or enable other financial services provided by Dappr, including payment processing:
You must provide a valid U.S. home address for the company’s legal representative.
Wire Transfers: To receive incoming wire transfers, you must provide the sender with the legal representative's physical home address, not the Private Mailbox address.
Invoicing: Invoices generated via Dappr will display your Private Mailbox address, preserving your privacy in customer-facing interactions.
Privacy Shield: While the bank requires your home address for their private compliance records, the Private Mailbox can still serve as your public-facing address for general business correspondence.
If the company’s legal representative does not have a U.S. home address and you only possess a Private Mailbox, you will generally be ineligible for Dappr's payment processing and financial account features, as these services require a verifiable physical U.S. residential address for compliance.