8 Reasons 4C Commercial Mailboxes Are a Top Buy Today

According to a final ruling in the U.S. Federal Register (volume 69, number 171), standards governing the design of wall-mounted centralized mail delivery receptacles have changed.

The new standards were developed using a consensus process involving a committee of representatives from manufacturers of centralized mailboxes such as Auth Florence; mailbox distributors; mailbox installers; mail delivery customers; multi-unit residential and commercial property builders, owners, and managers; and the U.S. Postal Service.

According to a recent Postal Service bulletin, the reasons behind the change to the new Wall-Mounted Centralized Mailboxes (and reasons why the move to versatile 4C mailbox suites is such a good idea for tenants and commercial mailbox buyers) are as follows:

First, the new 4C commercial mailboxes offer improved mail compartment security as well as a standardized and improved tenant compartment locking design.  Plus, not only is each tenant mailbox strengthened in terms of security requirements, but the entire mailbox receptacle is much stronger.  This provides a significant deterrent to mail theft and vandals.

Second, the 4C commercial mailboxes now meet ADA mailbox requirements (Americans with Disabilities) so that all tenants can access their mail properly and easily.

Third, the new 4C mailboxes provide customer-friendly compartment designs, which allow mail to be placed flat into the tenant or user’s mail compartment. Additionally, the 4C mailboxes provide design flexibility that enhances tenant and carrier ergonomics.

Fourth, the 4C wall-mounted mailboxes are much easier for mail carriers to use for mail delivery.

Fifth, the 4C commercial horizontal wall-mounted mailboxes have significantly larger customer mail compartment capacity for a small parcel (as well as larger volumes of mail as studies have shown people receive a greater volume of mail than in previous decades. The minimum size requirement is 12” wide by 15” deep by 3” high – allowing for most magazines and periodicals to avoid being damaged, folded, or rolled into a mailbox.

Sixth, the 4C horizontal mailboxes add one parcel locker for every ten customer mail compartments (for mailbox installations that have ten customer compartments or more).

Seventh, the 4C wall-mounted horizontal mailboxes provide significant improvements in securing outgoing mail compartments (strong prevention against mail theft).

Eighth, and finally, the 4C commercial mailboxes offer state-of-the-art quality through the mandated quality management systems provisions in the Postal Bulletin.  This quality assurance means each 4C mailbox system ordered conforms to US Postal Service requirements and presents a secure and safe way for each tenant to access their mail.

The use of 4C commercial mailboxes was initially intended for new construction however many renovation projects (if they go beyond a mere repainting or redecorating of a lobby) are now required to include 4C commercial mailboxes.

Note:  Apartments that have already installed 4B horizontal commercial mailboxes can replace their existing mailbox equipment with security-enhanced versions called USPS-STD-4B+ commercial mailboxes. These commercial mailboxes are designed to fit cleanly into buildings (indoor mailbox installations or existing protected outdoor mailbox installations) with the old 4B commercial mailboxes.  Please note that the Postal Service does not approve the installation of 4B+ commercial mailboxes or 4B commercial mailboxes for new installations and that they will refuse to install arrow locks in any such equipment.

UPDATE: 4C Pedestal Mailboxes have been discontinued as of November 30, 2020. The USPS Cluster Box Unit (CBU) Mailbox is now the standard for all multi-family mail delivery.

Categorized in: Commercial Mailboxes