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The CMRA Compliance Checklist (2026)

Everything a mail-receiving store has to keep straight to stay open — forms, IDs, deadlines, and retention — on one page. Fact-checked against the current USPS rules. Print it, work it, keep it by the counter.

Published July 15, 2026

The CMRA Compliance Checklist 2026 — Postern Guides
Keep this by the counter. Get the printable version — and a heads-up before each quarterly deadline so it never sneaks up on you.

Four times a year you certify that every mailbox customer’s paperwork is current and not one ID has expired — or, after written notice and a 30-day window to fix it, USPS can suspend delivery to your whole store, not just one box. Most stores run this on a spreadsheet and a good memory. That works right up until the quarter it doesn’t. This checklist is the whole surface area in one place — checked against the current Domestic Mail Manual (DMM 508.1.8) and the current USPS forms — so nothing slips.

(Useful whether or not you ever change software. Keep it.)

1 · Your store’s registration (the CMRA level)

  • PS Form 1583-A (current edition: January 2023 — always grab it fresh from USPS) completed with the postmaster responsible for your delivery address — they verify the owner/manager’s two IDs, witness the signature, keep the original on file at the Post Office, and give you a duplicate. (DMM 508.1.8.2)
  • The owner or manager also completes their own PS Form 1583 — the store’s operator is a customer of record too. (DMM 508.1.8.3.a.1)
  • If anything on the 1583-A changes — owners, managers, the business itself — you file a new 1583-A, not an edit. (1583-A agreement item 5)
  • Your CRD access works: the store’s Business Customer Gateway account is tied to your authorized 1583-A location, and every customer’s information in the CRD is current. USPS reads your roster there — that is the customer list. (DMM 508.1.8.3.h)

2 · Every customer (the box level)

  • A completed PS Form 1583 (current edition: June 2024 — always grab it fresh from USPS) for each adult using the box — spouses each file their own. (DMM 508.1.8.3.a; form instructions)
  • Business boxes: one 1583 per firm, signed by an officer with their title. Everyone else who receives mail there is listed in item 12 of that form — they don’t file separate 1583s, but they must be able to present two valid IDs if USPS asks. (DMM 508.1.8.3.a.2; form item 12)
  • Two valid IDs per applicant: one government-issued photo ID, and one that confirms the address on the form — both current (not expired), matching the application. If the information doesn’t match the ID, you must deny the application. (DMM 508.1.8.3.a.3–5; DMM 608.10)
    • Acceptable photo IDs include: state/territory/tribal driver’s or nondriver’s ID, passport, uniformed-service ID, naturalization certificate, permanent-resident card, matricula consular, U.S. university ID, NEXUS card. Address IDs include: driver’s/nondriver’s ID, current lease, home or vehicle insurance policy, mortgage or deed of trust, vehicle registration, voter card. (Form items 8e/9g)
    • One driver’s license can’t serve as both IDs. (Form footnotes 10/12)
  • Not acceptable: Social Security cards, birth certificates, credit cards, and similar items. (DMM 608.10.5)
  • The signature is witnessed — the applicant signs in your (or your authorized employee’s) physical presence or over real-time audio/video; the alternative is a U.S.-commissioned notary (who may also witness virtually). Either path is valid; when your own staff witnesses, no notary is involved. (DMM 508.1.8.3.a.3)
  • The signed 1583 and clear, legible copies of both IDs are uploaded to the CRD; if USPS flags an upload as illegible, you promptly collect and re-upload. (DMM 508.1.8.3.c)
  • Never modify or alter a 1583 or 1583-A — an altered form is invalid, and that customer’s mail must be returned to sender. (DMM 508.1.8.3.b)
  • Anyone authorized to pick up mail (form item 5) is listed with their own two IDs on the form. (Form items 10–11)
  • The PMB address is formatted correctly: PMB or # plus the box number — either on its own line above the street line, or appended to the street line. Never combine your building’s own suite number with the customer’s box number (“10 MAIN ST STE 11-234” is prohibited), and if your store’s address has its own suite element, the customer must use the three-line PMB form. Wrong format risks mail returned endorsed “Undeliverable as Addressed, Missing PMB or # Sign.” (DMM 508.1.8.3.d–f)

3 · Keeping it current (where stores actually fail)

  • Every ID’s expiration date is tracked. An expired ID document in the CRD is explicitly “not in compliance.” (DMM 508.1.8.3.h)
  • When anything on a customer’s 1583 changes — name, address, business — or an ID lapses, the customer completes a new 1583 with current IDs. It’s a new form, not an edit. (DMM 508.1.8.3.a.5)
  • Termination dates are entered in the CRD as soon as practical when a box closes. (DMM 508.1.8.4.a)

4 · The quarterly CRD certification

  • You certify in the CRD each quarter — due January 15, April 15, July 15, October 15 — that every 1583 is current, all termination dates are updated (including every box closed the previous quarter), and no ID on file is expired. (DMM 508.1.8.3.i)
  • You know the stakes and the process: falling out of compliance brings a written violation notice with 30 days to cure; if it isn’t fixed, USPS can suspend delivery to the entire store, with all mail returned to senders endorsed “Delivery Suspended to Commercial Mail Receiving Agency.” (DMM 508.1.8.3.j–k)

5 · Retention & closing a box

  • At minimum a digital copy of every completed 1583 stays at your business location, available at all times for USPS examination. (DMM 508.1.8.3.c.1)
  • After a box closes, you keep the endorsed 1583 for at least 6 months. (DMM 508.1.8.4.a)
  • No change-of-address is ever filed for a CMRA customer — USPS never forwards their mail; you do. For 6 months after termination you remail the former customer’s mail with new postage to the forwarding address on file (they can waive this in writing — but a waiver can’t tell you to refuse or redeposit mail). (DMM 508.1.8.4.b–d)
  • After the 6 months: qualifying mail goes back to the Post Office the next business day, endorsed “Undeliverable, Commercial Mail Receiving Agency, No Authorization to Receive Mail for this Addressee” — handed to the carrier or Post Office, never dropped in a collection box. Same next-day rule for any mail arriving with no 1583 on file. (DMM 508.1.8.4.e–f)
  • You can’t refuse delivery of mail for a customer — or a former customer within their 6-month window. (DMM 508.1.8.4)

A few easy-to-miss rules

  • Registered Mail: you’re not authorized to accept it from customers for mailing — that’s the Post Office’s counter, not yours. (1583-A item 3)
  • Protected customers: an applicant under a court protection order attaches the order, and special non-disclosure rules apply to their information. (Form item 4k)
  • Reshippers and office business centers count as CMRAs — if you receive mail for others in any form, all of this applies. (DMM 508.1.8.1)

The honest part

That’s a lot to hold in a spreadsheet: a form per adult, two current IDs each, uploads that must stay legible, dozens-to-hundreds of expiration dates, four hard deadlines a year, termination hygiene, and a 6-month clock on every box you’ve ever closed. “We haven’t been audited yet” isn’t the same as “we’re safe” — it’s luck. And getting cleanly current takes time, which is exactly why the calm moment to tighten this up is between deadlines, not the week one is due.

How Postern fits: Postern captures each customer’s record and IDs the moment you onboard them, watches every expiration date for you, keeps the CRD current, and turns the quarterly certification into one click — so the checklist above stays green on its own. The software is free to run; Postern simply shares in what your store earns. If you’d like the walkthrough, book a demo.

Go deeper on Form 1583: the USPS Form 1583 Requirements guide covers the two-ID rule, acceptable documents, witnessing options, and the common mistakes that create compliance gaps. The quarterly certification explained: the CRD Quarterly Certification guide covers what you’re actually certifying, how stores fail it, and what happens when they do.

Primary sources — go straight to USPS for the current versions: DMM 508 §1.8 (the CMRA rules) · PS Form 1583 · PS Form 1583-A

Considering a switch? See how your current software handles the checklist above: PostalMate vs. Postern · PostalPoint vs. Postern.

This checklist is general information, not legal or compliance advice. It was checked against the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM 508.1.8, edition updated July 2026), PS Form 1583 (June 2024), and PS Form 1583-A (January 2023) — but USPS rules change, and you remain responsible for your store’s compliance. When in doubt, confirm against the current DMM.

Keep this checklist by the counter. Get the printable version — and a heads-up before each quarterly deadline so it never sneaks up on you.