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Premium Forwarding Service Commercial

Premium Forwarding Service Commercial is a USPS service that temporarily forwards a business's mail to another domestic address by Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail. The business sets the shipment days and how long forwarding lasts. It pays an annual enrollment fee, plus postage for each shipment.

Updated October 31, 202642 sources

What it is

PFSC, the service's short name, gathers mail from several P.O. Boxes and street addresses into one shipment for an alternate domestic address. It serves business customers, and a residential address cannot be the origin. Premium Forwarding Service Residential, a different service, forwards mail for residential customers who are away from their primary residences.

The business runs PFSC in the PFSC application, which it opens from the Business Customer Gateway. There it sets each request's shipping frequency to daily, weekly or monthly. Every shipment travels by Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express with USPS Tracking. MyPFS, a feature of the My Products Portal released on March 13, 2026, is where the business submits Service Requests to USPS.

The business pays the fee and the postage from a USPS Ship account linked to the Enterprise Payment System. USPS generates the label for each shipping container. USPS is retiring eVS, its electronic verification system, and its customers had to move to USPS Ship or USPS APIs by February 2025. PFSC customers were among them. Since the move, PFSC manifests go through USPS Ship.

How it works

From enrollment to delivery, the normal case runs in five steps.

  1. The business enrolls and links a permit to its payment account.
  2. It pays the annual enrollment fee before it creates any request.
  3. It creates a forwarding request for each forwarding address.
  4. Each shipment date makes one event, with a status for that shipment.
  5. USPS emails the ship date, the expected delivery date and the number of shipments.

Enrolling

Before it enrolls online, a business needs these in place:

  • A USPS Ship account with valid Master and Partner Mailer IDs.
  • An account in the Enterprise Payment System.
  • A PostalOne! permit in the eVS finance number, linked to the EPS account.
  • A valid business address.

Registering in the Customer Onboarding Portal grants the USPS Ship account and its Mailer IDs. Adding a payment account there grants the EPS account.

Enrollment runs through the Customer Onboarding Portal, then the Business Customer Gateway.

  1. Go to the Customer Onboarding Portal at http://cop.usps.com and sign in.
  2. Note the Customer Registration ID and Mailer IDs on the profile.
  3. Set up a payment account, which USPS Ship enrollment requires.
  4. Email USPSShipSupport@usps.gov to ask for a permit for PFSC.
  5. Link the new permit to the EPS account under Manage Permits.
  6. Open the PFSC application from Shipping Services in the Business Customer Gateway.
  7. Pay the annual enrollment fee with Pay for Service, choosing a CRID and permit.

Eligible addresses

A request has an original address, where the mail is forwarded from, and a forwarding address, where it goes. These addresses are eligible:

  • The origin can be a business street address or P.O. Box.
  • The destination can be a business or residential street address or P.O. Box.
  • A business P.O. Box with Caller Service is eligible.

These addresses are not eligible:

  • An address with a USPS Change of Address on file.
  • An address with USPS Hold Mail.
  • A military address, APO or FPO.
  • A residential address as the origin.
  • A vacant address.
  • A Commercial Mail Receiving Agency, a private business that receives mail for its customers at a separate address.

A P.O. Box must be active, with its fees paid up to date. It cannot be closed or delinquent. Each address must be one the carrier can identify, with its suite, unit or room number when delivery needs one. An address that already has a PFSC request fails validation.

Forwarding requests

Each forwarding address needs its own request. Creating a request asks for the business's CRID, a Mailer ID and permit information. A request runs for at most one year and must be renewed before it expires.

  1. Open the PFSC application in the Business Customer Gateway and choose Create a New Request.
  2. Make the request's selections in the menus and continue.
  3. Enter the original address and the forwarding address.
  4. Validate both addresses before continuing.
  5. Confirm the request's details and submit it.

A request cannot be edited. Only its end date can be extended. Any other change means cancelling the request and creating a new one. A business may cancel a request it no longer needs. USPS warns that a cancellation cannot be undone.

Master and Partner MIDs

A request carries two Mailer IDs, a Master MID and a Partner MID. The Master MID goes on the manifest and is tied to the postage payment account. The Partner MID goes in the barcode of the package label and does not affect forwarding. Each is a 9-digit or a 6-digit number.

Fees and postage

One annual enrollment fee establishes the service, however many P.O. Boxes, Caller Service numbers or street addresses it includes at each servicing Post Office. USPS refunds the fee only when it denies the request. The Price List, Notice 123, gives the fees. The fees are subject to change.

Postage is Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail postage, charged for each shipment container. Each container is one piece:

  • A flat tub tray or sack and its contents, up to 70 pounds.
  • A Half Tray or Full Tray, at the PFSC branded flat rate tray box price.
  • A Flat Rate envelope and its contents, at the Flat Rate price.

A flat tub tray or sack is priced by its weight less the tare weight, and by the zone between the servicing Post Office's ZIP Code and the delivery address. No postage is charged when no mail is collected on a frequency day.

The fee is a yearly subscription that keeps existing requests running. USPS emails a reminder when it is up for renewal. To renew, the business chooses Renew Now, then picks a CRID and permit and pays.

Events and statuses

Each shipment date of a request is an event, and each event shows one of these statuses.

StatusMeaning
PendingThe local post office has received the shipment but not shipped it.
ForwardedThe shipment was forwarded, and its link gives the tracking number.
No Mail FoundNo mail was found to forward.
FailedA system error occurred.
Annual Enrollment Fee DueThe annual fee is overdue, and no forward occurs.
Permit InvalidThe request's permit has an issue.

Reports

The PFSC application exports two reports, each for a date range the business sets. The My Requests tab exports requests, with each one's frequency, shipping method, status, CRID, MIDs and permit. The My Events tab exports events, with each one's status, date, tracking numbers and postage amount.

Rules

There is an annual enrollment fee for PFSC which must be paid first before any newly onboarded customers can create forwarding requests.

A new customer must pay the annual enrollment fee before it can create any forwarding request.

There must be a separate request for each forwarding address.

Each forwarding address must have its own request.

Requests can only run for a maximum of one year and must be renewed yearly prior to their expiration date to continue the forwarding service.

A request lasts at most a year, and the business must renew it before it expires to keep forwarding.

To ensure there is no interruption of service, the Annual Enrollment Fee must be paid prior to the renewal date.

The business must pay the annual fee before its renewal date, so that forwarding does not stop.

If the customer has more than 1 MID available under the CRID enrolled in PFSC, they must select a Partner MID that is different from the Master MID.

When the enrolled CRID has more than one MID, the Partner MID must be a different MID from the Master MID.

A flat tub tray/sack and its contents are considered one piece for calculating the postage price and must not exceed 70 pounds.

A flat tub tray or sack with its contents must weigh 70 pounds or less, and it is priced as one piece.

P.O. Box must be active and fees payments must be up to date

A P.O. Box used with PFSC must be active, and its fees must be paid up to date.

If a request needs to be modified (other than extending the end date), you must first cancel the existing request then create a new request with the modified forwarding details.

To change anything but the end date, the business must cancel the request and create a new one.

What goes wrong

Address validation can fail for the original or the forwarding address. These are the common errors:

ErrorReasonWhat USPS suggests
This request conflicts with another requestAnother forwarding request is tied to the address.Make sure the original address has no PFS or COA request.
1006More than one address.The building may have several units, and the local Address Management System can help.
1013The address is a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency.None, since such an address is not eligible.
1025The address is not a business address.Bring proof of business use to the local post office.

After an address is newly marked as a business, USPS suggests waiting a day before trying the request again. For any other address error, the business creates a Service Request in the MyPFS portal.

An overdue annual enrollment fee stops forwarding. Its events then fail with the status Annual Enrollment Fee Due, and no forward occurs. A Payment Failed status on recent events also points to a past-due fee. USPS asks that the fee be paid as soon as possible to restore forwarding. When the fee is paid but forwarding has stopped, the request itself may need renewing.

Events fail with Permit Invalid when the permit goes inactive or its yearly fees are overdue. To restore service, the permit fees must be paid.

A Failed event whose request is missing from the Active Requests table usually means the request expired. An expired request drops off that table, and the business must create a new one.

Terms

Partner MID
The Partner MID is either a 9-digit or a 6-digit numeric code used in the barcode of the package label and will not impact the operation of the PFSC forwarding.
Master MIDMaster Mailer Identification
The master MID is used for file transmissions from the eVS shipper and must be the MID used in the EFN submitted for all eVS files.
Mailer IdentifierMID, Mailer IDs, Mailer Identification, Mailer Identification Number, USPS Mailer ID
MID is a unique 6- or 9-digit number that identifies the mailer or the mailer’s client.
Customer Registration IDCRID, Customer Registration Identification Number, Customer Registration Identifier, Customer Identifier, Customer Reference ID, Customer Registration Identifications
a USPS-generated numeric code of up to 15 digits that uniquely identifies a business at a specific location
Enterprise Payment SystemEPS, Electronic Payment System, EPS system, Enterprise System
allows customers to pay for Postal products and services through a single account, called the Enterprise Payment Account (EPA).
USPS ShipPPC, Package Platform Concept, Package Platform
The USPS payment and verification platform for outbound packages is called USPS Ship. This platform provides reporting, pricing and visibility as packages move through the mail stream.
Business PortalCOP, Business Portal (Formerly Customer Onboarding Portal), Customer Onboarding Portal, USPS Business Portal
The United States Postal Service (USPS)Business Portal (COP) offers business customers a modern, streamlined way to create and manage a USPS business account set-up and onboard core services.
Commercial Mail Receiving AgencyCMRA, commercial mail receiving agencies, Commercial Mail Receiving Agent
A private business that provides mail delivery service to individuals or business that rent Private Mail Boxes (PMB) through them.
Change-of-AddressCOA, change-of-address order, changes-of-address
When a customer moves from one mailing address to another and wants the Postal Service to forward their mail, they notify the post office of the permanent or temporary change-of-address (COA).
Caller Service
A stand-alone Special Service that provides an optional delivery service for a fee at a Post Office to customers with large volumes of mail, to customers needing multiple separations, or to customers who need a Post Office Box number address when no Post Office Boxes are available. Caller Service can be provided as destination Caller Service or origin Caller Service.
Post Office BoxPO Box
A locked box, located in a Post Office lobby or other authorized place that customers and businesses may rent for delivery of their mail.
Premium Forwarding ServicePFS, PFSR, Premium Forwarding Service Residential
A service that provides residential delivery with a forwarding service for customers who are away from their primary residences. Most mail from the permanent address is forwarded once a week via Priority Mail service to the temporary address. The customer is charged an enrollment fee and a weekly fee.

Documents

User Guides

FAQs

Fact Sheets

Release Notes

Contacts

  • The Mailing and Shipping Solutions Center helps with the enrollment requirements, at MSSC@usps.gov or 1-877-672-0007.
  • USPS Ship Support helps create the PFSC permit, at uspsshipsupport@usps.gov.
  • For a system error, the business creates a Service Request in the MyPFS portal or contacts the Help Desk.
  • The MyPFS dashboard opens from the Premium Forwarding Service Commercial tile in the My Products Portal.

Sources