How to Ship a Care Package to an APO Address: Step by Step (2026)

This guide covers the shipping steps. For what to put in the box, what USPS won't carry and the 2026 holiday mail-by dates, see our deployment care package list.

Step 1: Get the exact address and write it in three lines

Ask your service member for their full mailing address as they give it, rather than piecing it together from a unit name. USPS says a military address needs the person's name, their unit and APO/FPO/DPO address with the full ZIP Code, plus your return address. USPS gives examples like these:

PFC JOHN DOE
PSC 3 BOX 4120
APO AE 09021

SEAMAN JOSEPH SMITH
UNIT 100100 BOX 4120
FPO AP 96691

What each line does:

• Line 1: the name. Use a real person. USPS does not accept mail addressed to "Any Service Member."
• Line 2: the delivery line. The USPS Domestic Mail Manual (section 703.2) lists five types: PSC, UNIT, CPR, OPC or UPR, each followed by a box number.
• Line 3: APO, FPO or DPO, then a two-letter code, then the ZIP. APO is used for Army and Air Force installations and FPO for Navy and Marine Corps ones, according to the Domestic Mail Manual. DPO is for diplomatic posts.

The two-letter code takes the place of a state. USPS Publication 28 defines them:

Code	Region	ZIP Codes start with
AE	Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada	090 to 098
AP	Pacific	962 to 966
AA	The Americas except Canada	340

Leave off the city and country, even if you know them. This is more than a style point. The Domestic Mail Manual says a foreign city or country in the address can make the package subject to international prices and conditions, which costs more.

USPS also suggests putting a second piece of paper with the address inside the box, in case something happens to the outside label.

Step 2: Use the free APO flat rate box (usually)

USPS gives away Priority Mail APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Boxes, ordered from The Postal Store, and Military OneSource points families to the free Military Care Kit, which includes boxes, tape and address labels (Military OneSource). The boxes are free; the postage isn't.

Large Flat Rate Boxes going to a military address are also cheaper to mail than the same box sent stateside. Per USPS Notice 123, effective Oct. 4, 2026 (both boxes measure 12 x 11.75 x 5.5 inches inside):

Large Flat Rate Box	Retail price	Commercial price
To an APO, FPO or DPO address	$34.65	$31.34
To a stateside address	$36.10	$32.75

The price is the same no matter how heavy the box is, up to 70 pounds, according to the Domestic Mail Manual. So the flat rate box wins when you're sending something dense, like canned goods, books or a pile of snacks. For a light box, a regular Priority Mail or USPS Ground Advantage box priced by weight can come out cheaper. Run both in the USPS price calculator before you buy postage.

The free APO/FPO box gets the lower price only when it goes to a military address. The Domestic Mail Manual says that if you use it for any other address, regular Large Flat Rate Box prices apply.

Step 3: Check the restrictions for that specific ZIP

USPS tells senders to follow the destination country's restriction policies for military and diplomatic mail, and limits can differ from one military ZIP to the next. Look the ZIP up in USPS's APO/FPO/DPO Restrictions Tool before you pack. Click-N-Ship also flags some restrictions when you type the military ZIP, but USPS is clear that the sender is still responsible for following them.

Two limits worth knowing up front:

• DPO size cap. USPS lists a maximum of 27 x 14 x 14 inches for DPO addresses.
• Suspended service. USPS posts alerts when service to some military post offices is temporarily suspended. Check the USPS military mail page before you ship.

Step 4: Fill out the customs form (online if you can)

Here's the rule from the Domestic Mail Manual, section 703.2.7: anything going to an APO, FPO or DPO address needs a customs form if it weighs 16 ounces or more, or it contains goods. A letter under 16 ounces doesn't need one. A care package with snacks, socks or anything else physical does, whatever it weighs.

You have two ways to do it, and the choice matters later:

1. Online. Click-N-Ship on usps.com creates the shipping label and the customs form together. Pay online and print it.
2. On paper at the counter. Fill out a hard copy of PS Form 2976-R and bring it with the box. The clerk types it into the system and prints the official form.

On the form, list each item and its value plainly ("snacks," "socks," "paperback books"). USPS says anyone with an APO, FPO or MPO ZIP in their return address must also create the form online or fill out PS Form 2976-R before visiting a counter.

Step 5: Pick the mail service

You pay domestic prices for every option. What changes is speed and how the box travels.

• Priority Mail (flat rate or by weight). The default for most care packages, and the class that the free APO boxes use.
• USPS Ground Advantage. Priced by weight, so it can cost less than Priority Mail for a light box (compare both in the USPS price calculator), and it travels at the regular surface price. For a per-piece fee you can add Parcel Airlift (PAL), which flies the box on a space-available basis. PAL is limited to parcels up to 30 pounds and 60 inches in length plus girth. Notice 123 lists PAL fees from $1.45 (up to 2 pounds) to $4.30 (up to 30 pounds).
• Priority Mail Express Military Service. The fastest option, usually 3 to 5 business days, but the Domestic Mail Manual says it's only available to designated APO and FPO ZIP Codes. It also needs its own customs label (PS Form 2976-B), so ask at the counter or check during Click-N-Ship whether your ZIP qualifies.

Step 6: Drop it off the right way

This is where your Step 4 choice pays off. Under the Domestic Mail Manual (section 703.2.5):

• Online customs form, not paid with stamps: you can schedule free Package Pickup, drop it in a lobby drop or collection box (if it fits), leave it in your own mailbox for pickup, or hand it over at a counter.
• Handwritten customs form, or postage paid only with stamps: it must go to a clerk at a Post Office counter. USPS returns these packages to the sender if they're left in a collection box.

If you go to the counter anyway, USPS will hand-cancel a postmark for free if you ask.

How long it takes

Military OneSource says delivery typically takes about two weeks and suggests allowing about five weeks around the holidays. It also notes that once the box arrives, operations or deployment can delay when your service member actually gets it, so don't read a slow reply as a lost box.

Keep your receipt and a photo of the label. One detail from the Domestic Mail Manual: the code on an online customs form receipt is not a tracking number and can't be used to track the package.

Common mistakes that send boxes back

• Adding the base's city or the country to the address.
• Writing "Any Service Member" instead of a name.
• Dropping a box with a handwritten customs form, or stamps only, in a collection box.
• Using the APO flat rate box for a stateside address and expecting the lower price.
• Skipping the customs form because the box "only has snacks." Snacks are goods.
• Not putting a copy of the address inside the box.