The Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) provides a substitute post office box address and mail forwarding service.
This helps prevent your actual address from being revealed in state government documents and files while still allowing you to receive and send mail. You can use this substitute P.O. box instead of your actual address on forms, such as driver’s license, voter registration and school registration.
The ACP doesn’t guarantee safety, and it’s not a witness protection program, but it’s a helpful part of an overall safety strategy.
Note: Nongovernmental organizations, such as banks and private utilities, are not required to accept this substitute address. But if you describe why you use it, some of these organizations may do so.
The Address Confidentiality Program is offered to victims of:
- Family violence
- Sexual assault
- Human trafficking
- Stalking
To apply to the Address Confidentiality Program, you must complete an application and can do so by:
- Meeting with a victim’s assistance counselor from a state or local agency or other organization that provides shelter or legal services to eligible victims,
Or
- Completing an application on your own and providing a copy of:
- A protective order or temporary injunction in place, or
- Possess documentation of family violence, sexual assault or stalking
You will receive an authorization card from the Address Confidentiality Program that includes your substitute post office box address. You can use this address to receive first-class mail and legal documents.
All first-class mail and legal documents will be promptly forwarded to your physical address. Mail such as magazines, catalogs and packages (including medical prescriptions) will not be forwarded.
You must renew participation every three (3) years.
You must notify the Address Confidentiality Program of any name and/or address change at least ten (10) days prior to avoid withdrawal from the program.
During violent divorces, our firm often helps our clients through this process, as it can give comfort to victims of trauma at the hands of others. If you have questions about whether you qualify for the Address Confidentiality Program, Contact Us seven days a week.