FAQ

The MS number, or Mail Stop number, is the same four digit number as your current campus zip.

You can use the same format that you use now to receive your overnight delivery from FedEx Express.  All other deliveries should be addressed:

Your Name
Department Name
University of Idaho
875 Perimeter Drive MS XXXX
Moscow, ID 83844-XXXX (your Mail Stop number)

Campus Mail Services uses the department name and mail stop number to deliver mail, packages, UPS, FedEx Ground, Office Max, USPS, etc.

Use your current four digit campus zip (Mail Stop Number):

Your Name
Your Department Name (no abbreviations, please)
University of Idaho
875 Perimeter Drive MS XXXX
Moscow, ID 83844-XXXX

The street address must come first - followed by the Mail Stop (MS) number

No! Use the stationery that you have on hand and update when ordering new stationery.

With the exception of FedEx Express and one or two other overnight carriers all mail, packages, and freight are delivered to the Campus Mail dock to be delivered by CMS.  Addressing mail to any other location may result in delay of the delivery.

CMS staff regularly and routinely put USPS and CMS mail policy changes in Today's Register. Also informational flyers are sent out 2-3 times a year outlining these changes to all departments. CMS also has education workshops when major USPS changes occur, and departments are notified and can send representatives to hear about the new rules concerning them. And, this information is always available on line at the CMS Website Home Page. Ultimate responsibility of course rests with each campus staff or faculty member to stay apprised of these issues.

You can add your building name and room number to the street address line like the example below.  Your mail would still come to our dock but, your office location would be there as well

Campus Mail Services
University of Idaho
Facilities Building, Room 183A
875 Perimeter Drive MS 2282
Moscow, ID 83844-2282

The information in your email came from the Timesheet Org roll up in Banner.  It turns out Banner has different names in different locations, and some of the old names are still stuck in the system.  But, HR and Business Process Management are working to correct the old names still in use in the system, and these are being changed out.  Please use your correct department name along with the new address.  If you have a question about your mail stop number please contact Campus Mail Services at campusmail@uidaho.edu

No, this is a common misconception. CMS is a department within the University of Idaho, and adheres to all University of Idaho policies. Staff are UI employees, not USPS employees. They do adhere to many of the USPS guidelines and policies and regulations because that is the only way that we can work with the USPS and get the mail through in a timely and efficient manner. For example... proper addressing.

CMS staff adheres to USPS regulations and policies as they change, and send that information out to all UI mail users as fast as possible. Any “bad addresses” are noted as mail is sorted, and if, by chance, that mail person happens to know the recipient or department, they will affix a “bad address” stamp or sticker on to that piece of mail, and write in the correct address. This is done as a courtesy to the recipient, so they can then contact the mail vendor and get the address changed to the correct address for future usage. USPS regulations are requiring a more stringent address form now, and incorrect addressing will either be more expensive… especially for bulk mail… or non-deliverable in the first place. Using the proper format as found listed at our website is critical for the mail to go through. Our goal is to try and deliver every piece of mail that we can, but without the proper information or address, we have no choice but to return it or recycle it.

Contrary to popular belief, the 5 mail staff within CMS do not know every staff member by name or face… nor what department they work in. CMS staff sort over 5000 pieces of mail each day and less than 1% of the mail is improperly addressed and undeliverable. Looking up staff or departments to try and correct an address, takes time that CMS staff doesn’t have, and still be able to deliver the rest of the mail to campus. For example, if each piece of improperly addressed mail took only 5 minutes to check out, that means that one staff member would be spending 3 hours each day trying to figure out who this mail would go to. We tracked this lost time over several years, and found the cost to exceed over $20K/year. We no longer have the staffing resources or funding to allow us to do this.

CMS is a UI department intended for UI business mail services only. Personal mail cannot be delivered by CMS and should not be routed to the University for delivery.

This is usually relatively easy to determine by CMS Staff, though we do err on the side of caution and hold any mail that we deem “of dubious origin” and wait to hear back from the recipient. (See list below for details.) A personal mail notice is sent out electronically or through the mail to the addressee if they can be found. This mail is not delivered unless the recipient can confirm that it truly is UI Business Mail.

Mail or packages are considered personal if:

• It is a personal item paid for with personal funds.
• It is from a winery.
• It is from a department store. (Victoria Secret, Playboy, Old Navy, Crate & Barrel, etc.)
• It is your personal mail/bills paid for with personal funds.
• It is mail forwarded from a home address to UI. (Contact us if you have done this.)
• It is from you to you and is personal books and papers for your office (if you will take them with you when you leave UI they are considered personal).
• It is for any construction or renovation project being accomplished by non-UI staff or for any vendor or contractor that are not employees of the University of Idaho…being under contractual obligations does not count.

This is another common misconception. The USPS considers all mail delivered to the CMS dock to have been "received" by the University of Idaho and properly delivered to the customer... ie the university. At that moment, all mail becomes the property of the University of Idaho... not the individual recipient. This means that any designated university office can and will open up any mail item received if warranted and deemed necessary. Yet another reason not to send personal mail through the UI mail delivery program. With the increased security measures in place since 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, mail security is a constant concern. CMS assumes that all mail they receive is for UI business purposes, but obvious personal or suspicious mail or packages are removed on a routine basis and recipients notified.

Contact the mail sender/vendor immediately and inform them of the "proper" addressing format needed to receive your mail. They should be fully aware of this already, since this is an old USPS regulation. At that time re-request your missing periodicals or mail as well.

This is not a USPS or CMS policy. This program is part of the University's efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, and is part of the agreement signed onto by President Tim White in 2007. We are currently diverting about a ton of junk mail a month to the recycling program, rather than hauling it across campus for distribution. Any department can opt out of this program if they so desire. Properly addressed bulk mail is being delivered at this time across campus. Contact CMS for further questions or information.

UPS and USPS packages are delivered the same day we receive them. Occasionally UPS packages arrive late due to weather and are delivered the next business day. FedEx Ground is delivered to campus mail stops the next business day because it arrives later in the day after the route deliveries are in progress. Most likely we cannot identify who the package belongs to, using your mailing address is extremely important. If you have tracked your package and it has been delivered to UI but you have not received your package you should track your package using the campus tracking program.  Instructions are on our home page. We cannot help you without the tracking number as it is usually the only way to identify the package. We have a "Mystery Mail" shelf where we keep packages that are unknown. We must have the tracking number to locate the package. Packages that have been on the mystery mail shelf for 10 business days are returned to the sender.