FAQs on Student Mail and Packages

Both package centers remain open with their regular hours during the summer. For more information regarding package center hours, please refer to this page for TPC and this page for EVPC.

Tresidder Package Center is the designated package center for students in undergraduate residences. 

Escondido Village Package Center is the designated package center for students in graduate residences.

Packages are held at the designated package centers for a total of 10 days. 

Packages placed in lockers will be there for 7 days, then they will be held at the designated package center for 3 days (for a total of 10 days).

Packages not collected within 10 days will be returned to sender.

If you are planning to be away from campus for more than nine days, we recommend that you share your email notification with pickup instructions to a trusted person on campus so they can help pick up your package or you can submit a ServiceNow ticket and request a hold for your package, please include all the tracking numbers and the date you will pick up in the ticket.

We are closed for all Stanford holidays including July 4th for Independence Day.

For more information on addressing packages, please refer to this page for TPC and this page for EVPC.

During peak times, processing times may vary due to package volume. However, specified priority packages will still be processed with the maximum urgency possible.

Stanford Mail and Package Services targets the following processing times at both package centers:

• regular package = 24 hours
• priority package or mail = same day processing
• USPS mail = 24 hours

EVGR Residents and Undergrads using the Tresidder Package Center cannot request mail forwarding with the USPS. MPS has created an internal process to accommodate this service. To request first class United States Postal Service (USPS) flat mail be forwarded to another domestic US address, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/CAwejvKvPjfxqg41A. 

• First class and priority mail will be forwarded for 60 days after you move. Packages and items from other carriers, such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon, etc., will not be forwarded. Please assign a proxy to collect any of these items, or they will be returned to the sender or discarded.
• If you have moved from one location on campus to another, please alert the senders of your new address/new apartment number to avoid mail delays or missing mail. 

Please submit a help ticket in our ServiceNow form (SUNet ID login required) here.

Information can be found visiting the Federal Trade Commission: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail

The spouse/partner name listed on your Stanford Housing Agreement is automatically populated into our Mail and Package System. For questions, please contact your Housing Service Center here.

You can make that option by clicking on the "Lower Locker" box here: https://rdeapp.stanford.edu/StudentPortal/PackageDeliveryContactInfo

Most delivery concerns for USPS flat mail are due to misaddressed mail. It is vital to include your full accurate residential address with all mandatory fields (suite #, apt # and letter) in your mailing address to avoid delays in deliveries, lost mail, or having your mail returned to sender. To learn how to properly address your mail and packages, visit this page for TPC and this page for EVPC.

USPS will alert a student that their mail or package with a tracking number has been delivered when it arrives at a local USPS Post Office location. Please expect ~2 days for your parcel to be transported, processed, and delivered to the centers on campus. Once your mail or package has been processed, you will receive a notification that it is ready for pick up. 

The Stanford Warehouse is open Monday - Friday from 8am to 5pm. We highly recommend adding this to your delivery instructions.

Due to the high volume of packages our campus receives, MPS is not set up for the use of a one time pass code (OTP) for package deliveries. 

Follow the steps below to disable the use of a OTP through Amazon:

1. Log in: to your Amazon account.
2. Go to Your Account.
3. Select Login & security.
4. Next to Two-Step Verification (2SV), click Disable.
5. Enter the code: sent to your phone or generated by your authenticator app.
6. Select Verify code.

Medication that is NOT critical, time sensitive, or temperature sensitive and that does not require special treatment – could be sent to the warehouse as well.

Medication that is critical, the Vaden health care center does not recommend sending that to campus via mail order. They recommend that you send your prescriptions to the Walgreens at Vaden or a local pharmacy for pickup. Please visit the Vaden website for more details.

Sometimes, packages arrive at the warehouse with incomplete or unclear information on the shipping label, making it difficult to identify the recipient. This can happen for several reasons, for example, the label may be torn, missing a SuNet ID, include only a last name, or list a parent’s name instead of the student’s.

These packages are stored in a designated section of the warehouse called “Research.” Our team does its best to investigate each item and deliver it to the correct recipient. However, if we’re unable to identify the owner within 30 days, the package will be returned to the sender.

To help manage these unidentified packages, we maintain a list of all tracking numbers currently in the “Research” racks. If you’re expecting a package but don’t see it listed in your Student Portal, please review this list.

If you recognize a tracking number, submit a ServiceNow ticket so we can assign the package to you as soon as possible.

In order to receive email notifications and enter the mail and package program, you will need an active housing contract with R&DE as that is where the student data is pulled from in our software.

For partners and spouses living on campus, please contact the housing service center here to update your information with R&DE.

Mail and Package Services receives all our student data from the R&DE Housing Department. We get a data file from their student housing records, and it updates our package tracking software each night with up-to-date information. Our department does not do name changes, email changes, or other additions. Please contact the Student Housing Services center and go through their process for any changes. As soon as they update it in their files, our system will be refreshed by the next morning. 

If you are Staff, Faculty, Resident Fellow, or another person who is living in R&DE housing and are not in the package tracking software, you may request to be put on an "Exceptions List". Please contact Charles Keegan with R&DE Housing.

Recommended Shipping for Critical Documents

If you are having critical documents sent to you (such as passports, DMV documents, government paperwork, immigration documents, visas, etc) and you have a choice of shipping method, we recommend the following:

• Use a carrier that provides tracking numbers (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc)
• Choose a priority service (2-day shipping) when possible.
• Require a signature on delivery.
• Address the shipment to the Stanford warehouse using the format below:

Shipping Label Format

First Name Last Name - SUNet ID 

8424 Central Avenue Newark, CA 94560

This helps ensure your documents arrive safely, signed for by our warehouse staff, and be properly processed and delivered to campus. You will receive an email with pickup instructions once your items are ready for pickup.