This glossary defines common terms you might encounter while using PilotoMail or browsing our Help Center. 🔍
Mail Operator, Mailbox Operator, and Operators
Mail centers, coworking spaces, building complexes, etc. that offer postal services and manage and handle mail for a paying third party, such as renters.
Mailbox Operators can also be labeled as PilotoMail tenants.
Renters
Individual customers of Mailbox Operators. Mailbox renters can have more than one mailbox.
Renters can also be cataloged as:
Mailbox owners: renters who own a physical PMB.
Virtual mailbox owners: renters who own a digital mailbox exclusively or in addition to a physical PMB with a Mailbox Operator.
Renters are automatically Mailbox Managers on PilotoMail.
Renters can also be cataloged differently, depending on the mail operator:
For coworking spaces, a coworking member can be a renter of a mailbox.
For property managers, a tenant can be a renter of a mailbox.
For mailbox providers (USPS, UPS, Mailboxes, etc.), mailbox owners can be renters of a mailbox.
For universities, students and alums can be renters of a mailbox.
Employees can be renters of a mailbox for multinational corporations, government agencies, and other companies with internal mailrooms.
For law firms, registered agent companies, and accounting firms, clients and employees can also be renters of a mailbox.
PMB
PMB or private mailbox is the terminology used by the US Postal Service (USPS) for a mailbox and corresponding PMB address offered by a Commercial Receiving Agency (CMRA). Unlike a P.O. Box, it provides an actual street address and accepts packages.
USPS requires each Renter to have a unique PMB, whether physical or virtual.
Box ID = PMB
Users
Users are potentially anyone that can access the platform.
Mailbox Managers can receive mail, request actions, and invite other users -- mailbox managers, mail recipients, and pickup staff -- to the virtual mailbox.
Mail Recipients are only allowed to receive mail and request actions. This means they must also validate their identity on the platform and fill out form 1583. They are invited to the platform by Mailbox Managers.
Mail Pick-Up Staff are authorized to pick up mail on a renter's behalf but do not have access to a mailbox.
Admin users are Mailbox Operators' staff members authorized to handle Renters' mail.
Mailbox
A mailbox is a physical place where renters can receive physical postal mail and packages.
Mailboxes can be renter-managed (the renter has a key to it) or operator-managed in a mailroom. Operators can digitize the contents of a mailbox by taking a picture of incoming mail and uploading it to convert the physical mailbox into a virtual mailbox.
🚨 In PilotoMail, once a mailbox is created, and a renter is invited to activate their mailbox, it counts as an active mailbox in your account.
Virtual Mailbox
A mailbox that you can access digitally. It allows renters to see pictures of the outside of the mail and packages they receive at a physical address. As mailbox renters receive and view their mail, they can request different ways of handling each mailpiece to their mailbox operator.
Mailroom
The physical space that Mailbox Operators designate for renters' mail. It's lockable and located at the address of the PMB.
If the mail volume is large enough, a mailroom may be typically organized in open mailboxes per renter.
If it is a commercial mailroom, mail sorting and scanning machinery are found within it.
Mailbox Name
The mailbox name is identified by a company's name or an individual's name if a company name is not included.
Mail Identifier
The Mail Identifier is a 3-digit code used to identify each piece of renter mail. Mail identifier is assigned by PilotoMail.
CMRA
As stated by USPS, a "Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) is a private business that accepts mail from the Postal Service for recipients, keeps it for collection (usually a private mailbox, "PMB"), or re-mails it to another location with newly paid postage."
Any company with a physical location can apply for a CMRA designation.
Compliance for a CMRA owner requires that renters fill out a form (Form 1583) and lend two pieces of identification. It also requires reporting to USPS.
Learn more about CMRA, documentation, and compliance.
Compliance
Compliance refers to abiding by the guidelines designated by the US Postal Service for Commercial Mail Receiving Agency offering services to mailbox renters.
A mailbox renter must authorize a CMRA to receive mail on their behalf. Plus, a CMRA must verify its customer's information and identity.
Compliance status refers to the state of the identity verification process that ensures the CMRA has validated each renter's identity. It can be labeled as pending or completed in PilotoMail.
A mailbox operator can determine the time it will allow before enforcing compliance at their space's account settings.
Inbound & Outbound
Refers to how a renter's mail moves in a mailroom and, therefore, in PilotoMail.
Inbound refers to mail coming into a mailroom.
Outbound refers to mail checking out of a mailroom, such as picked up, forwarded, or delivered via courier.
Requests
Users can submit requests to an operator to handle their mail. Requests available include open and scan, forward, doorstep delivery, check deposit, recycle, and shred.
A mail operator can customize the requests they make available to mailbox renters from their account settings.
Open & Scan: a request made by mailbox managers for a piece of mail to be scanned.
Forward: a request made by mailbox managers for a piece of mail to be forwarded via postal courier to a preferred address.
Shred: a request made by mailbox managers for a piece of mail to be shredded.
Doorstep Delivery: a request made by mailbox managers for a piece of mail to be delivered by messenger or courier services.
Check Deposit: a request made by mailbox managers for a check to be deposited in a bank in the area (the mail operator can define the bank options).
Recycle: a request made by mailbox managers for a piece of mail to be recycled.
📌 Learn more about submitting requests.
Space
A mailbox operator can have multiple locations or mail centers, each with its own address. In PilotoMail, every location has its own space. You can toggle between spaces.