No, you cannot sue the Post Office for failing to deliver your mail.
We have previously written articles informing you that you cannot sue the post office for negligent failure to deliver, or mis-delivery, of your mail.
The Supreme Court of the United States, on February 26, 2026, in the case of U.S. POSTAL OFFICE v KONAN, ruled that you cannot even sue the United States Post Office for intentionally not delivering your mail.
In that case, before the Supreme Court, Konan was a landlord who rented out a property to tenants. The property had locked mailboxes for the delivery of mail to the landlord and tenants. The landlord kept the keys to the mailboxes, collected the mail and distributed it to the tenants. The Post Office refused to deliver the mail unless each tenant had their own locked mailbox. The issue went on for some time and Konan claimed she suffered economic and other damages due the mail not being delivered.
The Supreme Court, in a 5 to 4 decision reiterated that The Federal Tort Claims Act protects the Government’s sovereign immunity from lawsuits about failing to properly carry or deliver mail. It forecloses any claim arising out of the “loss, miscarriage, or negligent transmission” of letters or postal matter. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Post Offices’ immunity to apply when the plaintiff is harmed “because mail either fails to arrive at all or arrives late, in damaged condition, or at the wrong address.” Finally, the decision makes clear that the postal exception covers suits against the United States for the intentional non-delivery of mail as well.
The fact that we receive many inquiries about suing the post office is not surprising, since the Postal Service reports receiving approximately 335,000 customer complaints per year.
Is there anything you can do if the Post Office fails to deliver your mail? We suggest the following steps:
-Find out why the mail is not being delivered, and if there is something you can do to fix the problem, do it. In the KONAN case, it would have been wiser to have installed separate mail boxes for each tenant with unit numbers, and provide the tenants with the keys to the mailbox, than to have sued the Post Office.
-Make an official on-line complaint.
-Speak to the head of the local Post Office.
-Make a complaint with the Post Office Inspector General.
-If none of the above work, speak to your Representative or Senator to see if they can intervene.
Finally, please keep in mind that while you cannot sue the Postal Service for not delivering mail, you can sue the Post Office for other reasons. For example, the Post Office can be sued for negligent acts resulting in personal injury, such as a motor vehicle accident involving a postal vehicle, or for a hazardous slipping or tripping condition on their property.