Form 1583, signed once and provable later
Every recipient of mail at your address needs a completed USPS Form 1583 and two forms of identification. Floorplate360 collects both at signup, records exactly what was signed and by whom, keeps the identification where it cannot leak, and exports the whole file as one PDF when someone asks.
What is kept, and why each part matters
An electronic signature is only worth the evidence stored with it.
| What we store | Why |
|---|---|
| The exact consent text | Proves what the applicant actually agreed to, not what the current version of the form says. |
| A sha256 hash of that text | Shows the stored text has not been edited since it was signed. |
| Typed signature and timestamp | Who signed, and when. |
| IP address and browser user agent | Where the signature came from — the ordinary evidence standard for an electronic signature. |
| Two identification images | The USPS requirement, held in private storage with no public URL. |
| Who verified, and when | A named member of your staff checked the identification against the form. |
A folder of signed PDFs on a shared drive. It is usually complete, nobody knows for certain, the identification is readable by whoever has the link, and producing a specific recipient's file means searching by name and hoping.
A record per recipient with a status, evidence attached to the signature, identification that has no shareable URL, and a one-click export. Anyone still outstanding appears in a list rather than being discovered later.
Worth saying plainly
This page describes what the software records. It is not legal advice, and no software can make you compliant on its own — USPS sets the requirements, they change, and how you run your mailroom is your responsibility. Confirm your obligations with USPS and your own counsel. What we will promise is that the evidence is there when you need it.
Form 1583 questions
What is a CMRA?
A Commercial Mail Receiving Agency: any business that accepts mail on behalf of someone else. If you sell a business address, a mailbox, or a virtual office plan, you are operating as one, and USPS requires a completed Form 1583 and two forms of identification for every recipient before you release their mail.
What does USPS Form 1583 require?
The applicant's name and home address, the business name if mail is received for one, the address being used, the agent accepting the mail, and two forms of identification — one of them photographic. The form is signed by the applicant and retained by the agent for as long as the service continues and for a period afterwards.
Can Form 1583 be signed electronically?
USPS permits electronic signature where the agent retains evidence of who signed, what they signed and when. Floorplate360 keeps all three: a snapshot of the exact text shown to the applicant, a sha256 hash of that text so it can be proved unaltered, the typed signature, the signer's IP address, their browser user agent, and the timestamp.
How are identification documents stored?
In private storage with no public URL. They are served only to the recipient themselves and to staff at that location, and the restriction is enforced by row-level security in the database rather than by the interface — so there is no link to leak and no page to guess.
What happens in a USPS inspection?
Each record exports as a single PDF containing the exact text the applicant signed, the signature evidence including the hash, who verified the identification and when, and the identification images embedded as pages. It is generated on demand from the record rather than assembled by hand.
How do you know who has not completed their paperwork?
Compliance is a state on the record, not a folder someone remembers to check. Recipients sit at pending until their form is signed and their identification verified by a named staff member, and the admin view lists everyone outstanding so mail is not released against an incomplete file.
Does Floorplate360 guarantee CMRA compliance?
No, and be wary of software that says it does. Requirements are set by USPS and can change, and how you operate your mailroom is yours. What the software does is collect what the form requires, keep durable evidence of each signature, and produce the record on demand. Confirm your obligations with USPS and your own counsel.
Run a 1583 on the call
Thirty minutes. We will sign one, verify the identification, and export the audit PDF while you watch.