Poste restante, also known as
General delivery in the
United States, is the
service offered by the
post office of most countries.
Mail is addressed to the
recipient's name, with the words "Poste restante" below that, and then the
city the mail is to be
delivered to, plus applicable
postal codes, &c. Such mail upon receipt by the
postal service is to be held in the city's
central post office to be picked up by the recipient, who must prove that they are indeed the
addressee. Poste restante is very useful for sending mail to
travellers, though they must be aware that they are to
receive mail.
Here's what the USPS' Domestic Mail Manual has to say about "General Delivery":
D900 Other Delivery Services
D930 General Delivery and Firm Holdout
Summary
D930 describes the
intent of
general delivery and how to obtain and use a
firm holdout.
1.0 General Delivery
1.1 Purpose
General delivery is intended primarily as a
temporary means of delivery:
a. For transients and customers not permanently located.
b. For customers who want post office box service when boxes are unavailable.
1.2 Service Restrictions
General delivery is available at only one
facility under the
administration of a multifacility post office. A
postmaster may refuse or restrict general delivery:
a. To a customer who is unable to present suitable identification.
b. To a customer whose mail volume or service level (e.g., mail accumulation) cannot reasonably be accommodated.
1.3 Delivery to Addressee
A general delivery customer can be required to present suitable identification before mail is
given to the customer.
1.4 Holding Mail
General delivery mail is held for no more than
30 days, unless a shorter
period is requested by the sender. Subject to 1.2, general delivery
mail may be held for longer periods if requested by the
sender or
addressee.
The Domestic Mail Manual can be found at http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm/DMMTC.htm