Can my mail carrier report me for putting cards in mailboxes?

Yes, and it happens more often than people expect. Placing anything without postage in a mailbox violates federal law, since the mailbox belongs to the postal service, not the homeowner.

• Carriers are trained to spot and report unstamped items in their route boxes.
• The missing postage is an instant giveaway that something was dropped illegally.
• Homeowners can also file complaints directly with their local post office.
• Either path can lead to a postal inspector investigation and fines.

The safe route for door-to-door reach is a USPS direct mail program like EDDM, which delivers to every address on a route legally.