You want to make sure you choose the best virtual mailbox in California to handle your mail, but they look so similar. Well, they’re NOT. After personally using virtual addresses for more than a decade, what I’ve learned will help you choose the best location and company for your needs.
The explanations below will help you know what features you need to look for in a California virtual address, but if you’d like, you can skip down to our recommendations, curated from more than 10 of the top virtual mailbox companies in the USA.
Recommended California Addresses
You’ll find a full list of virtual addresses in California below, but these are four addresses we recommend based on company reputation and available features:
*This is a primary hub address
**Note: The links in this article may be affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may be compensated if you choose to use one of these virtual addresses in California.
To learn more about choosing and setting up a virtual mailbox, use the following table of contents to navigate throughout this resource.
- How to Choose a California Virtual Mailbox
- How to Set Up a Virtual Mailbox in California
- Top Virtual Mailbox Providers in San Francisco, CA
- Top Virtual Mailbox Providers in San Diego, CA
- Top Virtual Mailbox Providers in Los Angeles, CA
- Full List of Virtual Addresses in California
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to Choose a California Virtual Mailbox
Located along the picturesque Pacific Coast, California boasts of nearly 39.2 million residents, the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. Along with having the largest subnational economy in the world, it is also home to five of the world’s ten largest companies by market capitalization.
San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego are among the most populous urban regions of the entire country and include some of the top rated options for your personal or business virtual address.
There are two primary questions to ask when choosing a California virtual address:
- What features do I need?
- Is this for business or personal use?
Let’s explore both of these questions.
Features to Look For
Virtual mailboxes in California come with some amazing benefits for individuals and businesses, which includes a real, physical mailing address in the state. Using this kind of mailbox instead of a PO box means you get advantages such as scanning, mail forwarding, local pickup and mail shredding.
Some of the most valuable features of using a virtual mailbox company are below:
- Scans/Opens: Each company will receive a certain amount of mail pieces on your behalf. You’ll want to find out what that number is. You’ll also want to check on if they have a limit for how many pages can be scanned per month before fees are incurred. Those fees add up quickly!
- Mail Forwarding: A great advantage of your virtual address is that you can consolidate your mail and forward it to anywhere you want. Check to see if your address allows for international forwarding (not all of them do). You also want to know which shipping providers they use. For instance, PostScan Mail has contracts with multiple shipping providers, meaning that you will pay less for shipping (see our PostScan Mail review here)
- Local Pickup: Your virtual address may not allow you to personally pick up your mail. If you want to have that option, make sure your address offers that and find out if they charge a fee for pickup (usually $1-$3). If you plan to be near the address and to pick up on occasion, look into this.
- Check Deposit: This is worth double checking, but most providers will offer check deposit as a feature.
- Primary Hub Address: Most virtual mailbox companies contract with independent mail centers for address locations. The downside of this model is that they don’t have any control over quality or security. Therefore, it’s worth considering a virtual mailbox primary hub, particularly if you’re a small business. This is what services like Postscan Mail and Virtual Post Mail offer (and why their addresses are recommended above).
There are obviously other features to consider, but often this boils down to your use case: are you using this address in California for a business or for personal use?
Virtual Business Address in California
With the option of so many virtual mailbox service locations in California, it’s imperative to choose one that really fits the needs of a business your size. If your mail volume is substantial or if your highest priority is security, make sure to choose a virtual address located in a business park as opposed to an independent mail center in a strip mall.
This also creates a more professional look for your business.
If you’re planning to use a virtual address as your LLC in California (yes, you can do this), it’s critical to choose a company that has been in business for a number of years. You absolutely don’t want the hassle of changing your business address simply because your virtual mailbox company went out of business!
California has plenty of great cities to choose from for a virtual address for businesses, and digitizing your mail can save a lot of time, money and headache.
Virtual Address for Individuals in CA
Virtual mailbox services can also be useful as personal virtual addresses for individuals and families. For as little as ten dollars per month, you can enjoy the benefits of a virtual mailbox, which come with a greater level of privacy.
You won’t have to give away your personal home address anymore – you can provide your virtual address instead!
You can choose from popular providers like iPostal1, Anytime Mailbox, PostScan Mail, and Traveling Mailbox which will cater to your specific individual or family needs. Knowing your specifications will make it easy to find a service that suits you.
How to Set Up Your California Virtual Mailbox
It is a very simple process to set up your California virtual mailbox. These few steps are straight-forward and include the following:
- Choose Your Address: Find the plan and the exact address that works best for you. This is the most important part, and could take the most amount of time depending on what you’re needing.
- USPS Form 1583: You are required by the US government to sign and notarize a USPS Form 1583 consent. This consent allows another company to open mail on your behalf. Most virtual mailbox providers make this very easy to submit during the sign up process.
- Set Up Authorized Recipients: Mailboxes often allow at least two authorized recipients (i.e. you and your spouse or your name and your business name). Each recipient is required to have a notarized Form 1583 on file with the company.
- Start Receiving Mail: Setting up your virtual mailing address should only take about an hour, after which you can start giving out your new California virtual address.
- Manage Your Digital Mailbox: As you begin to use your virtual mailbox, you will have access to your mailbox dashboard. Within your dashboard , you’ll see the scans of each mail piece as well as options of what to do with that mail. Learn more about how a virtual mailbox works.
After you’re all set up, don’t forget to apply for a change of address (temporary or permanent) online or at your local US post office. Your chosen provider will then scan your mail pieces and packages and upload them to your virtual mailbox for easy access.
Top Virtual Mailbox Providers in San Francisco, CA
Are you seeking to have a virtual mailbox provider in San Francisco? There are many great options including Traveling Mailbox, PostScan Mail, and Anytime Mailbox. Each of these providers offer a range of features and services, such as secure mail and package services from USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL, as well as a professional business address and email notification when mail arrives.
Costs for these top virtual mailbox providers in San Francisco start at just $9.99 a month. Keep in mind, this does depend on your volume of mail and number of scans. Here is our curated list of the best virtual address options in San Francisco, CA.
*This is a primary hub address
Top Virtual Mailbox Providers in San Diego, CA
What about the best virtual mailbox providers in San Diego? These options – iPostal1, PostScan Mail, and Anytime Mailbox – have great shipping services, professional address selections, and email notification features.
Below is our preferred list of San Diego virtual addresses. Costs starts at just $9.99 a month depending on your volume of mail and number of scans.
Top Virtual Mailbox Providers in Los Angeles, CA
Last but not least, if you want a virtual mailbox in Los Angeles, we’ve got you covered. Our best options include PostScan Mail, Traveling Mailbox, and Anytime Mailbox. Features for these addresses include a primary hub address (better security) and contracts with top shipping providers for cost effective and secure delivery.
Take a look at our curated list of the top virtual addresses in Los Angeles, CA. Depending on your preferences, these also start at just $9.99 a month.
*This is a primary hub address
For a full list of available virtual addresses in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, you can sort through the list of California addresses below.
Full List of California Virtual Addresses
We’ve done the hard work of identifying the best virtual address companies and collecting a full list of every available California address.
You can use the sort and search functions on the table below to find a specific address or location you’re looking for. Because of the amount of information, it’s often better to view this table from a desktop computer as opposed to your mobile device.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled some of the most common questions about using a virtual mailbox (in California or anywhere), but this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have a ton of great resources to learn about virtual addresses that you can browse.
Yes, you can use a virtual address for your LLC in California. You need to register your business with the California Secretary of State and provide a physical address, rather than a P.O. box, as your registered address.
Virtual address works by allowing you to choose an actual physical address that is owned by a virtual address service. Mail sent to this address is received and scanned by the company before being uploaded to the cloud, giving you access to view and interact with the mail remotely. Learn more about how a virtual address works here.
California is a popular state to register a business because they offer favorable tax incentives, particularly for corporations who do not do business in the state. For this reasons, you’ll see many international businesses set up their US base in California.