Mail and Packages

When you live on campus, you can pick up mail 24/7 at your own mailbox in your residence hall. We'll email you if you receive a package. Stop by your front desk to pick it up.

How Mail Works

  1. Mail and packages arrive at your hall. Mail is delivered Monday through Saturday (except holidays) while classes are in session.
  2. We put any mail into your mailbox in the lobby of your hall. If you receive a package, a perishable item or something else that doesn't fit in your mailbox, you'll receive an email notification from us at your student email address saying that a package is ready to pick up.
  3. Use your room key to open your mailbox, or stop by the front desk and present your NIU OneCard to pick up any packages waiting for you.

When you move out of the residence halls, we'll forward USPS mail to the permanent address you have listed in MyNIU. Packages from private delivery services like UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon will get returned to sender.

Look Up Your Mailing Address

If you've set a preferred/proper name, please use that.

Your Address

[Your Name] [Hall] [Room] [ Street Address] DeKalb, IL 60115

Example

John Doe
Patterson East 114G1
501 North Annie Glidden Rd.
DeKalb, IL 60115

Items Not Accepted

  • Mail or packages not addressed to current residents. (Mail will be forwarded to the permanent address on file in MyNIU and packages will be returned to sender.)
  • Postage due letters or COD packages.
  • Personal deliveries of packages.
  • Personal items to be "held" for a resident, like coats, bags or keys.
  • Letters or flyers that do not come through the U.S. Postal Service.
  • Political materials.
  • Commercial advertisements.
  • Advertising co-sponsored by a student organization.
  • Items received for commercial use purposes that are contrary to residence hall policy.

Mail Delivery During Break Periods

  • If it arrives on or after the Friday prior to move-in day: Mail and packages addressed to fall residents will be delivered to mailboxes in each residence hall.
  • If it arrives before the Friday prior to move-in day: USPS mail addressed to fall residents will be forwarded to the permanent address listed in MyNIU and packages from services like UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon will be returned to sender.

Summer mail and packages are delivered to current summer residents. Front desks may have limited hours during breaks. Contact your hall's front desk for hours.

If mail or packages received during the summer are addressed to a former resident:

  • USPS mail sent to a former resident during the summer will be forwarded to the permanent address on file in MyNIU.
  • Packages from services like UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon that are addressed to former residents during the summer will be returned to sender.

USPS mail will be distributed daily in the halls that are open during winter break except on Sundays and official holidays. Front desks in these halls will have limited hours for package pickup. Private delivery services like UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon will not typically make deliveries during winter break.

USPS mail will be delivered to current residents. Delivery from private services like UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon may be impacted. Front desks may have limited hours during breaks. Contact your hall's front desk for hours.

Sending Mail

To send mail, you can go downtown to the DeKalb Post Office, visit the postal center inside the Resource Bank or you can visit one of several blue USPS collection box locations on and near campus. Packages must be sent through the DeKalb Post Office retail counter if more than one-half inch thick or weighing more than 10 oz. (Larger packages dropped in a blue collection box or in the post office lobby mail slot will be returned to sender.)

To purchase stamps, visit either the DeKalb Post Office or go the postal center inside the Resource Bank. The DeKalb Post Office accepts cash and most credit/debit cards. The postal center at the Resource Bank takes cash only.

USPS Collection Box Locations

USPS Collection Box Map

Contact Us

Housing and Residential Services
Neptune East 101
housing@niu.edu
815-753-1525

Additional Contact Info


Back to top