In Montana: Is It Illegal To Park In Front Of Mailboxes?

Would you ever think of something like this?

Whether or not one should think about parking in front of a bank of mailboxes?

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At first thought, I wouldn't have thought about that at all. However, since one of my best friends became a mail carrier last year, I hear all sorts of things people do or things that hinder a mail carrier from efficiently doing there job. It's anything and everything you can think of, property barriers, animals, general obstructions, or mail piling up.

Cars in front of mailboxes was at the bottom of the list.

It's kind of a weird question to ask, but is it illegal to park in front of mailboxes?

There are federal laws to prohibit anyone from parking in front of a mailbox.

According to US Code §1701. Obstruction of mails generally:

Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail, or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

The USPS also has a policy regarding vehicles parked that block mailboxes:

Mailbox blocked:

Mailbox blockage by a vehicle may also prevent the delivery of mail. According to our policy, the city or rural carrier should get out of the vehicle to make delivery if the mailbox is temporarily blocked by a vehicle. However, if the carrier continually experiences a problem in serving curb line or rural boxes where the customer is able to control on street parking, the postmaster may withdraw delivery service.

If it's blocked too many times, no mail will come.

It might be a good idea to keep that mailbox area clear to receive all those unwanted bills every month.