In this article you’ll learn how to get a US business address.
If your business is registered outside of the United States it can be beneficial to get a US business address. In some cases you are even legally required to get a domestic address.
Personally, I was forced to get a US business address in order to sell supplements.
This is a legal requirement by the FDA.
My business is registered in Switzerland. That’s where I pay taxes. But in order to be able to sell supplements to customers in the United States, even through an online website that’s hosted in Switzerland, I need to provide customers in the United States with a domestic address.
After a few failed attempts I discovered an elegant solution.
But before I get to that, let’s talk about some reasons why you might want to get a US address.
Who Can Profit From A US Business Address? Should You Get One?
There are a few particular situations when having a US business address is either beneficial or required. In most cases, businesses operating outside of the United States don’t need a domestic address. But let’s look at some cases where it can be really helpful.
Here’s who should get a US business address:
- If you’re drop shipping and you want a return address in the United States
- If you’re mainly selling to customers in the United States and want to appear more legit
- If your business is set up outside the US but you want to “hide” that information
- If you’re selling supplements the FDA requires a domestic address on labels
There are many other reasons but these are some common ones.
If you’re an entrepreneur living in Tajikistan and you want to set up an online business that sells digital downloads or drop ships physical products to a world-wide market, you might want to get a US address. Why? Because customers might view your store’s country as a red flag.
Prejudices and racism might harm your business.
From a strategic point of view it’s advantageous to set up a virtual address in the United States or some other country. Consumers trust certain countries more than others.
If you’re drop shipping products to the United States, you might want to provide customers with a domestic return address. In case someone wants to return or exchange a product, they can’t just send it back to the supplier. You could give them your personal address, or your business address for the return. But having a domestic address will make a better impression.
Let’s say you are selling WordPress themes or some other digital product. You’re business is set up in Hungary, but most of your customers are from the United States. In this situation it make sense to set up a US business address because you can position your online brand better.
These are all legit reasons.
That being said, let me show you how to get a US business address.
How to Get a US Business Address: An Elegant Solution Is Earth Class Mail
The service I personally use is Earth Class Mail.
I tried a number of other virtual mailbox services prior to that.
Here’s what I discovered:
Most virtual mailbox services don’t allow you to use their address as an official business address. If they find out you’re using the virtual address as your websites contact address or as your official company address, they’ll disable your account which defeats their purpose.
However, there’s a couple mail forwarding and virtual mailbox services that are different.
The best one I’ve found so far is Earth Class Mail, which allows the use of your virtual address as official company address: On your website, as return address or on business cards. I’ve talked to their support to make sure it’s okay to use your address for these purposes.
I personally use the address in Delaware for my supplement business.
My domestic Earth Class Mail address is printed on my supplement bottles as the FDA requires. Whenever a someone sends a complaint, or some official correspondence, I’ll receive it there.
They have a plan for $49 per month that I use.
I don’t receive a lot of mail to the address and I’m not planning to change that. This means, I’ll likely be able to use their basic plan forever. The reason I’m using Earth Class Mail is simply to have a brand presence and contact address in the United States for my new business.
Still wondering how to get a US business address?
I’m sure there’s plenty of other mail forwarding services and virtual mailboxes that you can use. At the end of the day you just have to find one that’s affordable and works for you.