USPS 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your USPS.com account
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Your USPS.com account is the United States Postal Service (USPS) sign-in for Click-N-Ship, PO Boxes, Hold Mail, Informed Delivery and its other online tools. USPS calls two-factor authentication multifactor authentication (MFA). If you opened the account on or after March 6, 2025, MFA is mandatory. Older accounts can choose: picking Not Now at the enrollment prompt hides it for 30 days (USPS).
Codes can come by email, by text message or from an authenticator app, but you can't start with the app. Enrolling always verifies your email first and turns on email codes; the app comes after. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the USPS steps come from USPS's own FAQ pages and its MFA user guide (a PDF dated August 2026), linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a USPS.com account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Where you start depends on whether MFA is already on (USPS).
If you haven't enrolled yet:
- Go to verified.usps.com, enter your User Name and Password, and select Sign In.
- Select Enroll in MFA, then Continue.
- To use the email address on your account, select Yes, then Continue. To use another one, choose No, I'd like to change my email. USPS says this doesn't change the email address in your profile (USPS).
- Enter the Passcode that USPostalService@usps.com emails you and select Submit. Email codes are now on.
- On the list of extra methods, choose Authenticator App, then Continue.
If MFA is already on:
- Go to preferences.usps.com and choose Multi-Factor Authentication.
- On Manage Multifactor Authentication, select Add next to Authenticator App.
USPS's FAQ reaches the same page through My Profile > Preferences > Multifactor Authentication (USPS).
Then, on the Add Authenticator App screen:
- USPS shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. Then select Next.
- In Enter verification code, type the 6-digit code from Novaz and select Submit.
The Authenticator App row then reads Enabled, and USPS emails you a confirmation.
USPS's help shows only the QR code, never a key you can type. Its On a mobile device? link, for when you can't scan, asks you to pick your authenticator app from a list (USPS). With Novaz on the same iPhone, take a screenshot of the QR code instead, then tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
When USPS asks for a code
Once MFA is on, USPS asks for a code every time you sign in to USPS.com (USPS). An earlier version of the user guide shows a screen where you pick how to get it: Send SMS, Use Authenticator App or Send Email (USPS).
The code screen also has a Remember my device box. Tick it and that device skips the code for 30 days, unless you clear your cookies or switch browsers. USPS says to use it only on your own devices, never on shared computers (USPS).
No backup codes
USPS's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. Your fallback is the other methods: email codes stay on after you add the app. If you lose your iPhone without a Novaz backup, that inbox is your way in, so keep it within reach. USPS recommends setting up more than one method. Text codes only go to US mobile numbers (USPS).
If USPS rejects your code
USPS's help has no advice for authenticator codes that don't work. Check your iPhone's clock first: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
A USPS.com account holds one authenticator app at a time. To move to a new phone, open Manage Multifactor Authentication, select Edit next to Authenticator App, and confirm with Continue. Scan the new QR code and enter a code. The old setup is replaced when you finish, and Back to MFA Options cancels (USPS).
With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and skip this. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Sign in with an email or text code instead, then replace the app with Edit as above.
If you've lost the MFA email too, USPS doesn't describe an MFA reset. Its account FAQ says password-reset codes also go to that address. Without it, email USPS with your full name, address, username and registration email, or call Technical Support (USPS). For USPS accounts that's 1-800-344-7779, Monday to Friday 8 AM to 8:30 PM ET and Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM ET (USPS). Have the answers to your two security questions ready: USPS asks for both when a reset by email or text fails. It doesn't say how long a fix takes.
USPS's MFA FAQ also lists separate contacts for Click-N-Ship, Informed Delivery and a few business tools. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
USPS doesn't document an off switch. Accounts created on or after March 6, 2025 can't opt out at all (USPS).
