Postal Data Privacy Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill would stop government agencies from tracking the outside of your mail without a judge's permission. Right now, the government can often ask the Postal Service for this information without a court order.
• To get permission, law enforcement would have to prove to a judge that the mail records are actually needed for a criminal investigation. This creates a higher standard for the government to meet before they can monitor your mail.
• The policy defines a mail cover as recording information like the sender, the recipient, and the postmark. It does not allow the government to open your mail, which already requires a separate warrant.
• If the government is waiting for a court order, they can ask the Postal Service to save the mail records for 90 days. This ensures that evidence is not lost while the legal process moves forward.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.