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Freight and Mail Delivery Instructions

Freight Delivery Instruction

Vehicles transporting freight destined for DHS Headquarters (HQ) Facilities in Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria or the Transportation Security Operations Center are required to undergo security inspections at the Federal Protective Service (FPS) Vehicle Inspection Facility (VIF) prior to making a freight delivery. Freight delivery vehicles must arrive at each destination with a FPS seal attached. All HAZMAT vehicles must be processed through the VIF. In instances where there are multiple DHS-HQ destinations for one vehicle, the driver will be issued multiple seals at the VIF. All commercial delivery services such as FEDEX, UPS, DHL, are not permitted to make deliveries directly to DHS-HQ Facilities located in Washington, DC, Arlington or Alexandria. As outlined below, the size of the delivery determines whether the cargo should be processed through the VIF or a Remote Delivery Site (RDS).

The VIF is available for inspection of vehicles carrying DHS freight between the hours of 5:00 am to 5:00 pm daily M-F. The VIF is also available from 5:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays. The VIF is located at 300 12th Street Southwest on the corner of 12th & C Street Southwest Washington, DC. Delivery vehicles will also be subjected to explosive detection dogs at the Government's discretion. Please make sure the freight invoice has special instruction for delivery through the FPS facility to final destination.

Sample freight address

Department of Homeland Security
Attn: Directorate/Section/name of employee/phone number Mobile Search Unit
12th & C Street SW
Washington, DC 200024

Point of Contact at VIF is: Captain Williams (202)345-7778

VIF Facility Phone number: (202)245-2499

Mail Delivery Instruction

Mail deliveries using the US Postal Service or a commercial express package service provider such as DHL, UPS or FedEx should be addressed to the recipients name and mail stop as displayed below. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has incorporated its 4 digit mail stop system with the US Postal Service ZIP + 4 codes to identify the final delivery location.

Sample mail address

John Smith
Mail Stop: ####
Department of Homeland Security
245 Murray Lane, SW
Washington, DC 20528

Packages within the following dimensions can be received as mail at the DHS Remote Delivery Site. Items exceeding the dimensions should be shipped as freight.

Dimensions & Weight

  • Weight limit for packages at RDS: 70 lbs. per package
  • Size limit: 165 inches, length + girth (maximum length of one side is 108 inches and the girth is the measurement around a package).

This page was last reviewed/modified on February 20, 2008.