Have you recently been a victim of stalking, assault, or other violence? H0pefully the worst of this experience has passed for you. As part of making a fresh start, you may have even moved to a new address. Yet moving on may prove challenging when you feel vulnerable in your new home for fear of your assailant discovering where you live. This is where Safe at Home can help. Sponsored by the Minnesota Secretary of State, this little-known address confidentiality program is meant to help eliminate the traces of your interactions that might reveal where you can be located. Under Safe at Home, you receive a post office box address, which others will be required to accept and use on your behalf. Safe at Home will also accept legal process service in your name, and even allows you to use your special post office address on your drivers license. It will even allow you to vote by absentee ballot come election time. Safe at Home then provides a confidential forwarding service to your real address.
A person is not automatically eligible to enroll in Safe at Home. (You cannot use it as a means of hiding from criminal prosecution or debt creditors, for instance.) You must be a survivor of stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence, or someone who fears for their safety. You can enroll in Safe at Home at any one of several locations. For more information about Safe at Home, see Minn. Stat. §5B and Minn. R. Ch. 8290. Also check out the Secretary of State’s FAQ page on Safe at Home.
