Typical information includes the name of the post office, the state in which the post office was located, dates of the post office's establishment and discontinuance, names of the postmasters, and dates of the postmasters' appointments. Records before 1824 do not show the names of counties in which post offices were situated.

Volumes 2 through 7 are generally arranged alphabetically by name of post office on a national basis without regard to state or county. Volume 1, October 1789-July 1818, contains a chronological list of first returns of postmasters and can be used primarily to verify service. Seven volumes of postmaster appointments for 1789-1832 have been reproduced as Microfilm Publication M1131, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, Oct. Family relationships, however, are not stated in appointment records. Sometimes, control of the post office was a family affair, with multiple generations of a family serving as postmaster of the same post office. Postmasters served as little as a few months or more than thirty years. Prior to 1971, postmasters were also required to live in their post office's delivery area. citizenship was usually required to become a postmaster at all but the smallest of post offices. Women were eligible and were frequently appointed postmasters of small rural post offices, especially starting in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Postmasters were usually appointed by the Postmaster General or, if they were to make more than $1,000 per year, by the President with the consent of the U.S.

Apart from documenting the historical of postal activities, post office records may be useful sources of genealogical information about a researcher's ancestor or the ancestor's community. The National Archives has historical records of the Post Office Department in Record Group 28.

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