No fixed abode or without fixed abode is a legal term generally applied to those who do not have a fixed geographical location as their residence. This is applicable to several groups:

• People who have a home, but which is not always in the same place:
  • Those whose occupation requires them to live permanently on boat
    Boat
    A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
    
    s, ship
    Ship
    Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
    
    s or movable oil platform
    Oil platform
    An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
    
    s, or to travel constantly (as showmen, for example).
  • Nomad
    Nomad
    Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
    
    ic peoples (Indigenous Norwegian Travellers
    Indigenous Norwegian Travellers
    The indigenous Norwegian Travellers are an ethnic minority group in Norway. They are a wandering people who once travelled by foot, with horse-drawn carts and with boats along the southern and southwestern coastline of Norway.-Names for the group:...
    
    ) and Romnichal
    Romnichal
    The Romanichals are a Romani sub-group in the United Kingdom.Romanichals are thought to have arrived in Britain in the 16th century...
    
     and traveller groups (Irish Traveller
    Irish Traveller
    Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...
    
    s, Scottish Travellers
    Scottish Travellers
    Scottish Travellers, or the people termed loosely Gypsies and Tinkers in Scotland, consist of a number of diverse, unrelated communities, with groups speaking a variety of different languages and holding to distinct customs, histories, and traditions...
    
    , New Age travellers
    New age travellers
    New Age Travellers are groups of people who often espouse New Age or hippie beliefs and travel between music festivals and fairs in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs. Their transport and homes consist of vans, lorries, buses, narrowboats and caravans converted into...
    
    , Norwegian and Swedish Travellers); as well as individuals who adopt a mobile lifestyle, living in narrowboat
    Narrowboat
    A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
    
    s, recreational vehicle
    Recreational vehicle
    Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
    
    s or the like.
• People considered to be homeless
  Homelessness
  Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
  
  . The term "of no fixed abode" or "no fixed address" is frequently used as a description by the police
  Police
  The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
  
   and a euphemism
  Euphemism
  A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
  
   by the media for somebody who is without a home. This may not be for obvious reasons; for example, their previous home may have been destroyed and physically not exist any longer.

Mail may be handled .

Ships

Ships may have a mobile letter box

Letter box

A letter box, letterbox, letter plate, letter hole, mail slot, or mailbox is a receptacle for receiving incoming mail at a private residence or business...

, that can be placed on the dockside

Dock (maritime)

A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...

 whilst a ship is moored in port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 or the crew are on shore leave

Shore leave

Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...

, allowing the delivery of mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

 to those living on the ship—for as long as the vessel is in that port.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 "no fixed abode" is a valid residential address. The law states:

A person may wish to provide a temporary forwarding address to ease contacting them, or the locating of their whereabouts can be left as an exercise to the sender.

See also

• Hunter-gatherer
  Hunter-gatherer
  A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
  
  
• Perpetual traveler
  Perpetual traveler
  The term perpetual traveller refers to both a lifestyle and a philosophy.- Background :...
  
  
• RV lifestyle
• Showmen
• Technomad