Frequently Asked Questions about USPS Certified Mail: 

• How much does it cost to send Certified Mail?   $4.69

The total cost of a 1 OZ. USPS Certified Mail letter with Tracking and Electronic Delivery Receipt costs $4.69.  If you want the PDF showing the signature of the person that signed for each letter, USPS charges an additional $1.40 at the time of mailing.  USPS Certified Mail rates are $3.45, First Class postage (1 OZ) $0.49.  The Tracking and Electronic Delivery Receipt costs $.73.

If you are using the old fashioned Green Card Return Receipt(s) USPS charges an additional $2.70 postage for the Return Receipt so your total cost would be $6.74.

How long does it take for USPS for a Certified Letter to be delivered?  3 to 5 days.

Plan on 3 to 5 business days, unless you are sending it by Priority Mail or Express mail service. USPS does not guarantee or specify an exact delivery time. A USPS Certified Mail is First Class mail and is considered Special Service mail that receives high priority delivery service. At each delivery address someone must be available to sign for the USPS Certified letter. If you are mailing to a residential address and no one is home, a delivery reminder slip is to be left in the mailbox by the letter carrier. This reminder informs the person a USPS Certified Mail letter is being held at the local Post Office for pick-up. They must go to the Post Office to Sign for the letter and pick it up. If no one picks up the letter after 5 to 7 days, USPS attempts a second delivery. Again USPS will leave behind a delivery slip reminder by the letter carrier. Finally after 10 to 12 days the third and final delivery attempt is made to the delivery address. After the final notice reminder is left the letter is taken back to the Post Office and held for 5 to 7 additional days. This entire time frame can take 17 to 21 days if no one has claimed the letter. USPS then marks the letter ‘Unclaimed’ and the letter is returned to the sender.

• Who do I call if I have questions about USPS letter delivery?  800-275-8777

The USPS Help Line is 800-275-8777. You can visit the USPS web site www.usps.com. Remember USPS does not provide ‘in-route’ letter tracking for Certified Mail. You will not get updated delivery information until the USPS letter carrier has attempted to deliver the letter and scanned the letter.

If it has been more than 3 weeks and you see no attempted delivery information reported the best place to call is the local USPS Post Office responsible for the letters final delivery. In other words, the Post Office closest to the final delivery Zip Code. To locate this information call USPS and request the name of the Post Office responsible for mail delivery at the final delivery address you may need to provide them the Zip Code.

• Can you mail a Certified Mail letter to a PO Box?  Yes.

Yes. You can mail a USPS Certified Mail letter to a P.O. Box in the United States. Certified Mail letters are addressed and delivered to the PO Box with no changes in mailers process. You address the letter using the PO Box instead of the street delivery address. When the letter carrier delivers the letter the process to document when the letter was received is a little bit different. A delivery notification card is placed inside the PO Box instructing the recipient to pick up the Certified Mail letter at the window. A Post Office window clerk is then presented the delivery confirmation Signature card and the date and time of the delivery confirmation are electronically captured and recorded by USPS. This is how the United States Postal Service handles delivery confirmation when you send Certified Mail to a PO Box.

• Can I send a Certified Mail letter to Canada and Mexico?  No.

No. Certified Mail is a product of the United States Postal service and Certified Mail is not available in Canada. Most mailers use Registered Mail.

• What Happens To The ‘Green’ Return Receipt Cards? They are expensive and hard to manage.

The Green Card Return Receipt has been the icon of Certified Mail for many years. This little Green Card is difficult for both the mailer and the U.S. Postal Service to manage and store.  In July 2001, the U.S. Postal Service began providing Electronic delivery confirmation service and a PDF file that provides the Signature and evidence of letter delivery.  This information is collected and authored by The United States Postal Service USPS and provides the mailer ‘proof of delivery’ for USPS Certified Mail.

USPS Tracking and Electronic Delivery Confirmation provides evidence of mailing, in-route tracking and evidence of delivery, legal proof of receipt provided from the following data:

• Date of Delivery
• Signature of Recipient or the Recipient Authorized Agent
• Recipients delivery address if it is different than the one printed on the mailpiece
• If the correct fees, postage, and Certified Mail Envelopes a Certified Mail letter may be mailed from the home, office, or dropped in any USPS Collection Box receptacle.

Many mailers are using the Electronic Return Receipt to quickly replace the old fashioned green cards because it is electronic in format, produced in Adobe PDF format and the information is authored by the United States Postal Service. This is more convenient to manage for many mailers. Unlike green cards, you can’t lose an electronic record. Electronic Return Receipts also link to the original Signature image record that is stored at USPS when the letter was delivered by the letter carrier.

• What receipts are provided using Certified Mail Envelopes service?

Two receipts are provided with Certified Mail Envelopes. The first receipt is the proof of mailing PS-3877 manifest or firm sheet. This provides you with a record that your letter was accepted by USPS. This receipt is available by using our approved USPS Mail Manifest. We suggest you have this sheet signed and dated when you turn your mail over to the Postal Service. If you drop your letter into any USPS mail pickup the Electronic Tracking scan will serve as your proof of mailing. Be careful to note the pickup schedule dates and times at local mail drops.

The second receipt is proof of delivery or the Electronic Return Receipt ERR(TM). This serves as your proof USPS successfully delivered the certified letter to the delivery address specified or that the letter was returned to sender.

ERR (TM) is the Electronic Return Receipt (Green Card). This report is printed from our web software and is used to provide legal proof of letter delivery. This report shows Certified Mail delivery information. The information is authored by the United States Postal Service. This is a report that can be printed from the web software. The data may also be exported to your local computer or network and kept as a part of your company’s data warehouse.

• What if we need a Signature from the person that signed for the letter?

Signatures displaying who signed or accepted the Certified Mail letter are electronically collected and stored by USPS. We are not aware of laws requiring mailers display the proof of the actual Signature, only proof that the USPS Certified Mail letter was mailed and proof the certified letter was delivered. Most people confuse Signature service with Registered Mail or Restricted Delivery and waste a lot of money buying something they don’t need. .

If you ever need the U.S. Postal Service to provide a copy of the actual image of the signature, you must purchase this at the time you are producing your Certified Mail Label. The USPS no longer has the service to purchase the signature after delivery.

• What Happens if USPS Cannot Provide Me Proof of Letter Delivery?

If you mailed a Certified Mail letter and your letter has not been delivered after 30 days you should request assistance from the Post Office. They are able to internally communicate with the Post Office responsible for delivery. You can also request a refund because the Certified Mail special service was not properly administered. We understand the refund is not what’s important – but when you request a ‘Refund for Postage’ it causes an internal review as to why the refund is granted and more important why the Certified Mail letter service was not performed. Postmasters and headquarters don’t like refunding money we find they will do all they can to help you find your lost letter and this issue resolved. To begin a refund request from USPS use PS-Form 3533 the Application and Voucher for Refund of Postage and Services.

If you continue to have problems, customers have found reporting the problem directly to USPS Headquarters in Washington, DC. very helpful. They conduct regional training with the letter carriers and will work to improve service in your area. Call USPS Special Services or the Postmaster General at Headquarters.