When a USPS Certified Mail letter is delivered, proof of delivery is available with Electronic Return Receipt ( ERR). Old fashioned green cards can easily get lost in the mail, are difficult to file and cost $2.30. 

Electronic Return Receipts provides the mailer ‘proof of delivery’ for each USPS Certified letter mailed in the United States.  The U.S. Postal Service began providing electronic proof of Certified Mail letter delivery in 2001.  When a USPS Certified Mail letter is delivered the delivery information  is recorded by USPS as proof of letter delivery and is provided like the old fashioned Green Card.

 What happens to the green card Return Receipt? The old fashioned USPS Green Return Receipt card has been an icon of Certified Mail for many years. This courtesy reply card is used to provide the mailer notification of letter delivered. The little green postcard has been difficult for the mailer and the U.S. Postal Service to easily manage. Mailers have reported missing or lost cards, stuck inside other pieces of mail and were very difficult to organize file and store. 

In July 2001, the U.S. Postal Service began providing electronic proof of Certified Mail letter delivery.  When a Certified Mail letter is delivered by USPS the delivery confirmation for each letter is electronically recorded including a Signature of the person that signs for the letter. The proof of delivery information is electronically stored at the USPS central data tracking center in California, and can be stored electronically by the mailer.

Certified Mail Envelopes includes Electronic Return Receipt ERR plus ‘in-route’ letter delivery tracking information. The information is authored by USPS and is digitally stored then archived in your mailing account for 7 years.  It is easy to search and print the Electronic Return Receipt and in-route delivery scans to show proof of mailing 24/7 from any computer. The report prints to your local printer.

Electronic Return Receipt – ERR (TM) is used by Certified Mail customers nationwide and many mailers are replacing the old traditional Green Card with ERR – Electronic Return Receipt.  The process is more efficient.  It’s ‘green’ and saves both mailers and the U.S. Postal Service time and money. 

The Electronic Return Receipt (Green Card) can be printed as needed to your printer. You can even download the proof of delivery data into an Excel or CSV data file to integrate your mailing and delivery information into your companies data warehouse.

Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested
 
Certified Mail Return Receipt provides proof of USPS Certified Mail letter delivery. The ‘old fashioned green card’ is quickly being replaced by a the ‘Electronic Return Receipt’ PDF file that provides delivery confirmation and ‘in-route’ letter tracking authored by The United States Postal Service.

Certified Mail Return Receipt
Each USPS Certified Mail letter provides proof of mailing and delivery of a letter. The sender receives a receipt at the time of mailing from the Postal Service. Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested is a product of the US Postal Service that provides information about when a letter is mailed and delivered. A Certified Mail Return Receipt letter is a First Class letter that provides evidence or proof of mailing as well as evidence or proof the Certified Mail letter was delivered.  Each letter contains a unique Certified Mail article number that is 21 digits long and the number is express as a bar code on the outside of the letter beginning with a ’70 or ’71′ article number. These article numbers match back to an electronic file used to print the Electronic Return Receipt PDF file. This provides the sender a fast and easy way to store ‘Certified Mail’ Electronic Reports that provide proof of mailing and USPS letter delivery confirmation.  Using a Certified Mail Envelope with Electronic Return Receipt™ provides the ‘in-route’ letter tracking and the final letter delivery scan for each letter.

Today Proof of Service is written in many state laws that favor USPS Certified Mail or USPS Certified Mail Return Receipt service this provides the sender the date of mailing or receipt, because it is noted on the Return Receipt.

To learn more about USPS Certified Mail solutions contact Myrna Brown Senior Vice President at Certified Mail Envelopes. Ms. Brown worked for the United States Postal Service in the Pacific Northwest in Sales and Marketing and today helps businesses automate mailing solutions. Contact Certified Mail Envelopes at 800-406-1792.

The paperless office, this idea and concept has been around for years but getting the concept to apply to USPS Certified Mail may be another thing.

Now You Can – Go Green with USPS Certified Mail & Electronic Return Receipt

The Paperless Office concept has been around for years but getting the concept to actually stick is another thing.  Many offices are filled with high speed copiers, printers and fax machines, and yes that friendly USPS letter carrier continues to bring us more paper each day.

It seams impossible to be entirely paperless in todays workplace. I am frequently asked by prospective clients how they can eliminate those old fashioned Green Cards and still have the legal proof their Certified letter was delivered.  This is when I introduce them to the Electronic Return Receipt that is included with each of our Certified Mail Envelopes.  It allows you to access your mailing, in-route tracking and Certified Letter delivery tracking information electronically through our online web based Certified Mail Electronic Tracking & Delivery Confirmation (ETC) service.  You can access 24/7 all of your Certified Mail tracking and delivery history for 7 years.  Print what you need when you need it.  No more lost green cards.  You no longer need to bury yourself under a mountain of USPS green card papers and forms .  Instead each letter and print the Electronic proof of mailing or delivery confirmation and Signatures records recorded by USPS on demand. 

Our web based Certified Mail Envelopes automation provides you ‘custom search fields’ to quick track and print your data.  Use a custom account number, reference ID  or  unique ID to quickly find each letter.  This links your USPS Certified Mail letter with your unique customer information and can help you find information quickly – on demand. When you are ready to track your letters, just use the search box in our web software to see your letter has been delivered by USPS or if perhaps it has been refused. 

Look at the benefits of going green:

•  Saves time and money on the cost of paper, printing, print cartridges.
•  Labor savings, you no longer need to file each proof of mailing and delivery record
•  Reduced storage space because your records are electronically stored online
•  Unlike paper records, electronic records can’t be misplaced in the mail stream and lost.

Myrna Brown is President of Certified Mail Envelopes, Inc. a company that specializes in compliance mailings and automated USPS Certified Mail solutions.  To learn more about automating your compliance letters, and ’Going Green’ with USPS Certified Mail call us.  Or sign up for the ‘free trial’ at Certified Mail Envelopes and Go-Green.