Canada Post tracking: numbers, statuses and notice cards

Canada Post tracking number: what it looks like and where to find it

Canada Post's numbers come in two main shapes:

From a shop, it's in the shipping confirmation email; if you posted it, on your receipt. Only the sender can give you the number: Canada Post keeps no records by name or address.

Track also takes the 15-digit number on a Delivery Notice Card, and a sender's reference number together with the shipping date.

Sixteen digits also fit DHL eCommerce, Correos Express and TNT, so check which carrier the shop's email names. Purolator numbers have 12 digits, so they can't be mistaken for these. More in tracking number formats.

What Canada Post's tracking statuses mean

Track shows a summary label above a list of scans. These are the English scans; the French site shows French ones.

The summary label can read Notice left while the scan says a card was left: same thing. It happens when the parcel won't fit, no one is home and there's no safe place, or the sender chose "Card for pickup".

Verifying recipient's address; Possible delay means an addressing problem. If Canada Post can't verify the address, the parcel goes back, and a return that has started can't be stopped. Check delivery progress means delivery was interrupted; a progress bar with an arrow at its end means it's returning to the sender. Item held by customs means customs is reviewing it, and neither Canada Post nor the sending post can step in.

Notice card, pickup and missed deliveries

Signature parcels get an attempt at the door; if no one is there, a Delivery Notice Card. Others go to your mailbox, community mailbox or door; if one is too large and no one is home, Canada Post may safe drop it or leave a card.

A card means the parcel waits at a nearby post office. A Final Notice Card follows after 5 calendar days, and the post office keeps the parcel 15 calendar days in all, then returns it to the sender. That's why the Final Notice scan says 10 days.

To pick it up, bring the card if you have it and government-issued photo ID. Someone else can go with their own photo ID plus your signed card with their name printed on it, or a letter of authorization. No card but an attempt in tracking? It may come the next business day with your mail, or Track shows where to go.

In community parcel lockers, a key in your mailbox opens the compartment; the parcel waits up to 5 days, then goes to the post office.

From abroad, the CBSA assesses duty and taxes and Canada Post collects them, with a $9.95 handling fee included. Pay on Track or in the app before the parcel is out for delivery, otherwise at the door by credit card or at the post office. More in parcels held at customs.

Canada Post parcel late, missing or damaged

No new scan for days in transit is normal: Canada Post typically scans when an item is mailed and when it's out for delivery. Canada Post says most packages arrive no later than 5 business days after the expected delivery date.

After that, check the address and around your home, then ask for an investigation with a support ticket. Either you or the sender can open one, but only the sender can claim compensation. The sender has 90 days from the shipping date to claim in Canada, 6 months for US and international items.

Marked delivered but not there? Check the mailbox, parcel locker, concierge, mailroom and household, and look for a signature on Track, then ask for an investigation. Damaged: contact the sender, keep the packaging and take photos right away.

Canada Post contact and customer service

Canada Post's channels, as read on 15 October 2026:

• Phone 1-866-607-6301 within Canada, 1-416-979-3033 from outside Canada, TTY 1-800-267-2797. Monday to Friday 7am to 11pm ET, weekends 9am to 9pm ET.
• Support ticket on the support page, with or without signing in, and chat there too.
• Local post offices often can't take phone calls.

Tracking Canada Post parcels with Peek

Peek names Canada Post at once for postal numbers ending CA that pass their check. A 16-digit number with a valid check digit is shared, so Peek asks Canada Post, Correos Express, TNT and DHL eCommerce together (Canada Post leads the list for readers in Canada) and names the one that knows it; a 16-digit number that fails the check is never offered to Canada Post. Links with searchFor= work, but not Track's #/search links: paste the number. For a notice card number or a reference, pick Canada Post with "Change".

Peek shows the status, each scan with its town and province on a map, the expected delivery day, a delivery time window while one is given, the delivery time, the sender's business name and the service. Each scan keeps the clock of the place it happened. Statuses stay in Canada Post's English; delivered scans read "Delivered" and a parcel back with the sender "Returned to sender". Peek drops delivery options, addresses, signatures and delivery photos, and doesn't show the post office's name or the pickup deadline.

Peek checks every 10 minutes, every 2 minutes once the parcel is out for delivery, and can notify you at every scan, at important steps or on delivery day only. When a parcel posted abroad with a postal number is bound for Canada, Peek can follow it on Canada Post once Canada Post shows progress.

Questions about Canada Post tracking

Why is my Canada Post tracking not updating?

Usually because Canada Post scans when an item is mailed and again when it's out for delivery, with little in between. If the expected date is more than 5 business days past, start an investigation. See tracking that isn't updating.

How long does Canada Post keep tracking information?

Track shows nothing for items shipped more than a year ago. A valid number can also show nothing before the parcel reaches Canada Post.

Can I track with a Canada Post delivery notice card number?

Yes. Enter the 15-digit card number in Track and it shows the parcel and where to pick it up.

What does "Notice left" mean?

Canada Post couldn't deliver the parcel and took it to a post office. The card or Track names the office; you have 15 calendar days to pick it up.