India Post tracking: Speed Post numbers and statuses

India Post tracking number: what it looks like

An India Post number has 13 characters in the international postal format: two letters, nine digits and IN. The last of the nine digits is a check digit. With invented digits:

India Post's tracker follows Speed Post, registered and insured items, Business and Express Parcels, electronic money orders and International EMS. Can't find yours? See how to find a tracking number.

India Post tracking statuses explained

India Post's FAQ sums up the steps as booked, received, bagged, dispatched, out for delivery and delivered. The lines Peek knows from India Post, roughly in order:

(Otb) marks a scan by the sending post, (Inb) one by the destination's post, which India Post relays. In the copy Peek reads, India Post now often gives codes such as BAG_DISPATCH instead; Peek spells out those it knows, such as "Bag Dispatched" or "Item Presented to Customs", and shows other codes as words. More in what tracking statuses mean.

Receiving an India Post item in India

Delivery times. India Post's Speed Post standards, from booking to delivery: 1 to 2 days locally, 1 to 3 metro to metro, 1 to 4 between state capitals or within a state, and 4 to 5 to the rest of the country, plus a day where a branch office delivers. 24 Speed Post delivers the next day in six metros (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad), seven days a week; if it's late, the sender can claim the postage back online within 7 days.

SMS and OTP. For a Speed Post parcel, the registered mobile number gets an SMS when it reaches the delivery post office, and another on delivery. Some Speed Post items are handed over only against a one-time code (OTP): it's part of 24 Speed Post, and a paid extra on other Speed Post.

Missed delivery. India Post's tracker shows when a Delivery Intimation Notice was issued, telling you the item is available for delivery. See missed a delivery and uncollected parcels.

Changing the address. A sender who booked online with an India Post account can recall or redirect the item until it's delivered or assigned to a postman for delivery.

India Post parcels abroad: who delivers and customs

India Post sends EMS (International Speed Post, up to 35 kg), the International Tracked Packet for online sellers (up to 5 kg) and International Air Parcel (up to 20 kg), all tracked. Once a parcel lands, scans marked (Inb) come from your country's post: follow it there with the same IN number, on USPS, Royal Mail, An Post, Canada Post or Australia Post.

EU customs. India is outside the EU, so a parcel goes through customs in your country. Since 1 July 2026, goods bought online from outside the EU in orders up to €150 carry a €3 EU customs duty per item. Since 1 November 2026, a €2 Union handling fee per item applies as well, whatever the value. An item is the goods in a parcel that share a tariff classification, description and, where required, origin. India Post lists Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) among the extras exporters can add: ask the seller whether it was used. Elsewhere, your own country's rules apply: see parcels held at customs.

Service stops. India Post posts a notice when it suspends or resumes service to a country, such as Canada's suspension in October 2025 or the resumption for Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon in August 2026, in its News and Updates.

Coming to India. A parcel posted to you from abroad carries the sending post's number. Track it there first; India Post's FAQ warns that information from foreign postal administrations can come late.

India Post tracking not updating, lost or returned

No scan for a while. India Post says a missing scan doesn't mean the item wasn't sent: a scan can take time to show online, most often in rural areas or when it comes from a post abroad. Once a parcel going abroad shows Aircraft Departure, check your own post's tracking with the same number. See why tracking stops updating.

Lost, late or damaged. Complain once the item's service standard has passed and within 60 days of the transaction, quoting the article number; India Post's standard time to process a complaint is 90 days. Domestic Speed Post refunds its charges for a delay, and pays double the charges or ₹1,000, whichever is less, for loss, pilferage or damage. EMS goods are covered up to their value or 130 SDR, whichever is less, plus the postage, and a delay of more than 5 days beyond the published norm earns 5% of the postage. An International Tracked Packet is covered up to its value or ₹1,000, whichever is less. Bought online? Tell the shop too: see lost parcels and damaged parcels.

Delivered but not there. Complain as below, or in the complaints book every post office keeps: see delivered but not received.

Returned. When booking online, the sender can give a return address other than their own. Peek shows a return as "Returned to sender": see returned to sender.

India Post customer care number and complaints

India Post's channels, as read on 31 October 2026:

• Customer care (toll-free): 1800 266 6868. Agents answer from 8am to 8pm India time; the automated line runs 24/7, Sundays included, except gazetted holidays.
• Complaints: online through India Post's File a Complaint page, where you can follow its status, at a post office (to its postmaster or the Superintendent of Post Offices), or through the call centre. No account needed.
• Escalation: if India Post hasn't settled it in reasonable time, the government's Directorate of Public Grievances (dpg.gov.in).

India Post warns of fake links impersonating it: use only www.indiapost.gov.in, and never share an OTP or bank, card or UPI details through a link. See delivery scam texts.

Track an India Post parcel with Peek

Peek recognises two letters, nine digits and IN as India Post when the check digit is right, and shows "Detected carrier"; "Change" picks another. With a wrong check digit, it says "This number’s check digit doesn’t add up.": check the number you were given, or choose "Track it as typed". Filed under India Post, a parcel shows "Waiting for the carrier" until its first scan.

Peek doesn't read India Post's own site: it reads India Post's scans through MySpeedPost, a tracking site outside India Post's domain that fetches them from India Post. When that copy is over 30 minutes old, Peek asks MySpeedPost to refresh it, and keeps the older copy if it can't, so a scan can reach Peek late.

Peek shows each line in India Post's wording, with the office and, in India, its PIN code, and maps the office when its place is verified. A take-off shows as "Aircraft Departure", or with the flight number and both airports when India Post names the route. It files lines under its own stages: a failed attempt shows as "Delivery attempted", and a refused, damaged or lost item or an insufficient address as "Needs attention". It drops the recipient's name, address and signature, and shows no expected delivery date. Peek reads India Post's scans on India time, and those abroad on the destination's clock.

When India Post names the destination country, or names none and you track from outside India, Peek also asks a carrier it knows there with the same IN number, such as USPS, Royal Mail, Canada Post, Australia Post, DHL in Germany or La Poste in France. It switches to that carrier once it has fresh scans, keeping India Post's history. Peek knows one for most of Europe and some other countries, including NZ Post in New Zealand, but none for the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia or Sri Lanka. It doesn't ask India Post about a number another post issued: picking India Post for one shows "doesn’t issue numbers like this one".

Peek checks every 10 minutes, every 2 minutes once out for delivery, and hourly after two days without news. Alerts: "Every scan", "Important steps" or "Delivery only". If the parcel stalls while India Post has it, "Get help from India Post" opens India Post's Contact Us page. Peek can't contact India Post, your post or the shop for you.

Questions about India Post tracking

How do I track India Post Speed Post?

Enter the 13-character number ending in IN on indiapost.gov.in, or paste it into Peek, which follows it to delivery, abroad too.

Why is my India Post tracking not updating?

Scans can take time to show, especially from rural offices or posts abroad. If a parcel going abroad last shows Aircraft Departure, it has left India: check your own post's tracking with the same number.

How long does Speed Post take?

India Post's standard is 1 to 3 days metro to metro and 4 to 5 days to the rest of the country, one more day for a branch office. 24 Speed Post delivers the next day in six metros.

What is the India Post customer care number?

1800 266 6868, toll-free: agents from 8am to 8pm India time, an automated line around the clock except on gazetted holidays.