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USPS tracking: numbers, statuses and missed deliveries

7 min read

Peek is an independent tracker, not USPS. It shows what USPS’s own tracking publishes.

USPS, the U.S. Postal Service, delivers to every address in the United States, and tracking comes free with most of its domestic parcel services. Type the number into USPS Tracking on usps.com, text it to 28777 or paste it in the box above. The number comes from the sender, usually in the shop's shipping email.

Where to find your USPS tracking number

On the label it is the series of digits under the barcode. As the recipient, ask the sender: Post Offices and the Care Center can't look it up. Informed Delivery users see the numbers of incoming parcels on their dashboard. More in how to find a tracking number.

USPS numbers are 13 to 34 characters long. The ones you'll usually meet:

Shape (invented)What it is
9400 1000 0000 0000 0000 0622 digits starting 94, 95, 93, 92 or 91: the usual parcel label.
9205 5900 0000 0000 0000 0000 0226 digits starting 92.
420 12345 9400 1000 0000 0000 0000 06The full barcode as a scanner reads it: 420, your ZIP Code, then the number. The ZIP part at the start can be left out.
RR123456785USAn international postal number: 2 letters, 9 digits, US.

The barcode number on a PS Form 3849 missed-delivery notice works in USPS Tracking too.

Some shapes are shared: 22-digit numbers starting 9261 or 9361 can also be DHL eCommerce, FedEx Ground Economy numbers can be written with 92 in front, and 20-digit numbers fit other carriers too. If USPS knows nothing, check which carrier the shop's email names. See tracking number formats.

What USPS tracking statuses mean

USPS writes its tracking in English. These are the steps a parcel usually shows, in order:

USPS statusWhat it means for you
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting ItemThe sender made a label; USPS doesn't have the parcel yet. Questions go to the shop.
Picked Up by Shipping Partner, USPS Awaiting ItemA shipping partner has it and will hand it to USPS. The delivery date comes once USPS receives it.
USPS in Possession of ItemUSPS has received or picked it up. Nothing to do.
Arrived at USPS FacilityBeing sorted or moved towards your Post Office. It can repeat, from the same place or on different days.
Arrived at Post OfficeAt your Post Office, being prepared for delivery: today or the next postal business day.
Out for DeliveryA carrier will bring it today, maybe not your usual one and maybe later than your mail.
DeliveredDelivered, with a recorded date, time and place.
Delivery Status Not UpdatedNo delivery scan by 9 p.m. local time on the out-for-delivery day; USPS now expects it the next business day.
No Access to Delivery LocationThe carrier couldn't reach your mailbox or door. USPS tries again automatically the next business day.
Notice Left (No Authorized Recipient Available)A signature was needed and no one was in. A notice was left; there's no automatic second attempt.
Available for PickupIt can't be delivered: pick it up at your Post Office from the next business day.
AlertA delay, for example from weather or another event.

Available for Pickup sounds like an option, but USPS says no redelivery can be booked for it: you go and get it, with photo ID. Notice Left (No Secure Location Available) works like the signature notice: no second attempt by itself. Insufficient Address and No Such Number mean it is going back to the sender, who must send it again with new postage.

Missed delivery: redelivery, Post Office pickup and lockers

After a failed attempt the carrier leaves PS Form 3849, a peach notice saying why. Your options:

  • Redelivery, free, at usps.com/redelivery, in USPS Tracking, by the notice's QR code, by phone, or by signing the notice and leaving it in your mailbox. You get one request, to the original address, before the return date; you can't pick a time. Online requests by 2 a.m. CST, Monday to Saturday, can come the same day. It isn't offered everywhere.
  • Pickup at the Post Office on the notice, with photo ID and the notice. Someone else can go with your written permission and their own ID. USPS Tracking shows that Post Office's address and hours.
  • Return to sender, if you don't want it.

How long it waits: for most tracked parcels, including Priority Mail and Ground Advantage, a final notice comes after 5 days and the parcel goes back after 15. Priority Mail Express goes back 5 days after the first attempt. Most parcels from abroad wait 30 days.

A parcel sent to a USPS Smart Locker waits there 5 days, then 10 more at the counter.

USPS package delayed, lost or not received

First check USPS's own delivery standards: Priority Mail takes 2 to 3 business days, Ground Advantage 2 to 5, Parcel Select 2 to 8, and only Priority Mail Express is guaranteed. Deliveries should be made by 5 p.m. local time, Monday to Saturday.

If Out for Delivery, Arrived at Post Office or Delivery Status Not Updated hasn't moved for a full postal business day, send a service request through USPS's package inquiry form. Do the same if it says Delivered and, more than a business day later, it isn't on the porch, in the mailbox or garage, or with your household or building management. More in delivered but not received.

From 7 days after mailing, sender or recipient can start a Missing Mail search with addresses, a description and photos.

Claims cover insured mail only. The sender or the recipient may file one, but whoever files needs the original mailing receipt. Damage must be claimed within 60 days of mailing; for loss, from 15 days (7 for Priority Mail Express) up to 60. Keep the box and contents until it's settled.

USPS customer service phone number

Read on usps.com on 13 October 2026:

  • 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777), Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET, Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET; automated information around the clock.
  • 1-800-222-1811 for other tracking issues, same hours. USPS notes its agents see the same tracking you do.
  • Email Customer Service form and a chat for USPS.com problems, on the Contact Us page.
  • Relay service by dialling 7-1-1.

Tracking USPS parcels with Peek

Peek names USPS at once for 22-digit labels that pass USPS's check, most 26-digit 92 numbers and scanned 420 barcodes, whose ZIP it removes. For shared shapes (9261 and 9361 numbers, 20 digits, postal numbers ending US) Peek first asks the other likely carriers and tracking services and opens USPS's page last, so the answer can take a moment. Links from usps.com work too.

Peek opens USPS's tracking page in a browser on its own server. That is slower, and USPS can refuse it; tracking services then fill in, though they don't always hold USPS's history. Peek shows the status, each scan on a map, timed in the state where it happened, and the expected delivery day, and can notify you at every scan, at important steps or on delivery day only. It drops the signatory and delivery instructions.

Statuses stay in USPS's English; delivered scans read "Delivered". Arrived at Post Office and Available for Pickup show as out for delivery, so read USPS's wording. When UPS or FedEx hand a parcel to USPS, or a parcel from abroad reaches the US, Peek can follow it on USPS once USPS shows progress. Redelivery and Informed Delivery stay on usps.com.

Questions about USPS tracking

Why does USPS say "Tracking Not Available"?

USPS shows it for a number it doesn't know or no longer keeps. Check the digits; USPS keeps most tracking for 120 days.

Does USPS deliver on Sundays?

Only Priority Mail Express and Amazon parcels, says USPS. Everything else comes Monday to Saturday.

Is a USPS text about my package a scam?

Usually, if you didn't ask for it. Real USPS texts come only after you've signed up with a tracking number and never carry a link.

Does USPS tracking show an exact delivery time?

No. It may give an expected delivery window of 2 hours, which isn't guaranteed, and USPS can't say when a carrier will reach your door.

Sources