What time do parcels get delivered? Carrier by carrier

What time does each carrier deliver until?

Two things the table can't show:

• USPS says traffic, staffing or weather can push deliveries past 5 p.m., and that "delivery times are not guaranteed". A package may also come on a different vehicle from your letters, later in the day.
• Amazon's drivers knock, ring or call only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the US, and 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the UK and Ireland, unless the delivery is scheduled or has to be handed to you.

Do parcels get delivered on Saturday and Sunday?

Saturday is a normal working day for USPS, UPS, FedEx (to homes), Amazon, Royal Mail, Evri and InPost.

Sunday is the exception, and each "some" in the table comes with conditions:

• UPS: one of its pages says no Sunday deliveries, another says "in select areas". Don't count on it.
• Royal Mail: only Tracked 24 and Special Delivery Guaranteed parcels bought through Click & Drop or a business account, not in every postcode, and never for anything posted at a Post Office.
• USPS: Priority Mail Express can come on a Sunday or holiday in many large cities, for a fee the sender pays.
• Couriers: Evri rarely delivers on a Sunday, InPost only in busy periods, and DPD UK only as a Predict upgrade.

So a weekend delivery depends on what the sender bought, and you can rarely add it yourself. The exceptions: your Amazon address book can say whether an address takes weekend deliveries, and DPD UK's Predict can offer the upgrade.

What is a delivery window, and which carriers give one?

It's the time span in which the carrier expects to reach you, worked out from the driver's route. You don't pick it: you're told it, usually on the day.

USPS, Canada Post and An Post describe no window on their help pages: expect a day, not an hour.

A window is an estimate: Amazon says parcels "can arrive before or after" it. You usually can't move it either ("an ETA can't be changed", says Evri), though Evri lets you pick a neighbour or a safe place instead, and DPD also another day.

If you want a set time, you pay for it. UPS My Choice sells a confirmed 2-hour window ($14.99 for free members), and FedEx Delivery Manager an evening slot from 5 to 8 p.m. for $5.55. On Peek, a window the carrier gives can be added to your calendar.

Why is my parcel still out for delivery at 8 p.m.?

Because your address isn't the only stop. Out for delivery means the parcel is on today's van, and whether you're stop 15 or stop 115 on the route decides the hour. Canada Post says times vary with the day's volume and changes to the route, and USPS says it can't tell you when a carrier will reach a given address.

1. DepotSorted and loaded onto the van.
2. Out for deliveryFrom the first stop to the last, all day long.
3. Your doorAny time up to the carrier's latest hour.

The latest normal times are 8 p.m. for FedEx, Evri and Canada Post, 9 p.m. for InPost UK and Purolator, and 10 p.m. for Amazon. An Amazon driver knocking at 8.45 p.m. in the UK or Ireland is having a normal day. For what each status means along the way, see tracking statuses explained.

Sometimes the round isn't finished: DHL in Germany names a driver falling ill or running out of working time, road closures and accidents. The parcel then usually goes out again the next working day, and the tracking says so:

• USPS: if no delivery is recorded by 9 p.m., the status becomes Awaiting Delivery Scan and delivery is expected the next business day.
• Canada Post: after an attempt that didn't work, Delivery Attempt Made / Rescheduled for delivery next business day; it normally tries again the next business day.

Out for delivery and nothing came: what now?

Calling that evening rarely helps: DHL, for one, says you can't reach its drivers directly, and the next try is usually the next working day.

1. 1Check the hourBefore the carrier's latest time, late is still normal.
2. 2Read the trackingLook for a window, stops left or a missed delivery notice.
3. 3Wait a working dayGive the next round its chance.
4. 4Then askContact the sender or carrier once its waiting time has passed.

USPS asks you to wait one full postal business day after Out for Delivery before sending your local Post Office a service request. Canada Post says most parcels arrive within 5 business days of the expected date; after that you can ask for an investigation.

A card saying the driver came while you were out? See missed delivery. No new scan for days? See why tracking stops updating.

Peek checks every 2 minutes once a parcel is out for delivery with the carriers it reads directly, and can notify you on delivery day only, so you can stop refreshing.

Do parcels get delivered on bank holidays?

Usually not. Royal Mail doesn't deliver on UK bank holidays, Canada Post on statutory holidays, and UPS on "UPS holidays". Australia Post stops all deliveries on national public holidays, and local ones on state and local holidays.

Holidays don't count towards delivery times either: a "3 business days" estimate skips them. Before Christmas, Royal Mail parcels can come as late as 6 p.m.; for the deadlines, see the last posting dates.

Can I collect my parcel outside delivery hours?

Yes, if it goes to a locker or a shop:

• Evri lockers are open "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", and almost all its ParcelShops 7 days a week.
• Australia Post has more than 1,500 Parcel Lockers open 24/7.
• UPS can send it to an Access Point ($5.99 for My Choice free members), FedEx to a retail location for free, and DPD to a Pickup Shop.

One catch: a locker you can open at any hour is only filled on delivery days, so nothing lands in it on a day the carrier doesn't work. To send a parcel somewhere else once it has left, see changing the delivery address.