postalref

USPS extra services

USPS extra services add proof or protection to mail for a fee: Certified Mail proves delivery, signature services control who signs, and insurance covers loss. Return Receipt sends the sender the signature, Registered Mail tracks a piece by receipts, and other services collect payment or hold a package for pickup.

Updated November 5, 202659 sources

Questions

How do I file a USPS insurance claim for a lost package?

File a domestic USPS insurance claim online at usps.com/help/claims.htm with an uploaded proof of value, or by mail on PS Form 1000. A lost insured or Registered Mail piece is claimed no sooner than 15 days and no later than 60 days after mailing, or from 7 days for Priority Mail Express. To qualify, the piece needs a USPS processing scan after its electronic acceptance scan, or proof of insurance, which the customer keeps until the claim is resolved.

Does USPS Certified Mail need to be signed for?

Yes: the recipient of Certified Mail signs a delivery receipt, PS Form 3849 or a sign-on screen, and USPS keeps the signature on record. A sender who wants a copy of that signature adds Return Receipt or Electronic Return Receipt to the Certified Mail.

Can the post office hold a package for pickup?

Yes: Hold For Pickup holds a package at a designated Post Office for the addressee or a designee to pick up. When the package arrives, USPS sends an email or text message, if it has contact details. An unclaimed package goes back to the sender after 15 days, or 5 days for Priority Mail Express, as package tracking describes.

Does USPS Certified Mail have a tracking number?

Yes: the article number on the Certified Mail receipt tracks the piece at usps.com or by telephone at 1-800-222-1811. That receipt is the bottom part of PS Form 3800, the green Certified Mail form, which the clerk stamps and returns at mailing. Mailers who send USPS an electronic manifest also get the status by bulk file transfer, one of the channels in package tracking.

What is USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt?

Certified Mail with Return Receipt is Certified Mail, with its mailing receipt and tracking history, plus Return Receipt, which sends the sender the recipient's signature. The paper return receipt is PS Form 3811, the green card, which the recipient signs at delivery and USPS mails back by First-Class Mail. Electronic Return Receipt sends the same proof as a PDF letter by email instead.

Can you send USPS Return Receipt to a PO Box?

Yes: a PO Box customer may receive any mail properly addressed to the box number, including a piece sent with Return Receipt. Unless an electronic signature is used, USPS hands over the piece only after the recipient signs and prints their name on its form or label. A Competitive PO Box customer, in the service area of a competing mailbox provider, can agree to keep a signature on file for Priority Mail Express, Signature Confirmation and mail insured over $500.

What is USPS Adult Signature Restricted Delivery?

Adult Signature Restricted Delivery is an extra service that requires the signature of the addressee or a designee who is 21 or older. Adult Signature Required, the other option, accepts the signature of anyone 21 or older. Either option requires the signer to show government-issued photo identification.

What is the difference between USPS Registered Mail and Certified Mail?

Registered Mail is the most secure USPS service, tracked by receipts from acceptance to delivery, while Certified Mail travels as ordinary mail with no insurance. Registered Mail also pays for loss or damage, and the mailer must declare the article's full value when presenting it. Certified Mail gives the sender a mailing receipt, and USPS keeps a delivery record with the recipient's signature.

Does USPS Certified Mail require a special envelope?

No: the sender attaches PS Form 3800 to the front of its own envelope, folding the form's green strip over the top. A mailer whose shipping labels bear an IMpb must also affix Certified Mail's color-coded label, which has no barcode. Large mail service providers may be able to buy pre-approved green envelopes.

How it fits together

Extra services give packages more security and accountability, convenience for the sender, or special handling. Each extra service adds something to a piece of a mail class, and its fee is added to the required postage. A Certificate of Mailing shows that a piece was presented to USPS for mailing, but it gives no record of delivery. Certified Mail adds a mailing receipt, tracking history and proof of delivery on request. Return Receipt then sends the sender the recipient's signature.

Signature Confirmation records the date and time of delivery, and USPS keeps the signature. Adult Signature requires a signer 21 or older, and Restricted Delivery limits delivery to the addressee or an authorized agent.

Insurance pays for a lost or damaged article, and Registered Mail tracks a piece with receipts from acceptance to delivery. Collect on Delivery has USPS collect an article's price and postage from the recipient.

Hold For Pickup keeps a package at a Post Office, and a handling fee applies to live animals and perishable items. In a package's barcode, the service type code stands for the mail class with its extra services. The Shipping Services File, the electronic file with a shipment's manifest and payment information, lists each extra service by a three-digit code.

Proof of mailing and delivery

A Certificate of Mailing proves only that a piece was presented for mailing, while Certified Mail and Return Receipt prove delivery.

ServiceWhat the sender gets
Certificate of MailingEvidence that the mail was presented to USPS, and no record of delivery
Certified MailA mailing receipt, tracking history and, on request, verification of delivery or a delivery attempt
Return ReceiptWho received the piece, the date of delivery, and the actual delivery address
Electronic Return ReceiptThe same evidence as a PDF letter by email, with a copy of the signature

Certified Mail is open only to mail paid at First-Class Mail or Priority Mail prices. USPS handles it in transit as ordinary mail, and it includes no insurance. Its evidence of acceptance and delivery is admissible in court. Each piece bears PS Form 3800: its barcoded label goes on the piece, and the sender and the Post Office fill in its receipt. As of July 12, 2026, Certified Mail costs $5.55 a piece, or $14.35 with Restricted Delivery or Adult Signature, on top of postage.

Return Receipt is sold at the time of mailing, and it needs another service on the same piece, such as Certified Mail, Collect on Delivery or Registered Mail. The paper version is PS Form 3811: the sender attaches it to the piece, and the recipient signs it at delivery. Electronic Return Receipt sends the proof by email instead, and USPS keeps the record for two years from the date of mailing. As of July 12, 2026, Return Receipt adds $4.65 for the original signature on paper, or $2.91 for an electronic copy.

Electronic Return Receipt is sold only at the time of mailing. The Bulk Proof of Delivery Program gives mailers the signature records for their pieces without a request for each one. With Certified Mail, Registered Mail or Collect on Delivery, a mailer joins by buying Electronic Return Receipt on labels with its Mailer ID. Adult Signature and the electronic option of Signature Confirmation qualify on their own.

Must
The name and address of the person or organization to which the return receipt is to be returned must be that of the mailer or the mailer’s agent.

A return receipt must be addressed back to the mailer or to the mailer's agent.

Certified Mail with a paper return receipt, sent from a Post Office.

  1. Get PS Form 3800 and PS Form 3811, the green card, from the window clerk.
  2. Fill out PS Form 3800.
  3. Fill out both sides of PS Form 3811.
  4. Peel the tracking number label off PS Form 3800 and stick it in box 2 of PS Form 3811.
  5. Attach PS Form 3800 to the front of the envelope, folding its green strip over the top.
  6. Attach PS Form 3811 to the back of the envelope.
  7. Meter the envelope or pay at the counter, and keep the stamped bottom part of PS Form 3800.
  8. Track the piece by entering its tracking number on the USPS website.
  9. After delivery, someone at the address signs PS Form 3811, and it comes back by First-Class Mail.

A paper Return Receipt has a tracking number of its own, and USPS links it to the piece's tracking number at acceptance. The piece's tracking then shows Return Receipt Associated.

The tracking event for a piece sent with a paper Return Receipt.

PTR Domestic Scan Event GC

USPS.com wording
Return Receipt Associated
Status category
Pre-Shipment
What it means
The sender of the package has purchased Return Receipt Service, PS Form 3811 (Hard Copy Green Card). This event indicates that the tracking number for the host item and its Return Receipt tracking number have been associated during the acceptance process.

PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026.

e-Certify is a tool for creating, tracking and managing Certified Mail without filling out forms by hand. Its return receipt is electronic, and the sender downloads it from e-Certify after delivery.

Certified Mail with an electronic return receipt, sent through e-Certify.

  1. Create the piece: choose a mailing profile, enter the recipient address and select a page count.
  2. Print the piece's banner page and put it in a window envelope with the item.
  3. Submit the piece to USPS in e-Certify, then enter it into the mailstream.
  4. Track the piece from e-Certify's Piece Search page.
  5. After delivery, view and download the electronic return receipt from the Piece Search page.

Certified Mail

Also called Certified Mail service

“an extra service that provides the sender with a mailing receipt, tracking history, and, upon request, electronic verification that a mail piece was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made.”

PS Form 3800

“The hardcopy form used for sending certified mail is PS Form 3800.”

Certified Mail receipt

“the detachable portion of PS Form 3800 that must be completed by the mail owner and the origin Post Office.”

Certified Mail barcoded label

“the detachable portion of PS Form 3800 that affixes to a mailpiece.”

Return Receipt

Also called Return receipt service, Return Receipt extra service

“A Return Receipt may be requested only at the time of mailing and provides a mailer with evidence that a mailpiece has been received at the delivery address, including an original (hardcopy) or electronic copy of the recipient’s signature.”

Electronic Return Receipt

Also called Return Receipt (Electronic)

“does everything the hardcopy Return Receipt does but is electronic.”

Signatures and restricted delivery

Signature Confirmation gives the mailer the date and time of delivery, or of a failed attempt, and USPS keeps a delivery record with the signature. It also gives end-to-end tracking updates as the piece travels. It includes no insurance, though insurance can be bought with it. Some laws on documents with legal significance may require Certified Mail or Registered Mail instead.

Signature Confirmation is sold only at the time of mailing: online, at a Post Office or self-service kiosk, or by handing the piece to a rural carrier. No acceptance record is kept at the office of mailing. As of July 12, 2026, it costs $4.15 with the electronic option or $5.15 at retail.

The retail option is bought at a Post Office and comes with a mailing receipt. The electronic option is for mailers with an electronic link to USPS for acceptance and delivery data, and it gives no mailing receipt. For Media Mail, Library Mail, Bound Printed Matter and Parcel Select pieces, each piece takes one of four labels, by where and how the service is bought.

How it is boughtLabel
A retail counter that runs Retail Systems SoftwareA label printed at the counter, with the postage and barcodes holding the service type code, and a receipt
A Post Office without that software, retail option onlyPS Form 153, free from the Post Office
The electronic optionLabel 889, Electronic Signature Confirmation
A mailer that prints its ownA privately printed barcoded label

On those pieces, the barcoded section of Label 889 or PS Form 153 must sit wholly on the address side.

Adult Signature and the restricted delivery services narrow who may sign. Each adds a fee to postage, and the table gives the fees as of July 12, 2026.

ServiceWho may signFee
Adult Signature RequiredAnyone 21 or older$9.70
Adult Signature Restricted DeliveryThe addressee or a designee, 21 or older$10.00
Restricted DeliveryThe addressee, who must be a person named on the piece, or the addressee's authorized agent$8.80 added to insurance, Registered Mail or Collect on Delivery; in Certified Mail's $14.35 price
Signature Confirmation Restricted DeliveryThe recipient, who must be a person named on the piece, or the recipient's authorized agent$8.80 added to Signature Confirmation

Adult Signature is sold only to commercial and online customers, for package classes such as Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage. After delivery, the mailer gets the date, time, name and signature of the recipient. Certified Mail Restricted Delivery sends Certified Mail only to the addressee or an authorized agent. With Certified Mail Adult Signature Restricted Delivery, a piece goes back to the sender when the named addressee is under 21.

Electronic Signature Online lets the Informed Delivery account holder at an address use a signature given earlier. That signature allows delivery of Priority Mail Express, Signature Confirmation items and items insured over $500. A mailer opts out of it by entering 3 in the Shipping Services File's waiver of signature field.

Must
The person signing for the package must show government-issued photo identification.

Whoever signs for an Adult Signature package must show a government-issued photo ID.

Signature Confirmation

Also called Signature Confirmation service

“Signature Confirmation service provides mailers of USPS Ground Advantage, Package Services, Parcel Select, and Priority Mail pieces with a record of delivery, the recipient’s signature, and end-to-end tracking updates as the item travels to its destination.”

Signature Confirmation Restricted Delivery

Also called SCRD

“permits a mailer to direct delivery only to the recipient or recipient’s authorized agent.”

Adult Signature

“A Competitive Ancillary Service that requires the recipient of the mailpiece to be 21 years of age or older. The service has two options: (a) Adult Signature Required, in which anyone 21 years of age or older at the delivery address may sign for the mailpiece; and (b) Adult Signature Restricted Delivery, which requires the signature of the addressee or an authorized agent of the addressee, either of which is 21 years of age or older.”

Adult Signature Required

“Adult Signature Required requires the signature of anyone 21 years of age or older.”

Adult Signature Restricted Delivery

Also called ASRD, RAS, Restricted Adult Signature

“requires the signature of the addressee or designee, 21 years of age or older.”

Restricted Delivery

“A Special Service that enables a mailer to direct delivery of an item only to the addressee or addressee’s authorized agent.”

Certified Mail Restricted Delivery

Also called CMRD

“allows the mailer to direct delivery of certified mail only to the addressee or an authorized agent.”

Certified Mail Adult Signature Required

“allows the mailer to direct delivery of certified mail only to an adult (an individual who is 21 years of age or older).”

Certified Mail Adult Signature Restricted Delivery

“allows the direct delivery of certified mail only to a specific addressee or authorized agent who is 21 years of age or older.”

Electronic Signature Online

Also called eSOL, USPS Electronic Signature Online, Electronic Signature Online (eSOL) service

“service allows customers to use a previously provided electronic signature to allow delivery of items for which the sender chose Priority Mail Express®, Signature Confirmation™, or Insurance over $500”

Insurance, Registered Mail and Collect on Delivery

Insurance, which USPS forms call Insured Mail, pays for a lost or damaged article, subject to its standards and fee. Retail insurance covers up to $5,000, and some Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage items include $100 automatically. Priority Mail Express also includes $100 of coverage, and more can be bought up to $5,000. Above $500, USPS keeps a delivery record with the recipient's signature.

USPS pays no claim for a loss or damage that happens after it delivers the piece. Nor does it pay for a loss after the addressee, the addressee's agent or an authorized delivery employee signs for the piece.

Except by Registered Mail, USPS pays at most $15.00 for currency, bullion or negotiable items, the instruments that convert to cash without forgery. Stamps and coins with collector value are paid at the fair market value a recognized stamp or coin dealer or collectors' trade papers set. A claim for a collectible item needs a sales receipt, paid invoice, bill of sale or a reputable dealer's statement of value.

As of July 12, 2026, insurance costs $2.80 for coverage up to $50, rising to $9.05 for coverage from $500.01 to $600. From $600.01 to $5,000, each $100 or part of $100 above $600 adds $1.50 to the $9.05.

Insured mail bears PS Form 3813 or PS Form 3813-P, unless it is Priority Mail with insurance included. A claim qualifies only after a USPS processing scan follows the electronic acceptance scan, or with proof of insurance. USPS prefers that claims for insured mail, Collect on Delivery, Registered Mail with postal insurance and Priority Mail Express be filed online at usps.com/help/claims.htm.

A claim for damaged or missing contents should be filed at once, and it must be filed within 60 days of mailing. A lost insured, Registered Mail or Collect on Delivery piece is claimed no sooner than 15 days and no later than 60 days after mailing. A lost Priority Mail Express piece is claimed from 7 to 60 days after mailing.

An online claim needs an uploaded proof of value. The customer keeps the proof of insurance until the claim is resolved. If USPS asks in writing, the customer brings proof of damage to a local Post Office. For a claim by mail, the customer gets PS Form 1000 by calling 1-800-332-0317, option 9, and mails it with proof of value. USPS Accounting Services decides every claim, and a denied claim can be appealed within 30 days of the decision.

For an international piece, the U.S. sender first reports the loss or damage to USPS's International Research Group at 800-222-1811. The group sends the sender a claim packet when its investigation finds a claim is due.

Registered Mail is the most secure USPS service: a system of receipts tracks the piece from acceptance to delivery. It also pays for loss or damage, and the Post Office of address keeps the delivery record. It pays up to the article's actual value at mailing, at most $50,000, even when the declared value is higher. It is entered at a Post Office, station or branch, and it bears a red Label 200.

As of July 12, 2026, Registered Mail costs $20.90 with no declared value, rising with the value to $40.50 at $5,000. From $5,000.01 to $50,000, each further $1,000 or part of $1,000 adds $3.10. Above $50,000, the fee is $180.00.

Must
Regardless of any insurance that may cover the article; the mailer must always declare its full value to the USPS when presenting it for registration and mailing.

A mailer must declare an article's full value when registering it, even if insurance also covers it.

Collect on Delivery lets a mailer send an article it has not been paid for, and USPS collects the price and postage from the recipient. The recipient pays by cash, personal check or money order, and the amount collected may not exceed $1,000. The mailer may not demand one method of payment on the label. USPS forwards a check or money order to the mailer. Each piece bears PS Form 3816, and a single label can carry both Collect on Delivery and Hold For Pickup.

insurance

Also called Insured Mail

“A Special Service that provides indemnity coverage for a lost or damaged article, subject to the standards for the service and payment of the applicable fee (in addition to postage).”

Priority Mail Express Merchandise Insurance

Also called Priority Mail Express Insurance, Express Mail Merchandise Insurance

“Merchandise insurance coverage for Priority Mail Express is provided against loss, damage or missing contents and is limited to a maximum liability of $100. Additional insurance may be purchased up to a maximum coverage of $5,000.”

Registered Mail

Also called RM

“Registered Mail service is the most secure service that the Postal Service offers. It utilizes a system of receipts to monitor the movement of the mail from the point of acceptance to the point of delivery.”

Collect on Delivery

Also called COD

“A Special Service for mailers who need to mail an article for which they have not received payment from the addressee. The amount due the mailer sending the article is collected from the addressee either in cash or by a personal check, and USPS returns the amount due to the mailer. The fee for mailing COD articles is in addition to postage.”

Pickup, tracking and handling fees

Hold For Pickup holds a package at a designated Post Office for the addressee or a designee. Its retail option is for Priority Mail Express at the time of mailing. Its electronic option needs an electronic link with USPS for acceptance and delivery data, except for Priority Mail Express. An unclaimed package goes back to the sender after 15 days, or 5 days for Priority Mail Express.

USPS Tracking, with a retail and an electronic option, gives the mailer the date, time and ZIP Code of delivery. It was called Delivery Confirmation until USPS renamed it USPS Tracking. The electronic option needs a testing and certification process, which package payment covers.

Open and Distribute moves a container of other mail to a delivery unit or processing facility, where USPS opens it and processes the pieces by class. Priority Mail Open and Distribute carries the container as Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express Open and Distribute as Priority Mail Express.

The Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee applies to all live animals and perishable items, such as fruit or meat. It applies to Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage, and it is nonrefundable once the item enters the network.

Cremated remains travel within the United States only by Priority Mail Express, in USPS cremated remains packaging. Additional insurance and Return Receipt are the only extra services allowed with them. A Shipping Services File for them must carry the cremated remains extra service code.

Hold for Pickup

Also called HFP, HFPU

“service allows packages to be held at a designated Post Office to be picked up by a specified addressee or designee.”

USPS Tracking

“USPS Tracking consists of 2 options: Electronic Service and Retail Service. With both options, mailers receive information about the delivery status of Priority Mail® service or Package Services, including the date, time, and ZIP Code™ of delivery.”

Open and Distribute

“A bulk shipment in a single container such as a sack or tray box that contains individually addressed pieces that is processed for distribution at the destination facility receiving and opening the container.”

Priority Mail Open and Distribute

Also called PMOD, Priority Mail Open & Distribute, PMOD service

“allows mailers to expedite the transportation of other classes of mail to delivery units and mail processing facilities using Priority Mail.”

Priority Mail Express Open and Distribute

Also called PMEOD, Priority Mail Express Open & Distribute

“allows mailers to expedite the transportation of other classes of mail to delivery units and mail processing facilities using Priority Mail Express.”

Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee

Also called Live and Perishable Handling Fee

“The Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee is a fee assessed on all live animals and perishable items (e.g., fruit, meat) entered at retail and commercial rates for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, and USPS Ground Advantage.”

Extra service codes

Packages with extra services, and letters and flats with them, must carry an Intelligent Mail package barcode. Its three-digit service type code, one of the fields package labels explains, stands for both the mail class and the extra services. The Shipping Services File names each extra service by its extra service code, with a field for its fee.

The extra service codes for the services in this guide.

Extra Service Codes, Pub 199 Appendix J Table 7
CodeExtra service
415USPS Label Delivery
430Open and Distribute
853Perishable Material
856Live Animals Transportation Fee
858Cremated Remains
859Cremated Remains International
910Certified Mail TM
911Certified Mail Restricted Delivery
912Certified Mail Adult Signature Required
913Certified Mail Adult Signature Restricted Delivery

1 to 10 of 29 codes in the Extra Service Codes, Pub 199 Appendix J Table 7, where Code is 415 or 430 or 853 or 856 or 858 or 859 or 910 or 911 or 912 or 913 or 915 or 917 or 920 or 921 or 922 or 923 or 924 or 925 or 930 or 931 or 934 or 940 or 941 or 955 or 957 or 972 or 981 or 985 or 986.

One service type code that stands for Priority Mail with Certified Mail and Return Receipt.

IMpb Service Type Code List 027

Description
Priority Mail: Certified Mail Return Receipt
Mail class
PM
Banner text
USPS CERTIFIED MAIL™
Extra service codes
910, 955

IMpb Service Type Code List, Appendix I.

A package label shows the banner USPS TRACKING #, or USPS SIGNATURE TRACKING # when delivery needs a signature. Certified Mail, Registered Mail and Adult Signature labels keep their own banners instead. Hazardous materials have extra service codes of their own, which mailability covers.

Must
Additionally, the IMpb on the package must also correspond with electronic package level details and Extra Services Code(s) contained within the Shipping Services File (SSF).

The barcode on a package must match the package's details and extra service codes in the Shipping Services File.

What goes wrong

  • Certified Mail with an Adult Signature service cannot take Electronic Return Receipt, only the paper PS Form 3811.
  • Some laws on documents with legal significance may require Certified Mail or Registered Mail, not Signature Confirmation.
  • A Certified Mail Adult Signature Restricted Delivery piece goes back to the sender when the addressee is under 21.
  • An insured piece qualifies for a claim only after a USPS processing scan follows its electronic acceptance scan, or with proof of insurance.
  • USPS cannot step into a Collect on Delivery dispute once its records show the payment went back to the mailer.
  • A Hold For Pickup package left unclaimed goes back to the sender after 15 days, or 5 days for Priority Mail Express.
  • A Shipping Services File that leaves out code 972 for a live animal or perishable item gets the message EXTRA SRVC CODE 972 REQUIRED FOR ANIMAL/PERISHABLE HANDLING.
  • A barcoded address label and a barcoded extra service label on one piece must carry matching barcodes.
  • A privately printed PS Form 3800 needs USPS authorization before use.
  • A noncompliant legacy version of an extra service form, such as PS Form 153 or PS Form 3800, draws the Package Quality Noncompliance Fee.

Index: 43 entries

Extra services (28)

Services (3)

File (1)

Identifiers (2)

Documents (6)

Terms (3)

Sources