postalref

Package tracking, scan events and proof of delivery

USPS reports where a package is through scan events, which Product Tracking and Reporting stores from acceptance to delivery and the USPS Tracking website shows. Shippers also get the events by API, webhook or file, can stop or redirect a package in transit, and can get proof of delivery.

Updated November 6, 202675 sources

Questions

How do I track a USPS package with a tracking number?

Enter the tracking number on the USPS Tracking website or in the USPS mobile app, which show the package's scan events. Software can send the tracking number to the USPS Tracking API instead and get back updates such as location and status. First-Class Package International Service items to select countries get Electronic USPS Delivery Confirmation International, tracking at no charge that shows when delivery happened or was attempted.

What does USPS tracking status mean?

A tracking status is the category USPS.com gives each scan event, such as Accepted or Delivered, beside a line that says what happened. The April 2026 scan event list for PTR2, the modernized USPS tracking platform, uses categories such as these:

  • USPS Awaiting Item
  • Accepted
  • On the Way
  • Preparing for Delivery
  • Out for Delivery
  • Delivery Attempt: Action Needed
  • Available for Pickup
  • Delivered
  • Delivered to Agent
  • Alert

The October 2026 list for the original platform, PTR, calls the first Pre-Shipment and the third In Transit.

What does USPS shipping label created mean?

It means a shipper has created an address label and tracking barcode for the package, and USPS does not have it yet. A manifest event means USPS has received the shipper's electronic manifest, which shows only that the shipper intends to hand over the package. Once USPS receives the package, tracking updates and shows an expected delivery date.

What does alert status mean on USPS tracking?

Alert is one of the USPS.com status categories, given to events such as a refusal, an intercept, a weather delay or a tracking number known to be used in scams. Some alerts ask the shipper to act, such as picking up a damaged package.

Does USPS mark delivered before delivery?

A Delivered scan should be made only when a package is left at the delivery address, but audits have found packages scanned as delivered while still at the station. A March 2016 USPS Office of Inspector General report found 10,181 such packages at 30 Chicago delivery units from October 2014 through July 2015. Its February 2021 audit of four Chicago stations found a Delivered scan on 150 of 345 packages sampled there.

How does USPS Package Intercept work?

Package Intercept has USPS stop a package before it goes out for delivery and redirect it, at the online request of the sender or an authorized representative. Retail customers can have it returned to the sender or held at a Post Office; commercial customers can also send it to a new address. A request stays active for 7 business days, interception is not guaranteed, and the fee is $19.45 a piece as of July 12, 2026.

How do I get proof of delivery from USPS?

Request it on the USPS Tracking website, where individual customers check delivery status and ask for proof of delivery when it applies. For Priority Mail Express, Signature Confirmation and Adult Signature pieces, USPS also takes requests at 800-222-1811 and sends a letter by email, fax or mail. Signed records for self-printed Adult Signature, Signature Confirmation and Electronic Return Receipt pieces can also come in bulk through the Bulk Proof of Delivery Program.

What does USPS Tracking Plus do?

USPS Tracking Plus keeps a package's scan data, or its scan and signature data, past USPS's standard retention period for 6 months to 10 years. Customers pay a fee and request it online at USPS.com or in a Shipping Services File. Keeping signatures on products other than Priority Mail Express also takes a signature service, such as Signature Confirmation. It is available for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, Parcel Select, Library Mail, Media Mail and Bound Printed Matter. First-Class Mail letters and flats and USPS Marketing Mail parcels, nonprofit ones included, can have it when bought with a trackable extra service.

How it fits together

Product Tracking and Reporting, or PTR, is the USPS database that stores tracking scan data for all barcoded packages and extra services products. Its scan events run from acceptance all the way to delivery. They come from business mailers' files and from USPS's own scanners, equipment and other systems. Each event has a code that gives the purpose of the scan, such as acceptance or delivery. Letters, flats and their containers get near real-time tracking from Informed Visibility Mail Tracking & Reporting, part of mail tracking.

A shipper sends PTR a Shipping Services File, the electronic file with its manifest and payment information. USPS sends back a scan event extract file and a Confirmation/Error/Warning file. The events reach people on the USPS Tracking website, in the USPS mobile app and through the USPS Tracking API, one of the shipping APIs. PTR also sends them by webhook and as email and text notifications.

While a package travels, Package Intercept lets the sender or an authorized representative have it redirected, for a fee. Hold For Pickup keeps a package at a Post Office, and USPS emails or texts the recipient when it arrives. Phone Provider Format–Hold For Pickup Notifications is a USPS chart of the text-message address format for each known phone provider. Since April 18, 2023, the Shipping Services File takes the recipient's text-message number without the carrier URL, the provider's part after the @. When a delivery fails, the carrier leaves a notice with options for pickup or redelivery.

After delivery, USPS keeps a record of it, with the recipient's signature, for a set period. The Bulk Proof of Delivery Program sends signed records in bulk, and USPS Tracking Plus keeps scan data longer than usual. USPS is moving PTR to a modernized platform, PTR2, and runs the two in parallel until customers migrate.

Scan events

USPS lists each domestic scan event with its code, the words USPS.com shows, and a status category such as Delivered or Alert. The list, PTR Domestic Scan Events and Descriptions, is a separate document on PostalPro, and PTR2 has its own.

An event that starts the clock records when a package enters the mailstream, and one that stops it records delivery. An Accepted event means USPS has the package, from a pickup, a scan at a Post Office, or its first scan at a sort facility. USPS generally measures service performance as the time between the acceptance scan and the first stop-the-clock scan.

Scan events in the Alert status category. The filters show the other categories and the events that start or stop the clock.

PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026
EventAttributeUSPS.com wordingStatus categoryWhat it meansStarts the clockStops the clock
04RefusedAlertThe item was refused at the time delivery was attempted or after delivery to customerNoYes
06ForwardedAlertThe addressee has an active forwarding order on file and the item was sent to the new addressNoYes
0637Forward ProcessedAlertUSPS took action to ensure that the forwarding instructions have been applied to the package.NoYes
09Return to Sender (Subset Below)AlertThe item is being returned to sender for one of the following reasons:NoYes
21No Such NumberAlert***Some component of the delivery address was missing or invalid.NoYes
22Insufficient AddressAlert***There is not enough information in the address to make a deliveryNoYes
23Moved, Left no AddressAlert***The addressee has moved and no forwarding order is activeNoYes
24Forward ExpiredAlert***The addressee's forwarding order has expired and the item is being returned to senderNoYes
25Addressee UnknownAlert***The addressee is not known at the address on the itemNoYes
26VacantAlert***The house or business is vacantNoYes
27Unclaimed/Being Returned to SenderAlert***A notice and reminder were left but no one claimed the item before the DMM stipulated hold period (typically 15 to 30 days) was overNoYes
28Return To SenderAlert***The item was returned to sender for a reason not specified elsewhere (typically when the recipient is deceased)NoYes
29Return To SenderAlert***The item was returned to sender for a reason not specified elsewhereNoYes
2937Return to Sender ProcessedAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes
2937Return to Sender Processed, Not Deliverable as AddressedAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes
2937Return to Sender Processed, Insufficient AddressAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes
2937Return to Sender Processed, Item Refused by RecipientAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes
2937Return to Sender Processed, Item UnclaimedAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes
2937Return to Sender Processed, Recipient Not Known at AddressAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes
2937Return to Sender Processed, Delivery Address IllegibleAlertUSPS has processed the return based on the package characteristics.NoYes

1 to 20 of 61 codes in the PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026.

Tracking starts before acceptance, since PTR captures events from label creation to final delivery. Shippers can send events that show customers a package before USPS receives it or the Shipping Services File. A Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice links many labels to one form, and USPS scans the form at acceptance to give each label an acceptance event.

Other events fill a visibility gap on the tracking website, such as one saying the package is on track for its expected delivery date. USPS.com shows only the first and last processing scan at each facility on a calendar day.

event code

“A digit or letter indicating the purpose of the scan (e.g., an acceptance or delivery scan).”

PTR Domestic Scan Events and Descriptions

Also called USPS Domestic Tracking Scan Events, USPS Domestic Tracking Scan Event list, PTR Scan Events - Descriptions

“The list of Domestic Scan Event Codes has been moved to a separate document on Postal Pro.”

Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice

Also called SCAN, Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notification

“Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice (SCAN) form allows integrators to link multiple domestic and international labels through one Electronic File Number (EFN) and physical SCAN Form (PS Form 5630). The USPS scans this form at mailing acceptance to generate an acceptance tracking event for each linked label.”

Start-the-Clock

Also called STC

“The recorded date and time when a mailpiece enters the mailstream, usually captured by scanning a container or mailpiece barcode.”

stop-the-clock

“The recorded date and time when a mailpiece is delivered and USPS completes its commitment as it applies to service performance, which is generally measured as the time between the acceptance scan and the first stop-the-clock scan event on a mailpiece.”

Following a package

PTR makes its data available through three delivery methods, and USPS also sends notifications by email and text message.

ChannelWhat it does
USPS Tracking APITakes a tracking number and returns detailed updates, such as location and status.
Webhook subscriptionPushes the full Tracking API response when a package's status changes.
Scan event extract fileHolds every scan event on every package in a shipper's Shipping Services File.
NotificationsSends tracking updates by email and text message.

USPS.com, Informed Delivery and the USPS APIs get tracking updates in real time, and webhooks push each event in near-real time. Scan event extract files are not sent in real time.

USPS recommends that businesses starting out use webhooks and the API. Extract files are for experienced partners that prefer existing transmission methods, and they leave out the latest tracking status category. Customers enroll with USPS Data Transfer Services. Extracts then arrive over a secure file transfer account, an electronic data interchange link or Parcel Data Exchange. A regular schedule sends the file 16 times a day, and the Premium Extract service sends it 96 times a day.

In Parcel Data Exchange, the extract is one of the outbound files PTR generates, with a name such as DETEXTRO.V16.RPT.MMDDhhmmss. The DETEXTRO files stay the same for shippers moving to USPS Ship from eVS, the Electronic Verification System it replaced.

Since June 2025, the Tracking API and webhooks give no package origin or destination details.

Premium Extract service

“Customers may request Premium Extract service, which is sent 96 times daily, through Program Registration”

Outbound Files

Also called Extracts

“Outbound files generated by Product Tracking and Reporting (PTR)”

Data Transfer Services

Also called DTS

“Customers enroll with USPS Data Transfer Services and either set up an SFTP account, an EDI integration, or use the PDX application to receive scan even extract files.”

scan event extract file

Also called CDE, DETEXTRO, Scan Event Extracts (PTR), Scan Event Extract, Customer Data Extract, Customer Daily Extract

“This file contains every scan event that occurs on every package that the mailer included in the Shipping Services file.”

Intercepts, holds and delivery attempts

Package Intercept lets the sender or an authorized representative have USPS stop a package that is not yet out for delivery and redirect it. A retail customer can have it returned to the sender or held at a Post Office for pickup. A commercial customer can also send it to a new address. The fee, $19.45 a piece as of July 12, 2026, is nonrefundable and charged once USPS intercepts the package. Tracking then shows that the item was intercepted and redirected as the sender requested.

A Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail or USPS Ground Advantage package sent back to the sender is not relabeled and pays no more postage. Sent to a new address or a Post Office, it is relabeled and charged its original product's commercial price, with any extra service fees.

Hold For Pickup holds a package at a Post Office for the addressee or a designee to pick up. When the package arrives, USPS emails or texts the recipient, if the shipper gave an email address or an SMS text address. An unclaimed package gets a second notice after 5 days and goes back to the sender after 15 days. For Priority Mail Express, those limits are 3 and 5 days.

The Shipping Services File takes the recipient's SMS number without the carrier URL, the part after the @ in an address such as 6035550323@wirelesscarrier.com. Phone Provider Format–Hold For Pickup Notifications lists the formats from when an SMS text address depended on the phone provider.

When a delivery attempt fails, the carrier leaves a notice with options for pickup or redelivery. The recipient can schedule a redelivery or pick the item up at the Post Office named on the notice. An item nobody claims is held for the required number of days and then returned to the sender. Unclaimed mail is handled according to the ancillary service endorsement for its mail class or product.

Scan events for a delivery attempt, a redelivery and an unclaimed item.

PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026
EventAttributeUSPS.com wordingStatus categoryWhat it means
02Notice Left (Subset Below)Delivery Attempt: Action NeededDelivery was attempted. The notice shows options for pickup or re-delivery. This notice was left for one of the following reasons:
54Notice Left (Receptacle Full/Item Oversized)Delivery Attempt: Action Needed or Delivery Attempt***The item could not be placed in the delivery receptacle, either because the receptacle was full or because the item was too large to fit. Also used in the post office when a large item cannot fit into a PO Box.
55Notice Left (No Secure Location Available)Delivery Attempt: Action Needed or Delivery Attempt***There was no location deemed safe to deliver the item and there was no endorsement to 'leave if no response'
56Notice Left (No Authorized Recipient Available)Delivery Attempt: Action Needed or Delivery Attempt***The item could not be delivered because a signature was required
27Unclaimed/Being Returned to SenderAlert***A notice and reminder were left but no one claimed the item before the DMM stipulated hold period (typically 15 to 30 days) was over
73Available for Redelivery or Pickup DATE TIMEDelivery Attempt: Action Needed or Delivery AttemptThis event signifies that the employee has brought the package back to the office following a failed first attempt, and the item has been placed back on the shelf such that it is ready for redelivery or pickup. If the employee takes advantage of the shelf barcode ID scanning process, the specific details about the post office location and open hours are available.
VFReminder to Schedule Redelivery of your item before [RETURN DATE -1 day]Delivery Attempt or Delivery Attempt: Action NeededThe PTR system has determined that the item has met the published "second notice" number of days since the attempt event. The goal of this event is to let customers know that they should pick up or schedule a delivery for their item.
VRRedelivery ScheduledIn TransitThe customer has scheduled a redelivery for the item using the Redelivery website or application or by calling the Customer Care Center.

8 codes in the PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026, where Event is 02 or 54 or 55 or 56 or 73 or VF or VR or 27.

Package Intercept

“For a fee, USPS Package Intercept® lets the sender or recipient stop delivery or redirect a package, letter, or flat that is not out for delivery or already delivered.”

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.”

Recipient SMS Number

Also called Recipient SMS/text Number, SMS text address

“Phone number at which recipient will receive text messages.”

unclaimed mail

Also called abandoned mail

“Mail with or without a Special Service that is not claimed by the addressee, or mail that becomes dead at the last office of address and cannot be delivered or forwarded. Such mail is handled according to the Ancillary Service endorsement for the mail class or product.”

Proof of delivery and records

Proof of delivery is USPS's record of a delivery: its date and time, and the recipient's name, address and signature. Shippers of Priority Mail Express, Signature Confirmation and Adult Signature pieces request each record on the USPS Tracking website or at 800-222-1811. Shippers of Certified Mail and other extra services get signed records by buying Electronic Return Receipt at the time of mailing.

The Bulk Proof of Delivery Program sends these records in bulk, without a request for each piece. It is open to shippers using services such as Adult Signature, the electronic option of Signature Confirmation, or Electronic Return Receipt. To take part, a shipper's Mailer ID, the number in its barcodes, must be in the barcoded label or in its Shipping Services File. The Mailer ID of a registered third party the shipper works with also counts. The program lets shippers keep the records longer than USPS keeps them.

USPS Tracking Plus keeps scan data, or scan and signature data, past USPS's standard retention period for 6 months to 10 years. Customers pay a fee and request it online at USPS.com or in a Shipping Services File. As of July 12, 2026, keeping a package's scan data costs $2.50 for 6 months and, for a domestic package, $7.00 for 10 years. USPS also charges to retrieve an archived record: $10.00 for a statement of tracking and $20.00 for a signature letter.

USPS Tracking Plus

Also called USPS Premium Tracking

“USPS Tracking Plus™ service allows customers to retain scan data, or scan and signature data, beyond the Postal Service’s standard data retention period, for an additional 6 months up to 10 years for a small fee.”

Proof of Delivery

Also called POD

“Customers can also receive proof of delivery including date and time of delivery as well as name, address and signature of the recipient, electronically in bulk by participating in the Bulk Proof of Delivery (BPOD) program”

Electronic Return Receipt

Also called Return Receipt (Electronic)

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

The move to PTR2

USPS is moving PTR to PTR2, a platform built for better availability and performance with less latency and downtime. The work also keeps the system available as package and tracking volume grows, standardizes the API and webhook channels, and improves package status messages. The original PTR runs in parallel until customers finish migrating, and USPS has not set its retirement date. In PTR2, scan events reach the API and extracts up to 30 minutes faster.

Tracking users who don't yet use the Tracking API through the USPS Developer Portal need to move to it for their tracking. Users already on that API face a specification change that requires a cutover.

PTR2 retires several scan events across all channels, such as EF, Departed USPS Facility. It also stops posting the alerts Alert MID User Needs to be Registered and Alert Unauthorized MID Use to mailpieces. Mailers still get both as warnings in their Confirmation/Error/Warning files.

The scan events PTR2 retires, as PTR lists them.

PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026
EventAttributeExtract descriptionUSPS.com wordingWhat it means
EFDEPART USPS FACILITYDeparted USPS FacilitySortation process at the distribution facility is complete; the item is being dispatched on the next available transportation to the next processing facility or the destination delivery unit
LXPROCESSING EXCEPTIONProcessing ExceptionUSPS has detected a processing irregularity for the item.
MUALERT MID USER NEEDS TO BE REGISTEREDn/aThis is generated when the PIC MID does not exist in PTR's customer reference data.
MXALERT MID HAS BEEN INACTIVATEDn/aThis is generated when the mailer ID in the EFN is not certified. This also gets generated if the PIC MID is not certified.
NTN/AIn Transit, Arriving on TimeThis event helps to fill a visibility gap for customers using the tracking web site. This is the language used when we believe the item will be delivered after the expected delivery date.
NTN/AIn Transit to Next FacilityThis event helps to fill a visibility gap for customers using the tracking web site. This is the language used when PTR has been unable to store an expected delivery date for the item.
NTN/AIn Transit, Arriving LateThis event helps to fill a visibility gap for customers using the tracking web site. This is the language used when the item appears likely to be delivered after the expected delivery date.

7 codes in the PTR Domestic Scan Events, October 2026, where Event is NT or EF or LX or MU or MX.

Scan event extract files stay in versions 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0, and legacy version 1.3 retires. USPS encourages customers to move from flat file extracts to a webhook, the Detailed Scan Subscription, which gives the same information closer to real time. In PTR2, some notifications' status wording and event descriptions change, and PTR2 offers a different set of notification options. Nothing else about the notification process changes.

The PTR Release Notes give each release's updates, enhancements and fixes.

PTR2

“The new platform, PTR2, has been designed to provide improved availability and performance with decreased latency and downtime.”

PTR Release Notes

“The PTR Release Notes provides a consolidated view of the system updates, enhancements, defect fixes, and performance improvements delivered as part of the PTR platform.”

Alert MID User Needs to be Registered

Also called MU

“This is generated when the PIC MID does not exist in PTR's customer reference data.”

Alert Unauthorized MID Use

Also called MX, ALERT MID HAS BEEN INACTIVATED

“This is generated when the mailer ID in the EFN is not certified.”

What goes wrong

  • A tracking number must be unique for 120 days from first use, or 365 days for international. Product Tracking and Reporting flags a number found on two packages as a duplicate.
  • A tracking number whose Mailer ID is missing from PTR's customer data, or is not certified, gets a Mailer ID alert.
  • USPS flags a tracking number its research ties to scams, and tracking warns that the number is known to be used in scams.
  • A package with counterfeit postage is seized, and one without proper postage is not delivered.
  • A tracking number carries the shipper's Mailer ID. In a May 2025 complaint, the United States says USPS will suspend a Mailer ID it learns is compromised or used by others. The complaint says bad actors can use suspended Mailer IDs to make tracking labels that appear valid and scan into USPS tracking systems unpaid. USPS's API terms bar using its APIs or their data to make false or copied labels or tracking IDs.
  • A Package Intercept request fails when the package is already delivered or out for delivery.
  • A Shipping Services File record whose special service code is not 06, electronic return receipt, gets a message that no proof of delivery is provided. Shippers using labels bought at a Post Office can't join the Bulk Proof of Delivery Program.
  • An invalid SMS text address for a Hold For Pickup notification defaults to spaces, as Phone Provider Format–Hold For Pickup Notifications explains.
  • A package with no delivery event 18 hours after going out for delivery gets an alert.
  • When a system issue forces USPS to suppress tracking, the website says tracking details are not available for the item.

Index: 25 entries

Extra service (1)

Services (5)

Systems (5)

Files (5)

Identifier (1)

Documents (4)

Terms (4)

Sources