Have the tracking number and the ZIP on the label ready — every USPS channel below asks for one or both first.
The numbers USPS lists
USPS's contact page splits customer care into three lines rather than one general switchboard. All three carry the same published hours: Monday through Friday 8 AM to 8:30 PM Eastern, Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM Eastern, closed Sunday. Read from usps.com on 2026-08-28.
| Number | What USPS says it's for | Hours (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-800-ASK-USPS 1-800-275-8777 | General customer care — the number to start with for a package question that isn't purely technical | Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–8:30 PM Sat 8:00 AM–6:00 PM |
| 1-800-222-1811 | Tracking support | Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–8:30 PM Sat 8:00 AM–6:00 PM |
| 1-800-344-7779 | Technical support, for usps.com and the app rather than a specific shipment | Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–8:30 PM Sat 8:00 AM–6:00 PM |
There is no dedicated after-hours or Sunday line. Outside those hours, tracking a package still works through usps.com or the app; only a live person is unavailable.
Online and in person
Get Help Online
USPS runs a web form at emailus.usps.com with a chat feature attached, aimed mainly at account and website issues rather than telling you where a box is right now.
Find a Post Office
USPS's location tool searches by city, state, or ZIP Code. A counter clerk can pull up the same tracking record over the phone, plus start a claim or a Missing Mail form in person.
The tracking page itself
Before any of the above, usps.com/tracking often answers the question a phone call would ask about anyway — the last scan, the facility, and the current status.
Which channel actually fixes your problem
Calling about a specific parcel usually reaches someone reading the same tracking screen a phone or laptop already shows. The USPS tools built for particular problems tend to move faster than the phone lines for those problems specifically.
| What's happening | Better than calling |
|---|---|
| Tracking hasn't moved in a few days | Why USPS tracking stalls and, past about a week, the Missing Mail search |
| Status says delivered, nothing is there | USPS says delivered but no package |
| It's been weeks with no scan at all | USPS missing package: which fix applies |
| You want money back for a lost or damaged item | How to file a USPS claim and the day 7 / 15 / 60 claim timeline |
| You need to change the delivery address or hold it | USPS Package Intercept or changing a delivery address |
A general customer care call still makes sense for anything that doesn't fit those five rows — a billing question, a complaint about a specific carrier's conduct, or a problem the tracking record doesn't explain on its own.
Where this comes from
- USPS, Contact Us — the three phone numbers, their stated purposes, hours, the Get Help Online chat feature, and the Post Office locator. Read 2026-08-28.
USPS revises hours and contact channels without notice. Treat the numbers above as what was published on the date shown and check usps.com/help/contact-us.htm directly if something here looks out of date.
Common questions
What is the phone number to reach USPS about a package?
1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) is the general customer care line. A tracking-specific automated line runs on 1-800-222-1811. Both list Monday through Friday 8 AM to 8:30 PM ET and Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM ET, per USPS's own contact page read 2026-08-28.
Can I chat with USPS online instead of calling?
Yes. USPS's Get Help Online form includes a chat feature, mainly aimed at technical and website issues rather than a specific parcel's status. For where a specific package actually is, tracking and the Missing Mail search do more than a chat agent can.
Does USPS answer package questions on social media?
USPS's own contact page does not list a social media channel as a way to reach customer care, so it is not repeated here as one. Use the phone numbers, the online form, or a local Post Office.
My tracking hasn't updated in days. Should I call?
Calling rarely produces new information a clerk does not already see on the same tracking screen you have. A stalled scan for a few days is common in a busy network; past roughly five to seven days with no movement, a Missing Mail search request gets a human looking at the actual mail stream instead.
USPS says my package was delivered, but I don't have it. Who do I call?
This is common enough that USPS and this site both treat it as its own path rather than a phone call: check the delivery scan details, wait a day for a scan made early, then file a search or a claim rather than working the phone lines.