Every label bought here carries a tracking number that works whether or not the household has signed up for anything.
What lands in the daily email
USPS is specific about the boundaries of this feature, and most of the confusion around it comes from expecting pictures of things the sorting machines never photograph. The table below is a straight reading of the USPS product page.
| What it is | What Informed Delivery does with it |
|---|---|
| Letter-sized mail | A grayscale picture of the address side, produced by the high-speed sorting machines |
| Catalogs and magazines | USPS says colour images appear for some of these pieces |
| Flats and parcels | No picture. USPS states images are only provided for letter-sized mailpieces run through its automated equipment |
| Inbound USPS packages | Package details and tracking history, delivery instructions for the carrier, redelivery scheduling, and a nickname per package |
| Packages you send with Click-N-Ship | Tracked automatically inside the same dashboard |
| Other USPS tracking numbers | Can be added by hand |
| UPS, FedEx and courier parcels | Absent. This is a USPS product and reports only USPS handling |
| Price | USPS states it is free to customers |
| Who qualifies | A residential, business or PO Box address in an eligible ZIP Code, plus a uniquely coded mailbox |
Two limits inside that list explain most complaints. The picture is of the outside of an envelope, address side only, so nothing about contents is ever visible. And because previews come from mail already sorted for that day's route, USPS warns that mail and packages may not arrive on the day the notification does.
What it means if you are the one shipping
Sellers hear about this feature from buyers, usually in the form of a message saying a preview appeared and the box did not. Nothing in the feature gives a sender visibility, proof or leverage. The tracking number printed on the label is still the record that matters, and it exists on every parcel below.
| Item | Box used | Weight | Cheapest rate returned | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback book | 8 x 5 x 1.5 in | 1 lb | $9.91 | USPS Ground Advantage |
| Cotton t-shirt in a poly mailer | 12 x 9 x 1 in | 0.7 lb | $8.86 | USPS Ground Advantage |
| Ceramic mug in a box | 6 x 5 x 5 in | 2 lb | $8.48 | USPS Ground Advantage |
| Smartphone in a padded envelope | 9 x 6 x 1.5 in | 0.6 lb | $8.86 | USPS Ground Advantage |
Those four came back at under ten dollars each on quote day, all on the same lane, all with tracking attached. Rates move week to week, so read the table as a shape rather than a promise. If a buyer says the preview showed nothing, the useful next step is the scan history, which our tracking page reads for any of the three carriers, and our guide to tracking that stops updating covers the gaps that look alarming and usually are not.
Three things worth knowing before you rely on it
Grayscale, address side, letters only
The image comes off a sorting machine that photographs one face of a letter-sized piece as it flies past. A padded mailer or a boxed order produces no picture at all, which is why a customer waiting on a small parcel sees an empty preview and assumes something went wrong.
A quiet morning is not a lost package
USPS asks customers to allow several days after a notification, and previews only turn up on days that have mail delivery. Sundays and federal holidays produce nothing, and neither does a route with no letter mail for that address.
Some buildings simply cannot enrol
USPS ties eligibility to a uniquely coded mailbox, which many apartment and condo buildings do not have. A buyer in that situation is not doing anything wrong, and no amount of resending will change it.
Informed Delivery, answered
What does Informed Delivery actually show?
Grayscale pictures of the address side of letter-sized mail arriving that day, colour images for some catalogs and magazines, and a list of inbound USPS packages with their tracking history. USPS states images are only provided for letter-sized mailpieces processed through its automated equipment, so flats and parcels produce no picture.
Does Informed Delivery track packages?
It tracks USPS packages. Inside the dashboard you can see package details and tracking history, leave USPS Delivery Instructions for the carrier, schedule a redelivery and nickname a package. Click-N-Ship packages you send are added automatically, other USPS tracking numbers can be entered by hand, and parcels carried by UPS or FedEx never appear.
Can a seller use it as proof of delivery?
No. The account belongs to the person receiving the mail, and a sender has no view into it. Proof of movement for a parcel comes from the tracking number on the label, which is what a carrier and a marketplace will both ask for.
What does Informed Delivery cost?
USPS answers that question with one word on its own page: nothing. Eligibility, not price, is the usual obstacle, and it turns on having a residential, business or PO Box address in a covered ZIP Code and a uniquely coded mailbox.