We reread the Notice 123 fee chart on pe.usps.com on 2026-07-27 before publishing a single figure here.
What USPS charges per band of declared value
Declare what the contents are worth, pay the fee for that band on top of postage, and the package carries coverage to the top of the band. Retail figures follow.
| Value declared | Fee |
|---|---|
| $0.01 to $50.00 | $2.80 |
| $50.01 to $100.00 | $3.50 |
| $100.01 to $200.00 | $4.50 |
| $200.01 to $300.00 | $4.55 |
| $300.01 to $400.00 | $6.05 |
| $400.01 to $500.00 | $7.55 |
| $500.01 to $600.00 | $9.05 |
| $600.01 to $5,000.00 | $9.05 plus $1.50 per $100 above $600 |
Read the chart from the bottom up and its shape becomes clear. Below $600 you pay a flat fee for a whole band, which keeps the cost mild relative to the values involved. Above $600 every additional hundred dollars of declared value adds its own charge, so covering genuinely pricey items climbs steadily toward the $5,000 ceiling USPS will cover at most. Whether any of these fees are money well spent is a separate question, and we wrote an honest look at exactly that.
The first $100 rides along free of charge
Per usps.com, checked 2026-07-27, Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express all include $100 of coverage on the base label. Declaring value on a $60 item therefore buys nothing the label lacks. The fee chart only becomes relevant above the included line.
Ours in three sentences
SMKlog shipping protection is optional, priced on screen before you pay, and recorded by a partner rather than by us. The pilot takes domestic U.S. parcels up to $500 of declared item value, and packages under manual review are excluded. Everything else, including the exclusions, is written out on our shipping protection page.
Deadlines differ by claim type
USPS, per its claims help page checked 2026-07-27, takes lost-package claims from day 7 on Express and day 15 on Priority Mail or Ground Advantage, with day 60 from mailing as the hard stop for everything. Our protection counts from label creation instead: 30 days for damage or theft, day 15 through day 60 for a lost parcel.
Declared value, asked and answered
What does USPS charge to cover $200 of value?
The Notice 123 chart on pe.usps.com, effective 2026-07-12, prices the $100.01 to $200.00 band at $4.50 retail. The band above it, reaching $300.00, runs $4.55, so the step costs almost nothing.
How much coverage is already built into a USPS label?
Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express each carry $100 of included coverage, per usps.com checked 2026-07-27. A declared-value fee only starts earning its keep once the item is worth more than that.
What is SMKlog shipping protection?
An optional add-on offered while you buy an eligible parcel label, backed by a partner that holds the coverage record. During the current pilot it applies to domestic U.S. shipments up to $500 of declared item value; the full rules sit on our shipping protection page.
When do coverage claims have to be filed?
USPS opens lost-package claims at day 15 for Priority Mail and Ground Advantage, day 7 for Express, and closes every claim type at day 60 from mailing, per usps.com. Our protection runs on comparable clocks: damage or theft within 30 days of label creation, lost packages between day 15 and day 60.