There’s no worse feeling than missing out on mail or a package sent through the USPS, especially since there’s so little information available (generally) about when that delivery is going to be attempted again.
Luckily, though, the USPS has made major steps to remedy this problem – particularly in the form of USPS Redelivery. A fantastic service from the United States Postal Service, you’re going to be able to enjoy a lot more control over how and when the post office delivers your packages, your parcels, and your mail thanks to this solution. At the same time, not everyone is intimately familiar with all that USPS Redelivery brings to the table (or even knows it exists, even). But that’s why we’ve decided to build out this detailed guide.
In the rest of the information we share below we are going to cover things like:
- What USPS Redelivery is
- Where USPS Redelivery is available
- How USPS Redelivery works
… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Ready to get started? Let’s get into it!
What is USPS Redelivery?
As mentioned earlier, USPS Redelivery is a service now available from the United States Postal Service intended to help folks that either missed a mail or package delivery or need to have a standard delivery rescheduled for another day or time. The USPS created this service after considerable research into how often customers were missing deliveries, how frustrated they were becoming with the standard process for redelivery, and through recognizing just how troublesome the general lack of communication from the USPS to their customers were in these situations.
Today the USPS Redelivery platform is available to pretty much anyone and everyone that has received a PS Form 3849 – the form delivered to individuals when their mail was not able to be dropped off at that specific point in time. But we get even a little bit deeper into how the PS Form 3849 works and how the Redelivery process in general unfolds in just a moment.
Is USPS Redelivery Available Everywhere?
Right now, it’s important to highlight the fact that while the overwhelming majority of US addresses are eligible for USPS Redelivery services there are certain addresses – and certain circumstances – that may prevent the USPS from attempting redelivery the way they would have otherwise. USPS has established this service to take advantage of the infrastructure available in specific processing facilities. Most local post office locations now have the infrastructure available to handle these kinds of requests, but not all.
The USPS website makes it really easy to determine if USPS Redelivery is available in your area or not. Simply jump on the website (www.USPS.com), search for “USPS Redelivery”, and then hit the CHECK AVAILABILITY button. You’ll then be asked to provide information about your address and your location. After punching that in you’ll get a pretty quick answer about whether or not USPS Redelivery is available in your area.
How Does USPS Redelivery Work?
USPS customers are going to be happy to know that this particular service is available 100% free of charge, with no strings attached, and there are no hidden fees or surprise charges involved, either.
The way the redelivery process unfolds is (generally) pretty simple and pretty straightforward. When a piece of mail or a package has been attempted to be delivered by the USPS but they were unable to complete the delivery (for one reason or another) they are generally going to leave behind a PS Form 3849. This form is almost always used for pieces of mail that:
- Had an attempted delivery that could not be fulfilled
- Cover pieces of mail or packages that will not fit in a mailbox
- Cover pieces of mail that have a postage fee attached or a signature required
… Or are left behind when pieces of mail simply couldn’t be delivered because of a variety of different circumstances out of the USPS control.
You’ll want to use PS Form 3849 to place a request for redelivery, something you can do through the mail (just by dropping off the form in your mailbox or at any USPS drop-off). You can also call the post office directly and relay the information requested from PS Form 3849, and you can even jump online and fill out this form digitally to get your request in ASAP, too.
After your request has been received the USPS is almost always going to ask “when did we tried to deliver it”, and you’ll want to answer in as much detail as you can. The USPS will then ask “when do you want delivery to be attempted”, and that’s going to put you in the driver seat of determining and dictating how and when your mail and packages are going to be brought back to your address.
Who Has the Ability to Schedule a Redelivery with USPS?
Scheduling redelivery with the USPS is a pretty simple and straightforward process, but it is still a process that can only be “green lit” and approved by authorized individuals.
Residential
For residential USPS customers, any “accountable member” of the family living at a specific address has the ability and authority to initiate USPS Redelivery. On top of that, authorized agents for that specific address (or for the specific intended recipient) also have the ability to move forward with USPS Redelivery requests. These individuals are going to have to fill out PS Form 3801 (different from the PS Form 3849 standard with Redelivery), but the process is generally identical other than that.
Commercial
Commercial USPS customers are also going to be able to initiate a USPS Redelivery process for mail and packages that were not delivered previously. Any employee of that commercial enterprise can both accept redelivery on behalf of that commercial enterprise as well as initiate the redelivery process as well – though they usually have to prove some sort of relationship to that business to kick things off.
Neither commercial nor residential USPS redelivery can be scheduled to go to alternate addresses or delivery drop-offs unless the individual that the mail or package has been specifically sent to initiates that kind of change. Individuals requesting this kind of change are also going to have to prove their identity before this gets accepted.
Can USPS Redelivery Get Scheduled without USPS Form 3849 Being Used?
You may be able to get USPS Redelivery scheduled without having to fill out PS Form 3849, but that’s something that you’re going to have to do with the help of the USPS directly. There are a couple of different avenues of approach to get this done, from contacting the USPS Customer Service department online (at www.usps.com), using the Redelivery Tools on the USPS website, or popping down to the local post office and asking for assistance there as well.
Of course, you can also contact customer service directly by calling 1-800-275-8777. From there you’ll want to request to be connected to someone that can assist you with redelivery. From there you’ll need to provide your name, address, and contact information, schedule your redelivery attempt, and go through the identity confirmation process.
USPS Redelivery Messages You Might See in Your Tracking
There may be a number of strange messages popping up in your tracking information that help you understand whether or not a USPS Redelivery is going to be attempted in the first place, as well as messages that can help you to better understand what’s going on with redelivery, too.
Tracking information that says things like…
- Available for Redelivery or Pickup
- Notice Left
- Receptacle Blocked
- Receptacle Full or Item Oversized
- No Secure Location Available
- No Authorized Recipient Available
- Second Notice Generated
… almost always mean that redelivery is going to have to be attempted because the initial delivery couldn’t go through as intended.
If, on the other hand, your tracking information isn’t showing any of these messages after delivery has been attempted the odds are pretty good that your mail or your package is not eligible for delivery services at all.
In those situations you’re going to need to contact the post office directly, either by visiting your local post office location and speaking to someone there or by contacting the USPS Customer Service department using the contact info we highlighted above.
You might also see messages that can include:
- A redelivery request already exists for this package
- Sorry, you can no longer make changes to this redelivery attempt
- Sorry, this redelivery request session has expired
- A return to sender request cannot be modified or canceled
Those kinds of messages are (generally) only going to show up after redelivery has already been initiated. They help you better understand what’s going on with the redelivery process, how far away your package is from arriving, and whether or not there are issues with redelivery that need to be further ironed out with the help of USPS employees.
Are There Any Differences Between USPS Redelivery and the USPS Delivery Instruction Service?
The major differences between the USPS Redelivery services and the USPS Delivery Instruction service has to do with the timing of when you want to use these solutions in the first place. For example, with USPS Redelivery you’re only going to be able to use this service after the first delivery attempt has been found impossible to complete. There is no redelivery attempt until that first delivery has been attempted to begin with!
With USPS Delivery Instruction, however, you’ll be able to change different delivery options – including where a particular package is set to be delivered (and sometimes when) – before delivery has ever been attempted. To simplify things a little bit, USPS Delivery Instruction should be used if you need to change delivery parameters before a piece of mail or a package from the USPS is out for delivery.
USPS Redelivery, on the other hand, should be taken advantage of if a first delivery has been attempted and was not successful for one reason or another. Aside from those major differences, though, these two services from the USPS share quite a bit in common with one another.
US Global Mail Makes It (Much) Easier to Manage Your Mail Today
At the end of the day, if you really want to streamline things quite a bit – and practically guarantee that you never miss any mail or package deliveries ever again, having no need for USPS Redelivery – you’ll want to consider becoming a US Global Mail customer. Pioneers in the virtual mailbox space, US Global Mail has been around for more than 20 years and has already helped thousands and thousands of customers significantly modernize their mail experience.
For starters, all US Global Mail customers are provided with a permanent mailing address (a physical street address, no less) that is – quite literally – the last mailing address they will ever need, no matter how often they might move in the future. This address provides a lot of safety, a lot of security, and a lot of stability that traditional mailing addresses (and even PO boxes) cannot provide.
On top of that, every piece of mail and every package sent to US Global Mail addresses is instantly scanned, digitally photographed, and notifications are sent out to virtual mailbox holders ASAP. This means you’ll know immediately exactly what has arrived at your mailbox (and when). You won’t just have some general idea of something may be sitting in your mailbox, but will instead have physical proof of your mail, your packages, and your parcels – all available and accessible through your online dashboard 24/7.
Combine all of that with other great features like improve security and anonymity, package and parcel acceptance from all major shipping companies (including USPS, FedEx, UPS, and more), the ability to forward mail to addresses anywhere on the planet at up to 80% off traditional postage costs, and it’s not hard to see why so many people love US Global Mail already.
For more information about everything that this service brings to the table, or to sign up for your US Global Mail account today, visit their website or contact their customer service for more details.